Recent content by hbarsquared

To me it sounds like you are increasing your alcohol consumption and becoming acclimated to it. This is dangerous, and it has nothing to do with any perceived difference between homebrew or commercial. I've lost family members to alcoholism. You would be doing yourself and your loved ones a...

I use sodastream exclusively for my kegerator and it works great. I don't have a car and there are no places close to the train line or in bikeable distance to refill a full size tank, and the shops near me sell/refull SS tanks. There are good adapters available, and one SS tank can dispense...

I've brewed faux-Pilsners with Lutra, both at ~20C and ~30C without temp control. They have turned out great, very drinkable and fairly clean. They aren't lagers though, and no experienced taster would confuse them for a beer brewed with lager yeast. If you really need a beer on tap next week...

I briefly dabbled in minikeg brewing after I had moved and had to liquidate my brewing setup. They work okay, but they are extremely difficult to clean. I ended up having a few kegs get a persistent biofilm that I just can't fully remove. I've since gone back to 20L batches so the experiment is...

I brewed up a beautiful stout, but I went a little heavy on the roasted grains and it's more bitter than I'd like. I was thinking of adding some lactose to balance it out. Are there any issues I would run into adding it to the fermenter after it reached terminal gravity? I'm planning on making...

Yeah first year plants generally won't have a huge harvest. I was shocked at how much my bines produced in year 2.

I recently picked up the Brewlution Ferminator for similar concerns - the CFO insited I was allowed exactly one fridge, and it was always going to be a kegerator. So far I'm extremely happy with it for 20L batches. I'm able to keep the temps rock solid at 10C and ramp consistently as well. It...

I just bottled some rye pale ales fermented with S-04 in (sanitised) Saison bottles. It wasn't until afterwards that I remembered the issues of STA-1 contamination. What are the odds that these will turn into bottle bombs?

The temperature probe on my Brewster Beacon 30L recently came loose and caused a leak - thankfully I noticed before I began heating the water! It seems like a simple repair, but I feel like there should be some kind of sealant to both keep further leaks from happening and also to provide a...

I grew hops in a raised bed in Wisconsin, where we regularly had stretches of winter at -20 to -30C. The rhizomes never struggled to come back in spring despite the soil containers being exposed to the air on both sides. Hops are extremely resilient, you shouldn't have too much trouble. Some...

I've literally had my hand wrist-deep in grain pushing kernels into the rollers to get it to catch again. OSHA would not approve.

When you had issues with the grain stopping the mill, did it actually stop the rotation of the rollers, or were the rollers spinning freely but the grain was not "catching"? If it's the latter, I regularly have that problem with my Evil Twin mill. Doesn't matter if I use a drill or a hand...

When I moved to Sweden from the US 2 years ago, I sold off all of my equipment that I'd been slowly accumulating for a decade. Once I got here, I knew I wanted to brew again but didn't want to deal with the hassle of propane. I got a Brewster Beacon 30L, and I absolutely love it. Of course...

If you ever get the chance to hang out at the brewery's beer garden on a sunny afternoon absolutely do it, they've made a wonderful spot. Spotted Cow is my least favorite of their beers, and I still like it just fine. Their Lambics and other fruited sours are the best bet IMO.

I have been brewing with dried Voss a lot recently because I don't have any kind of temp control (other than playing "warm spot cool spot" in my basement). It has a really nice clean profile, and you can limit the fruity flavors if you ferment on the cool side (which for Kveik is <70F).