Recent content by zgardener

I'm using a calibrated pen meter. It measures my buffers/testing solution spot on, but in the mash tun it just seems way off. I've brewed this before with the same treatment, but it never measured nearly that high, never over 5.4 actually, and now I'm getting 6+? Something seems fishy...

I'm looking for an accurate Ph meter that can accurately read in temps over 50c (122f). My current meter is reading at 5.9 in my mash tun, which is at 150f. I seriously doubt that this is correct, as I am brewing with a decent amount of dark grains in this batch, I have added nearly 10g of...

Idk...I kinda like the balls to the wall approach. I have capacity, not going to temp control it, gonna do something not very high abv and let it go. I'll call it practice hitting my mash numbers.

Bugs = bacteria or wild yeast

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Wasn't sure where to post this, Yeast/Fermentation, Recipes, etc. So posting it here, hoping someone can weigh in. So, I had a starter get some bugs in it when I put it in the fridge to crash. I guess I forgot to tighten the lid, and when the starter cooled it pulled in some bugs. It's a...

Kegged 10 Gallons of an Imperial SMASH Blonde, brewed with 100% American 2 Row and Sterling Hops. Came in at a solid 7.3%. Brewing 20 gallons of a Wit today, boiling batch #1 now. Gonna fill up a Sanke keg for a boat party, and save the last 5 gallons for personal consumption ;)

Here is a banner I worked up for tailgates. I've been brewing full 1/2 bbl kegs for tailgate and they float so much faster than any commercial macro or micro in the past. The second was thrown together for a keg I brought to a boat party, that one floated before we even pushed off the dock...

I'm starting to think that may be my issue, the inside of my MLT has started to bubble up in a few places, and the false bottom doesnt sit 100% flush on the bottom. Could a screen, or piece of cheese cloth help with this? I've heard of some people using SS scrubbies as crude filters, maybe I...

with a 3" piece of high heat vinyl tubing, I've checked and double checked to make sure the worm clamps are tight, but that wouldn't explain why it would flow once I dumped out the mash, raised up the back of the false bottom a little, then put the mash back in...

Yeah, I'm positive it's not a priming issue, as I would unhook the pump, open the valve on the mash tun all the way and barely get a trickle, or sometimes not even a drop...

Yes, I did. I had 5 successful brews w/o issue with my HERMS set up, then the problem started. Last brew I didn't recirculate until my 20 min Vorlauf after mashout water was added (it didnt flow when I did the Vorlauf... I had to remedy the issue before I could recirc.

I get everything milled at AHS, never had an issue before.

Cool, what was your fermentation temp?

thanks for the suggestions. I added an extra 90 degree elbow to act as a pickup tube, and it lifts the false bottom up by maybe a 1/2", I'll loosen those nuts and see how it all works when I brew on Saturday.