Recent content by tedski

Price update: asking $500

bump

I haven't brewed in a few years, so it's time to let this gear go and take back some closet space. This is largely based on the Countertop Brutus from BYO years ago. Everything you see in the pictures is included. Local pickup only. Kettle - 5 gallon aluminum kettle - Stainless ball valve with...

+1 = 127 Scored my first break today. Don't elbow your hydrometer when it's sticking out of a beaker to dry.

I get a 404 on the Chat link, pnj. For now, use http://webchat.freenode.net/ channel is #homebrewtalk.com

Adding a few drops of water to a tablespoon or so of BKF to form a paste is another trick. Spread the paste over any gunk, wait 5 minutes and go at it with a scouring pad. Tough stains may require repeat treatment.

There are too many factors to definitively say if your yeast cake would suffer from permutations resulting in flavor changes. These factors include fermentation temperature control, O2 levels, nutrition, etc. The only real way to tell is to go ahead and test it out yourself. If you're not...

Back sweetening is also possible with sucralose (Splenda). It is non fermentable and carries the same perceivable sweetness as table sugar.

That's post boil. You may ask why such an arbitrary number. They're calculating for typical losses due to trub and siphoning dead space. They are shooting for a finished beer volume of approximately 5 gallons.

To expand on Revvy's note: More resistance in the fermenter (read: higher pressure from heavier air locks and such) actually increase ester production. This is precisely why some styles are best fermented "open", that is with no air lock.

You are correct. You did it all correctly. That is called the trub and is left behind every time you rack. More may fall out of suspension in your secondary. Leave it behind when you bottle. More will fall out of suspension in your bottle. Leave it behind when you pour it in your glass.

Even then, you still may not see any activity. The pressure will exit the path of least resistance, which is under your lid. The airlock would just give you something to worry about. :mug:

Can you post a picture of your primary? I'm not sure I'm seeing it right. Technically speaking, if you're on top of racking to secondary and monitoring the primary, the primary fermentation creates enough CO2 that it will be impossible for bacteria and/or wild yeast to get into there...

Yes. I would portion it by weight on an accurate balance. I would also err on the higher side.

Precisely. The secondary is mostly for clarifying. You may see some very sporadic activity, you may not.