Recent content by Catullus

This may be a little long winded by I'v been doing some research for work on this topic. So here it goes... Protein levels: Another important distinction between six- and two-row barley cultivars is in the average level of grain protein. A high protein level often indicates a thinner kernel...

Go ahead and use the yeast you have on hand. The British ale yeast will leave the beer slightly more malty than the CA yeast and won't accentuate the hops as sharply but you will end up with a very nice pale ale. If you are concerned about the malty flavor you could lower your mash temp to...

I only brew in 15-25 gallon batches so I average 35-40+ lbs of grain per batch. For me it is more cost effect to order in bulk. I'll order 350 lbs of base malt for a year ~ 10 -12 batches a year (north country malt) @ $0.46 -0.49/lbs even with shipping I'm saving ~$100.00 vs. the local hbs. I...

I would recommend against storing your un-used grain in the freezer. Moister is detrimental to grain quality (freshness). Malted grain contains a certain amount of water, usually 3-8%. If you have a frostless freezer then the grains will be going through a number of freeze-thaw cycles. This...

Most yeast strains list a value of apparent attenuation (usually 75-85%). Attenuation = the amount of available carbon source the yeast will consume before it begins to flocculate and go dormant. This is an easy way to determine if you fermentation is complete. Say you had an OG of 1.070 and a...

I agree oxygenation is the only way to achieve high cell density. I used to use a stir plate and 2L flasks, but during aerobic respiration the yeast still produce CO2 and force the majority of O2 out of the flask---the airlock prevents O2 from diffusing back in. I was getting only 1-2 million...

I would just to be on the safe side. You don't want to have invested so much time and energy and then have it go to waste. I don't bottle any more (too lazy) but when I did I always cleaned the bottle rack in PBW and then sanitized with starsan. I would make the sanitizing solution in a spray...

I have had the same question for a while now. Normally I I force at 14 psi and 45 F so no problem. There shouldn't be a problem @ 32 PSI and 70F except that most silicone tubing that is not re-enforced is only rated to around 1.7 bar of constant pressure (1 bar = 14.99 psi). So I would be...

From the thread I think 32 psi @ room temp is the way to go.

Does anyone have any experience with warm keg carbonation? I normally keg me brew and then force carbonate at 45 F with a head pressure of 13 psi and five days later I have beer with about 2.5 volumes of CO2. My bar can hold five kegs so the 5 days is no big deal. My question is: I need to...