Recent content by chefmike

If you account for the mass of the cooler either by preheating or adjusting the temp of the addition, i would be surprised if you had significant temperature loss. Mine are very stable, even doing 5 gallon batches in a 10 gallon cooler. YMMv, i guess, but why do "they" say it will get cool?

Or just drop the chiller in at flameout. If you have something that is going to out live 200+ degrees for a few mintues, call NASA.

You are going to take a six pack of some store bought hard cider, empty the carbonated bottles into a fermenter, add yeast, try to ferment further, then prime and rebottle to adjust the FG of the product? Wow. That is dedication. I doubt there are any fermentation inhibiting products added to...

When you say "kegged on beer gas", do you mean nitogen/C02 mix? Because that is a way different bird than straight co2 and your palette will interpret them differently. Plus bottle conditioned is on yeast and has done more fermentation. Taste could be several things in there. But stout on nitro...

I look for a place that is willing to accept the many different opinions and variations on homebrewing from the knowledgable staff. I am NOT looking for a lecture from an "expert" whose only qualification is the paycheck from the LHBS. Nor am I looking for my wife to receive a lecture about...

Dump and go. 16 oz is overkill. There is a calculator... Mrmalty.com iirc And by overkill, i mean no worries... Dump and go. Relax. And it is always better to sanitize and dip, then dump that into a sanitized bucket and add your next batch as opposed to dumping on the cake in the same bucket...

Dust came from the hoppers on top... Load the pellets in and it had an auger type thing that fed the combustion chamber. The dust would rise out of that chamber, through the top. They burned great, but lots of dust... Maybe just because it is so dry in CO. Sorry if that is not your...

My complaint with pellet stoves was the dust. I had several in Colorado (all at work, I heated my cabin with wood). Dust always covered everything in the room with the stove. Granted, it is very dry in southern CO in the winter. The UP may be different. I always felt the heat to be less...

Nothing used pre-boil would need to be sanitized, just clean it sensibly after use and maybe shake the dust off before you use it!

Old yeast is easy... did you get your bird? :mug:

Thanks. We are in the middle of bringing up a new site as we transition from a Friday night fellowship into an operational pub. A kickstarter style campaign will be coming online in the next few weeks, so if you want some reformation brewery schwag, thank you for your support. I really enjoyed...

Sliced meatballs on a white pie ( carmelized onions, ricotta, garlic and parmasean as the sauce) is one of my favorites.

Search washing yeast for more info. I have scooped yeast from trub into a sanitized mason jar using a sanitized scoop and used it 12 months later. I regularly use a popular strain of ale yeast this way with 1-3 months between uses. I fill the jars and seal them, store them in the bottom of the...

Well... wrong? no. I do not believe in wrong. Hop presence will change over time. It is more fun to taste it in a keg. A keg is also a more stable environment, as you force out the oxygen with CO2. That being said, white crud is not usually present on anything I leave sit that long. But I...

longer cooking = less moisture faster cooking changes texture. convection is not necessary with this recipe. but I bet it was still good. really does not matter.