Recent content by hibbleton

Hey everyone, Long-time reader, first-time seller. My wife and I recently started a design company, Vistaful Designs, selling print on demand shirts on Etsy. Being a homebrewer for the past 15 years, I couldn't help but put some beer and brewing shirts in our shop. To celebrate the opening of...

I recently made a multi-grain Saison (barley, wheat, oats, rye, corn, rice) with this yeast and it may be the most bland beer I've made in years. I pitched and fermented at 68F (which I thought was recommended by the manufacturer, but checking again they say 64F-82F). There is a light Belgian...

Please let us know if you go with this one; I would definitely sell my counterflow and buy the King Cobra if the whole thing fits under the element.

That's the one I used one time but wasn't really a fan of. Maybe I need to use it a few times to get comfortable with it but I don't trust that the inside is sanitary.

What is everyone using to chill their 20 gallon Nano Home? I have a Jaded Wasp immersion chiller that worked well in a smaller kettle but it's taking forever to get 6ish gallons to a reasonable temperature using ground water (I usually give up around 80F and let the ferm chamber finish it off)...

Last night was another successful brew with the recirculation manifold. I barely stirred the mash at all, and running the pump as slow as it could go I had no issues with the mash (though I was short on gravity; might've had some doughballs I should have stirred more). I also upgraded to a...

After my first brew with the recirculation manifold I'm very happy with it. The mash wort was more clear than I've ever had on this system, the recirc didn't get stuck, and I didn't have to watch/stir the mash at all once it got dialed in. Also, after the session my heating element was as clean...

Has anyone else had trouble with the sight glass fitting leaking? I appear to have a slow drip coming from the end cap on the base. It looks like it's screwed into place but haven't been able to remove it to add plumber's tape. I forget... did it come screwed in or does it come apart?

For my 6th batch on this system I made an Imperial Stout using the stock 20gal Nano Home (gave up on the Brew Bag and the mash manifold was supposed to arrive on brew day but was delayed; excited to try that out next time). By milling at 0.045" and running the pump as slow as possible during the...

I figured more filtration would be better but you're probably right in that the mash basket is unnecessary with the bag. If I can find something to prop the grain-filled bag up off of the heating element (any suggestions?) I'll likely try that next time.

My first run with The Brew Bag was unsuccessful, though the 0.030" gap on my mill was a bit ambitious. The recirculation slowed/stuck worse than with the standard solid sided mash basket even at a slow rate with the standard arm + tubing. This was on a 5.5gal batch of barleywine with 26lbs of...

I recently ordered The Brew Bag to try and rectify my issues with the 20gal Nano Home (stuck recirculations, difficulty removing spent grains/cleaning mash basket, low efficiency). I got the 50-60qt version but if anyone else orders one I'd recommend the custom option; the size I got barely fits...

Potentially stupid question: for this system, is it better to keep the grains moving in the mash basket or let them settle and create a filter bed? The way the standard whirlpool arm on top of the mash basket is set up suggests it is designed to keep the top of the mash moving (maybe that's...

My thoughts exactly. I'll try cleaning the old element with muriatic acid and keep it as an emergency backup. I will say that even though the element was black I don't detect any burnt or carmelized flavors in the fermenting beer so far. And my previous three batches where the element came out...

Here's what the element looked like after several PBW soaks and scrubs. I emailed Jacob at CO Brewing and they're sending a new element (continuing their excellent customer service). He said the power should never be over 80% even when coming up to a boil. I normally cruise at 50% but I'm pretty...