Recent content by FredC

After a bit more research, I found some sites that describe a more automated process called Recirculating Infusion Mash Systems (RIMS)and Heat Exchange Recirculation Mash Systems (HERMS). What they do is circulate the wort by taking it out of the Mash Tun via pumps and pump it through...

Hi there. We just completed our second brewing session. We spent all day doing two 5 gallon batches - a blonde ale and an IPA. I wanted to try a multi-step infusion in order to get a more attenuable wort for both batches. What we did (in both instances) is we heated our strike water to...

If you have a gallon jug handy, it really is not difficult to make a starter. There are plenty of videos showing how it is done. I have brewed only one batch of beer. It was all grain and I made a starter. I just had to do a little extra work two days in advance to make up the starter...

I bought a 15 gallon SS pot early this summer but did not have the heart to drill into the bottom and have a SS nipple welded on to it. Then I spent most of this summer looking for a couple. I finally found a guy on craigslist that sold me two for $40 each. What I did was a spiral search on...

That makes sense. Just shows how green I really am with home brewing. Thanks. Fred

I will take some pictures and post them as soon as I can. One of the things I did in my design was to try and get the coils around my frame evenly spaced so that the length of the tube ran through the entire column of water. Primarily because the colder water would be at the bottom even...

I have made only one batch of beer thus far and it has been in the fermenter for only one week. However, I do have a question regarding equipment cleaning. I built my own version of a counterflow wort chiller. It consists of 50 feet of 1/2 inch copper tubing coiled around a ridgid copper...

I am brand new to home brewing so you will have to take my comments with that in mind. It seems to me since it is brewing water, I assume it will be heated for the mash and then sent to the boil kettle to boil another 1 to 2 hours. Wouldn't the boil kettle operation sterilize it?

Thanks for the great feedback on my concern. The reason I posted is because the fermenter is in my brother's basement 3 1/2 hours away and was not able to watch it. Had to rely on phone calls to my brother. It was not until yesterday did he tell me that it has a healthy layer of krausen. He...

I am a brand new home brewer. Spent all summer collecting and building an all grain system (Sanke HLT, Sanke Boil Kettle, my version of a couter flow wort chiller, etc...). I found a recipe for a scotch ale called Nancy's Hop Scotch. I had that same Oh S%$^& moment regarding the trub and...