Recent content by OlDirtyBrewer

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I didn't even think about using CBC-1. If it can tolerate the 14% abv I think that's the way to go. Thanks!

Made a stout (14%) about 2 months ago. I added priming sugar and bottled hoping to have this batch hit its stride in about 6 months. Today I tried a bottle to see how it's going and there is absolutely no carbonation. It's a bit sweet due to the priming sugar but it seems like the yeast up and...

I've tried a few different tools but ultimately I settled on a spreadsheet by BEER-N-BBQ by Larry. Because it's a spreadsheet I can customize it and really fine tune it to my equipment and brewing style. I've even added a few additional tabs with calculators and thanks to EZWaterCalculator I...

I use Simplisafe for my alarm system but was also looking into getting a surveillance system. I'll look into those Arlos a few of you suggested. Those Rolladen shutters look cool but would probably suck during an earthquake.

Thanks everyone. I did follow Vinnie's recipe to a T. Mashed at 151, used mostly 2-row and added .75lb of Dextrose. I'm pretty sure my yeast is finished at 1.018. I didn't oxygenate (just bought the O2 kit but haven't used it yet) and I don't have a way to keep my temps steady at the moment...

Final Update. The WLP099 worked perfectly. I ended up hitting my exact FG number and the beer has been bottled. It's been about 2 months and it's tasting very good. I'm hoping it hits it's stride in another month or so. Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

I'm brewing the Pliny the Elder clone and Vinnie gives an OG of 1.072 and an FG of 1.011. By my math that's about 85% attenuation. I hit all my numbers except FG (currently at about 1.018). Looked on White Labs and they state WLP001 attenuates between 73 - 80%. How is Vinnie getting 85%...

Update. After pitching the 1056 my wort went from 1.104 to 1.040. It seemed to stall there for several days. I tried upping the temp a bit and rousing the yeast but to no avail. After a little research I thought I might add a metric $h!t ton of dextrose to get the abv I wanted but that would...

1056 pitched. Didn't notice a whole lot of bubbling like I usually do by this time. Hopefully that means it hasn't totally taken off yet. I'm sure the beer will be "good" but I was hoping to get it as close to the real thing as possible. Hopefully a few months in the bottles will blend it...

The brew store was closed so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to buy the yeast. That'll be two days into fermentation. I've been adding an extra ice bottle from my usual to keep the temp down. I have 3 frozen 2L bottles in the Cool Brewing bag but as the days warm up, I'll realistically be...

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I don't have a dedicated fridge so lowering temps will be hard. Here in SoCal (currently in the 90's outside) I have to use one of those Cool Brewing bags to have a chance of not getting esters, etc. I'm also somewhat lazy and don't feel like getting all...

I was making the Ten Fidy clone yesterday when after a long brew day, I pitched the wrong yeast. I meant to pickup some 1056 but either the wrong yeast was in the 1056 bin or I just grabbed the wrong one. What can I expect from this yeast. I've never used it and according to Wyeast, it's not...