Recent content by mbeall

kwadric, thanks for the input. I'm going to pick some vanilla extract up and try it in a glass. Will report back.

The element is scorched but it didn't affect the flavor of the American Brown Ale I just made. I'm tending to agree with you about the Carafa-III. I really had no idea it could make that flavor. This recipe is based off of a Victory Storm King Stout and I have brewed before with no smokey...

One more

Ok, here is a picture after the last brew. Looks like some scorching. This was a brown ale with no smokey flavor.

I do have space and will set it aside while aging. I'm believing more and more that is was the Carafa III.

The element in question is in the boil kettle. The herms coil is in the HLT and never gets wort in it.

I would except the hydro sample was so smokey, I couldn't drink it!

I'm hoping it is just young. I have brewed this recipe before and it was amazing. I also tasted it throughout it's aging process and no smokey or ashy flavors. I read some posts about Carafa III when used in too high of a percentage, can cause ashy flavors. Here is my grain bill. 77.0 % 2 Row...

Thanks for the info. It may be the outer coating. I'll pull the element out and see if it is damaged or just has some crud I missed. Although I did brew the next week and my brown came out perfect.

My stout has finished fermenting and when I tasted the hydro sample, it has a distinct smokey off-flavor like an ashtray. I couldn't finish the sample. I have researched Phenolic off flavors and causes could be chlorine, infection, or over sparging among others. - I use 1/2 campden tablet to...

Any Updates? Where did you find the 1k ohm 1watt resistors? How about the fuses/holders? Looks good.

Oh man .. I just googled that. I didn't know the term but I've always wondered why some beers I used to like don't do it for me. I mainly drink IPA's and lately they are getting stronger and hoppier. One of my current favorites is Lagunitus Sucks. Awesome beer. I did just rediscover NB Ranger...

Yooper, I'm glad you responded! I think you are onto something. My Sulfate level is 24ppm. I see in BrunWater that it suggests from 150ppm to 350ppm for hoppy/bitter beers. The cell was still green for me and I didn't catch this. I just brewed a Wooky Jack clone this past weekend and its...

Not yet. I chilled the batch in less than 15 minutes to Fermenter and left it only in the primary (never had the lid off and sampled through the spigot on the side). then racked to keg and purged with co2. At that point after 1st 1.25oz dry hop, I had no hop aroma and it mildly tasted like an...

Pat, that is good to know. That is what I expected but not what I got. Did you dry hop in the primary? Did you sample before the dry hop and was there any aroma? I'm leaning towards some old hops but the hops in the kit were from Northern Brewer (boil and first hop addition) and the second...