Recent content by rnobrew

Ok I'm looking at a thermostat right now. The stc-1000 looks like the way to go. I was originally looking at the Johnson Controls stat, but it's about 3x the price and appears to only control either heating or cooling... not both simultaneously.

This year I plan on kicking it up a notch by going to temperature controlled fermentation and moving to all grain. I can't do them both at the same time...so which one would give me the biggest increase in beer quality? The all grain without temp control? Or the extract temp control. I...

Thanks for the reassurance. I read that the real concern with oxidation is either when the wort is hot or when fermentation has completed. I always aerate the wort prior to pitching the yeast, but I was a little concerned about moving it like that (several hours after th e pitch). I might...

A few hours after pitching my yeast last night I noticed that the spigot on my ale pail was badly leaking. I had to move the wort quickly to another vessel. I didn't have time to rack it... so I dumped it into another sanitized bucket. The active fermentation had not started. Is this going...

Just pitch a Belgian Wit and enjoying an American Wheat.

Thanks for all the tips and information. I guess I'll start with the hydrometer that I already have to take some readings.

I am new to home brewing and have two batches under my belt and have yet to use the hydrometer that came with my starter kit. I really want to use it however it almost seems like a waste when you don't return it to the wert. I probably wouldn't mind taking a reading prior to pitching the...

Thanks for the info! Last night I remember moving my secondary and saw the the debris at the bottom had been disturbed when I moved it. I guess that could have caused it too?

The beer is a brown ale. It specifically the Caribou Slobber extract kit from Northern Brewer. I'm new to home brewing and this happens to be my second batch...so I didn't take any readings of my beer before racking it. I fermented it in the primary for two weeks and saw the the krausen had...

It definitely does not look like the pics I just googled. That would of had me concerned me! The bubbles look more like head to a beer that i had poured, but not as frothy. I'll post some pics later. Thanks for the info!

A week ago I racked my beer into a secondary after fermenting in the primary for two weeks. The top of the beer began to show small signs of bubbles. I thought nothing of this until this morning when I noticed that there were plenty more. It looks like the top of the beer in my secondary is...

Thanks for the information. I've already got my eye on a wine cooler/mini fridge to control the fermentation temps for the next batch.

This is my second batch of beer and I'm a little concerned about the temperature in which it's fermenting. I brewed on Saturday and pitched the yeast. The activity in the airlock was good for about 24 hours and then settled down. Now the activity has slowed significantly to about a few bubbles...