Recent content by wes_d

It's not a rush so much as it is getting something you prepaid for ~3 months ago on the date it was promised to be delivered. AKA members holding the association they have joined accountable, as members should. The other thing of note is that it took the better part of two days to acknowledge...

Yes, I agree. A quick progress update email can go a long way with situations like this. I've not seen this mentioned on their site and their forums seem quiet on this issue, as well.

It's very disappointing. It's not like this came as a surprise to them. On another forum, the excuse given was about how busy they were with the awards presentation. Although I only caught about half, it seemed prerecorded.

I had a brief warm up this week where I'm at, and it reminded me of why I absolutely hate brewing in the Summer: flies. I guess a few flies didn't get the memo that it's still Winter, and had about 3 invade Saturday. I have 2 of those fly tape rolls hung in the garage, two locations, but they...

Brewed plenty of English Porters this year. English ingredients and making sure mash pH is correct really puts the final touches on it. My recipes are generally about the same as yours, give or take a percent here or there. I use Bairds C50/60 and Simpson's Chocolate. I've also gone 50/50 with...

Brewed 5 gallons on the 30th. 605 + 5 ---- 610 edit: btw, this was an all-grain variation - no dme on hand...

I brewed this today as my first all-grain, and I had 72% efficiency. My cooler mlt isn't finished yet, so I decided to use bags (paint-straining, 5 gallon). My final color was a bit more copper than I had expected - though I brewed a summer ale about 6 or 7 weeks ago and it had the same color...

Just a quick comment here, I usually find OxyClean generic in the dollar store. I'm not at home right now (posting from work), but I think it is called Amazing Oxygen Cleanser, and from what I remember, I believe it is cut with only a bit of Soda Ash or some other basic chemical.. maybe it is...

I probably forgot to mention the important part, here. I'm working with a cooler for which I will have to drill my own hole. With that being said, how hard is it to connect brass to CPVC? I'm sure it can be done, as I'm quite sure I've seen this done in old homes with the piping. I may...

I was in the same boat - I had taken a break from brewing for about 6 years or so. I ran across a kit I bought a couple years back and just didn't get around to brewing it. Life happened and stuff, and brewing had to take the back burner with the heat turned off. So, after I came across the kit...

Hi All: I'm sitting here and getting organized before pay day. Over the past month I have built a few brew items, and this was really the first time I've messed with hardware/plumbing stuff. My first project was an immersion chiller, which turned out very well. However, when I was buying the...

Yes, indeed. I wish I had hidden 12 or more. Or just forgot I had them, like this one. Wow, it was very nice, and while they were good a few months after bottling, I never would have imagined them maturing to this point. Anyway, thanks for sharing in the moment with me everyone. :) Wes

That I found a 6 year old Russian Imperial Stout that I brewed back in the very far reaches of my cabinet, mixed with some other misc. homebrews which weren't quite as old. This beer is like drinking an Imperial Stout Wine. I can't remember the recipe, but it was a kit-brew, partial mash. I...

+1 on bigger boil with a cheap, homemade immersion chiller. I have been using one myself a while and haven't been happier. Plus, it is much more sanitary for your wort to be chilled rapidly, and get covered up (with a lid + airlock), rather than sitting around, waiting for contaminates. Even an...

Out of curiosity, what did you sterilize the bottles with? If you used bleach and any happened to be left (and the original concentration was above the recommended levels) you could have killed the yeast. This isn't likely, but nevertheless I guess could happen in cases where the yeast...