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  1. J

    What not to do with your spent grains

    I did this and was just gonna let it sour and turn into compost. Worked great until the dog came in the house smelling REALLY ripe. Took me a while to figure out what he had been rolling in till I saw some grain husks stuck to his fur. So I guess dogs love spent grains too but not maybe for...
  2. J

    I hate how mice love barley

    I thought the Hanta Virus was carried by deer mice. I dunno what I'd do if I was on your shoes; prolly depends on how many beers I've has on brewday.:drunk: Do you actually seen any droppings in the bag? I might try and salvage what I could. You are doing a 60 min. boil after all...
  3. J

    Ferment in the Brew kettle?

    Sounds like a fine idea to me. You might consider racking to a secondary (maybe a corny keg) in order to free up your brewpot.
  4. J

    Belgian Blond Ale SWMBO Slayer - Belgian Blonde

    I made a lighter version of this recipe recently. I used the exact grain bill, but my efficiency is 70% and batch size is 5.5gal (11gal. actually). The OG turned out at 1.048. All I can say is wow! It's been hot here and this is a great thirst quencher and session beer. I split my first...
  5. J

    integrated Immersion Chiller connection issues

    I have an immersion cooler made out of 50' of 3/8" copper. I initially tried to use compression fittings to connect the copper to 3/8" polyethylene tubing, but I always ended up with leaks on the poly side especially when hot. I ended up putting some quick disconnects on the IC and the tubing...
  6. J

    Better Bottle scum, how do you get rid of it?

    First, make sure you are not using water over 140 deg. Second, Oxyclean free, and let it soak. Given enough time it should loosen up everything so a good shake should be all that's necessary.
  7. J

    Do you clean your bottling bucket?

    Yes. Clean and sanitize. Remove the spigot and see how much gunk is stuck between the threads and the gasket. Or don't worry about it. I've done both with good results, but I think the risk/effort ratio favors spending a few minutes to be sure.
  8. J

    Best piece of equipment any brewer could have

    Yep. If you are limiting yourself to one piece of equipment, then it's gonna have to be a good pot to mash, boil, and ferment in.
  9. J

    Better Bottles... uh, why so expensive?

    I think if you compare the BB to it's "competition" (glass carboy) they are priced reasonably. There are lots of non-brewing marketed containers that are cheaper. Also, I'll just say that I really like my BB with the racking adapters. I use CO2 to push the beer into a corny keg without...
  10. J

    Oregon squashes Home Brew Competitions

    Basically this is a stupid "re-interpretation" of settled law. Quoting from an article: "The issue has to do with the judging," Bradley said Monday. "Judges are considered the public, and we cannot have the public tasting amateur wine or beer." Here's a link to the article...
  11. J

    Fermentation Chamber Build - need some ideas on cooling

    I built mine with a cooling chamber containing the fridge chiller plate and a fan to circulate air across a ferment chamber on each side. This way I have two separate temperature control zones. I had to add a "flapper" over the fans so air would not circulate backwards when one fan was on and...
  12. J

    Fermentation Chamber Build - need some ideas on cooling

    I've got a ferment chamber that I built using an old mini fridge for cooling. The fridge was a $25 craigslist find (with the coils on the back). I took it apart and have the compressor and condenser coils hanging out the back of the chamber. This works pretty well for two 6 gallon Better...
  13. J

    Best Thermometer for Mashing temps

    I much prefer the Bremometer on my converted keg MLT. I had used digital thermometers with a cooler MLT and had issues with the probe getting wet and giving erroneous readings. I really like not having to open the lid and fuss with stuff.
  14. J

    what do you do with extra wort?

    Sometimes I'll end up with some wort in the MLT that I don't need in the boil kettle; having already achieved correct boil volume. I have put this in the freezer (it was about 1.030) unboiled and used it for making a yeast starter.
  15. J

    autosiphon and better bottles

    I used to rest the tip of the autosiphon on the bottom outside ridge of the BB during a siphon. Worked pretty well. I have since upgraded to the adjustable racking attachment that is sold by BB. I really like how the racking adapter thing works.
  16. J

    No CO2 kegging idea

    I don't think you can carbonate a half keg like you want to. It would be like trying to bottle condition beer with the bottles half full. The small amount of head space is what creates enough pressure to carbonate at room temp. You would need to add enough priming sugar to achieve something...
  17. J

    source for BIG growlers?

    You might try 3 or 4 liter wine jugs. They can be had for real cheap or free. Maybe go for a walk around the neighborhood on garbage/recycle day?
  18. J

    Mash tonight, brew tomorrow? Bad idea?

    I think you should at least heat the wort up to 170-ish to pasteurize things, and denature the enzymes. Otherwise you are liable to end up with something funky growing in it.
  19. J

    Talk me out of doing an open fermentation

    I say give it a try, but maybe cover your bucket with a piece of cheese cloth to keep the dust out.
  20. J

    Grain bits in brew kettle

    I use my hop sack to filter the pieces out before the boil. I then clean it out and then use it for the hops. Just recently made one of them four legged hop sack holders; works great!
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