Recent content by spagyric

I've been using nylon grain bags for my hops since thus thread and they work well. I just get a big bag and add all of my hop additions in the same bag. The bags don't break down at all, and BPA isn't a concern with nylon either.

Yeah, that's it.

Another vote here for OxyClean, that stuff is amazing. Just soak the bottles for a couple hours with hot water, rinse well and sanitize before bottling.

On the second batch I ever brewed the hose blew off of the cheapo wort chiller I had bought at my LHBS. I had just started chilling so I threw my pot back on the stove and brought it back to a boil for a few. My concern wasn't really the water, but that the hose water had washed something nasty...

I think the situation is the same for GF grains as it is for barley. The more heavily roasted the grain, the less it's diastatic potential. For this reason, I don't think any beer is made from exclusively roasted malt. Usually a beer containing some percentage of roasted malts also has a...

Yeah, that looks about right. Someone who batch sparges may have something to add, but that's pretty much the process. From what I understand, you can compensate for the volume of your first runnings with your sparge volume. So if you don't get the 3.25 gallons in your first runnings you can...

I've read several places that mashing out ensures you reach gelatinization temps, which is how it boosts efficiency and reduces the chance of a stuck sparge. I've never heard anything about thinner sugar. I fly sparge, and the time I didn't do a mashout my efficiency was way lower. I may have...

I agree 100 percent. The reason I started brewing was to brew things that break the mold, not to mimic the beers I can buy in the store. Most styles evolved out of what was available to the brewer in different places and different historical periods, I would love to create something all my own...

Yeah, it's definitely not cheap, but it's cheaper than commercial GF beers, which are pretty mediocre in general. I'm gonna buy some, but there are definitely a lot of variables that will factor into determining whether I'll continue to use the malt. I just ordered a 25lb bucket of unhulled...

Hi all, I wanted to share some information I have regarding the possible production and sale of malted millet from Colorado Malting Company. I heard a few weeks ago that they may be producing malted millet for sale to the home brewing community so I checked into it further. I recently sent an...

Yeah, I realize the whole hops thing is mostly in my head. I guess in the end I just prefer that my system doesn't depend on one or the other. And as far as a loss in utilization goes, I'm just trying to see what others have experienced. I definitely appreciate all the feedback I've gotten. :mug:

On this subject, my first beer (AG porter) is just now staring to be ready to drink and I'm not particularly happy with it. I mean on some level I'm just stoked that I made beer, and it's certainly drinkable, but it's not what I was going for. I am longing for the day I open a home brew and know...

Thanks for the tips. I'm starting to think a hop bag might be the way to go, it's certainly cheaper than a false bottom. I'm not worried about hot break, it always manages to sink to the bottom of the fermentor. Do you guys add any extra hops to compensate for utilization loss? I've heard that...

I never thought of that.:drunk: It's narrow, maybe 1/4 inch. I've only used whole leaf hops. I've never tried pellets, maybe I should give them a shot, but whole leaf hops definitely appeal more to my sensibilities. I guess in the end I'd like my system to accommodate whole leaf. A fatter...

Hey all, right now I've got a brew kettle with a ball valve and a pickup tube that I bought from the brew store when I was getting started. The pickup tube was maybe half an inch off of the bottom of the pot and they attached a four or so inch mesh tube to the end of it, I'm assuming to filter...