Recent content by fluxcapacitor

Really? According to John Palmer's chapter on yeast in HTB, "Each batch of beer you brew is a good source of yeast for a future batch. The best way to obtain yeast is to skim it from the krausen of a currently fermenting beer." Anybody have experience harvesting with both methods? Notice any...

I recently built a new brew tower for my all-grain setup, mostly out of a need for a safer brew day. I was tired of climbing a shaky step ladder to lift my Igloo cooler full of 180 degree sparge water to a shaky shelf about 2 feet above my head. Luckily I managed to brew about 10 batches using...

Depending on the size of the starter you aren't increasing the cell count so much as just waking up the yeast. If you're using liquid yeast, most products are considered ready-to-pitch, so you will be fine. My biggest reason for making a starter is a faster onset for fermentation. I get antsy...

I recently got tired of paying $8 for a new vial of yeast for every batch so I've started harvesting yeast by scooping a bit of the krausen into pint jars with a large sanitized spoon. My first brew using harvested yeast came out well, but now I'm wondering how much yeast I should be collecting...

I have overshot my OG on my last few brews, so I have figured out that I am ending up with about 86% brewhouse efficiency, quite a bit higher than the 75% that most recipes assume. I use a 5 gal Igloo mashtun with a homemade false bottom and I haven't noticed much difference between batch...

I cut a lengthwise slit down the entire side of 3/8" tubing and then wrap this around the entire edge of false bottom. You have to be very careful to cut the slit down the inner side of the tubing's natural coil or the tubing won't conform to the outside of the false bottom (took me about 3...