Recent content by Quercus

Amazingly, Charlie Papazian says yes, you can. (lazy mufugger...)

Disc golf was a long-time passion of mine, before I got into mountain biking. My hobbies tend to be intensive, years-long, and only one at a time. It was disc golf for several years, fishing before that...now mountain biking is the thing. But...I did play three weeks ago for the first time in...

Yup, it's a good 'un. Excellent hop aroma...my guess is either amarillo or nugget. Not sure why it's listing for $10 a sixer, though. But Bev Mo had it marked down to $7, so it came home with me.

Definitely no reason to get sub-par ingredients with B3 and Oak Barrel around. B3 goes through a ridiculous amount of stock due to their mail order busines... everything I've ever purchased from them has been top quality. And the crew at Oak Barrel is just cool...I love the vibe in that shop...

One thing to try would be to make a starter with US-05 or equivalent, pitch at high krausen, and keep the temp in the 78-82 range. It's cheap, and would only take a day or so to see if it's working. Racking onto a yeast cake would be a good second choice. The beer may taste good at 1.017...

Sounds like a damn fine weekend. I empathize with your studying woes; I recently took the state geology board exams in California, and three months of studying almost killed me. And I only had three exams. Nine sounds tough! Regarding the beer...I love Rodenbach, and I just tried a Monk's...

Haven't had the Mephistopheles, but I have seen it around. I'll likely pick one up at some point. Had the Abyss, and it was special, but pretty intense. I've got one I'm saving for next year. As others have mentioned, Old Rasputin is quite good. I have several in my cellar awaiting future...

Thanks for the guidance, Ed. I'd like to keep it well under $200 per night. This trip is already a bit extravegant, by our standards.

I brewed the Bee Cave Pale for my first all-grain batch just last weekend. The recipe was simple and inexpensive, except I had to spring for 4 oz of Cascade due to the low alpha content, but at least the shop had Cascade. And I must say, everything went fantastic. I used Beersmith to...

Thanks a lot, folks. I've heard of Gingerman, and we'll probably hit Uncle Billy's as well. I'd love to pay a visit to AHS. Hopefully my wife will be equally enthusiastic. Blacklab, I have no idea what you're typing about. Can I borrow a decoder ring? While we're on the subject, any...

SWMBO and I are headed to Austin, Texas in early May. It will be a very short trip, just two nights, to see Wilco at Stubb's. So, I'm trolling for brewpub, bar and restaurant suggestions. Let's hear 'em! :mug:

If you got 6 gallons at 1.060, your efficiencey must have been phenomenal, assuming the standard Bee Cave Pale grain bill. What was your pre-boil gravity? I brewed the same batch yesterday. Missed the pre-boil target gravity by two points, and missed the OG by the same two points. So my...

Here's my $0.02, having just brewed my first batch on my new Frankenbrew system: - I also bought the HD turkey fryer kit for my HLT. I thought the kettle was sort of a joke, being so thin and flimsy, but works fine for heating water. I even added a weldless ball valve that does not leak. -...

I brewed on my new system this weekend, also utilizing a 10-gallon cylindrical cooler. I pre-heated with about 1.5 gallons of 170-degree water. I put the lid on tight, sloshed it around several times, and let it sit for a good 15 minutes. Then poured out the water, added the grain, went in...

Yes, I believe this would be considered a 2-liter starter. I'm not sure why 'stepping up' is so important...I frequently do 2-liter starters in one step with great results. YMMV