Recent content by BlueWolf

Wow, they come in smaller sizes? That's news to me. If that's the case, I'd buy those for my split batches for sure.

I assume these are dry yeast packets, yes? It's probably a mistake. Save it! Having an extra packet on hand isn't a bad thing.

Congratulations, welcome to the addiction! Now the real question. Did you brew a batch already for that lonely, empty primary?

I can only give you insight from my own experience with the filter. I started with a braided filter when I first went all grain, and it clogged a lot more than I would have liked it to, even when using rice hulls. The false bottom fixed that immensely. It drains faster, is super easy to...

Visiting some family in Chicago a few weeks ago, my Father and I went out to Two Brothers. Absolutely zero advertising on the outside of the building, and it's tucked away in what looks like a commercial/industrial park area. Not even a sign out in the parking lot, but the place was slammed...

I suppose I should put that in perspective from personal experience. Leaving a beer sit longer will inevitably allow excess mass to fall to the bottom. When moving my primaries in order to bottle or keg, it tends to kick up sediment, along with anything a racking cane is resting on when...

Welcome to brewing, and to HBT! I have never agreed with the fermentation time listed on most of the instructions for kits out there. Often times 7 days not nearly enough for the beer to be in a primary. Patience is always your greatest ally, and often the greatest enemy for new brewers (it...

Do it! Part of the adventure to making excellent beer is the constant experimentation and learning along the way. Try new ingredients and techniques. Even if something doesn't go as you planned, learn from it and do it again better next time. I don't think this is too ambitious at all...

I think we all hit the mark here. :D Excellent point on stirring extra vigorously after your top-off. I remember having trouble at first when I was extract brewing a couple years ago. It may take a couple of batches for you to hone in your pre-boil volume and final gravity, but keep an eye...

You may want to check your instructions for your pre-boil volume, or recheck how much water you think you're adding to your kettle. You're inevitably going to lose some volume to evaporation during the boil. Your instructions may not adjust for that. If you're consistently getting the same...

Ditto. If I had to choose between those yeasts, I'd go with the 1084. Otherwise WLP028 Edinburgh or Denny's Favorite 50 have been my favorite house yeasts lately. They'd both work really well here.

Three month update - This went great! I couldn't have asked for a better brew day. We hit our mash temps spot on, and our FG came out at a respectable 1.092. Hit about 75% efficiency and it settled out about 1.020. ~9.3% The only thing we changed was an extra portion of Columbus in the...

Oh no worries, I'm fine with toning it down. Figuring out the hop profile has been a trip, and there's enough acid in here still to strip the enamel from my teeth. I love it. 2.5 oz Columbus (14%) @ 60 (81.8 IBU) 2 oz Simcoe (11.5%) @ 20 (32.3 IBU) 2 oz Centennial (9.1%) @ 10 (15.3 IBU)...

So I ran through some of the hop changes with my father, explaining to him the different flavors that the various hops should impart to the beer. Now at the last minute he decided he would like more of a citrus balance along with the piney flavor. Um...okay. Okay, he's paying for this, so I...

Would it be feasible to drop the 20 and 10 minute additions down to 1 ounce, and still retain the flavor profile? I think I'm running out of space in the fermenter.:D