Recent content by 3toes

Popping in with a related question... Had a buddy recently sell off/give away his brewing setup, and I got a 14 gallon SS Brewtech BrewBucket fermenter. Only problem is, he never cleaned it after his last brew session over 18 months ago... So it had some nice sludge at the bottom. I've...

Blarg... That's what I was afraid of. I'm not too worried about having to replace it, except for the fact that I have a great brewery sticker collection on the lid of it. So unless I can find the exact model, so long stickers... Oh, and the collar I built as well, though that I'm not as...

Need some Keezer troubleshooting help... I noticed over the weekend that my temp controller was reading in the low 40*Fs with the keezer constantly on. I have the controller set to 34*F, and it just isn't able to get there it seems. I noticed that the back wall has frost up near the collar, but...

I went with a stainless steel-head Chugger pump to save some money, mainly because this was/is my first brew-pump, and didn't want to risk ruining a nice expensive one. I've been very happy with it. It was a bit noisy at first, but that was due to one of the fan blades ever-so-slightly hitting...

Good to know, thanks!

Thank you for this! That's clearly where I'm needing the most guidance... I just don't brew hoppy beers.

After 5 years of brewing I'm attempting my first true pale ale... a good buddy of mine asked if I'd brew him an APA after seeing the Dubbel I did for the wife. Figured it was about time. Everyone calls him Cojo, so figured I'd incorporate that as best I can. Haven't finalized the exact...

My cali-common dropped clear after 2 weeks in the keg (although you can't really tell here)

It's a tad pricey for what it is... but I picked up a couple of these for tailgates: Keg Faucet Adapter Assembly - Ball Lock. Faucet attaches right to the out-post on the keg via ball-lock adapter. Just lower the regulator to like 2 PSI and it pours decently well. Again, the major drawback...

Kegs are easy, just hook up some co2 and a tap and pour your sample. For your fermentation vessel though, you'd need to have some kind of faucet or valve on it.

If you do use a paintball tank, make sure it's been "cleaned" for this type of use; they can contain oils and metal shavings inside the tank. If you buy one new from a LHBS or homebrew supply shop online, it should arrive cleaned and ready for homebrew use. Also make sure you get it filled...

Agreed, I typically aim for 5% or less unless absolutely called for by style. Too much Crystal malt leaves a really "sticky" mouthfeel.

Kegged 10 gals of my cali common recipe last night and put it on CO2 to let it carbonate over the next week or so. Pulled a small sample this morning and man... I've missed having this beer on tap.

It's just a term for clumps of flocculated yeast. They occur throughout the beer as it's fermenting, but obviously we typically only ever see them when they're floating on top.

Always harder to tell through pics, but those just look like yeast rafts to me.