Recent content by rippajak

The first thing I ever fermented was a mulberry mead, which I'm only know learning is called morat. It was probably awful, but I remember it fondly. I would probably just freeze the berries and add them in secondary. I know that they tend to have silkworms and all sorts of stuff on them, but...

I fully support this move by the BA. Like you, I try to keep myself aware of who owns what, but this will make things much clearer on store shelves. More importantly, it is the first step in an awareness campaign targeted toward craft beer consumers who are not as aware of what is going on...

That's just the thing: it doesn't. In fact, it makes it more difficult for new breweries to break into the market. Every brand that ABI acquires is more power they have to control shelf- and tap-space, and to drive down the market price of "craft" beer. Those factors make life much more...

Thanks for weighing in, Martin. It eases my mind to have the advice of a true water guru. If I were to try and bring the pH up a bit more, would you recommend using more baking soda, more lime, or a combination of both? I feel like having a bit more sodium content might accentuate the malt...

The dry yeast is definitely good. It might be suboptimal, but it will still totally make beer. At the same time, dry yeast is cheap. That's your own risk-reward calculation to make. As far as the grain, I've brewed with grain close to a year old stored in pet food containers at room...

You betcha. For 5.5 gallons into the fermenter: 4 lbs Briess 2-row 2.5 lbs Briess Vienna Malt .5 lbs Red Wheat Malt Mash @ 152° F for 60 minutes 60-minute boil F.W.H. .40 oz Mosaic (12.3%) -10 min .5 oz Mosaic, .25 oz Galaxy F.O. .75 oz Mosaic, .25 oz Galaxy Chill to ~170° F...

I am in the midst of brewing up a few big beers to set back and age for winter, and the next I have on deck is an imperial stout. The 26.75 lb grain bill I have planned necessitates a fairly thick mash (1.0 qt/lb) in order to reserve enough water for a decent fly-sparge. My tap water is fairly...

This is a really cool idea. Having homebrew clubs compete as teams is something I really get behind. I'll try to get my local club on board with participating.

3717.5 +5.5 Czech Pils +5.5 Oktoberfest +5.5 Tropical Stout =3734

Well, I've never brewed with Zythos, Warrior, or Amarillo, but by the numbers that looks like a solid hop regimen to me. At what temperature are you performing your hopstand? I usually chill to 170° F for mine to avoid driving off the more delicate compounds.

This is relevant to my interests. Those are my three favorite hops, hands down. Tomorrow I'm rebrewing a Mosaic/Galaxy session IPA recipe that I was very happy with.

Any updates, brinson? I'm curious to hear how it worked out for you.

Way ahead of you there. Yup, right around one brew day per week. It's ambitious, but I think it's manageable. I just have to keep up with the packaging end of things, or find myself completely buried. I bottled three 2.5gal batches today. Made for kind of a long day in the brewery, but...

This build is unbelievably cool. Slick, polished, professional-looking. Beautiful work. I could not be more jealous.

+2.5 gal Dry Stout +5.5 gal Irish Red Ale 3018.5+8 = 3026.5