Recent content by scocam

Great info! Thank you, malkore. Most of the beer probably would be considered a bit green. The oldest of the batches has been in the bottle for 6 weeks. This was my first (and most challenged) brew while the remaining batches are 5 weeks, 4 weeks, 2 weeks and 1 week in the bottle. The taste...

Absolutely brilliant. I just made this chiller. It was one of the most satisfying 30 minute projects I've ever completed. The cost was ~$50 for the copper, pump, tubing and connectors. It dropped my temps to ~75F in less than 15 minutes using about 3 gallons of ice water. Amazing! Thanks...

Hi All, I've brewed 5 PM batches so far (amber ale x2, brown ale x2, oatmeal stout x1) and each one definitely has its distinct characteristics. All are good but they all seem to have a common tasting note. I'm not sure if this is the extract twang that I'm reading about or not. It seems to...

Ahhh, my mind is at ease. I came home to find it fermenting away with about 2" of foam on top. Gotta love it. Air lock burps 2x/sec. Thanks for setting my mind at ease gentlemen. There something strangely settling about peer reassurance. :) Scott

Hi All, Just wanted to get a quick sanity check from some more experienced brewers. I brewed a partial mash Oatmeal Stout last night and everything went nearly perfectly and I even came close to nailing the target OG of 1.052. One concern for me is that I didn't allow the yeast to sit at...

I also have a Bayou Classic and have really enjoyed it. After trying to boil 5 gallons on a magnetic induction, flat-top range, it was absolutely necessary. 45+ minutes for only a rolling boil. The Bayou Classic is excellent; it focused the burner more so there isn't as much waste as an open...

Actually, a newbie poster was messing with you. It just wasn't intentional! Nothing like a rabble rouser to stir the pot (another intentionally bad pun. I'm full of em) and get the pros provoked and talking. Actually, I was grinning like a fool while reading all the replies. And it did nothing...

That's precisely it-- you got it. Heck no, this isn't my first brew! It's my second. :) Good idea on duplicating the recipe. I'd like to be able to better discern differences in taste from the different sparging methods. Actually, that's an excellent idea. Thanks! Scott

Thanks for the explanation and the welcome. BTW- Nice avatar-- Mississippi John Hurt is one of my favorite delta bluesmen.

Thanks, Fingers. I was wondering about the steeping time as well since almost everything I've read stated that an hour was the norm but the directions I had said only 30 minutes. I'll stick with what I read here rather than a generic, one-size-fits-all, xerox from now on. The bag was also a...

Nope! Actually, you may have hit the nail on the head with your last comment! I'll be sure to let everyone know.

Wow! Now that's a lot more answers/replies than I was expecting! Sorry for leaving you all hanging. I guess I didn't realize so much community support could happen in only 21 hours. First of all, thank you to everyone who commented for your time and reply to my inaugural post! boo boo - My...

Well, apparently in my excitement (but certainly not due in any part to my semi-lack of sobriety), I forgot to sparge after boiling the wort. I realized my error about an hour later and created a concentrated wort from reboiling a small batch and then gently squeezing the bag of grains and then...