Brew Day v3.0 – Now With More Variables!

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Max Mahoney (Chemistry) and I spent a long day brewing a couple of batches of beer recently. Now familiar with the process and how to execute it in the makerspace, we were able to add lots of variables and processes and gear, building on our experience with Brew Day v2.0, and our original, somewhat less-than-successful Brew Day v1.0.

One of the biggest changes to the process this time around had to do with the water. Specifically, we started with deinonized (DI) water, and Max added various salts to create ideal water, which as I understand it is a big factor in the overall success of the end product.

Water Chemistry

We brewed two batches of beer, and one of kombucha, which we’re fermenting in one of the smaller fermenters.

From Brewer to Fermenter

Testing the pH using one of the new meters.

pH Checking

Improvised wort chiller, until our conterflow setup arrives.

RoboBrews Assemble!

Into the fermenters.

Two Brewers, Two Fermenters

We documented things more completely throughout the process this time. Timing notes are especially important, as we’re still working out how these brew days work as labs and activities. How many simultaneous batches make sense, and how many people can effectively work in the space at the same time.

Captain's Log

Meanwhile, batch the second looks and tastes pretty good, with some distinct and pleasant apricot notes.

The Color of Brew Day the Second

We’ve got both fermenters in The Spider Shed (a former chemical storage building that we’re repurposing as a nanobrewery) hooked up to a heating and cooling system, and they’re happily bubbling away.

Brew Day the Third

We’re still learning so much, and the process is becoming even more interesting. Max is especially stoked about tweaking the water chemistry, and has lots of ideas about wrapping class activities and labs around that process. A couple more days, and we’ll cold crash these batches and keg ’em up!

Fermentation Science aka Beer Tasting in the Makerspace

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Toward the end of last semester – after lengthy and vigorous and unflinching hacking of red tape – we offered the first workshop – Beer Science: Measuring Beer Bitterness – as part of our ongoing Fermentation Science efforts. We started the day in the Chemistry lab, where Max Mahoney (Chemistry professor and makerspace faculty champion) described the chemistry of beer, and led students through a procedure for measuring beer bitterness.

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Here’s how Max describes it:

The goal of this workshop was to expose students to a quantitative and qualitative analysis of beer bitterness. The chemistry of hops and bittering compounds was presented along with a discussion of the chemical procedures involved in this analysis. The following procedure was used to quantitatively analyze beer bitterness. Three beers were selected containing different levels of the hop-derived bittering agents. Students sonicated the beer to expel carbon dioxide, performed a liquid-liquid extraction of the hop acids with iso-octane, and measured the UV and visible absorption spectrum for their sample. We used the visible absorption spectra to help classify the style of beer. The UV absorption was used to quantify the concentration of hop acids and thus the bitterness of the beer (measured in IBUs).

Chemistry students of all levels were able to learn advanced analytical methods used in the beverage industry to analyze beer bitterness. General and organic chemistry lab techniques were utilized including UV-Vis spectroscopy, usage of micropipettes, and liquid-liquid extraction of organic compounds.

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The Chemistry lab portion completed, we went over to the Innovation Center for some blind taste tests. Students sampled various beers, and then used PollEverywhere to report the perceived bitterness of the sample, the results of which we compared to the lab-derived values.

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The event was a terrific success, and students were engaged and enthusiastic. We’ve got additional interdisciplinary FermSci workshops and projects planned for this semester, including more beer chemistry, sauerkraut making, curriculum development, and a partnership with a local employer for integrating IOT technology into kombucha fermentation.

I Burned a SCOBY

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But just a little bit.

Took the crocheted SCOBY mat home to dry it out, and kept it overnight in a 120° F oven on parchment paper to dry it out.

SCOBY Mat

The thicker side didn’t quite incorporate itself with the hemp fiber, owing I think to the fact that the crocheted piece was suspended slightly below the high tea/sugar mark.

Microcellulose and Cellulose

In some places though, it seems as though the SCOBY really integrated with the mat.

Texture

The finished piece has an interesting flexibility because of the crocheted core.

Light Emitting

I decided to try using SNO-SEAL, which is beeswax and some sort of solvent, to waterproof the mat. I melted some in an old pan on an outdoor stove, and plunged the SCOBY mat into it.

Structure

As I was turning off the flame, the pan caught fire, which was no big deal, and I extinguished it by putting a piece of metal over it. I didn’t realize, however that the mat itself was on fire, but was able to put it out quickly. I then placed the whole business on parchment paper and into the oven at 120° again for about 20 minutes, then buffed it out with some paper towels.

Beeswaxed

It definitely sheds water.

Our next experiments include creating magnetic SCOBY by incorporating iron filings into some fruit leather mush, and creating “leather” bracers for an upcoming fashion show.

Crocheted SCOBY Update

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Fiber Woven SCOBY

Decided that the crocheted SCOBY was ready for drying, so removed it from its vessel…

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…washed and rinsed it…

To Dry

…and set it out in the sun to dry.

Parchment Paper in the Sun

In some places, it’s really well integrated with the hemp twine mat, and so we’re curious to see how it all looks and acts, and what effect the hemp fibers have on the finished piece.

Ceulluse Integration

SCOBY in the Scope

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SCOBY Under the Microscope

Max (Chemistry professor and makerspace champion) has a nice oil immersion scope that hadn’t been used in years, so we fired it up, borrowed some oil, and looked at some of the SCOBY pellicle, both the mashed variety and the paper thin one.

Nicole Scopin'

The scope needs a good cleaning, but Jared, Nicole, and Brett (makerspace students and staff) were able to get a view into the microscopic world of kombucha. The images above were all shot with mobile phones through the eyepiece, but we’re excited to use one of the scopes in the Biology labs with the built-in cameras.

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SCOBYLED – Light Emitting SCOBY

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Inspired by the way the fruit leather SCOBY catches the light, we decided to see about embedding LED in a batch of mush. Using the SCOBY from the kombucha of least resistance, we blended up a new batch.

SCOBY of Least Resistance

As the prior batch took so very long to dehydrate, we tried out a yogurt cheese maker, jamming it full of mush and letting it sit overnight to see about driving off as much liquid as possible before air or oven drying.

SCOBY Mush in a Yogurt Cheese Making Thing

A lot of kombucha collected in the bottom after 24 hours. Meanwhile, we prepared four LED, coating the posts in dialectric grease, and using multiple nested layers of heat shrink tubing in an effort to prevent the highly acidic SCOBY mush from corroding the LED legs.

LED for SCOBY

We embedded the LED into the mush, and packed it in all around them. Not sure if the material will capture the LED, or shrink in such a way that they will be easily pulled out, but we’re hoping for the former. After the material dries some, the hope is that it will be a coherent block, which can be removed from the vessel for additional drying.

SCOBYLED

The Continuing Saga of SCOBY Leather

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The blended SCOBY fruit roll-up leather experiment is finally more or less dry. It took hours and hours in a 120 degree Fahrenheit oven before the water was driven off, and the resulting leather seems strong and beautifully semi-translucent.

Blended SCOBY Leather

Not sure what exactly we’ll do with it, other than maybe subdivide it for various experiments. Meanwhile, I took a look at the SCOBY net experiment, and was surprised to find that a nice pellicle had formed above the net, and that it had grown through the net at the edges.

SCOBY in a Mat

I decided to flip it over to see if another layer might grow on top, and then we’ll maybe press it flat to dry, encasing the hemp net between the layers of leather?

Flipped

For future experiments, it would probably be best to find a way to suspend the net right at the surface of the tea and sugar mixture, so that the pellicle becomes more integrated into the net. Maybe a purpose built, adjustable frame that can be moved up or down to account for liquid loss?

SCOBY Net

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Boiled up the hemp twine crocheted mat (which when wet smells strongly of goat)…

Boiled Hemp Twine Smells Like Goat

…then used the t-shirt press to flatten it out…

Heat Press = Goat Steam

…and suspended it at the surface of a fresh batch of kombucha.

Suspended

We covered the whole business in a cloth, and put it into the brewing shelf. Not sure at all what might happen, but the hope is that the bacteria and yeast will colonize the twine and produce cellulose all around, encasing the mat in SCOBY goodness.

SCOBY Harvest

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We decided to harvest and dry one of the big SCOBYs today.

Booch Leather

As we removed it from the tea, the SCOBY separated into two layers, which we washed and rinsed.

Washing the SCOBY

The top layer was thick and uneven and prone to tearing as we arranged it on a piece of cardboard to dry.

Top Piece

The bottom layer was thin and unblemished and surprisingly strong. It’s barely visible on the plywood.

Quality SCOBY

We mixed up some sugar water, and added it to both the now empty grow chamber, and to the undisturbed second batch. We’ll wait a week to harvest and cure the SCOBY growing therein.

Hungry Booch

Big Batch of Booch

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Given the exciting potential for using SCOBY as a makerspace material, we spent the day brewing up a big batch of kombucha to grow large SCOBY sheets. Using an electric water bath canner, we boiled 5.25 gallons of water, then cooled it down using Max’s wort chiller.

Wort Chiller

We divided the water into two large plastic bins that CJ (student and makerspace employee) cleaned and sterilized for the project.

Pouring

In a separate pot, we brewed 8 quarts of tea, then added the sugar, and divided that between the two bins. The temperature was a little high – 91 degrees Fahrenheit or so – so we waited a loooong time while it cooled before adding some finished kombucha.

Big Batch of Booch

In the meantime, Clarity (student and makerspace employee) quickly and skillfully embroidered this SCOBY cozy to cover the batch while it ferments.

SCOBY Cozy

We put the two big batches to bed in a dark and warm place to ferment for the next couple of weeks. With any luck, we’ll have two big pieces of SCOBY to work with right around the start of the semester.

Don't Booch Open Inside

While we had all the supplies out, we decided to make a batch of kombucha of least resistance. We took ordinary tap water, poured in some sugar and shook it up, and then added a tea bag for a short while, removed it, and then added to each jar an amount of finished kombucha, and in one jar, the unused SCOBYs from the first kombucha leather batch.

Kareless Kombucha

We’ll see if and how well this low-effort kombucha works out. Throughout the day, we took notes about how we can scale the activity up for some fall workshops as part of our fermentation science initiative. Brett (student and makerspace employee) is working on plans for a temperature-controlled fermentation chamber, so we’ll be able to add some microcontrollers to monitor and control our ferments, with the goal of producing and lot of SCOBY for lots of experimentation.