Recent content by appanooserapids

Welcome BonnieJ! Isn't it funny how you get all that energy to do new things and work around the house at the end of your pregnancy? Good luck on brewing, I'm sure you'll do great!

I use two 6.5 gallon Better Bottles for each 10 gallon batch. Like Yooper, I could never move them if the whole batch was in one container.

I make a Summer Weiss with the White Labs 351, and just wanted to share my experience. I brewed 6 - 5 gallon batches last week, using 4 vials (which I keep refrigerated) of 351, and two washed batches of 351 (2nd generation). My two washed batches, as well as 3 of the 4 vial batches, were...

I use the all metal KitchenAid mill attachment. I just use it for specialty grains, as I order base grains pre-crushed. I use it twice a week for about 4 minutes each time, and it works great. I use the coarse setting, and it takes about 1 minute per pound.

www.frontgate.com has lots of polycarbonate poolside drinkware, but it isn't cheap. :)

Smyrnaquince: I'm so sorry about that! I was trying to respond to your second question when everything disappeared! If you boil hops in plain water, you will get more bitterness, and a resulting higher IBU. When there is extract, or sugar in the water, you cannot extract as much bitterness...

Yikes! I was posting today on another member's thread about when to add extract to the boil, and now the thread is gone. I was posting a second reply to the OP, and my post showed up as post #1. I deleted it so I could repost it and have it show up at the bottom, and now the thread is...

The first batches I brewed were all grain (on a Brew Magic), and didn't know people thought it was "scary" until I got on this forum. I have since switched primarily to LME, as I can make 4 times the beer in the same amount of time, with less mess. I have all grain and extract versions of...

I ferment 5 gallon batches in the 6.5 gallon Better Bottles, and use a rubber stopper and airlock. I have only had the krausen reach the airlock a few times.

I have to tell you that PBW does an amazing job cleaning the quarry tile and grout, which I found out by accident. : This was in our commercial kitchen, where I spilled some used PBW out of a carboy. If you let it set for about 5 or 10 minutes, it just eliminates dirt and grease. Of course...

Hi Muscatine, Iowa! Congrats on getting approved! We are a restaurant/brewpub in Ottumwa, and brew on a very small scale (200 gallons per month). We had someone else set up our brewing area, and they got us the 30 gallon plastic conicals. They are very unwieldy to clean, and get scratched...

My husband said he used a diamond blade to cut them. Maybe the abrasive ones are the ones with the non-slip nibs on them - that is what we have.

Quarry tile is non slip, and used in lots of commercial kitchens. It is pretty tough and resilient. I think you can order it at most home improvement stores.

Sounds like a very interesting twist on a B&B! You would need to check with the TTB though, as they frown upon anyone "living" in or adjacent to the brewery. Maybe if the brewery was in an outbuilding, it would make the cut.:)

bartbert - It has been worth it, at least on most days. We certainly won't be getting rich quick, but we are able to draw a salary and provide jobs in our community. Our renovation won an award from our state Main Street organization for constructive re-use of a building, which was a nice...