iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

It's only a joke until its not! #buildthepipe

Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Just in time for Christmas, the world's first 100% chestnut beer (gluten free). Its fruity with a spicy aftertaste. Man, is it hazy too. #glutenfree #beer #brewing

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

First bottle of my gluten-free 100% chestnut beer. Tried a little and it came out hot. I'm hoping it will mellow over the next couple weeks. #beer #glutenfree #chestnut

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

Its barreling day. I'm moving my 100% chestnut. Its a nice light golden color. 6 weeks in the barrel then it's off to conditioning. #glutenfree #beer #brewing

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Beer update: I'll be moving my 100% rye beer from the barrel and bottling it. I'll be moving the chestnut beer from the fermenter to the barrel. I'll be brewing more 25% ABV in the fermenter since 15 gallons of it spilled out in my basement (I don't want to talk about it). Busy weekend coming up

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Got my label and wax seal logo proofs ready to go. Let me know what you think:

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Well, I think it's safe to say that yeast loves chestnut sugar. #brewing #beer #glutenfree

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Just checked and fermentation is going strong. 2 weeks in the fermenter (end of Sept), 2 weeks in a secondary (mid October), 6 weeks in a Rye barrel, and it will be ready just in time for Christmas! #HomeBrewing #Beer #Glutenfree #Brewing

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Alright. I rounded it up to 10 now. Og is 1.067 at 9.5. Should give us ~7-7.5 abv. Now to add the 6 smack packs of Belgian abbey ale II because I hate making starters.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Final 2 oz of strisselspalt after 20 min then drop temp and move to fermenter. I ended up having 9.5 gallons, which is fine by me.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Added 2 more oz of strisselspalt at flame-out. This beer is smelling proper.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Now that we are at the 15 min mark we'll add 2 oz of Strisselspalt. Now it's really starting to smell like a proper beer.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Now that we're at the 60 min. mark it's time to add 2.5 Oz of East Kent Goldings hops.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Folks, I've made dozens of batches and hundreds of gallons of beer in my life and I've never smelt anything like this before. It smells incredible. #beer #brewing #glutenfree #chestnut

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Well after a bit of a struggle I've gotten it in to the boil tank. I'll be boiling for 2 hours instead of 1 just to tighten up the wort for the yeast.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

And for those of you wondering, yes, that means I had to pull out my old friend, Iodine.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Well, I'm now taste-testing for pH, the good ol' fashioned way. Luckily I have a bit of experience in brewing beer before there were measuring tools. On a side note: My thermometer also went out, but I have plenty of those. SEBAmyl L added. I think I'll extend this to a 2 hour.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

And of course, no batch is created without issues. My pH meter died and my backup wasn't calibrated, so now I'm in trouble-shooting mode to make sure I'm hitting the pH just right. *fingers crossed*

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

With the 30 min rest between 155 and 165 completed, I'm now letting the mash reduce temp to 145. At that time I'll measure the pH (goal is to be between 5.2-5.4) then add the SEBAmyl L. This is the traditional saccharification).

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

20 min down and 10 more min to go, and this is smelling AMAZING. It smells like a nutty bread. I think I'm on the right track here.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Oh, and last thing for anyone with technical knowledge that may be following along. Yes I added WAY too much Termamyl. It won't hurt the mash, I just knew clumping was going to be an issue, so I doubled it. It won't affect the final product at all, just helps more.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

After 15 min the Termamyl has removed all the clumps and it looks like a proper mash. The other cool thing: I started with 10 gallons of strike water, after adding other ingredients it increased to 15 gallons. After adding the Termamyl it's down to 13.5 gallons.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

The cool thing: This happened RIGHT AWAY. As soon as I added it, I could feel a difference. It went from a porridge consistency to a much more traditional mash consistency. I've added before and after pictures, you can literally see the difference. #AmBrewing #Brewday

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

After the first 2 tbsp, the mash was at a pH of 5.75. The sweet spot! So next I added the Termamyl (thermo-stable amylase) that breaks down the long starch chains in to shorter dextrins. #Beerbrewing

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Once it hit just above 165 I diluted the 88% Lactic acid at a 1:4 ratio, then added 2 tbs of the dilution, waited 10 min and measured the pH. #Beer #Brewing

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Well, it's brew day. I'll update you where I'm at. I started by getting the strike water to ~175. Added 2 lbs of rice hulls and ~24-25 lbs of ground chestnuts (I roasted 4 cups and smoked 2 cups to add flavor and depth. I then measured the pH (which was ~6.0). #Homebrewing #GlutenFree

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

If you've ever wondered what 25 lbs of ground chestnuts look like, look no further. I'm still deciding if I want to use may own wrangled yeast or just buy some. Hops are ordered. Hoping it will be ready for Christmas. #homebrewing #beer #glutenfree

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

I'm at 24.5% ABV which means it's time to barrel. I'll be keeping this batch in a "Yellow Buttery Popcorn Bourbon" barrel and aging it and year. #homebrewing #beer

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

In the meantime, I'm trying to wrangle the yeast from the chestnuts themselves. It looks like I've got some action, so it was time to make and test the petri dishes #beer #yeast #homebrewing

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

Ground down further. I've got to keep the grinder cool so it crushes the frozen dehydrated chestnuts into a flour rather than a paste. #homebrewing #glutenfree #chestnuts.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

i broke down and bought a new grinder. I'm about half done that bucket now...it will still need to be ground down further.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

the bad news is that this took FOREVER...and it still wasn't small enough for my grinder.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

well, good news/ bad news. The bad news is that the chestnuts are too big for my grain grinder. good news is, I have a mortar and pestle.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Listen, I love my mom as much as anyone could love their mother, but man, boomers can use resources like nobody's business.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

Alright, I've picked the enzymes I'll use to convert the chestnut starch in to sugars. These enzymes should allow for 95% conversion....and they're gluten free enzymes! #homebrewing #gluten-free #beer

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

With Father's Day approaching, I'd just like to remind everyone that dudes like flowers too.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

Decided to spoil the kids this year and get them a pool.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Don't mind me, I'm just over here crying to The Lion King at 6am with my 3 year old.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Well, I had to abandon my goal of a technically reinheitsgebot compliant 25% ABV and added some Ferm K. Man, is the yeast thanking me for that little treat. I'm at about 14.5% right now. #brewing #beer

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

"Remember, Remember, the fourth of May" - V for Vader

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Our lives are written more on receipts than in journals.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

It messed me up realizing the oldest documents we have are essentially scraps of receipts. Like, some future archeologist is going to find my purchase from Hot Topic in the 90s and form an entire narrative around it.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Is it weird to anyone else that in 1000 years, our garbage dumps will be major archeological excavation sites?

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Went to a community BBQ there and a random 11 year old girl ran up to me and excitedly and confidently asked 'are you Jack Black!?!' I've never been so honored and so devastated at the same time.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

"C'mon, just try one noodle" -Me to my 3 year old, knowing carbs are addicting.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

Decided that the remaining bottles of my 3000 year old beer deserve proper preservation and labeling.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Update on the 25% beer. It stalled at about 18%, so now I've added heat to take it from 65 degrees to 80 degrees. As soon as I added the heat the yeast started working again. Should be ready to barrel soon!

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

I can't be the only one.

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Enzyme experts: what enzymes do you reccomend in a 100% adjunct beer? I've got A amylase, B glucanase, pectic enzymes, and glucoamylase. Other recommendations? #homebrewing #beer #glutenfree

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Dylan @dcmcd.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Well, my 25% abv is about to go in to the barrel for 18 months which means my fermenter is freed up for the chestnut beer.

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