Homebrew

USB Cord Surgery

/ Adam Barhan / Leave a comment

Last weekend when heating up caustic last weekend to clean I burned the USB cord on the HLT temperature and float sensor.  Multi tasking the boil, hop additions, manning the pumps and trying try to get the hoses all sorted out I failed to notice the cord got pretty close to the high output burner.  Didn’t notice the issue at first but the temperature shown on the screen was decently far off so I ran the troubleshooting menu and noticed the mis formed cord sheathing.  It felt a bit crispy.  I cut off the burned section and decided to put a female connector up higher and use a USB extension incase it happens again I can just use any USB cord vs having to do this again.  Once I opened the cord it occurred to me that this will be somewhat of a chore to solder and repair.  I got the tools and order the cables and gave it a shot.

Once the outer sheath is pealed back there is a mesh weave that has to be cut, this provides pull strength on these types of cables.  Once that is gone peal back the foil and you will be presented with a red, black and three shielded pairs (some string and other strength wires as well).  Pull off the plastic and foil on the pairs and separate them all out , you should have 8 separate wire at this point.  Get them all organized and straight, strip a short section off each and start splicing them together.  Once the pairs are spliced together hit the wire with the fine tipped solder gun, apply the solder to the wire and wait for it to flow on to the wire, making a one piece connection.  Once a good splice it made I went with liquid electrical tape to each connection to minimize a short.  When its all sealed and your happy with you work apply some heat shrink wrap over the splice and give it enough heat to make the joint nice and smooth.

A splice in wires this small will never be as good as one solid piece but it works and was a good way to save a chunk of change over buying an entire HLT sensor.  They only sell this entire assembly so stainless and all.

I would like to see MoreBeer make a connection near the top to one could just buy new cables as I am sure this will happen again.  There is no way to keep the cord entirely protected when they are cut to specific length and the HLT burner kicks out some serious BTU’s.

All done and tested, success.  It lives to brew another day.

Black Friday Amber Pale Ale Brew day

/ Adam Barhan / Leave a comment

While the mad dash to go shopping amongst thousands of nut cases has never drawn me in, I do find it fascinating. Wake up at the crack of dawn, stand in line shoulder to shoulder with tons of people to save what you spend on Starbucks in a week? I digress. Set out to brew a darker style amber with the hops we had on hand. Brew day went as planned with the exception of over oxygenating the wort and over flowing the conical. Excited to see what some of the lesser known to me hops taste like. I scored about 20oz of free hops at the Homebrew shop a few weeks ago, mostly European but some common ones as well.

First casualty of the brew stand also occurred, the HLT prob cord got a little toasty and started malfunctioning. At $75 for a new probe I decided to cut off the melted section and perform a bit of surgery. It appears to be a standard USB with temp shielding. The plan is to place a female USB end up high and use a USB extension to make the run past the burner in the event it happens again. The cord is shielded, has a red and black and three sub shielded pairs carrying data. Utilizing a USB extension will also give the ability to make this cord run around the heat source and minimize the chance of future issues. I will perform the cord surgery this week and post a short video of the repair.

Other Brewery tasks completed:

  • Juice Box NEIPA was Kegged and placed on tap.
  • All Kegs cleaned, sanitized and purged
  • Ordered a second Tilt Hydrometer. These are great and a good way to monitor fermentation from afar.

Anchor Christmas in large format was consumed, it was OK this year. Definitely was not my favorite year for it or my tastes are going away from spiced beers. Nonetheless it has become a tradition at this point so I will endure on.

Brew Stats for the Pale Ale (Euphoria Pale) brewed

https://www.brewstat.us/share/2473/euphoria-pale

Hold the Line APA

/ Adam Barhan / Leave a comment


Hold the Line APA, originally uploaded by adambarhan.

A: Pours a deep copper amber color with a good three fingers thick of persistent tan rocky foam head. Some large bubbles form sticky globs of lace all the way down the glass. The carbonation could be a bit much.

S: Nice dank and pine notes up front with some light suggestions of citrus and an underlying sweet pale malt aroma. Pretty nice nose on it, will dry hop this with some Cascades next time.

T: Has a nice caramel full body with some hop notes in the end. Its still pretty green, I have a feeling it will get better with some age on it.

M: Lighter body nearing Medium thickness. Creamy with a real dry and crisp finish.

D: A bold and hoppy APA. Time will tell on this one.