Recent content by BrewFry22

Mine finished at 1.011 which was lower than the target. It doesn't have the same sweetness as the real deal. Also, the hops aren't as pronounced. Maybe the hops weren't very fresh? Overall, my clone still tastes delicious but its not spot on.

Grain Mill. Start buying 50 pounders of your most used grains. The crush will directly effect the outcome of your beer. The pump is more of a luxury item.

Agreed. They will join the trub party!

I'd like to make the same offer. I'm in Pittsburgh.

Definitely taste it! Let us know how it turns out!

I second John Palmer's How to Brew. If you have any friends or someone local that brews it helps to assist on a brew day to see how it works.

I do it on a single burner on my crap apartment electric stovetop. My 8 gallon aluminum kettle is wrapped in reflectix which helps it heat up and retain heat better. I can't get a vigorous boil but it does boil. I usually have the lid partially covering the kettle during the boil and wipe it off...

I use a huge strainer over my boil kettle and sparge directly into the boil kettle. Works like a charm. I got a little overzealous last time while squeezing the bag with my lid and broke the support on my burner...

Take them out before transferring to the fermenter. Some people like to do "hop stands" where they let the hops steep in the wort for a certain amount of time before cooling but with your heat source turned off.

Agreed. I read a pretty detailed article on this exact theory and blind taste tests proved that the beer made with a starter was rated better. The average Joe probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference but you and I could. The beer using the starter also had better head retention and...

I don't really see the point in waiting that long. I'm sure your primary fermentation is done and you are at your FG. I'd say dry hop soon and bottle 7 days after dry hopping.

I'm in Pittsburgh. I have a great bottle-shop close by with a ton of selections but they don't distribute Zombie Dust in PA from what I've heard. I'm also heading to the Hershey / Lancaster area in a few weeks and will probably swing by Troegs on the way.

I am willing to trade for a bottle of Zombie Dust. I just made an all grain clone and would love to have one to compare. I can trade one of my Zombie Dust clones or anything else that you want to try from the north east. Let me know what you are interested in and I'll see if I can get it...

What was you total estimated initial investment? Do you wish you would have gone with the 7BBL from the get go?

Don't do that. If you are going to transfer to a secondary then do all of the dry hopping in there. I would dry hop this for around 1 week total. I like using secondaries when bottling since it gives me another chance to leave behind some trub and my beer ends up clearer because of it. Also...