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I recently switched from a Blichmann Top Tier burner (running natural gas) to a Blichmann Hellfire burner (also running natural gas). Initially, with the Blichmann NG conversion kit, I didn't have a problem getting a nice blue, powerful flame for several brews. I'm using a 10-foot hose of 3/8"...

SOLD! Strongly prefer local pickup in the Minneapolis/St Paul area. 52qt rectangular igloo cooler converted into a mash tun. All pieces are stainless steel - bazooka screen, washers, 2-piece ball valve, and 1/2-inch hose barb. I've used this cooler probably close to 20 times, and it doesn't...

I ended up with a lot of homegrown nugget and cascade hops last year that I'd like to use. The problem is that I'm not a hop head. In general, I prefer beers at the lower end of their IBU range. I do like Sweet Child of Vine, though, so I have that going for me. I'd like to use the hops in...

My related question is where to get dutch process cocoa at a good price. I have a hard time finding it in grocery stores, and online the prices seem a bit steep. Is there a place people get it for a reasonable price? Especially since a brew usually needs around half a pound of it.

[)QUOTE=Sir-Hops-A-Lot;5764868] I'm curious to know what recipes you've liked from the book. I have made the Belgian wit, Belgian Saison, Belgian Dark Strong, and the English IPA. The only one I can I a truly liked was the Belgian Wit and this was only after I brewed a second batch to blend...

I've been using the all-grain recipes in "Brewing Classic Styles" for a few brews, and several weeks ago I brewed the Black Widow Porter (pg 156). I cracked open my first bottle tonight. While I liked the beer, I felt it was missing the chocolatey flavors I really look forward to in a Porter...

I'm still wondering about that hop schedule. Anyone have any ideas?

The rye is an interesting addition - did it have a bit of a pepper-y kick? We're hoping this will be an easy-drinking summer beer, and the spicy addition of the rye has me intrigued. If you could post the hops additions, I might go with your recipe.

One of my brew buddies wants to do a blackberry wheat, and after some research came up with the following recipe, mostly pilfered from "Brewing Classic Styles". Do you guys think this will turn out okay? I'm not too concerned about color, I'm more interested in flavor. Malt: 5.6# two-row...

My wife cans a ton of stuff from her garden every year, so buying another flat of quart jars was no big deal. Aside from using for wort, I don't know exactly what we'd do with the 1/2 gallon jars. Though, now that I think about it, buying jars she doesn't want to use may have been a good idea...

Yeah, I was torn about this. I opted for a flat of quart jars instead because "Brewing Classic Styles" occasionally has recipes that call for X.5 packs of liquid yeast. I figure having the 1 quart capability might save me some starter in the long run. For the usual case, I plan to combine two...

I'm doing it for cost and convenience. I can get 3 gallons of starter for around $6, which would be much more expensive with DME. The time to mash and can isn't much more than the time to get individual starters made if doing them individually with DME, especially when you consider that most of...

Tonight I'm going to try to make 3 gallons of all-grain yeast starter, then can it in 1 quart jars using my pressure cooker. I have a mash tun, but I will be doing this as BIAB. Any words of wisdom or lessons learned before I take the plunge?

I have one exactly like this that I use as a HLT. It's 7 gallons.

Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking that it would take 2 max of the braids, but some of them come in 18" lengths. I'm betting I could get longer than the bazooka screen with a single braid, and it would probably be cheaper. My hang-up is that some of the posts I've read say that a braid tends...

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I built a mash tun out of a 5 gallon beverage cooler some time ago, and have been using it consistently. I used a stainless steel braid from a hot water heater as the filter, and have had good results. The problem with the 5 gallon MT is that I can't make bigger beers. I bought a 52 quart...

I think the key here is "less than ideal water", since I think that's not well defined for extract brews. I was making awful brews with extract for about a year, and tried everything I could think of to improve my process. Then, I brewed at a friends house across the city, using his water...

I agree that this is probably two different things. First, I have a horrible time with extract twang in my brews. They have a sharp solvent-like, mild metallic taste. Sounds similar to what you are tasting. Something else that is common between your experience and mine is that my beer tasted...

The other commenters have given you good advice - it really is pretty easy. One of the videos that caused me to go ahead and take the plunge was this one. I don't do it exactly this way, but it really gives you the gist of how easy it is. I also took pictures during my first all-grain. You...