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Either way, that is what I was told by a brewer 30 years ago. And lots of nasties do boil off if not that one. And I am not convinced they don't boil off. I will have to do some research.

It also boils off polyphenols which can give a band-aid sort of taste to the beer. Make sure you boil with the lid off or most of the nasties you are boiling off just fall right back into the wort. I almost never do less than a 2 hour boil and never less than 90 minutes. And as mentioned above...

And a followup. I did end up purchasing a HERMS II controller that had been previously used once or twice. In all fairness to Mr. Hargrave, the unit seems well built and it seems to work just fine. It is not NEMA or waterproof, but shouldn't be any problem whatsoever. It is very functional, even...

CC refunded my money this morning. They said they didn't receive any contact from Tom. Not sure if they ate it or got the money back. Either way, case closed.

Update for everyone who may be interested in this thread. I have reached out to Tom several times since the above post with no response. I disputed the charge with my CC a week ago and according to them he has not responded to their contact attempts either. More updates as they occur.

Sorry to resurrect a thread, but lucky me. My electric controller died and I was searching for something quick and cheap to take its place while I decided what to do and I ran into this dude's brew-controller.com website. And me being the trusting sort dropped some dough for his HERMS II...

Putting in my .02 on this. Sparging can be done down to a certain specific gravity of the runoff. For example, for a lighter colored beer stop the sparge when the runoff gets to 1.010-1.012. For dark beers you can go down to 1.005-1.008. Going below that can introduce a bitterness from the grain...

If you want to avoid gelatin, cold crash!

Actually in the beer. It may be hard to see as a wit is cloudy anyway. But in regular beers you can see a chill haze when the beer is cold as opposed to warm.

It could be a protein haze, but usually that is throughout the brew. Is the haze there when the beer is cold but not warm? Do you have a pic?

It is a hobby so not really entered into for savings, unless your hobby is saving. My beer is better than store bought. It is what I truly want. And most of all I enjoy designing my brews, brewing my brews, and sharing my brews with friends. And that is why I have stuck with it for over 30 years...

With out trying the brew (contact me for my address) I'd say the beer may have more alcohol due to the added sugars in the blueberries. This may contribute to less mouth feel/thinner brew than desired. Flip side, more alcohol. Gotta look at the upside!

I use vodka in the airlock so I don't worry about suck-back. I cold crash and have for years. Most of the time is does great. I will say I think it works better if the yeast/particles have farther to go from the top of the fermenter to the bottom. I do 10 gallon batches so lots of distance. A...

I agree with Smellyglove (above), brewhouse efficiency is not worth a whole lot, especially for a home brewer. For the big boys it can mean a big difference to the bottom line. The mash efficiency is your best gauge of where you are. You said you got 55.9%. I would say that is low, even for a...

I sort of batch/fly. I also run my pumps continuously. Pump 1 is wort and pump 2 is recirc on the HLT. After mashout I switch pump 1 to the boil kettle and switch pump 2 to the input at the top of my mash kettle. I have a float valve at the top and when the mash kettle is full it stops. It...

I prefer cheap vodka in my airlock to star san.

I've heard of all sorts of problems with filtration post fermentation on the home brewing scale. Some people have had good success with gelatin. Take a cup or two of the fermented beer, add a packet of unflavored gelatin, slowly pour over the top of your beer, and wait 5-7 days. I have a conical...

I've read it takes a bit more than seconds. That said I can't remember the exact figure. I just toss in a crushed campden tablet in the water as I heat it to strike temp. Then I put in another one as I heat the sparge water. They say one tablet is good for 20 gallons, but that over doing it...

On another note, don't sparge with boiling water. If you mash out, the mash should already be 167-170F (75-76.6C) so the mash water can be the same temp. If your mash is still at mashing temp I recommend sparging with 180F water (82.2C) to make the run off flow better. Any higher and you risk...

In