Recent content by chiguy

Hmmm...chloramine isn't even listed on the Naperville water analysis. Just chlorine. Same goes for the Chicago report (though they oddly don't have any available after 2010). But then some Google searches turned up rumors that chloramine is added to Chicago-area supplies during the winter. Not...

Thanks for the tip...didn't even think about the city website. Found it: http://www.naperville.il.us/emplibrary/WaterQualityReport2010.pdf

Another question for locals: do you use straight local tap water for brewing? Or do you filter it? Pretty sure all our water comes from the Lake Michigan supply but not sure of its profile.

6 gallons of Stout. 2732.5

Sierra Nevada pale ale + summer day = happy me. Technically not an IPA but still...

Took your advice and made a trip. Fred helped me out...awesome guy. I'll definitely be doing more business there.

Just to provide a little more detail, I happened to pop open a bottle of cheap red wine last night, and realized immediately that the aroma of my beer was virtually identical to that of the wine, and the flavor was a bit like the wine minus any sweetness. May not mean much...I just found it...

Cool, thanks all. I'll just wait and see. To answer this question, I fermented in the high 60s/low 70s...the low end of Coopers' recommended range. Fermentation stalled at one point when the basement got too cold, but I gave it a swirl, moved it to a warmer room, and got it re-started...

Opened a bottle of my first batch today. It was made with a Coopers Stout kit. It has only been conditioning for 4 days but I wanted to be sure they were carbonating. Good news: They are carbonating just fine (used Coopers drops). Bad-ish news: It doesn't taste too great. Smells a bit...

Hey all! Good to see there are a bunch of you in the area. So, here's a question: I've been shopping at the Brew & Grow in Bolingbrook (which has been a good place). Any recommendations for other good homebrew shops near Naperville?

Is it possible that your priming sugar wasn't mixed well? Have you tried bottles from different stages in the bottling? Or maybe the bottles are too cold for the yeast to do their thing? I'm 24 hours from opening a test bottle from my first batch, also Coopers (the stout) so I'm right there...

Noob question: doesn't the relative age difference (due to conditioning) introduce a variable to the comparison that would be tough to account for?

I had a stalled fermentation in my primary on my first batch ever (recently). I just moved it to a slightly warmer spot and also gave the bucket a few solid swirls. A day or two later the gravity had dropped by a couple of points (after accounting for temperature difference).

This...is...awesome...

Wow. Awesome info. Glad I registered.:rockin: