Recent content by 3Card

Count me in!

Easiest way I've found to monitor the temps is with a thrumometer (check northern brewer or more beer sites) attached inline to the wort output hose between the chiller and fermenter. Very quick temp readings, easy to clean, and hooks right into the line (3/8" ID) without any effort. Ball valve...

I think it all comes down to what one is used to/comfortable with. I started with brewpal, and have since dabbled with most of the available software for the Mac/iPhone. I have actually found the ibrewmaster to be the easiest, after the learning curve becomes second nature as to where to find...

I'll bite. I can offer $1000, and I can pick up.... Great system. How many times has it been used??

Count me in!

Just finished brewing up a batch of Mr Denny Conn's Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter. House smells AWESOME!!! And came in at 1.084... Blowoff tube goin on this one!

Brewing my Oktoberfest recipe tomorrow, and kicked a keg of Northern Brewer's Caribou Slobber (great beer btw), so looks like it's time to do another batch of that as well. Most popular brew amongst the family and friends here...

Exactly. Not to mention getting a new brewer used to just how much yeast is needed to work appropriately. It still escapes me why the difference exists between the wyeast recommendation of 1 pack (100B cells in an ideal packet), and the mrmalty calculator. Wyeast says 1 packet is sufficient for...

I agree. But how difficult is it to tell a new brewer that you need 200B cells (according to mrmalty) to make a 1.060 brew? Wyeast says you only need one packet for that same batch... A lot of kits give you even less, not to mention that the 200B rate assumes young, healthy, viable yeast in the...

As far as pitching rates go, I just wish that the available information (other than the info on forums such as this) would be reliable for a new brewer. Part of the reason that the first few batches are inferior are indeed related to poor sanitation, poor temp control, etc. But I venture to say...

I've made starters before, not averse to doing one. I'm just doing a lager that I want to cold pitch around 48F, and want it to be as clean (flavor wise) as possible. By my calculations, I would need to make a gallon size starter, and I'm not too thrilled about dumping a gallon of starter beer...

Salary is OK...:) So, other than cost issue, I'm assuming there is no difference between the two approaches when it comes to the final product?

Title says it all. I want to make a lager, and have adequate lagering equipment. I have 4 wyeast packets available, and all are dated recently, so viability should be good. Is there an advantage to simply making a starter from one or two of the packs versus just swelling and pitching all 4 packs...

No ribbon-seeking going on here as of yet. Just looking for a good malty brew to share with friends at a backyard octoberfest party... Also just starting to get away from pre-made kits and trying to create some of my own house recipes. Since I've done almost all of my all-grain brewing from...

Wow! That's pretty close! How does going without the Pilsner malt affect the mash and final flavor? I love the flavor of the Munich and Vienna, but have not seen a recipe that foregoes the 2 row Pils completely. Also, have not yet braved the decoction step, and wasn't aware that decoction...