Recent content by Woodbrews

Easy enough to walk away, although it is contrary to my experience with every other yeast I've tried. I'd be surprised if my fermenter is leaking - it's a SS Brewtech Brewbucket with a blow-off tube attached - and its never leaked before. But I suppose the gasket could be getting old? Who...

This is my first go with this yeast. I'm brewing a Pils (NB Legend of Lutra). Contrary to the almost universal experience with this yeast, it's been 3 days since I pitched a full package into a 5 gallon batch at 78F, and still no airlock activity. I oxygenated the wort before pitching, but...

I added a stainless steel eyebolt to the side of the pot and punctured a small hole in the mesh screen of my hop basket. It's close enough to the rim of my pot that it won't leak and I can detach it without scalding myself.

Hey @Domingo.Delci - sorry the pics are no longer working! I attached the pump to the lower shelf with stainless steel machine screws and rubber washers between the pump base and metal shelf, mostly to reduce vibration and noise. It seems to work fine! Maybe this link will work:

I put a cap over when mashing during BIAB. Works great.

Thanks!

Very nice build. It's taken a couple of years for my system to evolve to the point where yours is already! I like how it is self-contained and I like the Spike kettle. Can you share the kettle design?

This is my first time pressure canning starter wort. I mixed up 5 pints of DME and cooked them in a pressure canner at 15 psi. The lids popped as expected on 4 of the 5 jars, so I'm keeping only the 4 good jars. The wort should have a specific gravity of about 1.04.

Thanks for the tip. I discovered Brewer's Friend a while back, but have still been brewing a lot from pre-made kits. I never thought to check the assumed efficiency of a recipe kit. That said, I've brewed a couple of duds from recipes on Brewer's Friend. I think it's time to learn more about...

I run through a plate chiller and into a separate whirlpool inlet.

I dug around in Brewer's Friend and found a version of the recipe with much more accurate numbers. For the same grain bill, it predicts an OG of 1.073, not 1.091 that was in the recipe I used. I'm not sure where the numbers in the original recipe came from, but I probably should double-check...

@RM-MN - I've read some of your posts about achieving full conversion with shorter mash times. When you say "very fine milling," what is the consistency of the crush? Is it close to flour-like? Is it possible to have too fine a crush when doing BIAB? Perhaps not, given that we typically do a...

I'll give cold sparging a try next time - need to find a colander to hold the bag while I pour over the sparge water! Thanks for the educational responses, folks.

I've attempted higher gravity brews only twice, and both times I missed my targets. I think the highest I've achieved was 1.064. I didn't realize that sparging could help increase efficiency. I've introduced a new variable into my brewing by using the condenser, so I know my starting water...

Thanks for helping me troubleshoot. Total grainbill was 14.5 lbs of grain and 2 lbs of honey. Started with 8 gallons of mash water. Did a full volume mash with no sparge. I let the bag drip, but didn't squeeze. I'll check my mill settings when I get home. I do keep DME around, but didn't...