Recent content by SolidBrewRider

I was thinking the same thing. I'll make sure the gap is adjusted ahead of time. Thanks.

Thanks for the advice. I chose to go with lukewarm being warm to touch and hot as full hot from the tap. The kit is happily bubbling away.

After years of brewing, my wife has finally pulled out my credit card at the local HB shop for a wine kit. Looking at the first steps of the kit, it says to add 2L of hot water to some chemicals followed by mixing in the juice along with lukewarm water to bring the volume to 6 gal. My...

Since upgrading to a Stout 1BBL setup, I have attempted to maintain the mash temperature by continually recirculating the mash through the HERMS coil. This has worked for my smaller 10-15 gal batches as I can slowly open the recirc valve to full open while setting the grain bed. The problem...

The d-rest is the one aspect that I have been considering the most. I'll keep an eye on the hydrometer readings. Is it safe to consider transferring to secondary once the d-rest is complete?

Thanks. I have a second 2L flask that I can employ. I'll split the yeast into the two. As for the secondary temps, The carboy will be sitting in a 10gal cooler with water recirculating based on the controller. I do not expect that I'll be able to get close to 32deg. I'll shoot for as low as...

I am preparing to make a Munich Helles with WLP838. I have purchased a Ranco temp controller to maintain temps. What can you recommend for a fermentation plan? I am planning: Create a starter ~1.5L in my 2L flask Ferment starter at room temps for a couple of days (I do this for ales...

Squeezing the tea bag results in extracting the tannins from the husks. This is the puckering effect your beer likely has, almost like drinking a very young cabernet wine. You'll want to let the bag drain naturally or "rinse" it by pouring additional sparge water over it while draining into...