Month: December 2012

Beer Filtering: First Attempt

Published December 16, 2012

Ever since I began brewing beer I’d heard about filtering my beer to remove haze. While I know that filtering is not necessary as with sufficient skill one can produce quite clear beer without it, it held some appeal to me. After learning that a number of local breweries filter their beer to remove haze and produce sparkling, shiny, clear beers that still have quite a bit of flavor I became even more interested, so after cleaning the beer lines and getting some more stuff kegged I decided to order the parts to give it a go.

To get started I tried filtering a rye pale ale that I brewed a few months ago and kegged just after cleaning the lines. It was already partially carbonated so it foamed a bit during the process (nucleation in the filter and due to pressure drop), but there it wasn’t nearly as much of a problem as I’d expected. I used a 5 micron filter for this batch (the 1 micron filters hadn’t come in yet), and this left the beer a every so slightly hazy, but it looks way better than it had with just aging and letting settle in the keg and it still tastes great.

The process I put together (based on lots of info I’d read) uses a Pentek 158116 filter housing with two liquid-out ball lock keg fittings connected to each side. The housing is sanitized then fitted with a filter that has been dipped in sanitizer, the filter is fitted between two kegs (full keg on the in side, empty on the out), the empty keg’s safety valve is opened, and CO₂ is applied to the full keg to push the beer through. I started out with 2-3 psi, but near the end I had to increase this to around 10 psi as the filter became clogged. Periodically throughout the process I’d open the top of the output keg to check the level and foamyness, closing it back up to keep the system relatively closed.

This worked out very well, and I only had a bit of foam blow out through the safety valve right near the end of the process. This lost foam likely resulted in a loss of only a couple ounces of beer, and the filter housing itself probably lost half a pint.

Next time I try this I’ll chill (but not carbonate) the beer in a keg, then force it through the filter to another. I expect that there’ll be no foaming then resulting in even less hassle and mess. The next time I try this will be with the two beers I’ve got brewing now (a golden ale and a red ale), perhaps with 1 micron filters if they arrive in time. My desire is to get crystal clear, sparkling beers that still have good flavor in a relatively short period of time, just by filtering it.

Here’s a few photos taken during this filtering experiment:

· Two kegs, Pentek 158116 filter housing, 5 micron water filter, and connections necessary to filter beer.
· Mostly-carbonated rye pale ale being filtered.
· Since the beer was already carbonated it foamed a little out of the pressure release, but not enough to cause problems. There was very little loss overall.
· Side view of the filter after processing five gallons of beer.
· End view of the filter, from the top, after processing five gallons of beer.

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45NRTH Wölvhammer Winter Cycling Shoes

Published December 16, 2012

These shoes may just be overkill, but since I love riding in the winter I wasn’t able to pass them up. This afternoon while stopping by the Northville Trail’s Edge shop to pick up Danielle’s new bike I saw that the 45NRTH Wölvhammer boots were in stock and I decided to try them on. For the last year or two I’ve been using a pair of Pearl Izumi Barrier GTX shoes that I bought used from my friend Bob for a very good price. They work okay, but aren’t quite as nice as I’d like, and after an hour or so without chemical warmers my toes still end up cold.

I wasn’t intending to purchase some of these boots, but after trying them on and looking them over I was sold. Retailing for $325 they aren’t cheap, but I think they’ll be worth it. I haven’t had a chance to try them on the bike, they seemed quite comfortable and rather warm while trying them on, very much like heavier normal cycling shoes. They are heavily insulated and even have an aerogel insole to cut down on heat transfer through the metal cleat. (Much more tech detail here.) So, if everything goes as I expect they’ll be perfect for longer cold weather rides this year. Maybe if I’m lucky I’ll be able to wear then on a cold weather ride to my parents house for the holidays, just as with last year.

To cut down on sole wear I fit all of my shoes with Crank Brothers Shoe Shields beneath the cleats. For these boots I had to file one corner down on each shield (photo), but this wasn’t hard to do and allowed everything to fit nicely. This was a bit of a surprise, but it’s a much better option than trimming the soles themselves.

Now that I might still hang on to the PI shoes for not-that-cold-of-weather rides, but that remains to be seen. If they don’t get worn it wouldn’t be terrible if I were to sell both these old PIs and my old Sidis. There’s no point in keeping functional (albeit worn) bike shoes around the house when someone else can make good use of them.

Here’s a few photos that I took of these shoes:

· 45NRTH Wölvhammer winter cycling shoes, side view.
· 45NRTH Wölvhammer winter cycling shoes, bottom view.
· Crank Brothers Race Cleats along with Shoe Shields on the bottom of the 45NRTH Wölvhammer shoes. The Shoe Shields needed some filing to make them fit.

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Finally, a Daylight Ride

Published December 14, 2012

Being so close to the solstice the days are getting mighty short, and finding the magic combination of daylight, decent weather, decent trail conditions, and available time has been quite difficult lately. Everything worked out right this afternoon and I was able to head out to Stony Creek for a daylight ride. The El Mariachi felt like a rocket after a few weeks of riding only the Mukluk or trainer, and it was really good to get out.

I rode one lap of the 6/12 Hour Route, then rode the paved path over to the Fitness Trails, through there, then back to the trailhead. Most of the trails were in great shape, with only a few greasy corners and uphills. Some of the two track had its normal wet spots, but it was all quite acceptable for a 50°F day in mid-December. I was able to ride comfortably wearing only summer time gloves, normal shoes and socks, a short sleeve jersey, and knickers. It wasn’t bothersomely cold until I spent ~20 minutes standing around in the parking lot talking with someone.

The photo above was taken while moving, looking southwest along Stony Creek Lake from along the gravel path which comprises the Fitness Trail route. While it’s just basic, flat, wide gravel trail I think it’s one of the most scenic parts of Stony Creek and wonderful looking year round.

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Beer Line Cleaning

Published December 10, 2012

About a month ago ran out of beer in my Kegged Beer Cooler and I hadn’t really gotten around to refilling it. This past weekend I was ready to rack some new beer in, but I noticed that the lines had some residue in them, so I wanted to clean them out. (This is good practice, as it keeps the lines clean so the beer doesn’t become fouled by whatever might have ended up in there.)

A bit of online reading showed that there are generally two ways to go about doing it, either something to push the liquid from one end through to the other, or a pump to recirculate the liquid. Being a bit lazy I figured the pump would be better, as I could set it up and let it run for a while instead of having running a few containers full of liquid through the system.

I ended up purchasing a cheap Pacific Hydrostar (read: house hydroponics brand) submersible pump from Harbor Freight, fitting it with a 1/4 flare to 1/2 MIP brass adapter from Warren Pipe and Supply. This allowed me to connect the screw-on ends of the beer lines (after removing the ball lock fittings) right to the pump and push the cleaning solution through them. Doing so required ignoring the warnings about not pumping hot liquids nor cleaners, but the pump didn’t have any problems doing so.

Prior to using the pump for cleaning I removed the suction cup base and inlet filter material, as I figured these wouldn’t provide any benefit, and might just foul things a bit more if the soft rubber and plastic had issues in the caustic cleaner. I then ran the pump for a few minutes in a sink full of Oxyclean and water, then in another rinse of straight water to clean it out. This made a noticable difference, as the plastic no longer had an oily sheen and lost the typical Harbor Freight cheap Chinese machine oil funk that permeates the store.

After connecting the pump to a beer line, I then submerged it in a bucket of BLC Beer Line Cleaner, fit a return line (1/2″ thinwall) to the end of the tap and back into the bucket, and powered it up. A few times during the cleaning process I’d cycle the tap handle to be sure the cleaner found its way into the nooks and crannies around the shut-off ball and O-ring. Each line was cleaned for 15 minute and leave the lines looking practically new.

Once the lines were all clean I wanted to sanitize them, but with the cleaner being a base and the sanitizer acid-based, I thought it best to rinse the system with water first. So, a brief cycle of water went through each before I ran the sanitizer through, with a bit more tap handle cycling to be thorough.

After this the lines were great, so I hand-washed and sanitized the liquid out ball lock connectors and put it all back together. Now it’s ready to dispense more beer!

Here’s a few photos of the cleaning process and pump:

· Harbor Freight’s Pacific Hydrostar submersible fountain pump with a 1/4″ flare to 1/2″ MIP adapter, ready to connect to beer lines.
· Detail of the gunky residue that had built up in some of the lines.
· Cleaning the lines with a submersable pump connected to the beer lines, return line connected to the tap, and some warm caustic Beer Line Cleaner.
· Using the pump without a return line to rinse the taps with sanitizer.

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Another Poor Riding Choice

Published December 6, 2012

About once per season I make a poor riding choice, resulting in a need to do a bit of drivetrain maintenance. Today was another one of those days.

I set out after work to ride at River Bends, and after finding almost the entire old (existing as of two months ago) single track to be in fine shape I headed into the newest section. Jeremy had warned of the conditions there, but his post was from yesterday, we’d had some dry weather since then, and I had a fatbike, so I figured it would be okay. I was wrong.

There seemed to only be around 500′ of real problem trail in the whole 0.7 mile section, but this was enough to get clay sticking to my tires and sending everything going wrong. Conditions weren’t of the sort which would cause a problem for the trail but it definitely caused some bike problems. There was no rutting and no sloppy mud; just sticky clay which was a bit worse in places where the surface had been churned during recent trail construction work.

With a fatbike because the chain is so close to the rear tire, mud hanging off of the side often gets scraped off on the chain. This in turn gets carried into the chainrings, then on to the derailleur and into the cassette, and soon enough the whole thing is a mess. Combine this with a greasy corner in which I fell and laid the bike down packing the derailleur full and I was done. I rode one pass through the entrance trail afterward, but shifting wasn’t working right.

I’ve rinsed off the bulk of the clay, scrubbed the chain, and now it’s sitting in degreaser. This weekend I’ll have to find some time to properly clean it, as I’m hoping to ride the fatbike quite a bit this winter and I want to keep it as it was. With the forecasted rain it looks like cleaning time won’t be hard to find, though… Most of my riding will probably end up being on the trainer.

Beyond the one above, here’s two more pictures showing the build-up from the chain cleaning off the tire: build-up on the rear derailleur and chain-packed dirt in the cassette.

(…and yes, I realize how much this post seems to contradict the message in the one right before it. Ruts weren’t left, the trail wasn’t damaged, and the rest of it was fine for riding. I’d just lifted a bunch of crap from some select sections of trail and packed them into my drivetrain. I’m rather looking forward to things freezing solid so this will no longer happen.)

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Leave It To The Professionals

Published December 4, 2012

For years the MMBA has distributed posters cautioning riders to stay off of trails during the spring thaw, as riding in the mud (and through what are essentially pools formed by frozen subsoil) can be damaging to the trail and is often difficult to repair. (Examples: 1, 2, 3) After talking with Dave Schall about difficulties with people riding muddy trails at the Stony Creek Skills Park, we got to thinking that it’d be good to make a sign asking riders not to ride in mud during all seasons.

I started to throw together some text, and in talking with Wiggee from Reddit /r/bicycling IRC channel on Freenode came up with the Ride Dirt Trails, Not Mud Trails title. I then tried to put together a design based on photos I had and one Dave had sent me of the Skills Park, but after coming up with this draft I knew that I was going to have a very hard time coming up with something nice looking, if I even could. I contacted my friend Kristi Heuvers, who has done a bunch of CRAMBA‘s artwork, including many race t-shirts and logos, and along with whom I’m on the CRAMBA Board. She quickly came back with this excellent design. (She even went so far as to create an InDesign template of this poster, CC BY-SA licensed, so that other MTB organizations can build on our work and help share this message.)

Needing them printed to hang up along trails I threw around a couple ideas before Marty Shue (another friend, the CRAMBA board chairperson before me, and now the CRAMBA treasurer) pointed me to Printing by Johnson, located in the old Prieh’s Stamp, Coin & Hobby Center location in Mount Clemens. When I first visited them I mentioned that I was interested in laminated, laser-printed cardstock, but they had the idea of using digitally printed Coroplast with a UV coating. I ordered 32 of these (at $5/ea) and upon picking them up today I was extremely happy with how they came out.

I like doing many things myself, but both the design of this flyer and the printing are very good examples of why it’s sometimes best to leave things to professionals like Kristi and the print shop. Doing things for the sake of learning them is great, but sometimes what’s best is to get the task completed and save the learning and experimentation for when there’s a bit more flexibility available.

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