Recent content by Deus Ex Mashina

Hi, Usually I add salt and acid to mash and sparge water, however I am thinking that a great deal of salt remains trapped in the grains and doesn't contribute much to the final beer characteristic (maybe I am wrong?). My salt additions are aimed at getting enough chloride in the beer to get a...

So I brewed a witbeer, and I didn't get to my target OG. Stupid enough, I wanted to finish, so I have boiled shorter than I was supposed to, without realizing that this would affect my OG :no:(leasson learned!) Planned ABV was 4.9%, now would be 4.1% according to BeerSmith (if the fermentations...

Brewers, I have build a mash tun out of a 22 l picknick cooler. I bought it online, and was quite cheap, so not the best quality as the famous igloo. It works pretty ok, but I am wondering is it safe to mash in that plastic reaching temps up to 70-75C? I am afraid of the plastic when heated...

Cool! I guess I just have to try now! (:

Great info, thank you both! But I am curious why would you boil in the beer instead of the priming sugar solution? I have to boil priming sugar in a bit of water anyway to make sure it is sanitized, what is the advantage of boiling in beer then? Sorry, for asking more, I am just curious!

Is there a particular reason why you recommend this instead of during boil? typical recipe calls for short boiling the peel and the coriander. I kind of dislike having to add vodka to the beer. I never done it before and maybe has no risk, but I am afraid it will alter the flavor? I was...

I've got a bunch of fresh Bergamots. I thought of using them for a white beer in place of the classic bitter orange zest as they are also bitter and the flavor might go well with the style. 1) Anything specific I should keep in mind ? 2) is it ok to leave the white part on the zest or is that...