Recent content by Mr. Awesome

When I first started brewing I had terrible problems with head retention, and thought that just adding more priming sugar would fix the problem. Well, all I ended up with (obviously, I now realize) was super carbed beer that still had crappy head retention. I used 6 ounces, and that didn't make...

Beersmith is telling me that my actual efficiency is 62% and efficiency into boiler is 68% for my first AG. Which number is more important/more indicative of my process?

Specifically, crushed un-vacuum packed grain. I just ordered three all grain kits from Northern Brewer and they arrived in unsealed plastic bags. Should I refridgerate them?? or am I going to be brewing a lot in the next few weeks

Has anyone tried to recreate the CEO (Chocolate, espresso, oatmeal) stout from Right Brain Brewery? It's the best beer I've ever had and I'd like to try and make something similar. If anyone has any insiderish information I'd love it. I guess a more general question is, if I want to use...

I've always done five gallon brews, but now that I'm starting to look into AG I see a lot of people doing shooting for 5.5 gallons of final volume. What's the reasoning for this?

Thanks for the feedback on my previous post re: 10 gallon vs. 5 gallon cooler for a MLT. I just went to home depot planning on stopping at several different places to price them and try to get the best deal. Home Depot had them for sale for 40 bucks! It doesn't stop there, though. The 5...

During all grain brewing, do you take the pre-boil hydrometer reading immediately after the sparge when the water is still 180 degrees? How do you adjust for that high temperature to get anything near an accurate reading. I'm sure this is a bit of a dumb question, it just left me confused.

No... seriously. I just counted and I have 99 bottles of beer stacked against the wall of my closet:mug: pass it around. How much beer is your closet?

I did mean gallons and not pounds. I'm mixing my units. Thanks for the quick replies. It seems there is a consensus.

I'm looking into putting together my AG setup and all I need is a MLT. I'd like to get the 5lb gatorade style water cooler, but will that hold all the grain/water I need to make most 5 gallon batches of beer. I see some recipes with about 15 pounds of grain that I'd like to do, so I want to make...

I'm not a beginner, but this was pretty dumb. I did not have a grain bag when I was brewing today, so instead of steeping in the bag I put the specialty grains in a strainer and held a spatter screen on top while steeping. Inevetably, a few grains spilled out into the wort. I did my best to...

Hi all, I just got a 36 qt stainless steel brew pot. I want to install a weldless spigot and thermometer and I seem to remember seeing some threads to that effect on here, but I can't seem to find them now. I'd like to get all the parts and install it myself and not buy a kit from on-line...

is something like this http://www.northernbrewer.com/pics/fullsize/mixstir.jpg useable to aerate the wort prior to pitching yeast, or is it something else entirely? I've heard of people using oxygen stones, with oxygen canisters, but I've used this with some positive results.

So it seems like I'm better off getting a 10 gallon pot (I probably would do aluminum) and getting a turkey burner to make it worth it? Does it put me at a disadvantage to have a larger lauter tun than I need?

Well, I've been doing lots of reading about AG brewing recently and it's convinced me to take the plunge:rockin:. I've only been brewing for about 6 months and have been wanting to do partial mash, but it seems like very little work and much better reward to skip it and go directly to AG. From...