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Soriachi Ace rawks. I wish I could use it more often. It's really good as a substitute for Simcoe in a double IPA. Also consider some coriander. I use 1-2 tablespoons of freshly crushed seed per 5.5 gallons in my tripels. Gives it some added complexity, IMO.

I also have the same handle on my steel 20 pounder. In any case, this is a steal at $35.

Here's how to read the tank code, including the hydro test date. http://www.catalinacylinders.com/markco2.html My CO2 guys don't give a honk about "Property of XYZ, do not refill under penalty of law" stickers, and they will just swap out test-overdue tanks with freshly tested ones. I go to...

Don't do it. High alcohol (yes, 7.5% is high enough) and hoppy beers make for a stressed yeast cake. You'll get off-flavors in your repitched beer, which will be quite obvious due to the more delicate flavor of an Oberon clone.

Magnum is an... interesting choice for the bittering hop. I would think it's too piney for a tripel. I use Mt. Hood, Liberty, or Styrian Goldings for Belgians depending on what's available to get a smooth, neutral bitterness. I use Caravienne a lot in tripels. Aromatic is better in a blonde...

The stuff in compressed air cans is a fluorocarbon, similar to Freon. You don't want that in your beer.

Is it a chest freezer? My chest freezers (a Kenmore and a Whirlpool) have the refrigeration coils in the side, towards the top. Drilled coil = busted fridge. If you're going to drill, I'd drill through the front or top door. However, it should fit just fine through the seal without any drilling.

Yes, WLP400=WY3944=Hoegaarden apparently. That's a beast of a witbier you're planning. I use 3944 a lot for wits, but I've never tried to go much beyond 5% abv. Make a big starter, aerate the wort, and you should get good attenuation.

I have just been informed by a colleague that ground glass sticking is not technically cold welding. They will eventually freeze nonetheless. I've seen it happen overnight, but typically it will take a few days.

I would be wary of using volumetrics to store yeast. They're not designed to handle internal pressure, nor will the stoppers stay in place if your sample offgasses. If they are ground glass stoppers, they will eventually cold-weld into the flask neck unless you grease them. They should...

The flip side of this is that long-term flavor stability is necessary in high-gravity beers like barleywines, RIS's, and so on. These need good oxygenation to fully attenuate. So then there's a tradeoff between oxidative damage to flavor stability and a strong, healthy fermentation...

I throw out everything plastic that touches brett. Since I usually add brett to kegs after fermenting with normal yeast, this just involves replacing the keg o-rings and lines. I also soak the keg overnight in oxyclean and then in sanitizer just to be sure. It's pretty hard to kill. I reused...

Boil it in water for ~10 minutes, then dunk it in sanitizer until it's ready for use.

Shall we then ignore the discovery and optimization of brewing yeast, or the science behind saccharification, or any other brewing-related component of the Scientific Revolution? None of these are ESSENTIAL for making beer. You can either use technology to rationally improve your process, or...

I came to this thread to say a trip can't ever be too dry, but... 1.004! Jebus. I have a good tripel on tap right now that finished out at 1.008. I would wait to add any unfermentables until the beer ages a bit and drops some of its solvent character. Then you can taste some and see if you...

An aftermarket temperature controller should let you set the cooler to whatever temperature you like. I use these: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_40_366&products_id=1214 +1 for pacman though. You could also try California Common or Kolsch yeasts but they...

Old thread, but I'd like to share what I know about Chicago water: -The City of Chicago's water comes out of Lake Michigan and in general is good for brewing unless you want to burtonize or otherwise futz with the water chemistry. It is moderately hard at ~140 mg/mL carbonate...

And I am not a big fan of 3068 for chicagobrews's reasons. I haven't used it since my days of extract brewing, so maybe things would be different now that I've improved my skills. Another yeast you might consider is WY3944, Belgian Wit. It may not be style-appropriate for a German hefe but...

I enter the date printed on the smack pack. It looks like Mr. Malty's viability calculations assume a ~20% drop in viability every month. That seems like a lot to me - I've made starters from 6-month old packs with no ill effect. I don't know of a better way to determine viability numbers...

100% brett or co-pitched beers are really... aggressive, taste-wise. Depends on how strong you want the brett qualities. I make a brett-Quadrupel by fermenting out with WY3522. Then I racked to a keg and added a pack of WY5112. Then I sealed it, purged it, and stuck it in a warm place for a...