Recent content by Frenchy

I keep overshooting my target mash temp. I'm using 2 methods to determine the strike water temp. John Palmer's "How to Brew" book, as well as Brew Mate's strike temp calculater. Both are withing 1/2 degree F of each other. I use a 10 gallon rubbermaid water cooler. and preheat with 1...

Any sugestions what to use to bend the soft copper around to get a consistent spiral, and keep from kinking the tube?

I just looked up the characteristics of the Wyeast 4766, and Midwest says it ferments dry. I assume it must be dry in the overall comparison of yeasts, but is it sweeter than the cote des blancs or red star montrachet? Also, Boatman, how did you add the raspberries? I'm guessing you put...

Thanks for the tip on the mash temp. I think I'll go ahead and leave the recipe as is then. I can't wait to try this out.

So here is my recipe as I've adjusted it so far. Red Wheat Malt 8.0# Dark Munich 4.0# Dark Wheat Malt 1.5# Melanoidin 1.0# CaraWheat 0.5# Chocolate Wheat 0.5# Also, I've dropped the flavoring hops. Am I trying to get too complex of a grist make up? I...

I noticed that in several threads about weizenbock that ppl have stated their preference, but nobody has mentioned the 3068 strain that I'm planning on using. Have you ever used that strain. The description of it sounds very unique, and quite tasty...which is why I'm planning on trying it.

My previous understanding was that bock was a lager type as well. However, I recently discovered that it simply means a strong beer.

Ya, I was planning on using either 1.5# dark wheat, or crystal 40, and 4# of dark Munich.

I order my ingredients from Midwest Brewers, and they have the Munich and Vienna listed as 'color" malts. Is that correct? I would have thought 50+% of a color malt would be too much. The decoction schedule I found was 5+ hrs. Is that normal with what you guys are doing? What does the...

Anybody have any input on this?

I'm planning an all grain weizen bock. My goal is to get a beer with around 8% ABV, and color around 24. I've come up with 2 recipes that accomplish this, the difference is the ratio of malted barley to malted wheat. What would the be the differences in these 2 recipes as far as flavor, mouth...

1. Yes, I used 4# of Briess Special Roast. This was a Nut Brown Ale recipe, and the recipe called for 4# of Biscuit\Amer Malt. The characteristics of the grain said “biscuit flavor..for nut brown ales.” If this is my main issue, I’ll be a little irritated for not getting...

I just got done with my 1st all grain brew day. According to the recipe I got from "Radical Brew" and my brew software, I should have got an OG of 1.066. Unfortunately, my actual OG was 1.054. According to the brew software I only got about 54% efficiency rather than the 70% that it uses for...

ah, i think i'll stick with the rubber stoppers then. Seemed like a good product, but not if it's inconsistent witht how it fits on carboys. I can probably still use it for starting the syphon when racking.

So I just bought a carboy cap designed for a 6 gallon carboy(http://www.midwestsupplies.com/carboy-cap-3-5-and-6-gallon-carboys.html). I have two carboys, and at the moment I don't know what size they are, but are around 6 gallons. The cap definetly does not fit on one of the carboys (cap is...