Recent content by planecrazy29

Just a suggestion, but a vanilla bean in secondary would help bring out the chocolate flavor.

They are welded on to the frame. The legs of the burner are the vertical braces for the pot shelves.

I just completed (except for paint) my brewstand. Made from 2x2 square tubing and 1 1/2 angle. Used 2 banjo burners for the HLT and Boil. Mash tun is a 10 gallon cooler. Everything is ready for keggles if I choose to go that route.

Ask your wife :) No, wait, that's different. A keggle is a beer keg (usually a 1/2 bbl) with the top removed that is used as a boil kettle. pfowl beat me to it! None of the extras are really necessary, but dumping 10 gallons of boiling wort without a valve is not recommended. There are a...

I don't think this is your problem, but ditch the sponge. Most sponges have chemical additives to keep them from molding and to keep them pliable. A dish rag that has been washed with bleach is my preferred cleaning device. I prefer glass fermenters. I have 3 plastic buckets and one 6.5...

FYI if you ever get to Kalamazoo, Bell's General Store has the best prices on bottles around. $7 a case for 12oz amber. Other sizes are lower than the local HBS also.

Is it necessary to store a corked Belgian on it's side for conditioning / storage?

Check out CW crates. They make beer crates out of coroplast (corrugated plastic) that are GREAT! They aren't cheap, but will last forever, stack well and are available for 22 and 12 oz bottles. http://www.cwcrate.com/

DUCK NACHOS! Brewery Vivant has excellent food and beer, but SWMBO and I love the duck nachos. Description from their menu is: Duck Confit Nachos -- Brie Cream, Tomato Concassé, Caramelized Onions, Duck Cracklin’, Citrus. My description -- F'in delicious! Edit: Fixed smiley that wasn't...

An overnight soak in Oxyclean gets most of the crap off. Labels, glue, nastiness in the bottom. If I have old nasty bottles (usually friends give me these) I use one of these: http://www.brewgadgets.com/p-786-clean-bottle-express.aspx?gclid=CIOCp67P87UCFaI-MgodQzoAHQ Chuck it in your...

One of my latest brews was a Belgian Dark Strong with an OG of 1.099. I needed to ferment in a bucket since my 6.5g carboy won't hold the krausen. I got a 7 gallon wine fermenter and drilled the lid for a 1" MPTx1" hose barb fiting. I secured it to the lid with a 1" FPT coupler. I used the...

You can set up your own equipment profile or edit what is there to match your equipment. Click on the "Profiles" tab and select "Equipment". From there either select add equipment or double-click the profile you want to edit. Easy peasy!

I made some awesome bread with mine. 6 cups bread flour 1-2 cups spent grain 2 cups water (adjust so the dough is not too sticky) 1 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. yeast (bread, not brewers :D ) 1/3 cup sugar (I usually use demerara) 1/3 cup oil Mix and let rest for 10 min. Knead for 5 min. in my...

I have a similar LHBS. I was recently in there and picked up some Belgian bottles, corks and cages. We were discussing how to cork them (corker) and I was told to insert the cork all the way into the neck. When I asked what the cages were for...."decoration" was the answer. I just smiled and...

I am really considering entering a couple of contests this year. My LHBS has their annual contest and one of our brew pubs is also having one. The prize for best overall in the brew pub contest is to brew your beer on their system and serve it. I'm hesitant because I've only been brewing...