Recent content by inkbob

i was laying in bed last night and realized my error... i had "thought" i was hitting 75-80% extract effeciency, but my computation was using the "highest possible extraction" as my 100% value and i was getting approx 80% of that. i figured out that i am actually getting right around 65% of...

exactly. i use the first one also. the problem is i have a tiny list of what the "maximum possible" extract is for certain items, and i am beginning to think i shouldn't trust it. the list gives me a percentage, which i multiply by my kilo weight for each individual grist component, and i get...

i'm interested to know what equation everyone uses to calculate effeciency. i also seem to come out abnormally high, and i think i'm just using a strange formula or something. i have seen at least two formulas, and i just want to know what is in general use.

i was planning on doing an american brown coming up, so maybe i'll shoot for a spicy hazelnut wintry-strong thing. i'll admit i'm a little skeptical about spice beers, especially if they're too spicy. that said, i think i'll try to come up with a half batch recipe that i can do all-grain in my...

silicon is supposed to be resistant up to 200 C. how does PVC fare?

ok, two questions... should the slots in the manifold face up or down? a german book i have states that they should face up in order to achieve a faster clear flowing result. also, that facing the slots down can lead to channel forming. the english book i have says they should face down...

ok, step one complete... i bought a 30 qt cooler for about 10 bucks at walmart. BUT... here in euro-land, the selection is'nt near as good, so i couldn't find one with a built in spigot. now i have to do some drilling, and visit my local "home depot" substitute to get some conversion...

is that to say that all the recipes i read here and elswhere use weights of hops in terms of whole hops (of course unless otherwise noted)?

ok, i'm interested. i want to eventually go to AG though, and would like to buy a cooler/mash/lauter tun that would handle a normal 5 gallon batch in the future, and also work for partial mash in the meantime. my kettle holds only 20qt, so this is my limiting factor right now. i'm looking...

your last was my first. what can i say, i'm a late bloomer.

so is that a genetic thing in the yeast? BTW, i only did a primary, then bottled, so maybe i can hope that these are still somewhat flocculent. either way, very interesting and informative. i thought of harvesting some of the primary sludge, but i don't even brew once a month, and at the time...

my dilema is whether or not to buy some new yeast for now... i brewed an alt style ale with wyeast 1338 a few months back, and want to try something more sierra nevada-like. i have to place an order with my HBS soon, and i am trying to decide if i need new, more style specific yeast, or if i...

i live fairly central, actually right across the street from the augustiner brewery. ahh, the aromas that come in my window... i cant say that i've ever even seen Holledauer beer. in my neighborhood the beverage shops basically carry the standard stuff. i have to try pretty hard to find...

i also tried whirlpooling, and it worked great. then with the sludge at the bottom, i took a little time, and filtered it , and got a little more than half a liter of pretty clean wort out. but of course i was worried about contamination, so i just boiled it for 10 minutes or so, and put it in...

i just posted about this... cool. but i think i know what you mean by rotten. although i wouldnt call that a good thing. if i'm right, and my current HW isnt infected, that's DMS (dimethyl sulfide), as in the link previously in this thread. someone mentioned that it can be present in...