Recent content by thrasher141

No cereal mash. The Ondea Pro enzymes have a prescribed mash schedule, basically a 3 step mash w/ protein rest, saccharification, and mashout. I first experimented with 100% raw barley and wasn't pleased with the results, and the beer was incredibly light - very pale colored like American light...

Thanks for your reply. To answer your question, point 3, I do still use crystal and other specialty malts, which I purchase in the US and bring in a suitcase. All of my "base malt" or pale malt in a standard recipe is replaced with raw barley.

I am from the US, but recently moved overseas and am now brewing in a country where there is only one brewery (besides my nano brewery) and a handful of lagers that all taste the same. I made the transition from hobbyist to professional this year, after much trial and error. I can't really...

I used to live in WA but am overseas now. amandabab, that's good info if I'm back in Spokane someday.

Hi everybody. I am putting together a plan for a nanobrewery (large homebrew system) capable of producing up to around 100 gallons per month. Here's the catch: I live in a country where alcohol is not widely consumed and access to ingredients and equipment is very difficult. I have found a...

Thanks for your replies and advice. I think you've convinced me to boil all of the wort. But to compromise, I might use a "no chill" system of emptying hot boiled wort into sanitized containers and letting it cool down over a day or two and then pitching yeast. To save the equipment expense...

Hi folks, I'm trying to challenge the status quo and find ways to save energy (by boiling less quantity of liquid and/or for less time) and water (by not having to use an immersion chiller so much) in the brewing process. I want to start brewing larger quantities, say 40 gallons instead of...

Oh wow, that is beautiful! I've never heard of the vinator but what a great idea. Couple questions - does it work fine with iodine solution or is starsan prefereable? And do you worry about sanitizing the bottling tree beforehand? Just spray it down with some sanitizing solution? Thank you!

Hi all, I'm looking for the absolute easiest way to sanitize bottles. I used to put (clean) bottles in my dishwasher and run them through with no soap on a heat cycle. That was pretty easy. Now I've moved and don't have a dishwasher. My latest lazy technique is simply swirling a bit of iodine...

Thanks guys, that is helpful. I'm really hoping that is my issue and not efficiency issues! So what about when taking a FG reading after the brew has been sitting for a couple weeks in carboy, do you need to worry about it being mixed up before you draw a sample off the top of the carboy?

Oh good point, I should have said that each kettle/pot would be a different sparge from the mash, with the last one being added to the carboy the weakest (lowest grav). But I would figure that when I pour them in to the carboy they would mix...no?

I have brewed about ten batches of beer in my life, all but the first being all grain. For a while I was worrying that I was getting low efficiency on my mash process, because my OG readings were always lower than expected, to the point where my mash efficiency would be 50 or 60% instead of an...

Yes please!

I used a half jar on my last stout and it was delicious! And I didn't think the molasses was overpowering at all. Maybe because it was competing with a lot of vanilla and whiskey and hop flavor... Thanks for the feedback though. Perhaps I will not use a full jar.

I've done a bit of research and have the idea to try and recreate something close to Deschute's seasonal Abyss (I recently had it in January 2011 and it was DELICIOUS). Let me know your thoughts. Note: this is supposed to be an extremely dark, complex, and thick beer. Batch size: 5 gallon 15...