JacktheKnife
Well-Known Member
Howdy again ya'll,
Its true, I bought two boxes of DME both 55 Lbs.
I have been brewing, reracking or bottling dern near every day since.
After 14-15 years homebrewing I have officially gone over to DME
rather than LME! About a month ago I brewed a batch of ale with all DME,
put it on the shelf with all the other bottles of LME and after a couple of days tried one. Tried another and another... drank the entire batch before I drank another LME ale. Even though there was 10 gallons of LME which was older and more completly carbonated, bottled and sitting there right beside it. The DME was just better, cleaner tasting ale. It was gone before it had been bottled a week!
The Fermentis Safale 56 yeast has proved to be profoundly better than the english yeast I have been using for 14 years, even with LME.
I brewed 15 gallons of fermentis S-04 too, and I like it better than the #56.
So with better yeast and a more favorable extract, I am a brewing 'Knife!'
It takes me 6 hours to brew a 5 gallon batch of ale.
I can re-rack two batches, or bottle two batches in one day but brewing... about one batch, ie. 5 gallons a day is about all I can do.
One thing which may be of help to other brewers is this:
I am always forgetting something so I make lists,
Afixed to the wall in my brewery is a list of gear, items needed for
1. brewing
2. re-racking
3. bottling
It helps me to check the list when doing any Idophoring,
as I don't have to wonder what I forgot.
Reracking cane, hose, rinse water dipper and a plate to sit it on, # of pots of rinse water, more for bottling and less for re-racking. ect.
And a plastic milk crate is invaluable as a carbouy holder.
When shaking, it keeps the carbouy 90 degrees to the direction of the 'shake', and is a safety must. And when skooting back to the brewery ... Hey, their great, go out and steal a dozen from behind the 7-11 ya'll!
Yup, I feel like I am improving as a brewer, and as a knife maker as well.
Actually as the sun comes up this morning, I am finishing hardening and tempering brand new store bought 1095 blade steel rather than the junk I have been using the last 5 years since I got out of the hospital.
26 knives, skinners, handled with horseapple wood, which I hope to sell at the gun and knife show.
I even recieved an email from a friend who is a photographer and does knives. He agreed to take new pictures for the web site, where the pictures of the shop are 3 years old and the pictures of me and my hounds are 25 years old.
Later ya'll
J. Winters Knife
jacksknifeshop.tripod.com
Its true, I bought two boxes of DME both 55 Lbs.
I have been brewing, reracking or bottling dern near every day since.
After 14-15 years homebrewing I have officially gone over to DME
rather than LME! About a month ago I brewed a batch of ale with all DME,
put it on the shelf with all the other bottles of LME and after a couple of days tried one. Tried another and another... drank the entire batch before I drank another LME ale. Even though there was 10 gallons of LME which was older and more completly carbonated, bottled and sitting there right beside it. The DME was just better, cleaner tasting ale. It was gone before it had been bottled a week!
The Fermentis Safale 56 yeast has proved to be profoundly better than the english yeast I have been using for 14 years, even with LME.
I brewed 15 gallons of fermentis S-04 too, and I like it better than the #56.
So with better yeast and a more favorable extract, I am a brewing 'Knife!'
It takes me 6 hours to brew a 5 gallon batch of ale.
I can re-rack two batches, or bottle two batches in one day but brewing... about one batch, ie. 5 gallons a day is about all I can do.
One thing which may be of help to other brewers is this:
I am always forgetting something so I make lists,
Afixed to the wall in my brewery is a list of gear, items needed for
1. brewing
2. re-racking
3. bottling
It helps me to check the list when doing any Idophoring,
as I don't have to wonder what I forgot.
Reracking cane, hose, rinse water dipper and a plate to sit it on, # of pots of rinse water, more for bottling and less for re-racking. ect.
And a plastic milk crate is invaluable as a carbouy holder.
When shaking, it keeps the carbouy 90 degrees to the direction of the 'shake', and is a safety must. And when skooting back to the brewery ... Hey, their great, go out and steal a dozen from behind the 7-11 ya'll!
Yup, I feel like I am improving as a brewer, and as a knife maker as well.
Actually as the sun comes up this morning, I am finishing hardening and tempering brand new store bought 1095 blade steel rather than the junk I have been using the last 5 years since I got out of the hospital.
26 knives, skinners, handled with horseapple wood, which I hope to sell at the gun and knife show.
I even recieved an email from a friend who is a photographer and does knives. He agreed to take new pictures for the web site, where the pictures of the shop are 3 years old and the pictures of me and my hounds are 25 years old.
Later ya'll
J. Winters Knife
jacksknifeshop.tripod.com