Recent content by jevehn

Hey All, I just finished a brown ale Brewhouse kit I was given. Original FG was 1.050 (or possibly 1.058, for some reason I thought it was higher than 1.050) pitched May 19th. Wrote it down in my log book, then I did my standard "pitch your yeast, watch it for a few days, then ignore it...

I've tried a couple of different methods, and this is what I've settled on. -24H soak in oxiclean and warm water. Scrub any new bottles with a scotchbrite pad to remove any left over label/glue. -Drain, and rinse with high pressure bottle washer (mounts to tap) -Inspect bottles for gunk...

come visit us brewers in the great white north. It's winter hear half the year. I brewed a batch of all grain in my garage 2 weekends ago. -21*C. Not a lot of fun, but that was the only weekend I could squeeze it in, and I'm running out of beer. Thankfully I ferment in my basement...

Mash Tun. Water is heated to ~155*F then crushed grains are added (doughing in), stirred, and left to sit for about an hour to convert starches into fermentable sugars. Used primarily for all grain brewing.

Hi All, Thought I'd share some excerpts from my wonderful brew day yesterday, see if anyone gets a chuckle. To cut down on bulk, I'll only mention the things that went wrong. -Get distracted mid way through filtering some water, and walk away until the water has overflowed the bucket...

I love my ribcage chiller... It does a great job. I suspect the biggest advantage over a normal coil is the ability of the wort to circulate through the chiller with almost no resistance. I stir the hot wort (ever so carefully) with the ribcage, and once the water is moving it cools very quickly.

I'd say your two options are a heat controlled room build, or a water jacket. Easiest: Room build. Window AC unit and small heater. Two stage temp controller. Smallest footprint: Water jacket. Wrap 3/8" soft copper coils around the outside, then insulate well. Constantly circulate...

I was wondering if anyone had an idea for a clone of Okanagan Spring 1516. This is a Canadian beer, and one of my favorites. The main marketing for it is that it complies with the bavarian purity laws of 1516. http://www.1516.ca I'd love to do a clone, but I'm not advanced enough with...

I've got a batch of Rolf's Irish Red Ale happily bubbling away in my fermentation chamber. I pitched notty on Sunday, and am holding the temp at 18*C (65*F). I usually ignore a new batch for a solid 3 weeks before bottling, but I'd like to do another batch ASAP, and I'm wondering how long...

Agreed! I can't stand reading that crap. I literally have to slow down and translate broken English into legible English. It takes 3 times longer to read it. It's almost like taking English, and kicking it in the nuts. After taking 3 technical writing courses, it's all I can do not to...

http://www.pump-n-seal.com/ I have one of these things, and it works really well. Same concept, better pump. Cheap to buy. I use it for lots of stuff.

If it already has garden hose fittings, you could just use a garden hose. Or you can get the hose fix fittings to fit whatever hose you currently have. I sweated on a 3/8" to 1/2" coupling, then a pex barb on mine, and used 1/2" tubing. I've got a 25' x 3/8" ribcage chiller. I really...

I use empty commercial hard ice cream pails. I have a free supply from my inlaws, but I suspect they would be easy to acquire. It takes 5 containers to hold a 55lb bag, but they're easy to lift, and stackable.

Hey All, I've got 30 lbs of 2 row that is rapidly approaching the 1 year mark. My brewery has been out of commision due to renos for almost 3 months, and I'm running out of beer! I'm hoping some more experienced brewers can point me in the right direction. My goal is to brew a few good...

Graff was the second thing I ever made, and I have to say it is one of my favorites. I always have some bottled, and I'm making another batch this weekend. It's also really easy to make! I'd definately recommend it to any newbie brewer.