Recent content by thesemicullen

I used one pack of T-58 in an 8% ABV Belgian and it worked like a charm. OG was around 1.080 and FG was around 1.018 (I don't have my notes here). I did rehydrate, but that was it. This yeast is a beast. It doesn't give a lot of the flavor profiles you often look for in a Belgian, but that's not...

I love black patent. I use it in my RISs where I purposefully use it in excess in lieu of extreme amounts of hops.

You can make a hop tea with them to get a better idea of the flavor and bitterness.

It depends on how much less mash water you're talking about. However, I don't think you're going to improve your gravity readings by reducing your mash water and then adding plain water to the boil. In fact, this will probably cause you to have a lower OG than intended. If you're not getting...

I think the only downside of BIAB is when you want to do a beer with a huge grain bill. I did an imperial stout with a 25-pound grain bill and that was a chore. My kettle is 10 gallons, so I had to do a pretty thick mash to get everything to fit. Lifting the bag out was the biggest pain &#8211...

Growler filling shops are a recent phenomenon here in Memphis. The law used to require such places to also serve food. The law was rewritten and we've had several places pop up in the past year. The best of which, should you find yourself in Memphis, is the 30-tap Madison Growler Shop located...

No real help with your brew, but for commercial beers try and find Xingu - a Brazilian Schwarzbier. Quite good.

If I had it to do over again, that's what I would do. BIAB is very simple.

Another vote for US-05. It finishes so clean so I get all the flavors from my grains and hops.

I brewed the following on Monday: 10# Pilsner 1# Vienna 1# White wheat 1 oz. Kent Goldings @ 60 .5 oz Kent Goldings @ 30 .5 oz Kent Goldings @ flameout 1 pkg. Danstar Belle Saison I mashed for 90 minutes at 147/49. I BIAB, so my initial mash was 5 gallons and I was able to...

I pitched the smack pack. Two smack packs.

I brewed a Golden Strong on 6/15 and double pitched some Wyeast 3787. It fermented as vigorously as others have noted before. It has slowed quite a bit the past couple of days and last night I decided to take a sample to check the gravity. OG was 1.080 and it's down to 1.012, which is good by...

IPAs and hoppy beers in general. I'm generally not a fan of anything over 40-45 IBUs, except for the occasional RIS. I wish I was though, because the market is definitely skewed toward folks who like hoppier beers.

I think one of the best sources of information I've found for malts is actually Austin Homebrew Supply. Their descriptions for their grains are very good. As for crystal 20, 40, etc., the number basically specifies the degree of roast and the lovibond number. The lighter roasts like 20 and 40...

You missed that it's only an 11 liter batch. Looks like you'll have yourself a decent pale ale there. About 40-45 IBUs from what I can tell.