Recent content by boortzie

There are a bunch of breweries that have recently opened up in the south bay area of Los Angeles. Definitely visit absolution and monkish. But if you can get down to San Diego that's where some really great stuff is being made.

I started brewing in a condo on an electric ceramic cooktop. It took forever to heat up the water, and I never got to a good rolling boil. Then I found threads about heatsticks - changed the entire experience for the better. Heating times went from about an hour to under 20 minutes. I...

To build on Twister25's post, the first thing you'll do is add in a given quantity of water to make the mash. This can range anywhere from 1 qt water per pound of grain to 1.5 qt/lb (other ratios are possible, but this is the most common range). What you are shooting for is to get the grains...

What temp is your beer at? It may not be a temp issue if you are okay with one keg and not with the other (assuming you keep your kegs at the same temp), but it may be something to look into. Are you using a picnic/cobra tap, or a faucet? I had a problem with a picnic tap that sprayed beer...

I've had beers that fermented without touching the airlock, and a gravity check is the only way to know for sure whether its doing its thing or not. To check gravity you should get a hydrometer (if you don't already have one). Check the beer three or four days in a row, and if the gravity...

I too used the online balancing calculators, and tended to get a ton of foam. Two things I did that helped me: 1. I put a fan in my keezer (not sure if you have this or not, but it helped tremendously). 2. I extended the length to 7 ft. I actually started with 10 ft., but the resistance was...

First thing I'd do is check the temperatures for the lowest setting. If beer is freezing, then you should probably up the temp to something higher (I hold most of my beers between 40 and 50 F, depending). Next, you could attach a temp controller (e.g., this...

The Zymurgy clone recipe recommended whirlfloc at 10 minutes (I think; it may have been at 15, but it definitely included whirlfloc).

First thing you'll want to do is figure out whether you want a collar or a coffin style keezer. I went with a collar because it was easier - I was able to do 95% of the work in one weekend. Coffin style keezers take a bit more work and woodworking skill (as I understand it - I'm just about the...

I've done a couple of Cherry Wheats (both extract and all grain), and have found that with flavorings and even sometimes whole cherries (depending on how you process them) can lead to a medicinal aftertaste (kind of like cold medicine). After several trials, I hit upon a Black Cherry extract...

Wishing I lived within 100 miles. If you have any desire to ship to LA at my cost, I'd take it.

Schafly's Dry Hopped APA. If you can find it, buy as much of it as they have. http://schlafly.com/beers/styles/dry-hopped-apa/

I had the same problem when I started. I ended up building a heat stick, which helped tremendously. I know some use dual heat sticks to crank it up even faster. Check the forum for heat stick builds if you are interested in DIY (and don't mind playing with electricity).

I'm having the same problem. Approx. 6 ft. lines, 3/16 ID, set at 10 PSI. After a bunch of research on this forum (and a few others, truth be told), I went out and bought 10 ft 3/16 ID lines. I'm installing those this weekend, and that will hopefully fix the problem. It seems to be the fix...

Those look like rafts to me. You'll probably be okay, but the only way to know for sure is to bottle and see. But if it fermented for 3-4 weeks and that's what it looks like, I think the odds are slim its an infection.