Recent content by Neerdowell

I batch I brewed on 12/23/12 had a OG of 1.050. When I racked on 1/11 I was at 1.014. I used a 1 L starter, no stir plate.

If you're just using it to clean glass bottles, then I would just try to see what kind of mileage you can get out of it. Since PBW is a cleaner and not a sanitizer, I'd just use it until it doesn't work anymore as long as only glass is involved. If it isn't cutting the mustard anymore, mix...

This is something I've been striving to get a better handle on every time I brew. I'm getting more and more familiar with my kettle (8 gal Megapot) and have found that if I collect 6 gallons and 1 quart from the lauter tun and maintain a "vigorous boil" for 60 min, I'll have roughly 5 gallon 1...

Made a single hop (Liberty) batch with Briess Pale and Munich 20L. Pitched Wyeast 1056 in one carboy for an American Amber and 2206 in the other for something Munich Dunkel-like.

Might be academic from a homebrewer's standpoint, but if pride is an issue and you want to brew your German styles according to the reinheitsgebot, forced carbonation is out unless your using the C02 that is a by-product from fermentation, or so I've heard. Saving C02 is way beyond any current...

1) Focus on ingredients (especially hops) with SMaSH/near SMaSH brews. 2) Diversify - brew more styles I haven't done. 3) Get better at planning ahead (including follow-through)

That's pretty creative. I put in a standard kitchen exhaust hood last year rated 220 cfm on high/190 cmf in low and that has been plenty for me with a run of about 5 feet. I even turn the fan to low once I'm up to boil and throttle down my burner, though that Blichmann is double the BTU rating...

Supermoth, that looks like a tasty loaf of bread. I'll have to give it a try. Looks like that flour/spent grain ratio should cut the "scratchy" feeling I seem to get with spent grain recipes. CowboyBrewer, the Sept/Oct 2011 issue of Draft magazine had a whole article on spent grain cooking...

That looks a lot like the kit I bought from my local brew supply shop when I started brewing at home. Looks like you have what you need to get started aside from a brewpot & stove. If you plan on brewing outdoors a turkey fryer comes with both a pot and a burner for a reasonable price...

Cold storage for yeast, gyle for kreuzening, unfermented starter wort & sterilized water for yeast washing

Lagering freezer with Johnson Controls A419 digital temperature controller

Simple keezer

Hoses & Manifold

I keep my CO2 tank in a closet next to the keezer. A hole lined with a short length of PVC used for routing lines.

Current brewery setup & equipment