New brew system

So I'm always wanting to get back to a HERMS setup. There are pros and cons to both HERMS and BIAB, but for my money I like the level of direct control afforded by HERMS.

So I started planning one out and, in the process, decided to make a Sketchup model. Behold!

HERMS by antaydos on Sketchfab

Kinda awesome, I know.

Brew day summary

Well, we've got lots to talk about lately, surrounding mash efficiency and assumptions in calculations. To that end, we'll start with the last brew #29.

We had some weird issues with fermentation, in that neither produced a krausen. The environment was 55°F, which is obviously out of optimal range but still high enough to get the yeast going. Sure enough, there was airlock activity, but the lack of a krausen had us concerned that maybe something besides the yeast had taken a hold. Still, we saw no pellicle that would indicate infection. Hmm...