Recent content by sailorsam

I'd also like to pose another question about this technique... I've been thinking - perhaps I can't see the forest for the trees... In all of this talk about the Texas Two Step method, I was concerned about getting both halves of the split boil done in a single day. Perhaps the inoculation of...

Thanks Stardust... Believe it or not, I only made that observation about heating the burner beforehand during my last brewday. I felt kind of dumb for not noticing it before, but I really assumed that such a thing wouldn't make a big difference... Oh the perils of being self-taught! (I may...

15L Stainless Steel Kettle. I have another larger, thicker 20L S/S Kettle - but it's too hard to heat on my stove. Extract/Partial Mash. 23L Carboy. I shoot for 19/20L batch size - I top it up with water by sight and without markings, so there may be some variation. *My boil is essentially 2.5...

Maddad, I am glad you've had some success with the split boils. How do you handle specialty grains or partial mashing? For example, do you have to repeat the process exactly between both "batches"? I suppose you do need to complete two separate partial mashes/steeps in order to maximize your...

It doesn't seem to be too widespread - Chris Colby at Brew Your Own seems to be cited frequently as its proponent. "Texas Two Step" is probably just his catchy name for an uncommon process... It essentially seems to involve splitting the boil between two pots and then combining the wort in...

I am an extract brewer with a bad stove and a lack of space - specifically, I have no place to safely use a turkey fryer. I have been reading snippets about the Texas Two Step technique all day, but there is not a lot of discussion out there on it... I'm very fond of bitter, hoppy beers and...

Yeah, I've heard that about the chips. Apparently cubes are lower impact - so I'm going to give that a try if I ever get around to starting this project... Do you reuse the same pieces of wood for your sour projects, as a sour starter? Or do you just use fresh pieces to provide a new source...

I was thinking a longer boil would lend some pleasant caramelization to the beer, though I guess it is questionable whether or not that is a good thing. I'm not overly worried about the beer being too dark from an aesthetic POV, but the fermentability part could definitely be an issue if its...

Nasa, I know it has a moderately high IBU count but I'm just hoping to balance the maltiness to some extent, especially considering the bittering inefficiencies of a partial boil. These computer estimates could be way off in real life. I'm also thinking the small amount of Port soaked in the...

Thanks, Calder. I wouldn't have any worries about the yeast except for my lack of an effective oxygenation method. Shaking usually works out okay, but I haven't brewed much over 1.060 so I didn't know what to expect... I was thinking about adding some sugar at the expense of the crystal...

If I may also add... Do you think the flavours of Port would work well in a Barleywine, or would one be better off with an Imperial Stout or Belgian Strong Ale of some kind? I honestly just love Port and thought a jazzed up Barleywine would be nice...

Hey there, This is my first post - novice extract brewer here who has a couple batches/books under his belt. I could surely use some advice, though... I've been thinking about making my first high gravity beer, but I am not sure what the end result will be like. The concept is this: simple...