This is just a quick message to ask everyone brewing at the space to please keep the large blue spent grain barrel sealed. Lactobacillus, a souring bacteria, grows naturally on grains. Spent grain that is not boiled as wort is will cultivate a healthy culture of this bacteria and the longer it sits, the more virulent and rabid the colony will become. Placing large bags of 170 degree grain into a closed container gives it everything it needs to thrive. Leaving that container open sitting literally in the middle of the brewhouse is like making a gigantic starter of sour bugs and then exposing them to an environment we should be striving to keep free of these same micro-organisms. I'm not trying to guilt anyone, God knows I've done a fair share of things to expose the place to my own breed of sour bugs. I'm just asking that we all try to be good about keeping that thing sealed.
In fact, unless anyone has good reasons not to, I Think we should keep the drum outside the brewhouse. It's made of a semi-porous plastic and even the seal isn't quite a great guarantee. Even were it washed on a consistent basis, the pores in the plastic would still harbour remnants of the bugs.
Thanks for moving this to "organized". I realized quickly after I made my last few posts that that might be a good idea! :) In any case, I'm not trying to grumble, I just want to encourage everyone.
in any case, I definitely get Iggi's stance on the drum. We should definitely remember that we're guests while in the yard, also remembering that our best events will be best by using the yard. We should do everything we can to keep it up. I hope it's clear that I'm not pointing fingers. I'm rather tired of pointing fingers and just hope that everyone can try and be understanding of others and realize that we're all going to make small mistakes here and there. What matters is that we're all covering each other's asses whether that means putting a lid on a bucket, fixing someone's blown carboy, mopping the floor on a day you didn't even brew, taking the trash out even if you haven't used the brewhouse in 2 weeks, brewing a beer to give to someone else's event, or just even not getting angry with someone for forgetting or neglecting to do something. That to me is the advantage of Chaos being a community instead of a random facility that you might rent space at. It's not going to be the case that everyone individual takes care of everything they're responsible for. People don't work that way, and they especially don't work that way when maintaining a large, shared space. I think everyone involved in this club has given a lot and so I don't mind occasionally cleaning up after someone. If everyone can take that kind of attitude I think we'll get along a lot better.
we should probably just do it outside
Daniel Barker said:
...igz...
i placed the message about the task at hand in the organized chaos group. and again, if i had known about the contamination issue, i would not have left it open.
the winter months, when the yard isnt particularly used, and while we still organize indoors, there wasnt too much concern about crap being outside, maybe only starting out a bad example. but come spring, the yard is quite a bit dressed, the hop trellis will be up, flowers and veggies will be growing, there will be a table and chairs on the patio, and the dogs will frequently be kept outdoors. the residents already have a porta pottie to contend with.
we can test the rain barrel in the gangway, and if it works, we should put up a door to conceal it - make it out of pallets. but the rats are a real concern. we never had rats out there, and when we were throwing out the grain in the trash bins, i spotted them a few times running around the yard. i have not seen them since we started keeping the rain barrel indoors.
...igz...
Also, I'd like to ask that anyone that cleans this grain drum do so in a way that tries to contain the contents. For instance, if you leave hot water in it to soak, please pour the water out in a way that gets it directly to the drain. So, don't just pour it at the drain, thinking that you'll squeegee the overspill in afterwards, but use the sink or the sour funnel located in the sour bucket. This will help contain the lacto as well.
Also, while we're on the topic of general upkeep, everyone should know that whole leaf hops and other solids should not be poured down the brewhouse drain. When that thing gets clogged up with hops and grain, it's going to cost a lot of money if someone has to come in to fix it. We should probably consider investing in the right size filter to fit inside of it. It probably costs no more than 5 dollars at home depot.
Yeah, that's a great idea, Daniel. It doesn't even have to be on the Organized CHAOS thread. Why don't we have a small chalkboard somewhere in the brew house where we list general/simple areas to be tackled (e.g., "clean spent grain barrel" sorts of tasks; NOT "finish ferm room" sorts of tasks). Not everyone who heads to the brewhouse might notice a thread on Ning but there's a good chance they'll notice at some point a chalkboard of "To Do" items at the brew house.
hey. sorry iggi, wasn't thinking of that. Do you think we could keep it in the gangway or do you think rats would be a problem? Maybe the only good alternative is to start cleaning it with bleach constantly. I think it'll still be a problem but I don't want to attract undue attention of larger pests either by keeping it in the gangway.
Next time I think a simple written message on the organized chaos board about something that needs upkeep will be good enough. We're a big group of people and have a lot of traffic in and out of that space. There will be things that get missed and that will fall be the wayside. Hopefully everyone takes their turn doing a good bit of cleaning and organizing as they have the time. I was there a few days ago and did a good bit just because I was waiting on my boil to finish. I've taken the large trash out the last two times I was there. If all of us can just be good communicaters and tell people something is a problem, I think it would be effective as most of us are semi-responsible (even if also drunks) adults. When I walked into the brewhouse and saw the drum, I had no clue that someone was suggesting that it needed to be cleaned. I'll clean the grain drum tomorrow when I brew. It won't take me that long, especially while I'm waiting around for me boil or mash.
If we're supposed to be respectful of the "residents of the property," CHAOS needs to set the example as well as follow it. There are tables and tarps which belong to CHAOS which have taken up semi-permanent residence in the yard. If CHAOS is not supposed to store stuff outside unless shoved in the gangway then we need to follow that rule. Otherwise, "Do as I say [no storing stuff in the tenants' yard] and not as I do [storing stuff in the tenants' yard]" is a bad policy.
i left that open, to air out, and for someone to take the initiative to clean it, after the spent grains were collected this morning. i was not aware of the lactobacillus concern.
main concern for keeping it outside would be attraction of rats.
also, the brew house cant keep placing things outside in the yard of the residents of the property. CHAOS will not store that outside, unless shoved in the gangway.
...igz...
Daniel,
We can move it outside tomorrow, if you want (I assume it is partially/mostly full and therefore heavy).
-Adam
I agree. Now that winter is finally slowing down I think the barrel should be stored outside.