Recent content by Bassman

I've been thinking about 2.5/3 gallon brewing too. My reasons are pretty much the same as everyone else. The important ones to me are being able to rotate batches to work on improving my brewing, so if a batch doesn't turn out great I won't be stuck with 5 gal. of "okay" beer. If I drink at home...

I had thought of doing some plumbing but that may be a future plan. The faucet end has buttons on so I think a "condom" won't work. I like the pond pump idea. Plus it will allow me to use a bucket of ice water to get the temperature down in the summer.

Another good suggestion. Thanks.

Cool, thanks!

I just moved into a new apartment. The kitchen faucet is a Kohler pull-down faucet. It's got buttons right on the nozzle for stopping water and for changing to spray. You cannot screw an immersion chiller hose onto it. Any advice on how to use an immersion chiller with it? Same thing for a...

I always thought it was the Fish Clef, not the F Clef.

Beer Maker, for some reason I like your avatar. Regards, Bassman

I'm planning on making my first Mr. Beer this Sunday. I have some DME, if I decide to substitute DME for Booster do I just use the same amount by weight?

So today I was at Bed, Bath & Beyond and they had Mr. Beer Deluxe kits for $5.99 and an International 3 pack for $15. So for 21 bucks I got a Mr. Beer setup. I already have a 5 gal. setup for brewing but I have been too busy to brew a "proper" batch and have been curious about trying Mr. Beer...

It uses natural carbonation from the priming sugar you added. The pouch is used to keep out air as you pour the beer by expanding and filling the empty space.

I tried Brooklyn Breweries Octoberfest this year and was very happy. I'm loving Victory Festbier. I had it on draught and in the bottle. I tried Bluepoint's and was not overly impressed, although I love Bluepoint Toasted Lager.

I procrastinated on brewing and now because of some health issues, minor surgery, I will not be able to brew for at least a month. But I made a starter 3 weeks ago and had my grains crushed around that time. When I am ready to brew again do I just use my yeast starter and crushed grains? The...

I went to bottle 5 1/2 gal. of bitter tonight. I cleaned 36 12 oz. bottles and 6 22 oz. bottle. I feel dumb. The worst part is the bitter is tasting good so far. I wasted a good 6 pack or 2. Doh!

I just de-labeled 36 bottles with PBW. The first 18 were in the PBW for 2 days because of schedule and came off good, the rest were in for a day and needed some help coming off with a scrub pad. Also, Brooklyn Breweries' labels are pretty sparkly and tough to get off but Sam Adams and Bud...

I'm lucky, my LHBS gets very fresh LME. Their yeast is fresh too, btw. I use LME for the most part and have been adding it late. My next batch this weekend is a full boil and I will add all extract at the beginning.