Recent content by Dnolan36

I recently acquired a 3 gallon bourbon barrel and have an imperial stout aging in it now. I will taste it periodically to see how it is progressing. However, I was wondering who else out there has used a barrel of this size and has a time recommendation. My main concern is it may be a month...

Thanks again.

Thank you so much. Is there a temperature sensor/thermocouple sensor you would recommend? I was planning on putting them outside the ball valve on the pots like Kal and not in the side of the pot.

I am planning to start acquiring the necessary parts to start my electric build. I was thinking that the 50a 5500 2 element 2 pump 2 PID looks the closest to what I would like to do. However, I am a little uncertain what a couple of the parts are. What are the parts between the Contactor at...

Sometimes I wonder why I even ask for peoples advice or suggestions.

Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer w/Belgian Yeast Recipe Critique Thanks in advance to anyone that has some recommendations. The one thing that I may change for sure is the hops. Christmas/Winter Specialty Spice Beer Type: All Grain Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal Boil Size...

I did what I call my Imperial Chocolate Stout recently. I drained some wort out of my kettle with about 15 minutes left and dissolved 8 ounces of Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder. Then with about 5 minutes left I dumped the cocoa mixture into my kettle. I then slit 2 vanilla beans and cut...

I recently brewed an Imperial Chocolate Stout at 10.4% ABV. I used 8oz of unsweetened Ghirardelli cocoa powder in the boil. I pulled out about 10oz of wort out during the boil, mixed in and dissolved the cocoa and dumped it back into the boil with 5 minutes left in the boil. Then aged it with...

I recently made my first mead on April 5, 2012. Some how my OG was much higher than planned, 1.175. I am going to rack it to a secondary tomorrow but I took a gravity reading tonight and it was 1.001 (Temp Corrected). So needless to say it is much stronger than I was planning on. So when I...

Here is what I was talking about. "The common misconception is that if a beer is a stout, it must be high in alcohol. Yet most, with the exception of imperial stouts, are actually in the 4–6% alcohol by volume (ABV) range. (Lancaster Milk Stout is 5.2%; Lefthand Milk Stout lands at 5.3% while...

The recipe is not mine, one I borrowed with a few very minor adjustments. I may scratch the lactose due to an article on BYO that a couple brewers (Lancaster Brewing and Left Hand brewing) recommended against using it in high gravity beers. I have never used Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa or...

Since I have tried Southern Tier's Mokah and Choklat I have wanted to try my hand at making a imperial stout with a strong chocolate flavor. Now I have never brewed with chocolate or tried to make anything with a strong chocolate flavor before so I figured I would ask the pros on BA for their...

I have also been wanting to brew something like this. I made a post earlier but have not gotten any replies yet. I am more interested in making a super chocolaty stout and not necessarily cloning Southern Tier. I am brewing this on Thursday. Here is the base recipe I am planning on...

Since I have tried Southern Tier's Mokah and Choklat I have wanted to try my hand at making a imperial stout with a strong chocolate flavor. Now I have never brewed with chocolate or tried to make anything with a strong chocolate flavor before so I figured I would ask the pros on BA for their...

Really, no feedback? I guess I will look elsewhere for feedback.