Recent content by nickelmcgee

1) Yes 2) Yes, but you need to heat the sparge water up to temp before you start recirculating MLT through the HLT coil. This is the single reason I switched to RIMs system because I got tired of waiting for the HLT to heat up to start recirculation. I was using water directly from the water...

BTW - I love that smell:)

I started brewing with 2 other guys. We each bought 1/3 of the equipment and split the batches (12 gallon) 3 ways. 1 of the guys couldn’t keep up when I wanted to brew more often. It’s not that I drank more; I just had a larger group of friends and family to share with. The second guy quit...

OK, try adding about 3% water to the grain, spray on with a water bottle wait about 45 minutes then crush the grain. I’ve found that I can consistently crush at about 0.023 when I follow this technique. It leave the hulls almost completely intact and crushes the meat to almost flower...

I built a fermentation chest using a $100 window AC unit from Walmart. I have it in my garage where mid-summer temps can get to 120F. The thing has no problem cooling to mid-50s even in that heat. I bought the one with the analog thermostat to save money and it would not cool below 68F...

2 lbs in 12 gallon batch, not super sweet but has a very nice mouth feel and creamy head.

OK if star san kills yeast then why arent we worried that it will kill the yeast in our fermenter or bottles. Both of which I rinse with generous amounts of star san before I transfer. In this blow off tube case the magnitude of star san is much higher but so is the amount of yeast. Any...

I used a blow off tube and 1 gallon jar of star san solution to prevent my big beer 1.080 from blowing a lid. After the most active part of the fermentation I removed the jar and there was a ton of beautiful white yeast in the bottom. I put the lid on and stuck it in the frig. Would any of you...

BS Chemical Engineering - Purdue 92 BS Chemistry - Purdue 92 Profession - Process Engineer I also like to cook.

If I understand the question you want to add the sparge water in on top of the mash water mix it up and drain it all to the kettle for your boil, hitting the correct volume and gravity? Your efficiencies will drop dramatically. Batch sparging is a game of dilution. Taking the high gravity...

Yes, I used to use my kettle to heat up sparge water for my HERMS system, which allowed quicker heat up time in the HLT after the strike water was added to the mash tun. I would be heating the kettle water at the same time as the strike water in the HLT. I would then pump it into my HLT while...

I use an air diaphragm pump with an air compressor. The thing rocks it out. I run a HERMS system and having a pump that can recirc wort through the HLT coil without issue is essential. It also doesn’t “shear” protein either. I think shearing protein is BS even for a...

No they are not the same. Nitrogen has very little solubility in liquid and cannot be used alone. A “beer” gas mixture (75% nitrogen, 25% carbon dioxide) is used for beer carbonation never straight nitrogen. The advantage of this gas is that you can achieve low carbonation levels...

No need to wait on an Oatmeal Stout since clarity is not an issue. Package once the FG is steady as mentioned. You may want to condition a stout for a few weeks in bottle (keg). Stouts will "mellow" over time and can be a little harsh at first.

When your son tells everyone at the kitchen table that he knows "daddy's favorite book of the bible; Hebrews!" Get it He brews. or When you take a PTO day to finish working on your fermentation chest. or First thing in the morning you dump the ice from the ice maker so you will have...