Greetings from Maine

Hello all,
Believe it or not some of us in Maine don't eat lobster. Lobster beer, I wonder... Eww, nevermind...

Anyway, I'm always ready to learn something new or add my knowledge to a discussion, assuming I have knowledge to add.

I've been brewing for 8 years or so, the last three have been all grain and the last two I've been kegging.

In the course of trial, error, and applying answers to questions (temperature is the key), I've gone from 60% to well over 80% efficiency from my grain, and I have yet to have anyone other than a Coors Light drinker insult my beer.

Anyway, until I become a professional at this I've got something to learn, and even then I'll still keep learning.

BTW, anyone in Maine want to swap hops I've got a pound of Challenger for open swapping, and Kent Goldings that I'll only trade for Chinook.

Welcome to HBT!

This is a great place to share knowledge so I'm sure you'll find some great info and we hope to learn from you as well!

Welcome to this awesome board ... no question is too challenging for this great support group !

I went to camp at Kiev on lake damorscota (sp?)

Welcome! Where in Maine are you? I spend a week up in Rome on the Great Pond every August.

Frink, Auburn area.

kappclark, never been there but they tell me it's nice.

bradsul, thank you. The last forum I tried was all about a software package (Beer Smith), and while the people seemed pretty cool the Q&A was more about using the software to make a recipe than what I would call homebrewing.
I find I learn more from experimenting and making mistakes than from plugging numbers into a computer program.
Especially since I write software for a living.
This is an art, not a science.

Ah... another Maineiac... I live in the Gardiner area... welcome to the Forum... but I have to admit I use Beersmith <ooopppsss>. Excellent companion in the brewing process... not an answer to good ole fashion trial and error... but a great help for those of us (me) who like the artistry associated with Brewing and not necessairly the math and science..... brew on!!!

Welcome to the forum. What kinda AG rig have you built?

What kinda AG rig have you built?

Click to expand...

I took the box that the expensive replacement to my failed hotwater heater came in, cut it down in height, stuffed it with styrofoam scraps, wrapped a bucket in a hardy garbage bag, dropped it in, then got out a few cans of Great Stuff foaming insulation and went to town making sure the bucket/bag was in contact with nothing but insulation...
A brew bucket on average loses a degree F an hour in that setup.
I pull half the mash out when converted and bring to a near boil, then mix back in, meanwhile heating my sparge water to between 190 and 200.
That mash is then dumped into a two bucket rig where one has a bunch of holes and the other has a couple gallons of sparge water waiting.
I then use a bottle bucket and sparge arm on top with my brew pot on the bottom and run it as slow as patience allows.

I've been getting some pretty sick yields off this setup, last batch was over 90% efficiency based upon calculations from The Homebrewer's Companion.

but I have to admit I use Beersmith <ooopppsss>

Click to expand...

I hold nothing against you for using Brew Smith, and I might use it myself if I wasn't so cheap.
Besides I like screwing up because it is rare when I make an undrinkable mistake, and sometimes the mistake is better than the intended result.

I'll be happy to subscribe, if and only if I have access to a financial statement showing where my and my fellow homebrewers' money is going.

Maine Homebrewer said:

I'll be happy to subscribe, if and only if I have access to a financial statement showing where my and my fellow homebrewers' money is going.

Click to expand...

Maine Homebrewer said:

...and I might use it myself if I wasn't so cheap.

Click to expand...

Hardcore.... do you require a financial statement from Oakhurst before you purchase the milk?

Small price to pay to be a part of this outstanding community and ensure it continues to be available... if someone is making money; well they had the ingeniuity and have put in the effort to make a product that is both popular and helpful.... good for the entrepreneurs of the world.

Personally, if I choose to use a service (and I use this forum alot) I pitch in one way or the other; either with my labor or by a financial contribution. That's just me.

I do agree with you on one point... Lobster is over-rated. Brew-on!

videoman said:

Hardcore.... do you require a financial statement from Oakhurst before you purchase the milk?

Small price to pay to be a part of this outstanding community and ensure it continues to be available... if someone is making money; well they had the ingeniuity and have put in the effort to make a product that is both popular and helpful.... good for the entrepreneurs of the world.

Click to expand...

Seriously... Ever run a website before? You've got to pay for hosting, which can be pretty costly for a popular site, and you've got to build and maintain the site itself, which can mean a lot of time and effort. I think you'll agree that the time and effort of Tx (who runs the site) is definitely worth something, considering it benefits hundreds of people every day. If he didn't keep up with it, the site wouldn't exist.

I've spent many hundreds of dollars on brewing since I started. The cost of membership, which keeps the forum going, is absolutely insignificant by comparison - and the forum has been the single best resource I have had in learning to brew, so there's really no question in my mind that it's worth it. I know that the things I've learned here have dramatically improved my beers, and saved me from making a number of mistakes and possibly screwing up some batches. Just think, if you screw up ONE BATCH, that alone could justify the cost of a year of membership.

Oh, and Welcome, from another Mainer

East of Portland. A great place to grow hops and make beer.

Funken,
Your points are well taken and a subscription may be in the works. I still need time to justify it in my mind, though as a lactose intolerant individual the milk argument doesn't fly.
And neither would some gasoline type "where is the money going" argument because with that expense I have no choice. I pay up or I don't go to work.
Here I have a choice.
I will spend money here if I decide I want the recipients to receive it, not because of a guilt trip or comparative argument.
Oh, and I'm happily married so don't try to sell me on this as a place to meet chicks .

I haven't been involved with this "outstanding community" long enough to "meet" more than a half a dozen individuals.

As far as "screwing up some batches", that depends on how you define "screwing up".
For me that means a batch with a bacterial infection or some other malady that will make me spend extra time on the toilet after a glass, or such a mistake with ingredients or proportions that it tastes just plain gross.

I have kept well enough sanitation policies as to not have that problem in years, and currently I've got a brew on tap that is badly proportioned only because I changed procedure and got 90% efficiency off the grain using a recipe that expected 70%.

I will get pleasantly buzzed off my mistake and try not to repeat it.

I will subscribe if/when I find this forum to be beneficial to my homebrewing, but not before.

CEMaine,
How do you get east of Portland (Maine) without being underwater?

Didn't see the location, CE. Nevermind.

Maine Homebrewer said:

I will subscribe if/when I find this forum to be beneficial to my homebrewing, but not before.

Click to expand...

There is no guilt trip... and no one wants you to do otherwise. You can stay and participate forever, free of charge if you want. Just thought the "need a financial statement" comment was a strange request; thats all.

Do as you like... I have no vested interest either way.

Hey Mainers - new brew shop in Portland next to the Great Lost Bear is pretty great. Pricy merchandise, but the grain stock is of seemingly endless variety. Check it out.

Wowzahs!
If I used this forum a lot (and I don't) then I might consider spending some money for the service.
If I find that I am using it a lot then I may consider spending some money, but as of yet I have not.

As far as that last comment of mine, there may have been some homebrew involved.

Though in the context of paying for a service versus being a member of a club, when paying for a service I could care less where the money goes, but when joining an organization it becomes a different story.