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That's pretty much the norm. At the smaller breweries you may be talking to someone who helped brew the beer, but go any bigger than, say, Lightning, and you're probably talking to a server, not a brewer. Sure. Or just go find them.

Looks great. As a suggestion, move the hoses away from the burner area. I've blistered a few hoses that way.

Sounds like you've got yourself an impromptu chiller right there. The longer the better. Copper tubing is better than vinyl for this. Warning - you will need more ice than you think.

At random: Anything by Hangar 24, Goose Island, Ballast Point or Firestone Walker. Allagash Black Avery White Rascal St Bernardus Abt 12 Lost Abbey Inferno

Four are anonymous. Two go by the name of "Brett." They don't get along with the other four.

You probably do, in the bottom of some of the better beers in your fridge . . . I just made a Chimay clone with the yeast from a Chimay bottle.

I've been brewing seriously since Jan and so far have done about 180 gallons. (Batch averages 6 gallons; mostly 5's, some 10's.) I'd be worried my next big brewday will put me over the limit, but if it's _drinkable_ beer I'm still OK - I get about 4.3 gallons of a 5 gallon batch into bottles...

Usually I'll do one "big day" a month; I'll do 3-4 batches at once (much less cleanup!) It will take me all day, 8am to 10pm, including prep and cleanup.

We're pretty lucky here in San Diego; seems like you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a new microbrewery. Just used Scribble Maps to figure out my distances: Nearest microbreweries: Hess 1 mile, Callahan's (San Diego Brewing) 1 mile, Alesmith 1.2 miles, Ballast Point 3 miles Nearest...

So many categories so little time: Port Brewing Older Viscosity Goose Island Bourbon County Dogfish Head Festina Peche Hangar 24 Orange Wheat St Bernardus Abt 12 Allagash Black Avery White Rascal

There's really not that much to "jumping in." Just get a mash tun (converted coolers are pretty cheap) and get started. That's all you really need if you're willing to fill, vorlauf and sparge by hand. An HLT will make that easier, of course, and a pump would make it even easier, and an...

When I use the Minibrew (plastic) HLT to source hot water, I get a lot of condensation on the lid. It seeps over the edge onto the lip of the lid and then drips on everything, including the connection to the heater element. Anyone else have this problem, or know of any solutions? (other than...

For extract beers I use RO filtered water. Cleaner tasting beers result. For mashes I use carbon filtered tap water to retain the minerals (helps to buffer the mash.)

Longer is generally better.

Very true. Indeed, if the value of art is rated by people's interest in it or appreciation of it - AB/Inbev are much better "artists" than any of us.

Agreed. But there are a lot of bad cooks and bad brewers out there. Heck, there are a lot of terrible artists too - but what they do is still art.

I've been using a Minibrew electric HLT to heat water lately, but I'm having problems with temperature stratification. The first gallon or so I pull from the bottom tap is 20-30F below the temperature shown by the thermometer (about six inches above it, much closer to the element.) I assume...

I did a similar build, except the one chamber was 2 deep by 3 wide by 2.5 tall. The chamber could get to 45F but was close to burning itself out even in a 70F garage. (Compressor was way too hot to touch.) It can maintain 65F in a 70-90F garage with some straining (i.e. running about 50% of...

You may end up freezing the wort near the copper while the wort in the center remains warm. Recommendation: Get a bucket and two coils of copper tubing. They can be relatively short. The two coils should not be touching but should be in very close proximity. Fill bucket with water. Use...

If you don't have temp controlled fermentation, and it's hot out, try a Saison or something else you can ferment relatively warm. If you want to impress the women, try a wheat with fruit in it. If winter is coming up and you want something warmer, try a high gravity imperial stout. If...