Recent content by OctopusInk

That is my new brewday rule. Guess I will have to start brewing earlier in the day. Thanks all for the response. I will check back in a month or so to let you know the end result.

It was bubbling this morning, so i don't think it will effect fermentation. Just PH of the Wort and therefore taste...or something. Just brainstorming here.

So first off I was drinking while brewing, which usually isn't a problem, but my American Brown is a bit big. Anyway after cooling the wort I sanitized my Ale Pale with about a liter of diluted Starsan. Between watching a movie, drinking, and talking to my wife I poured my wort right on top of...

A while ago I found a thread that talked about the size of coolers you could use for 5 or 10 gal batches. I have looked everywhere but it must be lost to the archives. Anyone have any information on this? Also I have heard that the standard rule is 1 quart of water per pound of grain. Is...

There is a great shop in VA Beach HomebrewUSA that I buy all my stuff from, you should check it out if you have not already.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will get a fridge once I get a larger place. As it stands my kegorator hikes up my power bill enough. My LHBS just informed me they have some Cry Havok, so in addition to brewing a beer I have never done before I am going to try a Yeast I have never used...

I need to brew a Marzen for local competition however I don't have a lager fridge. I wanted to try and use SF Lager Yeast and do the "fermentor in a tub of water with a shirt over it" method. Any advice?

How did it turn out?

Desert Rain Amber Ale 7.50 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 81.08 % 1.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 16.22 % 0.25 lb Rye Malt (4.7 SRM) Grain 2.70 % 1.00 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 29.4 IBU 0.50 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (15 min) Hops 7.3 IBU...

I am worried about the wind, but I rent so I can't attach the frame to the wall. If it falls I will just have to put it back up. There are drainage holes in the pots, but I am worried that the roots will grow out of them and into the ground. When I move, I hope whoever has this place next...

This is my Northern Brewer planted about a month ago. As you can sort of see I threw some spent grain on top for mulch. https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=22970&cat=all&ppuser=28399 I created this "A" frame and fastened some twine to the top. Does anyone else have a...

This is my new hop growing set up.

This is my Northern Brewer a month after planting.

I have been racking by brain all day trying to figure out why. I had enough grain in there, it is almost like it was specialty grains that didn't convert. last time I did this I took a sample out and cooled to get a good efficiency reading and it was 60% that is why I set Beersmith to 60%...

I had about 2gal from the mash and about .75 from the sparge. I actually had to add water before the boil because it was so low in my pot. If my grain wasn't broken up enough or I had too much water in the mash do you think that would account for my lack of efficiency?