Recent content by bvn

I've been brewing for ~40 years. IMO under-pitching means you haven't given the yeast manufacturer enough money. Assuming you rack your brew to a secondary fermenter, you may notice the amount of cream yeast in the bottom of your primary. I am a 5 gallon brewer and there is always more than a...

Still a 5 gallon brewer, but can't match the pictures above. I'm more of a red plastic cup kind of guy. My repertoire has stabilized around 7 styles: - Best Bitter - Extra Special Bitter - Newcastle Brown (winter) - American Red - Imperial Porter (winter) - Bayerische Dunkel Weissbier (summer) -...

I also do a two step (beta & alpha amylase) mash. I am a 5 gallon brewer and can't afford the space and equipment of manufacturing methods, so I stick to culinary methods. Therefor, my consistancy & reproducability are always suspect. It's OK, as those properties are not my goal. This summer...

How about my Home Depot $0.69 plastic paint paddle? 5 minutes does the trick. Krausen's reliably within 12 hours. If you include the cost of the electric drill then not so cheap:-)

How about my Home Depot $0.69 plastic paint paddle? 5 minutes does the trick. Krausen's reliably within 12 hours. If you include the cost of the electric drill then not so cheap:-)

Thanks for all the comments. We have done well over 200 batches and most of my practices are fairly solid. Currently we are trying to get our decoction draw practice understood. Thanks to this site, I know better that to try for anything better than 20% accuracy by volume. Also, thanks to the...

I have no problems with 5 gal brewing and 17+ lbs of grain. I do as another member recommended, and use a 36 qt picnic cooler (see my intro for description). No sparging here. I have a separate lautering tun with a much smaller footprint. Thus making the mash column 4 times higher (> 10"). No...

I try to avoid dedicated brewing equipment. That said, the 32 qt brew pot, 20 qt sparge pot, fermentation & lautering tuns, 3 Corney kegs, the CO2 bottle with attachments, and 60% of a 20 cu ft refrigerator are pretty much dedicated. The only unique piece of brewing equipment is the wooden...

I'm lost. What bottle. I really don't understand what is going on here and am way over my head. - My understanding of "starters" is what I set aside from the cream yeast at the bottom of my primary. So my "starters" are typically 2nd and 3rd generation. I've found the 4th generation to be...

Degree is EE, practice is software engineering (however, I prefer programming). Boeing for 32 years. 15 of them as consultant & road warrior (NATO countries only). I did a gig at the Rainier brewery on the bottle recycling line. I find that kitchen approaches to home brewing to be more fun and...

I teach intro brewing occasionally. Failure to adequately oxygenate the wort before pitching seems to be the commonest "mode of failure". Obviously, you are aware of the need for oxygen in the yeast's reproductive cycle. The oxygenation process I use is: - a plastic paint paddle from Home Depot...

The only critical things in brewing (that I have found) are: - sanitize (reduce yeast competitor populations) - feed the yeast well (wort & oxygenate) - get the yeast to go forth and multiply (krausen) you seem to have accomplished all three. The rest of the process is remarkably forgiving. For...

Wow! Just read Kettle's "How I brew" By comparison, I am a stodgy old, luddite, geezer. And now, for something really different... I've encountered a lot of unfamiliar terminology on this site and the learning curve has been steep. Apparently, I "fly sparge" - never knew that. I have been...

Our secondaries always have a lot of sediment. Getting Corney's clean is easier than carboys, but it's mighty dark inside the keg. I have no direct experience brewing lagers, but the wizards I talk to, use terms like 28 F (below water freezing). The alcohol is an antifreeze. The reason I have...

I'm confused by your question. When the mash is done, toss the whole mess into the lautering tun to separate out the spent grain. Sparge until the running looks like water or until you run out of brew pot volume. Don't forget the "foundation water".