Recent content by JohnnySardonic

I liked to throw it back on the stir plate after I decant while I'm brewing. In my mind, it is waking the yeast up even more after being in the fridge. That being said, I have no idea if it helps or even if it's a good practice. Just a suggestion.

I preheat my 13g cooler with my sparge water. When my mash water is about 10 degrees F from strike temp, I start draining the cooler. This way, the cooler absorbs the heat and the sparge water doesn't take as long to heat up the second time. Never lose more than 2 degrees during the mash.

Trying to eliminate a failure somewhere in the system. My serving pressure is kept at 12 PSI. Went to pour a beer tonight and it shot out, pressure was set at almost 40. I did have people over two nights ago, but I can't imagine anyone grabbing a wrench and turning it up that high. Is there...

I think the bigger issue with bottle bombs is infection. I don't have any evidence for this opinion, except that I had a beer finish 1 point high that started to blow after 3 weeks. I've also heard of beers finishing 5 points high that never have a problem. It's hard to know if finishing higher...

It's interesting that you brought this up. I recently started drinking my beer out of Belgian style tulip glasses. I think that's what they are called. Made a huge difference in aromas. Great suggestion!

Since SWMBO puts up with my hobby, yet isn't as excited about it as I am, I figured I would express my delight here rather than annoy her with homebrew ramblings. I am coming up on my one year anniversary of home brewing, and while I have experimented with different types of hops over the...

If you start kegging it is still easy to bottle. Wait until you are about halfway done with the keg (when the beer has really cleared and is in it's prime), and follow the "We don't need no stinking beer gun" sticky. I think that's what it is called. Bottle a sixer or some bombers and stick them...

When a friend asks you what the date is (it's December 15) and you tell them it's January 19th, because you were just thinking about the date tomorrow's brew session will be ready to pour.

My house Amber, called CA Cougar Ale. Its nice and spicy, just like the SoCal cougars I love so much

Two boxes from a beverage company in SD. SWMBO bought it for me for xmas, so I'm not sure exactly what it is. But based on the shape of the boxes, I'm going with kegging setup. Score!

You don't know how they do it? Listen to the Arrogant Bastard episodes on CYBI, Mitch tells Jamil and Tasty EXACTLY how its made.... Hahaha ;)

Just finished an 8oz Firestone XVI at Ojai Beverage Company. They were having a FW anniversary party. Didn't get to meet Mr. Firestone or Walker, but the beer was great. Slightly warm alcohol, but less than I expected for 13%. Going to cellar a bottle for a couple of years, should turn out...

The amount that, depending on one's brewing system, would create so much trub (or absorb so much wort), that one couldn't rack at least 5 gallons to your primary.

I'm still new to home brewing (20 batches), but my palate has slowly become "better" for lack of a "better" word. However, as a longtime BMC drinker who only began drinking craft beers in the last couple years, I can't pinpoint specific aromas and tastes. I remember reading on HBT that a...

Haha, I had this conversation with my gf today. She brews with me, understands how the grain and hops work, but always just assumed the yeast created alcohol and flavors out of thin air. When I told her that it's essentially yeast poop, she freaked out for a couple minutes. Then I reminded her...