Search results

No, I didn't boil any harder than usual. After I scooped out the cold break foam that was on top of the wort, I had a good separation of clean wort and other material that collected at the bottom of the BK.

Adding a new gas line would involve trenching through rock and would require permits; so that would be a very expensive option. Thanks for suggesting it.

Hello – I did a brew that consisted of 79% Belgian Pilsner malt, which I had never used before. I had massive hot and cold break like I had never experienced. The hot break coagulated into floating nodules where the largest ones were about the size of my thumb. The cold break presented in a...

Hello – I am contemplating moving my brewing to a property that has a large residential propane tank and am wondering if it is feasible and safe to fill a small propane tank, like those typically used in home brewing or for backyard barbecues, from the large residential tank. What fittings might...

John S., if you want to do a closed transfer as you describe in post #15, once the beer starts to transfer (step 4) you will need the SV lower than the FV and before you connect the gas posts together (step 5). Once you connect the gas posts, both vessels will equalize in pressure and the beer...

@nonamekevin - Step 3 above is what I am talking about. Your plan is to decrease the temperature of the fermentor (keg) from 67-72F to 47-53F. That's somewhere between a 25F to 14F temperature change. If the fermentor is sealed, the beer and C02 in the head space will contract, causing a...

@ nonamekevin - you mention fermenting in a keg, doing a diacetyl rest and then cold crashing. Do you have a plan to deal with the pressure change due to the temperature change during the cold crash? There are several options, some are mentioned above. We can cover them if needed...

What was the DO reading of the worts?

That diagram is much more helpful than the picture. This motor is an AC induction motor. These motors don’t use magnets. These motors are very durable, inexpensive to manufacture and easy to turn on (apply AC power) and easy to turn off (remove AC power). The RPM speed is determined by the motor...

For electrical dryers, the 220 VAC is used to power the heat source. One leg or 120 VAC is used for the blower motor and the tumbler motor. Has dryers only use 120 VAC. 120 VAC wire color standard is: white is neutral (the left or large prong on a polarized AC cord & outlets), black OR red is...

@RyPA - One other potential improvement to your process is to get closer to the 170 F mash out temperature. Your first post mentions that you sparged with 160 F water. That's not going to get you to the target mash out temperature of 168 to 170 F. On your question about pre-boil and...

If you add dark grains late in the mash, consider what that will do to the mash pH and take steps to adjust as necessary.

@Jhedrick83 Try putting the last of the BK (trub & wort) in a sanitized growler or similar and place it in the refrigerator for a few days. It will settle out. Then you can pour the clear wort into your fermenter.

Instead of cutting the dip tube/spear … I use sanke spears instead of dip tubes. I have an assortment of sanke kegs, many with different length spears. I typically get about a 1/2” of trub and have found that with a spear that sits 1/4” above that expected trub line or 3/4” off the bottom of the...

To make it easier to remove the securing metal rings, I have ground down the outer edge of each end to make it easier to get a small straight bladed screw driver between the sanke neck and ring to pry it out. I also do my best to align the securing rings with the notch in the neck. To make them...

Here is another option for you to consider before you drill out your existing propane burners. I built my brew stand, plumbed for NG, using burners and thermostats from conventional tank water heaters. They are easy to find for free on Craig's List due to the hard water we have in SoCal. Since...

Just doing some brainstorming on how to reduce brewing equipment or have a device perform multiple functions. Along this line of thought; has anyone used a Counter Flow Chiller (CFC) or a plate chiller as a heat exchanger for mash temperature control instead of a HERMS coil or RIMS setup? It...

Maybe I am not seeing the internal hoses well, but your beer lines look really short. Have you done any beer line length calculations?

Check to see if your STC-1000s use the Microchip microcontroller. If they do, reprogram them using the STC-1000+ software. It is rock solid and enables creating 6 different fermentation profiles. Do a search on HBT for 1000+ and if am sure you will find the thread.

If you ever do decide to run the pump and heating element at the same time; it would be a good idea to have the pump turn on first while the heating element is off. Once the pump is up to speed, then turn on the heating element. I am not sure if either controller would support this in an...