Recent content by PeatReek

Thanks all. Should have clarified initially - I always use rice hulls in my RIMS system, and I'm pretty hesitant to use any non-hulled adjunct. The brews I'm talking about were all barley with ~4-8 oz of rice hulls depending on the grain bill. For "easing into it," then, do you just throttle...

Hi all - I'm getting very slow flow in my RIMS system and it's leading to some temperature fluctuations - since not much volume is flowing past the element, it heats up the tube too much, then shuts off for too long as the next volume is pushed in, etc. I'm using one of the 18" stainless...

So I just recently discovered the wonder of Barkeeper's Friend - at least for use on really thick, tough stainless steel equipment like my brewing pot. Does anyone use Barkeeper's Friend on the insides of your Corny kegs? I ask because it seems pretty abrasive and they appear to be sealed...

Can someone explain to me in detail how to avoid stuck mashes / sparges with a false bottom? I do only infusion mashing right now and am considering switching to RIMS, and it seems like a stuck mash could really mess up a pump. My current setup: I use a 5-gallon round cooler (would consider...

Huh, so you only do a 1-stage thing, not a re-pitch into a bigger starter before the main tank? Hmm... thanks for the info.

My next project is an old ale, and I have one bottle remaining of my favorite example brew (bottle conditioned -- looks like a huge layer of yeast on the bottom too; score!). From some previous posts in this forum, I have a pretty decent idea of what to do, but what's an approximate schedule...

So, how does chill haze work? I just started cracking open my latest batch, a pale Koelsch; the first few bottles I just put in the fridge briefly, for like 20-30 minutes, then poured into a glass. Very clear, but cold enough to be tasty. Last night, I put a 6-pack in the fridge and now I...

It's mostly a policy thing rather than a law thing... caused by an extremely messy law thing. There's not 1 federal law on shipping alcohol (well, there may be a statute or regulation forbidding the USPS from doing it, but not private shippers), but there IS a patchwork of state laws that...

Do your secondary in a Cornelius keg, you don't have to worry about it exploding or breaking. Then, what a reward when you get to Cali and bottle it! (just a comment on convenience, dunno whether it's "better" to do secondary for 9 months rather than bottle conditioning for that period.)

What's the most black patent malt you've ever used in a 5 gallon batch, and how was the resulting beer? Some sources (I'm especially thinking Palmer here, in "How to Brew") warn that anything over about 8 ounces will make a beer taste like charcoal. I want to make a porter with no roast, and...

I second D42's suggestion to just ride it out... in fact I sort of doubt that you'll get much of anything from adding enzymes in the primary; alpha amylase is really only very active between 155 and 165 F (Here's a nice chart that demonstrates all the various enzymes & their functional...

What's a good amount of yeast to pitch in this context to ensure enough activity to carbonate, but not get a ton of sludge at the bottom of the bottles? I'm thinking about just using one of those 6-gm. dry packs in a 5-gallon batch; that's only 1/8 gm per bottle, but then again I'm only adding...

The other posts have answered your question in lots of ways, I just wanted to agree with ScottT that, if you want to get a lager-like product (light, crisp, with little "fruity" ester flavor) with an ale process (ferment at 60+, little or no lagering) then the Koelsch yeast is a really good bet...

That's how mine seems to have come along... lots of sulphur for about 5 days during primary, but totally dissipated in secondary. I'm about to bottle it today.

Thanks ScottT and drengel. ScottT, how's that Koelsch coming along? what kind of yeast are you using? Notice any fun smells from the primary?