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Tannin seems to be the issue with the higher efficiency so I'll look for that when it's finished. This one is a lager and will have a long maturation schedule - perhaps I'll get lucky and not have a tannin taste. I suppose the better a system operates, the more careful one has to be.

That's interesting. I suppose if I'm consistently hitting these numbers AND the flavor is an issue, I'll need to adjust my crush as well. I'll be brewing again before today's brew is ready to taste so I'll be able to prove to myself that this wasn't a fluke ... or was. Thanks for that insight.

I should add that I've been getting between 75% and 80% consistently but I'm always experimenting with the flow of wort over the grain bed during RIM and I've modified my sparge shower a few times as well to get more even coverage of the grain. Today was the first time I used a new RIM return...

After continuous improvement of my all grain brewing system (3 vessel, direct fired mash tun/RIM) I hit 95% efficiency today. I did the calculations 3 times just to make sure. I am amazed! Is that even possible? I performed a 90 minute mash consisting of a 20 minute protein rest at 126, a 30...

I use a little more Star San, about 1.5 oz per 5 gallons, use it once to support a brewing/cleaning session and toss it. I guess I'm not frugal.

I shoot from the hip anally retentively.

I experiment with recipe creation and if something works well, it becomes a regular in my rotation. The most popular is a Helles that my wife requires we have on hand at all times. As long as I keep her supplied with her Helles, anything else is at my discretion.

As Duboman stated, a SMaSH brew will help you with understanding a very simple recipe and then you can build on it. When I first started all grain brewing, I brewed an all 2 row pale and cascade hop batch with just one ounce of cascade at 60 minutes and a basic yeast, WL001. That beer was so...

My first non-Harley... an experiment in customizing and hot-rodding a metric. I fell in love with this '99 Roadstar when she was stock, on the Yammie dealer's showroom floor. So I took her home and tore her apart. I think she's happier now.

Here you go: You can see the 2 O-rings. These seal the arm in the TC port. There is also a TC seal and clamp and the ball valve clamps to the arm with a seal and clamp as well. I keep the arm turned to the side and angled down just slightly. This keeps yeast/trub from falling into the racking...

Terry, The sprayer arm and female compression fitting came from Bargain Fittings. http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=46&product_id=157 I cut 3/4 inch off the short side to gain more clearance. Also, it comes with a male compression fitting but I chose to...

Perhaps this is true... I'm not a machinist and maybe I'm doing it wrong. I use high RPMs because a couple times the bit has grabbed the steel and caused a warped hole that I then had to work on to make it straight. At this point I count 7 holes I've successfully drilled and expanded this way...

Thanks! Ask all the questions you like. Yes, the camlocks and most other hardware came from Bargain Fittings. The sprayer is made from a dip tube and a female compression fitting. Here is the dip tube: http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=46&product_id=157...

Cpirius, I'll need to take some pics of that. Basically, the racking arm has two o-rings on it that seal the arm in the port. You loosen the tri-clamp a lttle and then turn the arm carefully. The handle on the arm indicates the position of the internal pipe.

Yes, drilled the hole myself. I use a starter bit and then a step bit. I go slow (push lightly) and use high speed. If the bit grabs the steel, that is when bad holes are created. I sand the hole for smoothness and then clean with Bar Keepers Friend to passivate the fresh steel. And thanks...

For adding yeast and hops for dry hopping: Yeast slurry goes into funnel and is washed down with some sterile water. I dry hop by first doing a quick boil of pellet hops, cool and pour into the funnel. Wash down with some sterile water.

From the inside: I attached an arm with a sprayer to distribute the wort/yeast/hops into the fermenter. I also made an aeration system that oxygenates the wort on it's way to the fermenter. As the wort enters the fermenter, so does the oxygen. The sprayer aids in churning the wort. This purges...

This is the port with the cap on it.

So here is the port in the conical fermenter. It's a 1/2 inch camlock and will take a cap for sealing the fermenter.

SWMBO holding a stainless steel funnel with hose and camlock connector to camlock port on conical fermenter. For introducing yeast and adding soaked pellet hops for dry hopping.