Search results

To follow up on all this I think we're ready to make the purchase for our system. I've been looking at models, would you mind sharing more about your setup? We would have this chilling system in the kitchen. I am doing upwards to 20 gallon batches now, what kind of pump are you using? What is...

That's exactly what I had in mind, thanks! I've been reading more about spunding valves and I know some people here are fond of the PRV on the BIAC. Are people using this merely as a safety mechanism or are people retaining some dissolved CO2 as well? It looks like 3 psi is on the low end of...

Thanks everyone, all great information. I am intrigued by the idea of chaining fermenters to one. My lady and I usually make 18-20 gallon batches, 2 or 3 times a month so making most of fewer items is best. We like 4-5 gallon batches so we can experiment with dry hopping, yeast blends, so on...

Edit - Realized I was answering questions to a resurrected thread but the info may well apply to questions above. 1 There will be many that disagree with me, but I think making a starter from dry yeast is a great idea. Yes they were dried with stores of glycogen, but the many hands it changes...

Hey all, I am going to pick up some spunding valves for my keg fermenters. What has been people's experience in terms of how to control the fermentation to yield its own CO2 production? I visited a research brewery recently that yields half its CO2 from the yeast. The reason is to preserve...

I have stopped using crystal malts altogether because I'm not fond of the flavors it gives off. It tends to dominate beers, even at a low percentage for me. If you are using them for color there are cara reds that will add the dextrines for body and head retention and give you color. I use...

So what do people use to house their pump, power box, and controller? I was thinking of buying/building a utility cart so I can wheel the whole unit along with the conical. It'd be great to get some ideas from the good people here.

Especially if using RO, it would be a good idea to get yourself some MgSO4. Mg+ is an undervalued ion for many brewers but your yeast will thank you for the contribution. It acts as an enzyme cofactor for yeast, especially in high gravity environments. It also helps to have a salt that adds SO4...

It gets tight but I've thrown a most of a bag of malt in but I second the suggestion to mash with the colander raised. If not, wort will run out the conical and down the walls, big mess. Good luck.

what were the numbers? do you know the bicarbonate?

I've had mixed results with sour mashes but kettle sours have been great. Plenty of people do great with this classic practice but I've settled with souring wort. Wild souring more than commercial strains seem faster in driving the pH down. If you use commercial ones I would advise against L...

Within the unit, I've done ~19 gallons before on the system. If you are brewing in a place where spillage is less a concern I could definitely see going over 20 gallons pre-boil. But for batches larger than my 18 gallon target size, I mash and pour off 4 gallons into a kettle that goes to the...

I'm in!

What I had in mind was to circulate the 10 gallons (plus 3 gallon reservoir of the Lindr) from cooler to chiller. but using a coil sounds more efficient. This is becoming an increasingly expensive project and I have other areas of the brew process I had expected to invest in but I can't...

Very helpful buddy thank you! Is this for 5 gallon batches that you are dropping to pitch temps?

Thanks to you friend, maybe we can work this common issue out. I did the calculations and I have the BTUs needed. What I am unclear on is how to take this number to size my storage of cold fluid.

GotPushrods, I do something similar right now but I am not happy with buying bags of ice. I have a 20 gallon batch system so I need to utilize a 14 gallon vessel to drop ice in and I go through 4 bags to make it work. ajdelange, that's what I had in mind. I was considering having a 10 to 15...

I have a conical fermenter that I boil in. It has a jacket on it I can run tap water through to chill before pitching and maintaining fermentation temp control. The problem I am running into warm tap water as a challenge and I am sick of wasting water on the end of the cooling period. The hope...

Agreed, I used to believe warming and cooling beer will affect flavor drastically. I think you would need to hit some temps you don't seek in cellaring of beer before that happens (below 32 and above 90 for example). Some breweries warm condition their bottles and kegs (pFriem I think peaks out...

You have offered a lot of great input to the thread, thank you for it. I have a similar problem where my cooling times are just unreasonable. It's the largest bottleneck in my brew process because the water is too warm from the tap. I have a whirlpool arm I had fabricated which cools to 110 fast...