Recent content by Jo3sh

N.B.: This is kind of long, but I think it's interesting anyway. If you want, you can skip the background info and start at the bolded text below. So I was reading a bit about cereal mashes and discussing the idea with a few other brewers. For those unfamiliar with the process, here's an...

When I started brewing, there wasn't as much community information available (or I wasn't aware of it), so I read a books and agonized about a lot of things before I was actually able to make the leap. I decided to go all-grain a bunch of times. Even so, I brewed all-grain before I really had...

The hops shortage has made me reconsider my whole-hops-only snobbery when all I can find for a given style is pellets. I prefer whole when I can get them because the Bazooka tube in my boiler keeps them out of the fermenter, but I had seen pellet goo clog it up. I resolved the issue by using...

I bet these guys would be able to help you out with a source for seed: http://www.ndbarley.net/malt_barley.html NORTH DAKOTA BARLEY COUNCIL 505 40TH STREET SW FARGO, ND 58103 Phone: (701)-239-7200 FAX: (701-239-7280 Email: [email protected] As to malting processes, I...

If you have an existing burner that won't hold your kettle securely, go to a local welding shop (or a neighbor who welds) and ask them to weld up a larger grate for you. Some scrap angle and about ten minutes should be all it would take. They might even do it for a few beers.

Aren't grits (like oats, cream of wheat, cream of rice, etc.) available in a quick-cooking variety? If so, I believe they would be pregelatinized, and could just be mixed dry into the malt before doughing in. Count the dry weight when figuring your mash temperatures and call it a day...

Yup, with the dip tube in my HLT going to the pickup well (it's a converted keg), I might leave behind as much as a quarter-cup. Even in a flat-bottomed pot, a dip tube within 1/4" of the bottom should leave behind very little.

I use two 20# tanks, as I run two burners at once at some points in my process. I generally get through two to three ten-gallon batches, using the burners to heat everything. This does not run the tanks dry, but makes them light enough that I get hinky and run them over to the rental place for a...

I have a Bazooka tube in my kettle. It works great for whole hops and trub without whirpooling. For pellet hops, I use a fine mesh lingerie laundry bag my wife picked up for me at the fabric store - it's all nylon, even the zipper pull.

Only one batch so far - 10 gallons of all-grain Kolsch. I'm not sure if the apfelwein counts as a batch. I'm right on track for my goal of 80 gallons this year.

If your fridge has a really smooth, glossy finish, you can just write directly on it with a dry-erase marker. In my experience, it doesn't wipe off quite as easily as a "real" whiteboard, but a little Windex took care of it immediately. We used to do this at a bakery I worked at to keep...

A lot of my early recipes were from The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing. That would have been in about 1992 or '93. The Internet was nothing like it is today, and I don't think I even had a shell account until 1994 or '95, so there was much less information readily available. I did try tweaking...

Mines of Moria Wheat Vein of Gold Rich Strike Eureka Wheat ^^^ Playing on the "miner" image suggested by TexLaw. Tesla's Revenge ^^^ Again with the electrical theme

When you make your mild beers, be sure to include lots of flavorful and aromatic malts. I have a recipe I make somewhat regularly which in only about 4%, but uses a boatload of Briess' Ashburne Mild malt, which gives the beer a lingering malt flavor even after the swallow. Also look at some...

My rule of thumb for building styles from particular regions is to stick with ingredients from that region (or at least similar to those ingredients). Munich is delicious, but I don't think it has any place in an English-style beer. By that rule, I'd personally drop the Carapils and use the...