Search results

I'm unsure about the no-chill aspects of using the boil kettle, but I do chill and ferment in the boil kettle on a regular basis with great results. It does require building an airtight seal, which can be achieved with a silicone hose with 1/8" wall and a bunch of 1" binder clips. There are a...

I harvest dry yeast all the time including Nottingham, US-05, 34/70, Lutra, etc.. In addition to saving some money, from my results, they actually perform better 2 or 3 generations deep. From each harvest I typically fill 3 or 4 pint size mason jars with slurry. Just boil the jars, lids, and...

Thanks 505. Is there a benefit of doing a "bottle carb" in the keg vs. putting it on a CO2 tank other than using more CO2? Sounds like a good opportunity to do a side-by-side test. ~HopSing.

I have the opposite problem! I'm doing 5 gallon batches every 2-3 weeks and I'm running low on "hobby time" so I was thinking about upgrading to do 10 gallon batches. My 4 tap beer fridge will only hold 6 kegs, so I'll need to add a few kegs to the 7 I own. Any advice on kegging then not...

I suggest adding Omega Lutra to the dry yeasts to try, especially during the warmer months if you don't have temperature control. I was a fan of the liquid Lutra for this reason and I'm a fan of the dry Lutra. The dry Lutra is easier to ship, store, and lasts a year or two in the right...

The current drive motor does not have a lot of torque and the drive wheel is pretty narrow, so even if the motor could turn it, the small contact patch between the drive wheel and the keg would likely slip and stop it from spinning if much resistance was applied. But if I rotate the desk chair...

Yeah, @Dr_Jeff that beerstone is like concrete once it starts to build up so it is an all day process. But the majority of that time is unattended while it spins and the chemicals go to work breaking it down. Once I get the beerstone out of my kegs, I don't think it would be more than a 30...

I’ve noticed what I believe to be beerstone building up inside of my kegs. It has not impacted flavor, so I was ignoring it, but as expected it continued to get worse. I read that beerstone could harbor harmful stuff. I’m not sure of that, but I am sure it just looks nasty so I wanted it gone. I...

I'm currently using a fire retardant wool blanket. It works great. It will never melt to your kettle, as I've heard some off-brands of Reflextics will. It's washable, and does an outstanding job insulating. I had to play with how to best fold it to cover what I needed covered and I'm...

I started exactly as you planned - in the garage with the propane turkey fryer. It was fine in the Spring and Fall, but summer brew days were brutal even with the garage door fully open. Plan on adding 10+ degrees to the outside temperature in the garage during the boil and dealing with...

I had the same experience when brewing with extract kits (e.g. Brewers Best). Kit names, beer types, and the color of the beer would change, but there was always the same underlying taste profile. The beers were not bad, but all had the "kit taste". When I decided to move to all grain, I...

Before switching to electric, I put a 24x24 concrete paver under the burner to protect the table I was using. A $8 insurance policy, in my opinion. It also caught some of the drips and spills and stopped the burner from sliding around on the smooth surface of the table I was using. ~HopSing.

Glad to know I'm doing my part by passing it through my kidney's first. :p ~HopSing.

Hey @Awnry Abe. Welcome to the forum and the hobby! With 42 batches under your belt, you're likely past the novice stage, but the leap to expert can take a lot longer. I have over 200 batches and 15+ years and still consider myself an intermediate brewer. You'll run into many true experts in...

The big brother to acetone is lacquer thinner when it comes to dissolving cured paint. If that stuff does not take it off, you'll likely need a non-solvent removal method. ~HopSing.

Before doing anything to radical, like drinking less (GASP!), I would try different yeasts. I'm betting the experts on the forum are correct and that it is related to fusel. If temp control is not available, perhaps give a Kveik yeast a try. I've tried a few and Lutra by Omega is the best one...

Exactly! Find a stainless steamer basket that is an inch to inch and half smaller in diameter and a little shorter in height to brew kettle. Bag goes into basket, basket goes into kettle. When mash is over, lift both. Use three of these S hooks (small size). They have a small ball attached...

Just like the marketing images, I typically serve my Blue Moon clone with a slice of orange to help accentuate the orange notes from the dried peel added during the boil. I Recently I found myself without an orange and resorted to adding 1/2 tablespoon or so of orange juice to the beer...

I'm not sure why that would be, but I typically don't go more than 3 generations deep with dry yeast. I probably could go more, but for an average price of $5 per packet, it's not worth it for me (I just picked up 8 packets of US-05 for $25. They don't expire until 2023). If you harvested...

Unless you're building something that requires the specific character of a liquid yeast, you might want to consider trying more dry yeasts, especially if you're looking to keep things simple. I've recently converted a die-hard liquid yeast friend to dry yeasts after his shipments with liquid...