Recent content by Ben_Persitz

First, I would like to say that I finished an AG brew session in less than 4 hours today. It was incredible. 5 Gallons of my haus pale ale. That included clean up. I guess when you factor in the 45 minutes I spent grinding 12 lbs of grain, it was 4.75 hours, but I did that before breakfast so...

You do know that wyeast sells Pacman right?

I just brewed a Simcoe SMasH Pale Ale. A small 2.75 gallon test batch. I also sampled my Perfect Pale Ale that I made a few weeks ago. It's perfect, amazing, delicious. Mmm. I'm blown away. Got my Hefe on tap right now. I'm up to 10 gallons (3 batches) in 2011.

Quit messing with is so much and let it do it's thing. Sit it on top of a towel in case you get some blow off. I never **** with my carboys once I see they're fermenting.

My Simcoe SMaSH APA I'm brewing this weekend is going to cost me about $9-$10 for 3 gallon batch. It would cost about $13-$14 for a 5 gallon batch. If I were to do extract it'd be around $22-$26 for that same 3 gallon batch.

I would keep it room temp if you're going to use it soon (3-4 weeks). Just a cool, dry place.

Get a food saver and some bags at Costco or a liquidation store by you. It'll come in handy when you want to buy bulk hops too! :)

Hmm--I think I'll try it and see how it works. If I want to build a station I'll just copy Revvys model! Just bought that mill for $34 including tax and shipping! WOO! Excited to try this out.

Do I need to build a setup like that though? Can I just clip it to my counter and stick a bucket under it and do a little at a time by hand? I assume it'd take like 25-30 minutes to go through about 10 lbs.

I have been getting my grain crushed at my LHBS, but I'm only getting about 60 efficiency. I suspect my crush has a lot to do with this as my temps are accurate, my thermometer is calibrated, and I do everything pretty well I think. I want to start crushing my own but don't want to throw down...

Glass. Plastic is a waste of money, bad for the environment, etc.

I don't think it'll spoil but it definitely won't be fresh. I'd vacuum seal it if I were you. Keep it in a cool dry place in a container with as little O2 as possible.

My first all grain batch was a Hefeweizen. It has a nice flavor, but it's more subdued than I want. It's got a nice tartness, a tiny hop flavor, and really nice estery profiles like Franziskaner. However--the mouthfeel is a bit thin (thinner than most Hefe's I drink) and it has a tad bit of...

Direct from a respected and large hop processor that supplies to a lot of micros: "In your freezer is the best place frost free in a bag the seals well, try not to let them get wet or warm up and cool down over and over, they will loose alpha each time. But 24 degrees or below is the best."

Welcome! Glad to see more Vancouver brewers.