Recent content by mbarto

I would say that per unit of work, extract easily makes the better beer. All grain is a ton of fun, but a lot more to do and plenty of places to do something wrong (or accitentally do something just right!). I like making a mess of the kitchen, though, so I always go AG. :mug:

I'm in Bothell, WA and I just started this business of brewing. Sounds like you've got a lot of experience and some stories to tell. If you ever want to go have a local brew let me know.

just don't be surprised if your bright, wonderful child finds it and drinks it when he/she's 13 or so.

Wow, I think I need to stare at mine a little more!

What Brewsmith said... exactly.

I was wondering if the properties of my krausen can tell me anything about the beer. Anyone know? I don't have a lot of brews in but have definitely seen a lot of variability... tall vs. short, long-lasting vs brief, etc. I have done two brews since I got my O2 aeration system and both times...

find it all. http://www.pandora.com

Thanks. I went ahead and ordered this kit. My LHBS sells a similar kit with no metal wand for 60$! A wee bit more than I wanted to spend with the shipping, but it looks like this will get the job done easily. I've got a pretty heavy Octoberfest in the works right now so I'll make a...

i've been reading the threads on aeration and came to the conclusion that i need to get an o2 system. my rationale is that i like to brew relatively thick beers (1.060+ OG) and i've been doing all grain, so I need as much o2 as possible. but, i'm cheap so this is my plan: 1. 2m Aeration...

not an overnight mash, but is there any ill effect to letting the mash go for an extra hour or two? i had to do this with my octoberfest yesterday... the temp slowly went from a healthy 155F down to about 143ish before the sparge. i must say, though, it is so far the best smelling and finest...

I just picked up an all-grain batch at the LHBS (I pick a recipe and they load and grind all the grains for me). Problem is that I'm still working on bringing up my efficiency and I fear ending up with a beer that is too thin or weak or both. The recipe includes 8lbs of grain total for 5 gals...

I almost didn't make it into this hobby because of my presumptions about beer. Growing up I didn't try beer often as I found it utterly repulsive (the mass-produced kind). I swore I'd never drink beer again. In college friends tried to convince me to try this kind or that and they all tasted...

What if the beer is black? And in general, how can you tell your runnings are 'clear' when your beer is very dark?

i've set aside the time to brew but i haven't decided upon a recipe yet. i'm thinking i ought to shoot for a good october brew. any suggestions? oh, and let us all know how those turn out for you, brewproject...

I recently started homebrewing on a whim - a friend of a friend was into it so I thought I'd give it a try. I never liked the store-bought beers, but did start appreciating beers once I tried some good ones (german, belgian, and eventually domestic microbrews). I've already gotten some good...