Recent content by Solstice-Brewing

I've been working on sours recently. I'm happy to share a recipe, but here, I think the process is more important. The BIAC is perfect for kettle souring in that everything the bacteria is touching in the souring process is going to be boiled - keeping everything clean. Here's my simplified...

For what it's worth, I'm brewing a kettle-soured (just slightly tart) blood orange imperial stout today and want a syrupy feel to it. To augment the mouthfeel, I'm adding 7% carapils, 5% flaked oats and 1 lb of malto-dextrin (10 gal). Mashing at 155. 8oz of hops for and estimated 90 IBUs...

Hey Ron8, I figured putting the cold air in at the top would allow the colder, denser air to drop and mix it up a bit - allowing a more uniform temperature in the box. No calculations done - just seemed to make sense. As for cutting the foam board, I just used my table saw. Yes, it made...

Forgot to respond to this. First time I used the system, I doughed in and THEN turned on the pump - clog city. Ever since, I have the water recirculating as I dough in and the grain that makes it through the colander on the first stages of the mash generally get caught up the next go around...

Hi Ron8, Using the jacket for cooling sounds great! I haven't worked that into the system yet, but if I ever end up with a glycol chiller, that will certainly be used. Might have to consider that if the AC unit goes out. As for my chiller: no calculations went into the AC unit. I happened...

We Home Brewers on HOMEBREWtalk continue to help each other out, making our 5 and 10 gallon batches and beaming with pride as our friends - getting our free beer - say, “this is is the best beer I’ve ever tasted … you should open a brewery!”. We wistfully look up at the stars and think about...

Here are a few pics: First, the fermentation chamber (BIAC inside). The AC unit is hot-wired so that the fan and AC come on high when power is applied. This was a cheap workaround to make the system work like a cool-bot - but <$300 :). Also note that the cool side of the temp controller has...

Howdy and no worries, my original reply was MONTHS later than your original question :) For my medium system, I set my controller to 1% and that seems to do the job of holding the temps steady with no signs of scorching on the heating element post kegging. I might bump this up to 2% when...

BIAC sealing: Thanks for the replies, folks. Glad to hear it's not just me. I'll try the keg lube solution. I've cranked the clamp about as far as it will go, but will check to make sure it's true. I think the issue is that the gasket's round side that engages the lid can rotate, making the...

Does anyone else have issues with the lid gasket sealing? Seems like about every 3rd or 4th batch, I don't get a good seal. I don't think this is a big problem, but with CO2 leaking around the gasket, I don't get that warm fuzzy of a blooping system the next morning - having to sweat it out...

Sorry for the delayed response, but I see you already may have had this answered. I do have the unit that can be tuned to low percentages and although I haven't verified the accuracy of the power output at these low levels, it does the job for me. I'm able to keep the temps from getting too...

I do the same thing - the pint glasses don't come out until the yeast gets pitched. Brewing without drinking seems sacrilegious -

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/314/~/importers---social-security-number-%2F-tax-identification-number-%2F-irs-number-%2F FYI, here's a webpage for Customs and Boarder Protection that answers why this is necessary. Indeed, I was nervous about this as well, but it's required. cheers,

Hi all, I’ve made it to the end of this thread and learned a lot of terrific information about BIAC brewing! Thanks to all for all the helpful hints and confirmation of many of the things I’ve been experiencing. Background: I got my medium BIAC last summer (2015) and have 15 10 gallon...