Recent content by psymn

OK guys, I have a question regarding the theory of "its the mash and not the water." I understand that the grain lowers the pH of the mash, but what happens when you start to sparge? I batch sparge, so my concern is that I would be adding unadjusted water to the grain and risk tannin...

I second the fact that Koelsch yeasts are messy and stink like hell. To date the only time I've ever had a blowout was using Koelsch yeast. Granted that back then I was fermenting in my kitchen pantry...but still :cross: But they sho' do make some good beer. Cheers, Matt

So here's the story...I've been brewing for about 4 years now, and from the start I've been trying to get that grain/barley flavor in my beer. It's a subtle flavor that can be found in almost every commercial example form Sierra Nevada to Bud. Imagine my delight when I finally found that...

I decided to skip the 3 tier setup and start out with a single tier HERMS system. I can't say whether or not it improved my efficiency, but definitely slowed me down for the first two batches. Here are a few lessons from my experience: - Buy more hose and quick connect fittings than you think...

After brewing a 10 gallon batch this afternoon I realized that whole leaf hops absorb a lot of wort...3 quarts in my case. I used 6 oz of plugs to brew this beer, which is not my normal method, but my LHBS only had plugs of the variety I needed. I have 2 questions: 1. Do pellets absorb...

Thanks for the update. I will gladly wait for it since I loved the trial version. Now that I know what's happening I feel like an ass for expecting a quick turnaround. -Matt

I ordered the software on 3/8, and I have not been contacted or emailed. I tried calling them for the last 2 days and all I get is a message saying "please call back at a later time." Are they out of business? Thanks, Matt

I made my first all grain batch last weekend using a setup very similar to yours. I can confirm that you are unlikely to get get full pump flow through the grain bed, unless you are really moving the bottom of your grain bed constantly. I ended up choking back the discharge of the pump to...

Morebeer is in CA, and they offer free shipping on orders over $60. -Matt

I would recommend using a low flow through the pre-chiller and CFC. This gives the water more contact time with both the ice bath and the hot wort in your CFC. I don't have a CFC, but I do use a pre-chiller for my immersion system. I crudely balance the flow by feeling the tube temps on the...

OK, so as long as you keep the back pressure below the maximum for the pump, all is well. I used to work with dosing pump that used backpressure loops, but now I've got a sweet PD model that shuts itself down automatically. So what about the March pump, can it be controlled with a valve the...

What type of pumps don't have flow control. I though you could always adjust flow by restricting the outlet. Right or wrong? -Matt

One beer doesn't seem fitting enough. I have about 6 bottles of Belgian and north German beer from my last trip. Looks like tonight's the night. :mug: Here's to you:mug: -Matt

Thanks for the advice I agree with Damn Squirrels, this is a very unique screw-up. I had labels on every carboy except one, but I accidentally mislabeled the other carboy. This can all be traced back to having too much beer available at time of labeling:drunk: I will park the keg in the...

Here's the story: I went to transfer a amber ale into a keg the other day. I grabbed the only unlabeled carboy in my lagering chest and siphoned it into a keg (never mind why I had an ale in the lagering chest, it's a long story) I placed the keg on a 14 psi line for a few days and drew a...