Recent content by Benman37

I have an entire stainless steel system for homebrewing all-grain beer made by SS Brewtech, Blichmann Engineering, Bayou Classic, Fermentap, etc. Unfortunately I need to part with my system for personal reasons. This whole setup has everything you need to brew from scratch from start to finish...

Looks pretty solid to me. If I were to critique, I would suggest two things: #1 - 53 IBU seems low to me. My best IPAs have been between 65 and 75 with a 13 lb grain bill. I have been first-wort hopping which has been giving me good results. I might try some FWH on the magnum or maybe...

I read a couple years back that the head brewer from Boneyard used to work at Deschutes and was saying Wyeast 1968 London ESB. Not sure if they changed, but that’s what I’ve seen on Deschutes clones that I brewed about 7 years ago. Fresh Squeezed hadn’t been created yet back then though.

I don't cold crash but when I am gravity racking from my conical to my purged bucket air gets sucked in the top of the fermenter (airlock removed). Now I have all the pieces I need to pump CO2 into the fermenter head space while I transfer the beer (for my next batch) so I'll see if that's it...

Yes, I am bottle conditioning and I don't have a kegging setup yet. I had a Juniper Pale Ale that oxidized really bad after bottle conditioning, and now that I'm doing more DIPAs with loads of dry-hops, I'm trying to get every advantage I can. I am a super lightweight, so I typically only...

I've been slowly decreasing my oxygen exposure during the bottling process; first by purging my bottling bucket with CO2 and doing a closed transfer, then by purging bottles before filling with a bottle wand. Once the bottle is filled, I shoot a little CO2 into the head space before slapping...

I use my boil kettle. I sanitize all the nooks and crannies by boiling a quart of water for 20 minutes with the lid on. I dump the boiling water out the ball valve at the bottom, let it cool, then add my priming sugar water to the bottom, blast it with CO2 for good measure, then transfer from...

I just finished an IPA with 13.5lbs of grist and 1lb of oats for a 5-gallon batch. I did 1lb of base malt, plus the 1lb of oats in a separate "mini-mash" and did a rest at 115F for 20 minutes. I read somewhere that the enzymes in the base malt at that low temperature will break down the gum in...

Honestly I don't know how much of a difference it really makes. I worked in a cabinet shop for a few years and we made end-grain butcher blocks which are high end blocks, and the cutting surface is on the open end grain and they are great for food. Wood is surprisingly sanitary, especially if...

If you have the capability make one out of wood, the best wood species would be maple (rock maple, not soft maple) because of its hardness and lack of open pores, followed by cherry and beech. Oak is good but has tons open pores that could harbor sludge and junk. You have to be careful with...

Hey man, worked perfectly. Filtered out 1/2 oz of leaf hops plus 2oz of crushed juniper berries with little to no sediment in the beer racked off. Left maybe 1-2 cups of bright beer in the conical.

My last batch of brew in my Blichmann 7 gal conical had 2 oz of loose leaf hops added during secondary. I had no filter on the racking arm and it racked out just fine. The majority of the hops floated and only clogged the racking arm when there was about 3 cups of beer left at the bottom...