DIY BrewHouse

What a long, difficult, up and down past two weeks it has been. Was so good seeing you guys/gals last weekend for our closeout day at the store. Reaching over and switching off the "OPEN" sign for one last time was like being hit with a ton of bricks. That was a reality check and a meaningful moment. Ever heard the expression that your life passes before your eyes in the moments just before death? That was a surreal moment for me in the few minutes before turning off the open sign at DIY BrewHouse.

I personally appreciate each and every customer that walked through the front door; whether you were just passing by wondering what the sign on the building meant, or were an all in avid homebrewer. You were not just a customer or a potential customer....you were viewed as a friend. That's how I tried to run my business. Get to know you first, and then help you become better at your craft of fermentation. From beginner to advanced.

Although DIY BrewHouse is no longer open for business, my passion for homebrewing does not end here. Neither should yours. We share a common thread. For those of you reading this and wish to remain in contact, simply reply offline and I will share some personal contact info. I'm always open to answering emails, phone calls, etc with questions homebrewing related.

Cheers,
Kevin

Quick update on some DIY store hours. We are unfortunately closed today. Will be open tomorrow (Friday). And then closed for a weeklong vacation until Aug 11.

Cheers,
Kevin

Hi gang! Hope that everyone is being safe during these crazy times we are living in. We are in this together, and we will get through it together.

In light of more mandatory non-essential business closures taking effect today at 5:00 PM, DIY BrewHouse will adhere to those guidelines. Our retail store will be closed to foot traffic inside in the store. However, curbside pickup is being allowed for retail stores while maintaining social distancing measures. We will be updating our store hours in the next day or so along with some procedures for curbside pickup. Check our page periodically.

Thank you so much for supporting DIY and other local small businesses! We could not do it without you guys.

Cheers,
Kevin

Earlier in the week, we kegged up a fruit wine. Not wanting to leave an empty carboy, we cleaned/sanitized it, and started another wine (plum wine). Couple days later our fermentation was sluggish at best. (We know why too). Had another package of yeast on hand, so pitched that one and within 4 hours our fermentation was rolling along.

As soon as I pitched the 2nd yeast pack, I thought to myself....I shouldn't have done that.

Here's a lengthy explanation why.

Initial yeast pitched was 71-B which is a very good fruit wine yeast that tends to enhance fruit aromatics compared to other wine yeasts. It has a medium alcohol tolerance of 12-13% ABV which was the target range for our wine (semi-sweet). Did not have another 71-B on hand, so I pitched some Premier Classique which also has about the same alcohol tolerance.

As beer brewers, we are accustomed to pitching more yeast when a fermentation is sluggish. WLP001 working slowly? Have a US-05 dry yeast on hand which is similar? No worries there, just pitch it. Brewers will often blend yeast strains during fermentation (white labs sells many blended strains) to achieve characteristics from each strain. However, ALL yeast have a competitive factor. Positive, sensitive, or neutral. Almost all yeast isolated for beer making are either sensitive or neutral, meaning they will coexist together. Most wine yeast are positive, meaning they have enzymes that will inhibit (kill) yeast that are sensitive. Neutral yeast do not have the killer enzyme nor are effected by the killer enzyme.

71-B is competitive sensitive. Premier Classique is competitive positive. Within hours after pitching Premier Classique, 71-B was wiped out. :-( It's not the end of the world for our plum wine, but it will not have the light aromatic character from 71-B that we were shooting for. Doh.