Recent content by effinpansy

Due to a lack of snow, my IC system sh*t out at ~82F. Being late (after work brew session) I racked to carboy and, shrugging, pitched a real healthy starter of Wyeast 1272 (Am AleII, that's right , I dropped the deuce). Do any ill effects arise from this kind of temp? It is fermenting 12 hours...

Right now I'm running a 3' ss braid in a 10g rubbermaid. I triple looped it around a brass T which sits in the center, sorta like an old time lollypop with a vinyl stem to the valve. However, I made a sweet pex drip ring, looks fancy, works great. It is basically a circle with two spokes, 9"...

I don't tip, I have a hose barb inside my round MLT. A 4" piece of tube that is curved has a heavy brass tee (I just know I'll get lead poisoning) rests on the bottom center of the MLT to which a long braid is triple looped around (think 3 concentric circles,sorta). So I get a siphon similar to...

Hey that's the same thing that happened to me. I had a thermometer with a 4' wire probe, Don't get it wet. This I came to find out later. I ended up with an OG @ 1.035. Tastes good though. Get a good thermometer, like cheap and failsafe. On my next try I intentionally overshot temps, Tried to...

Hey, I've got a Turkey fryer set up that I have changed to use with a 15.5g keg. The burner frame has a ring that "retains" the stock pot but was too small in diameter to put the keg on. So I welded on three outriggers to support the keg, which raised the kettle up 2" or so. Also the keg has a...

float a small mixing bowl in a pot or bowl filled with ice water. I used a pie plate in a big mixing bowl filled with ice. I filled my (plastic) hydrometer flask to the desired level, dumped it into the dry(!) pie tin, swirled it with a spoon for 15-20 seconds: 63F.

Yeah I was shooting for 5 gallons. Ended up with 4.25, not really sure what happened. Why would there be such a big drop in efficiency by boiling? 73% is just fine by me, it's my third AG brew. I would like to work out the kinks though. As a side note, I got totally hosed with pellet hops. The...

So I ended up with 4.25 Gallons @ 1.074 OSG Which I think means: Total gravity points in grain bill= 432.5 432.5/4.25=102 and 74/102= 73% efficiency I guess I'll collect more wort next time, lost a lot to steam.

I am mid boil right now. Maibock recipe from Braukaiser.com. Or as close as I'll get to it today. Bear with me: 8.5# Pilsner Malt 3.75# munich 1# Cara Pils Combination Infusion/decoction clustermash 150F 40min 157F 30 min 168F mashout and lauter at 1 qt./min 6gallons pre-boil S.G...

Why not try a high quality silicone caulk in the crack? Speaking as some one in the building trade, if fiberglass shards in your throat is a remote possiblity from this cooler, I'd not worry too much. (Ever demo an old house?) Caulk the crack and wipe of the excess with a paper towel (dipped in...

I mashed at 153 until iodine test was showing it done. On a future brew I'll try this two temp mash I read about on Braukaiser.com. As I recall it mashes at 142-146F ish for a while then 158F ish until complete. It's on his Infusion Mashing article I think. An awesome website. And I will be...

I had a stuck fermentation with a liquid yeast so I (after 4days) added two packs of US-05. This is a brown ale OG @ 1.054. The fermentation understandably took off. In a week (@ ~65F) I was down to 1.006 and still churning. So I over reacted and bottled with only 1/3 cup priming sugar. There is...

My basement is my designated brew spot. The winter temp down there hovers around 48-52F. It seems too cold for any kind of ale yeast. I'm planning to brew up a Marzen soon that I hope to be ready by the end of April. Would you recomend something like a Wyeast Octoberfest or Bohemian Lager? I've...

Just checking the Fermentis guidelines and if my metric conversions are correct I think at 50F or less they are saying I should pitch 50g of Saflager. That's almost 5 packets! What do you think, bag it and use wyeast liquid and save money? Makes no sense. My last Lager with saflager (1 packet)...

An easy way to build a very well insulated box: Get a sheet of rigid foam insulation from a builders supply shop (get 2" or 1.5", should be available in 2'x8' or 4'x8'). There is (what is locally called, varies regionally) Super-Tuff R, which is foil faced on both sides. It cuts with any type of...