Recent content by LBF

My go to malt is usually Marris Otter, but I'm not sure how appropriate that would be for something like this. Any recommendations on doing a California Common? My basement runs around 64-66 this time of year...

Interesting. I've never worked with Vienna yet

So here's what happened, recently I had a lager that was made to showcase Northern Brewer hops and it was wonderful. Don't remember who made it, but it was light and refreshing. Northern Brewer hops have been one of my go-to hops, so I'd like to make something along the same lines. I do remember...

Use Vodka in the airlock, it works well and doesn't evaporate as quickly, even with a dehumidifier

I went to outdoor brewing back at the beginning of the year, and I went straight to having a counterflow chiller. It's well worth having, I can chill a lot faster than ice bath. So far I gravity flow everything.

I've used the crushed grain from NB, seems to be a pretty consistent crush and it's usually done when you order. I haven't stuck with any one brewing system long enough while using their pre-crushed grain to give any accurate efficiency numbers, keep changing my equipment.

I just use a stainless braid in a 72 quart rectangular cooler. Vorlauf and go. Seems to work great and it's less to clean. I did BIAB for awhile and always hated dealing with the bag. If I would ever decide to go back to smaller batch stuff, I'll make a mini mash tun. Dump the grains, squirt it...

Fermentation temperatures can be very important, especially to something like an IPA. There's just not enough to mask mistakes. There are a few things you may be able to do though. I found that the basement stays a pretty consistent temperature in the summer, perfect for lighter ales. In the...

On the topic of improving your beers, what are you using for equipment and water? I haven't got into testing and modifying my water yet, but it's well water with a couple thousand dollar filtration system, so I'm not really worried at this point. What are you doing for recipes too? Are you...

When I've experimented with small batches, I've done 2.5 gallon batches, not so much for the fact that it would make one case, but more for ease of scaling up to a full batch if it turned out particularly well. Of course, I've thrown caution to the wind a bit more recently. I brewed a double...

Forget the big box stores if you can for the parts. Remove the drain plug thats in the cooler (if it has one). They usually unscrew, sometimes it's hard getting a grip, but it's not really useful to you anyway. Take some measurements for the diameter of the hole and the thickness of the...

Don't have a picture on here's, but I do 11gallon batches gravity flow. Took some considering, but I turn my work truck into a brew truck. Put a scaffold plank on the ladder rack and a folding stage on top of that. Brew kettle never leaves the burner till cleanup. Burner sits in the bed, mash...

I typically brew alone. This year was the start of my adventure into all-grain. My stove-top partial mash adventures had become 8-11 hour marathons, and that severely cut into my desire to brew much. With some prep the day before (grains measured, hop additions measured, etc.) I can pull off a...

When I made the jump to all grain, I went in somewhat of a big way. I picked up a 15 gallon stainless kettle (Spike Brewing), 72 quart (IIRC) Coleman Extreme cooler (Walmart, used for mash tun), and a cheap 48 quart cooler for an HLT. I batch sparge with this setup and pieced together what I...

I've been using two coolers, although I typically call my HLT cooler an HWT (Hot Water Tank) since that's all I ever put in it. When I was first buying my AG equipment, I didn't think about needing it, figured I could use my old 5-gal kettle for heating the sparge water. Until I realized that my...