Search results

Every brew, before I begin and after I'm done, gets a hot PBW soak with a Star San rinse. I put all my equipment away clean, sanitized, and dry every time, no exceptions. I decided to pull apart the bulkhead, its fittings, the thermometer, and sight glass and was astounded at the amount of...

Specifically as far as yeast health goes, is there any explicit advantages doing starters all grain instead of using DME? I’ve found so much info, yes people are doing it, but nothing on actual yeast health. Is that because DME is basically dehydrated wort and there is no measureable benefit...

I started brewing in ’08 with buckets and made the move to glass pretty early so I can see fermentation and for sanitary reasons. Every brew day, the only thing I get anxious about is carrying the glass carboys to the fermentation chamber in the basement. I know it’s not a matter of if, but...

Typically I use RO water and adjust to suit; until I visited a brewery not even a mile from home and befriended the guys. We got to talking about water chemistry and what they do and the guys all said they add nothing and that our Crown Point, Indiana Lake Michigan water is perfect for brewing...

I bought the 20 gallon SS Brewtech mash tun that I'm using for the first time Saturday and I have to say... I'm impressed with the construction! This thing is a BEAST! It's definitely not a nice lightweight Home Depot cooler that I've been used to the last 8 years but it was pretty warped and...

Hi all! I'm looking to upgrade the good old reliable 10 gallon Home Depot plastic cooler to a stainless steel mash tun. I've got about 50 batches in and the plastic inside is pretty warped, plus I think I just want something new and shiny. My question is: What are your experiences with...

I understand you can't really use a refractometer once yeast is added without proper calibrations or a calculator since alcohol will skew the readings, however, instead of taking samples with a hydrometer every time to determine when FG is reached, does anyone see an issue using a refractometer...

Does anybody have any experience brewing with pecan syrup? And how much to use for 5 gallon batches? I'm thinking less than 10% grist is good. The recipe I've created in beersmith has the entire bottle (25.4 fl oz) at about 7% but I'm definitely looking for pecan/hop balance. Pilsner = 51.28...