Recent content by Lefou

Spent much of my time in the Bavarian countryside. I used to work for a defense contractor and I'd fly into Munich. I'd drive south on the 8 and stay near the Bad Aibling-Rosenheim area. The owners of Lindl Hof would drag out the homemade schnapps after dinner when they'd see me and I quite...

Quite likely because business loans and permits are still available but if bank credit dries up, things change.

Seems the kettle was incapable of holding a proper seal pressure. To say that flaw was a "bit off center" is a hazardous understatement. This is a good reason to like HBT. The people make the forum!

A little slow on the reply, but hope you are on the mend. Thanks for the warning. I've been snooping around researching the basics of distilling and considering the merits of simple pots stills and more expensive fractionals for making distilled water and such. Will write the Vevor off the...

If you go down the road of low ABV brewing, good luck and choose your hops wisely. You're kegging and I'm assuming the keg will be well-refrigerated? If it is, there shouldn't be a problem with a low alcohol brew. As for me, I've taken the lazy man's way out. I buy an affordable Pils like...

Brew life in 2015 B.D. (before dog) was much easier. I'd leave a 3 or 6 gallon glass fermenter in the kitchen. Not anymore. I've always been fascinated with the idea of an open fermentation experiment, but with a 60lb Husky in the house who has a kelpie-Husky "mini me" following him around it...

I cleared out something like 20-odd pounds of unused malt and crystal grain. Gave it away to guy at work who owns chickens because I didn't want to brew with malt that had grain moths. Grain moths are a pain in the ass to get rid of once they are in your house. Got some eggs, but wasn't...

I could never trust that method - or the two dogs who'd sniff it out in seconds.

Dextrins and complex carbohydrates that aren't initially present in the mash can be created by heat in the wort boiling process. Kilned darker malts will have more of these complex carbs present than lighter base malts.

One of my "tricks" when deciding what hops I'd theoretically use in a brew is to find a passably good commercial brew I like. The wife - bless her heart - bought me a No Name pale ale strictly done with Citra. The best description I could give for Citra would be grapefruit and pine needles...

Foam stability has been an interesting search for me, too. My beers have typically been light-colored, low IBU ales because it suits my preference and water. I've always used packaged dry pellets and tended to adding wheat, but never dry hopped before bottling. One of my beers was a...

..and you don't have to worry as much about the bears, but then again, step lively and watch out fer them sneks.

India pale ale is a brewstyle many people say they dislike. I was always a fan of moderately hopped ales and lagers using noble hops until finding a well-done pale ale with an excellent mixture of good hops. Germany has some great history behind their beers but so does England. The story...

"But after 6 months an IPA is barely drinkable." I'd generally agree but given the right storage temps such a beer could last longer. The best beer, in my humble opinion, is a fresh one ... like you say, six months old or less. I look for DATES on my retail beer and refuse to buy anything...

Compared to the experience level and knowledge of others here, my personal observations would be just another brick in a huge wall. I don't make unhopped beers because it wouldn't quite be "beer" to me. In my amateur opinion, unhopped fermented grain worts with a low ABV level could likely...