Recent content by airlocksniffer

So what is the prevailing thought on hop bursting when it comes to chilling the wort? I've made several IPAs that I have hop bursted, and seem to get better aroma and flavor when I cover the wort with foil and let it sit for about 45 minutes before I even start to chill. I have read others...

I have noticed that my IPAs loose that intense aroma and flavor over time. I always thought it was just in my head or that I was getting use to the flavor. What styles keep their flavor better? I have three taps, and thinking that maybe I should only keep an IPA on one tap so it stays fresher.

Question- How do craft breweries get that unique, distinct flavor that their beers are known for. I guess I want to know if I'm on a wild goose chase trying to replicate a beer like Lagunitas IPA. I've been brewing for about 2 years now and have recently gone all grain with hop bursting. I'm...

Thanks for the help. Now that I think about it, what you guys are saying about channeling makes sense.

Thanks for the help, I think I'll try the higher temp along with a bit finer crush.

When batch sparging what temp water should be used? Beersmith always says to sparge with 170* water, but that temp never comes close to bringing the grain bed up to 170*. I'm getting efficiency all over the board with my batch sparging and I'm thinking of trying hotter sparge water. Also...

I stir between runnings, there is about a 3/4" gap between the grain bed and one side of the cooler. I assume that the majority of the sparge water is flowing down this gap and not through the grain bed. When this happens my efficiency drops by about 10 pts.

So, is there a measurement to tell your LHBS to crush your grain to, so you can get better efficiency?

I have a 10 gallon round cooler with a 10" domed false bottom. If all goes as planned, I usually run around 65% efficiency, which I can live with. First running usually drains evenly, however when I do my batch sparge I' am getting channeling down the sides of the cooler. At first I though...