Recent content by Patster

I've brewed a Tripel myself. I still have another month to go before it's ready. It is going to be a strong beer. I haven't drunk my own obviously, but when I've gotten a tripel at a brewpub it has a very noticeable alcohol taste, certainly not a beer you can chug.

+1 to mrbeerfans.com That is also how I started. I did Mr. Beer for a year (about 25 batches) before I decided I wanted to start kegging 5 gallon batches.

Alright, I've tapped my first keg of Ed's 'wein. This went into primary in mid-Nov, then into the keg in mid-Jan, and into my keezer a few days ago. My first sip, I gotta admit I was a bit worried - tasted pretty vinegar-y, like cider that has gotten a bit old. However, it may not have...

Just started batch number 2 for me (first one isn't even done yet). Now 15,449.

Hopefully you have a way to keep the keg at a constant temp while you move. Do you have a large enough cooler? That might be a reason to go to bottles now, but if you can keep the keg cool then you'll be better off letting it ferment for another week. Regarding boiling the wort, that is not...

I just tapped my first keg. YEAHH! Now I'm already thinking about expanding my keezer (I have the 9cf Frigidaire). I tested it to make sure, and with no collar and the CO2 inside, I can still fit 4 kegs, like you said. I guess I gotta buy me a CO2 distributor and some more kegs. I...

I just tapped my first keg (first non-Mr. Beer 5 gallon extract kit). Yummy. However, I gotta say that brewing 5g extract kits is A LOT more work. Good thing you get double the qty. I decided to do two batches today, as well as rack another batch out of primary and into a keg. I'm just...

Got my first 5 gallons of Apfelwein going: 14,776

I did about 30 batches of Mr. Beer before making the big step into 5 gallon batches last week. 1. I tried tap water, spring water, and RO water. I couldn't taste any difference so decided to always use tap water (unfiltered). It probably depends a lot on the tap water in your city...

Damn, that's a good price. Is shipping free, too? I just got the 9cf Frigidaire from Lowes, which was $270 plus free shipping.

DUH!! It only took me 24 hours to figure out I goofed. On the drive home from work I was pondering how I could use my 5gal BB for another batch while my 6gal was fermenting. Then it occured to me that I was going to have difficulty transfering 6 gallons from my primary into my 5 gallon BB...

Why not just buy a bunch of Grolsch beer. That way you get beer AND bottles, all for the price of one.

I've been a Mr. Beer guy for the past 9 months, but I just brewed my first 5 gallon batch. Wow, quite a bit more work than the Mr. Beer kit. It makes me glad I started there, and I'm also impressed they figured out how to design the kit so making beer is so easy. However, I gotta say, the...

I too just finished my first batch. I'm a Mr. Beer guy, so I have the basics down, but this was quite a bit different. It was an extract kit from NB - Dunkelweizen. I did it in my kitchen. I bought a big tub (capable of fitting kegs sideways) for sterilization, so put a few gallons of...

I ended up buying a turkey fryer with an aluminum pot (thinking potential dual use at some point). Oddly, the seasoning instructions for the pot say to coat it with vegetable oil, let it sit for 10 mins, and then wash with soap and water. Searching on this site all of the advice on...