A Photogenic Look at an xBmt Brew Day

Author: Marshall Schott


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As long as I’ve known my wife, Laura, she’s had at least some interest in photography. I sometimes wonder if her relatively new found passion was inspired by my often annoying obsession with homebrewing and the fulfillment she saw it brought me. Whatever the reason, I love it and think it’s pretty rad to have a private documentarion saving beautiful morsels of my family’s life one frame at a time.

At the start of the year, Laura committed to taking and sharing a photo every day of 2015 as a part of the 365 Project (check them out here). Despite being home with 3 kids, maintaining our home, ensuring we all stay alive, doing occasional side-work, and putting up with me, she has admirably stuck to her commitment and produced some truly fantastic images, most focused on our family. When she suggested the idea of photographing some of one of my brew days, I was all over the idea, figuring I might get a cool shot or 2 to use on the site. She finally showed me the photos she took and I knew, whether out of pride for my wife or personal vanity, I didn’t want to keep them to myself. Rather than my typical 4AM start time, I waited a little later for this one– the lighting had to be right, of course. The beers being brewed were for an xBmt I’ve yet to collect data on, so I’m keeping that under wraps for now.

There are a quite a few pics, some are linked to items pictured, most have a caption. If you’ve even the slightest penchant for voyeurism, like me, this may tickle your fancy. Grab a beer, sit back, and enjoy the show.

After collecting the brewing liquor, I hit the flame on my burners.
Two kettles, two batches.
I gathered and milled the grains while the water was heating up.
Barley Crusher grain mill and some AJ for a batch of hard cider.
MLTs waiting to make sweet wort.
MLTs waiting to keep the mash warm.
My grain buckets get quite a bit of use.
My grain buckets get quite a bit of use.
Once the grains for both batches were milled, Roz helped me prepare the hops.
Roz is very careful when using scissors.
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He reads me hop amounts as I weigh them out.
"Howdy, mom!"
“Howdy, mom!”
All lined up and ready to go.
All lined up and ready to go.
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Pondering the crazy fact that grain will soon become beer.
With everything prepped and our water to temp, it was time to start batch 1!
With everything prepped and strike water to temp, it was time to start batch 1.
Roscoe forgot we stagger batches by 20 minutes and excitedly opened the lid of MLT 2 to receive water.
Roscoe preemptively opened the lid of MLT 2 excited to finally “stir the mash.”
With only a couple gallons left to transfer, the kettle is much easier to handle.
With only a couple gallons left to transfer, kettles becomes easier to handle.
Preheat, stir to strike temp, and mash-in Batch 1.
Preheat, stir to temp, and mash-in Batch 1.
Water for Batch 2 was to temp just as I hit the mash timer for Batch 1.
Water for Batch 2 was ready just as I hit the mash timer for Batch 1.

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Those eyes…
Mash temp was spot on for Batch 2.
Strike temp was spot on for Batch 2.
This was Roz' mash to stir!
Roz helping stir to the liquor to strike temp.
"I'm stirring with my hat!"
“I’m stirring with my hat, dad!”
Passing down the good stuff.
Passing down the good stuff.
Getting bored, Roscoe was anxious to see some grain.
Roscoe was anxious to see some grain.
The time had come. Stir, boy, stiiiir!
Stir, boy, stiiiir!

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Pleased with his work.
With both mashes resting, it was time for a break.
The boys.
Roscoe took a load off...
Both mashes resting, Roscoe did the same…
...eliminating dough balls is tough work.
…eliminating dough balls is tough work.
I grabbed my first beer...
Time for a beer…
...then stirred Batch 1, as I've found stirring every 15-20 helped with my efficiency
I’ve found stirring every 15-20 minutes helps with efficiency consistency.
Laura had some fun during the lull between the mash and the boil.
Ye Olde Keezer.
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My homemade glassware cabinet serves double-duty.
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After readjusting the first faucet, the handle fit differently.

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More beer to kill the time.
I’m a big fan of these kettles.
Quenching my brew day thirst.
Quenching my brew day thirst.
Posing :-)
Poser.
Entering info into BeerSmith.
Data entry.

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Playing with lighting.
Playing with lighting.

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Laura left for a bit, I finished up, and she returned to catch some swill shots.
All cleaned-up.
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I want to work this B&W version into a new banner or something

It was a successful and fun brew day! I love the fact my family gets involved in their own ways, it’s one of the things I appreciate so much about the hobby of homebrewing– I can do it without leaving home.  If you want to see what else Laura’s been up to, check out her 365 Project page and give her some love. Cheers all!


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| Read More |

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16 thoughts on “A Photogenic Look at an xBmt Brew Day”

  1. Pictures are great!
    I like the last black and white, and it would definitely make a great banner. Although, you may want to add the color back to the beer so it doesn’t look like water.

  2. I think its great that you get your son involved. Its good together time for you and there is so much cool science to be learned. He obviously has a very long attention span.

  3. Great pictures man! My own experience is quite different – my wife and 2 teen daughters run from the “disgusting” smell when I brew. So I unfortunately am left to take my own pics and.. well I just forget most of the time to be honest. Thats awesome that your wife takes lots of pics – thanks for sharing!

  4. Love it! My three year old daughter often comes out to hang with me when I’m brewing. She mostly turns water on and off when I’m chilling the wort or cleaning equipment. Of course, she does a great job. Hopefully I can get her even more involved as she gets older!

  5. I love the pictures, they turned out great. I do have a question, where did you get those white bins you are using to store your grains? They look perfect for bulk storage.

  6. Great pics, thanks for sharing. My just today turned 7 y/o boy loves to smell the mash, and pour in the hop additions. Love that he is interested, and very likely learning some things at the same time. (And also sometimes saying: “Dad, you make good beer!” lol.)

    Question, looks like you put your strike water in the MLT, as I do, then add the grains. But looks like you are stirring it prior to adding grains to drop the temp. to your desired strike temp? I usually just heat to 175F, and then add the grain, knowing it will level out somewhere in the mid to upper 150(s). Looks like I might need to refine my process somewhat! 😉

    1. Nice, dude, I love that my son enjoys being involved.

      Yeah, I’m a nut for precision, whether it matters for not. I add the strike water to the MLT at 7-10˚F above strike temp, close the lid for a few minutes to pre-heat, then stir until it’s about 0.5-1˚F above my strike temp, at which point I mash in and stir until it is just a hair above mash temp to account for temp loss. I’m sure there are other ways that work just as well, it’s just what I’ve settled on because it works for me. Cheers!

  7. Your wife is a wonderful photographer, and you have a wonderfully handsome son. He has a wonderful personality n the photographs.

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