Recent content by pfooti

Hey y'all. I'm experimenting with recipes again, and it's been pointed out to me that I could always just brew small batches instead of big ones, thus reducing the risk inherent in having something turn out bad. Anyway, my brew setup right now is a set of 30 gallon blichmann boilermakers...

Thanks for all the feedback. I think I'll go with my gut here (which also says to drop the adjuncts). I hadn't thought about doing a pot-caramelization step, but that makes sense, as I do that in my scotch ale (the skotrat version of traquair house ale) with lots of success. It adds a lot of the...

I'm circling around a recipe for a Dark Mild - I want something that's low-alcohol, reasonably malty, low-hop, but also interesting and drinkable. I've had some homebrew milds that tasted pretty watery (as if they just watered down a brown after brewing). Here is a grain bill - I target 18...

For the record, I ordered the 9396K67 for the outer valve connection (between the valve and the pot), and they were too big. Instead of sitting inside the keeper washer, they were the same size as the keeper washer, and tended to get mooshed out of the assembly when things were tightened a bit...

The rust seems to be coming from either the heating element or its base. I used a 220V ULWD element, but I think the exterior to the element itself is mild steel. I might have been better served with a (much) smaller, but stainless 120V HWD element, even if that means it might snap if I fire it dry.

Nope. I just looked at it today, actually. Still totally sealed up. I ended up making a copper tube instead- worked pretty well, I just had to be imaginative with the parts at the local plumbing shop (there's a great store near me, with lots more stuff than a typical home despot). The current...

Yep, I went and screwed that pooch. Got all my parts from mcmaster, put it together with teflon tape assuming that if it leaked, I could just undo it and use better silicone sealant. Ran it on plain water to test (and cooked a sous vide dinner at the same time, heh), and each joint leaked just a...

For the record, and I don't know if you're even watching this thread anymore, your saying stuff like "I know you guys don't have the time, experience, and knowledge" better explains the slight debate you're getting in this thread rather than any homebrewer predisposition away from Learning New...

Yeah, it's worth noting that most of the discussion here about lauter speeds largely impact extract efficiency. For homebrewers that's typically not the biggest deal- if you're only hitting 65%, throw in a few more dollars worth of grain. As scale increases, so does the importance of efficiency...

I use this stuff: http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/1-2-id-thermoplastic-tubing.html NB seems to have the best deal on it per foot, although if you dig you can find retailers who will sell you a whole spool (50 ft) at a better price shipped. That said, I didn't need 50 feet for my new...

Is that actually CPVC? I thought the schedule 40 PVC stuff was that color. Or maybe color-coding is just a per-manufacturer thing.

I'm planning on pretty much the same getup, except in 1.5" base size rather than 1.25". My thermocouple has a 1/4" thread anyway, so I need to be buying three extra reducing bushings (you can't go from 1.5" to 0.25" or 0.5" for some reason, so I have to step from 1.5 to 0.75 and thence to 0.25...

I just discovered the same thing- a basic RIMS tube design with a 12" pipe, two tees, and appropriate reducing bushings (two to 1/2" for fluid I/O, one to 1" for the heater element and one to 1/4" for the thermocouple) works out to range from $204 in 2" stainless to $84 in 1.5" aluminum. The...

Heh, yeah- I had my entire order (toptier, three burners, three pots, therminator, fb, etc) shipped from NB for $7.99.

I wish I could have bought the pink one. I didn't even get a color choice. :(