Recent content by IslandLizard

In the name of science... thank you! :rock:

Once you narrowed down what suits your palate (and nose) you may want to test what those hops do in your (homebrewed) IPAs. For that you can make a series of small brews, using only 1 or 2 hops in each. I've often brewed a 5 gallon batch, with just a small amount of bittering hops (say, to...

Of course I forgot to ask the obvious but very important question: "What does your tap water smell and taste like?" Water may look good "on paper," but still smell or taste horribly.

Thank you for giving us your more detailed brewing history. It helps to know experience level. My emphasis^ You may be surprised to know you're in the small 1% (est.) of homebrewers who are aware of that and actually care. :D That's the important part! Then at some point you may start to...

The lower readings of combined Calcium and Magnesium hardness are still considered "soft" water (lower than 60-75 ppm total), and very suitable for most brewing, except the lightest beers perhaps. When the higher levels prevail you will need to add a little acid to keep the mash pH around 5.4...

Please, let us know how your time-suspended mash fared when resumed. You said the issue was with the controller. Have you figured out what failed? Could it be simply a thermal protection that can be reset or replaced?

If you feel safer to hide it from public view, there's no need to list your actual location. You can leave it blank or cook up your own. ;) I was just curious where you are.

Welcome to HomebrewTalk! Thanks for your confession! I sincerely hope you can regulate your tongue dabbles. Drinking good beer in moderation, it being homebrew or commercial, can be a real treat! The best part of having a kegerator is being able to sip little bits, and they're always fresh.

Definitely Sierra Nevada IPAs (and Pales). Even their Juicy Little Thing and Hazy Little Thing are good IPA references. But they're nothing like real New England IPAs, they're their own class.

Where are you now? "Los Angeles" still shows in your member profile (and thus in the sidebar). Keep in mind, many (most) kitchen stoves can not adequately boil 6 gallons of wort, with some exceptions. Using a heat stick as @MaxStout mentioned (in the post above) can alleviate that.

Most had probably converted already by the time you started chilling. Did you take a gravity sample? If the mash hadn't completed yet, I'm pretty sure you can revive it and finish the brew. I would have packed a thick blanket around the Grainfather and let the mash do its thing for an hour or...

I think getting a dedicated (digital) timer is no luxury. I sometimes use an old but very useful laptop, placed in the far corner of the "dry" counter. BeerSmith (BS)... I consider it a step up in recipe design compared to Brewer's Friend, but both work fine. BeerSmith has mostly become a...

Welcome back to brewing, and HBT! I've been brewing all-grain in the kitchen since 2008. Since I "own" the kitchen, doing most of the cooking, cleaning, and such, I don't get much flack from my wife. I spread a few large (and old) towels on the (hardwood strip) floor to catch drips and small...

Moderator's note: Per forum rules, you must list asking prices of items you're selling and/or a package price! You can negotiate from there on. Please edit your original post, ASAP.

I would steer well clear of any inferences to Zymatic or Picobrew. Tetra <> Tetris (game) connotation?