Recent content by jimyoung

I'm going to have to re-make this brew and take better measurements! And you're right, it's syrup I used, not sugar, sorry for the confusion. It's not /runny/ but it's not super thick. I wanted to stop it before it started to darken

Oh I see, that's cool. Maybe I'll try that after a few weeks of bottle conditioning

yeah. I've always used Refractometer Calculator - Brewer's Friend . Every few years I start doubting myself and check my refractometer against my hydrometer, with carefully controlled samples / temps. They always give a 1:1 reading, so I don't use a correciton.

Hey thanks, you know, I never did figure out the math approach. Now that you've spelled it out, I can see how easy it is. The 22.2L number was actually original water, not pre-boil. I should measure after pulling the grain (and temperature adjust that volume) before boil, to help understand...

Thanks for the troubleshooting ideas. - pre-boil gravity was /before/ sugar added. My pre-boil target was excluding the sugar. My recipe has suger as a boil addition (next to the hops). - I added the sugar beginning of boil, after pre-boil measurement - I measured post-boil volume at 19c, after...

Ah thanks for catching that. Batch size of 14L is /intended/ packaged, what's plugged into beer smith. My actual volumes were: pre-boil 22.2L 15.3L into the fermenter Some of the discrepancy (14-15.3) comes from the fact that I don't leave any trub in the kettle any more and dump it all in...

I didn't weigh the grain, and I always ask for double crush (BIAB...). It looked normal. I guess I should have weighed them. I really trust my store, but anyone can make a mistake. It's supposed to be a tripel, but of course it's a lot weaker. When bottling it tasted great, so maybe I'll make...

Hi all - I had a mistake in my last batch and I missed my target OG by quite a bit. Initially I thought it was due to my mistake, but beersmith seems to think otherwise. Thoughts? The mistake: I added a zero in my recipe order to my LHBS (COVID, they measure and mill...) and got 58g instead of...

looks fine. It's hard to tell with the lighting, but beer can do all kinds of weird things. Whenever I've worried, my rule is to taste it. If I'm not sure if it's infected, then it's fine to drink. Either you will really, really taste the infection, or, it's minor and no worry. And yes, check...

Don't underestimate the usefulness of saving time!! I have a buddy who didn't care for a chiller, so I made him one for christmas, and he's thanked me ever since. In addition to saving time (totally worth it), I've found that rapidly chilling the wort seems to drop out more stuff from...

Sounds like you have it all covered. A chiller is nice but not necessary, you can do that later. I made my own bag about 6 years ago and it still works like new. It was expensive though and time consuming. I enjoyed it, but if it breaks, I may just buy a cheap one (My Brew In a Bag Bag) For...

I love my Blichmann burner - bought one (pre hellfire, but same thing) based on reviews here. I have a 8 gal kettle and I get 4-5 brews out of one propane tank. I refill it at costco for like $11 CAD. I used to go to the local gas station but they're like $25. a few refills at costco pays for...

Looks good! My guess then is the bulge in the lid isn't from pressure, it's just a warp in the lid. Now do the most important thing and stop touching it. Leave it alone until it's done! :)

if the lid is bulging, under pressure, I'd be worried about the airlock. is it clogged or maybe faulty if it's a new one? Air should leave very freely. The weight of the liquid won't make the lid bulge. Hops won't impact fermentation really. You add it a little later so that the activity...

I moved to AG after just one extract brew... BIAB. I'm giving advice to a friend now who is getting into it. The real difference is /potential/. With AG, you have /potential/ to polish a lot of variables. That said, you don't need to. Don't over do it, and have fun, and as you polish your...