Recent content by gopherhockey

I think part of my problem was that I put too much water in my mash, and possibly because it was a wheat beer? The runoff was very very light... not thick at all. I could see a thicker runoff allowing for more time. None of it looked thick.

I did my first all grain yesterday. One thing I thought I needed to do was to sparge at the same rate as the runoff. The problem was with only 5 gal. of water the sparge arm would not rotate and it was difficult to get the rates the same and not have the grainbed go dry. Should I have...

Ok, so yesterday I set out to do my first all-grain brew.. a Hoegaarden clone. I started with a 5 gal. cooler (hot water tank), a MiniBrew MiniMash 15 gallon lauter tun, and a 10 gal. brewpot. (among other devices) The first issue was how to get things to flow. I had to build a tower out...

It was definitely after I had been gone for a week for work when I noticed it the first time. I guess I'll just have to drink some every day... dang! ;)

Hmmm.. I'll have to look into the tightening situation. Seems odd about the hot water, but maybe just the activity of removing the thing was what actually fixed it...

I have my first couple of keg batches and my kegerator set up, but am having a problem with my faucets. They actually are sticking so bad I can't open them. I'm using basic chrome faucets w/brass levers. One was so bad I busted the tap handle trying to open it. If I remove the faucet and...

I have been doing some searching here and haven't quite found the answer I'm looking for, so I thought I'd post a new thread. Basically it is time for me to take the plunge to all grain, doing full volume boils etc. I ordered a lauter tun and have my eye on a new pot at Northernbrewer...

I was browsing the morebeer.com catalog and saw they have a reverse osmosis water filter and some additives to create various regional water compositions. They suggest to use the RO on your water then add the necessary minerals back in. Sounds like an interesting concept. Water is the...

Yea, I considered a stand-up freezer. I may look around, but for around $300 it looks like I can get one that might fit 2 conicals. We already have a fridge and a chest freezer in our basement so I'm concerned about adding more (or concerned about what my wife would say hehe). If I wanted to...

I have a chest freezer that is almost not tall enough to hold a carboy. I recently got a conical fermenter and want to fit it into the freezer so I can do lagers in it. To do this I would need to raise the height of the inside of the freezer by at least 6". Taller yet would be better...

Just some info on Perfect Brewing out of Wheeling, IL. Apparently there are more people who have placed orders with them and have not received any confirmation or responses for status on their orders. From what I can gather on one Chicago area forum is that the guy at PB is moving his...

I am also curious about this same issue. I have brewed up a few batches and simply cooled the whole batch and dumped it all (unfiltered) into the fermenter... only gets removed when I move it to the secondary. I am also curious if there is something I should be filtering out before moving it...

I placed an order recently. They look like they have some good kits and equipment. My only issue so far is that you have to enter a credit card number even if using paypal (worried about double-payment) and no receipt for my order or shipment yet (its been a week). I have sent a few emails...

I really like Paris. I am there at least a month out of every year. It only takes a few hours to get to know someone and they feel like friends for life. Amsterdam would be another choice... although I feel like its one of those "great places to visit.. but.." I haven't been to...

I recently brewed up a Kolsch beer and was instructed that the best temp for fermenting was between 55-65. My question is, when does one actually start the cooler fermentation? I think I may have messed things up because I put it immediately into cooler temps (around 60) then noticed I...