Recent content by salanry

Thanks for the advice on Academy sports. Might make a good Christmas gift to myself.

That makes sense. Sounds like the Crystal 40 might be the best idea. Probably won't add it to this batch as I am looking to brew tonight. Thanks!

Has anyone ever tried to use caramel when brewing, in addition to malt extract? I have a stout that I will brewing this week and think that it would be great if it had some caramel hints to the taste. I am not a chemist so I am unsure of the composition of caramel. I am assuming it is loaded...

There were featured in the "Beer Wars" documentary that came out recently on Netflix (this is my second post today that has featured Beer Wars. They should pay me to promote it). Next time I am in PA I will go do a brewery tour. Awesome story. Being from the west coast, I have never had a...

Has anyone watched the documentary "Beer Wars"? (and no, I am not talking about the Broken Lizard movie "Beer Fest":) ) Beer Wars documents the fall of regional breweries to the big three during the 60's and 70's. It also documents the rise of microbreweries in recent years and the challenges...

I never got to thank everyone for their advice. I need to be better about staying active on this site. I took the advice of getting a 5 gallon kettle and it worked great. My first batch was bottled on Monday and I am going to begin my second tonight. It is an Irish Stout, perfect for the cold...

What is the ideal size for a brew kettle. This is my first batch and I have been told that 12 qts is fine but someone else told me to go with the 20 qt just in case it boils up. I already have a 12 qt vat and would prefer not spending $60 on a new kettle. Thoughts? Suggestions?