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  1. MikeSzwaya

    Six year old homebrew... not terrible

    1994 Double Brown Ale. Haven't had the heart to open it. I don't know why. It's probably strong enough to have survived but I'm sure it's got some oxidation and next to no hop character left.
  2. MikeSzwaya

    HomebrewSupply Recipe Giveaway

    Russian Imperial Stout - All-Grain Recipe Kit
  3. MikeSzwaya

    The Brew Stand Incredible Giveaway

    Add me please.
  4. MikeSzwaya

    HomeBrewTalk 2014 Big Giveaway

    Count me in too. Thanks.
  5. MikeSzwaya

    Water Report Google Map - Add Your Info!

    I looked into it but it doesn't take ASCII.
  6. MikeSzwaya

    Water Report Google Map - Add Your Info!

    Portland (OR) Water Boundary added
  7. MikeSzwaya

    Water Report Google Map - Add Your Info!

    Seems like a good idea. Nice work. Couple things for the suggestion box... It would be nice if you could draw a blob or polygon to define the area the analysis is probably good for. I could add the Portland Water Bureau service area boundary pretty easily. It would also be nice to...
  8. MikeSzwaya

    Carboy/ Keg Cleaner Giveaway

    Add my name please. Thanks.
  9. MikeSzwaya

    Anyone use the disposable oxygen tanks for aerating?

    I just recently went back to the red O2 tank + SS stone method after years of using an aquarium pump/HEPA filter. This time though, I picked up a flowmeter to measure out the O2 rate. The Yeast book noted that around 9-12 ppm O2 was optimal and was something you just couldn't get using...
  10. MikeSzwaya

    Dead a/c in fermentation chamber

    I'm not sure why not. The Coolbot people are claiming they can get homemade walk-in coolers down to 38-42 with an A/C. I did not bypass. I simply plugged the A/C into the Ranco outlet and am letting it turn the A/C on and off. I'm a little naive on how A/C's run. I assumed that if I set...
  11. MikeSzwaya

    Dead a/c in fermentation chamber

    Hi all- I just finished a fermentation chamber for my conical. It's pretty tight - fully caulked, 2" pink foam board, and spray foam for gaps. The cooling system is basically a new 5,000 BTU Frigidaire fra052xt7 controlled by a Ranco controller with the temperature probe in a thermowell...
  12. MikeSzwaya

    Starter question - enough time to decant?

    I think you're heading in the right direction. But there's a couple things worth commenting on. Any of the dry yeast nowadays are good. I'll use them in a pinch. Just make sure to properly rehydrate them. Aim for as neutral a yeast as possible. The ferment of a big porter is already...
  13. MikeSzwaya

    Starter question - enough time to decant?

    There's some things you can do and some you probably shouldn't. Given your current yeast situation, I'd give up on the porter this weekend. It's not as simple as underpitching and hoping that it will finish out in time. You could leave it on the primary for months and it may not ever finish...
  14. MikeSzwaya

    Starter question - enough time to decant?

    +1. I'm assuming you are brewing a 5 gallon batch. Even so, you're drastically underpitching a 1.090 beer by at least half. At this point, 1.2L of a LME starter would have little impact on a high gravity porter. Lighter beers, perhaps. But I highly doubt it will affect a beer this dark. My...
  15. MikeSzwaya

    Is my lager ready for secondary?

    My hope is that those 3.5 vials we're awake and active - as in, put in a starter and added to the ferment when at high krausen. If so, you should be in good shape. If not...your beer right now is totally void of oxygen. I would expect that the yeast you added would live off their stored...
  16. MikeSzwaya

    My efficiency is terrible.

    Other than batch sparging giving *slightly* less efficiency that fly sparging, none of what you're describing sounds that far off. If you have a decent gram scale, you could calibrate the hydrometer better. I did a hydrometer calibration workshop for my local club a number of years back. The...
  17. MikeSzwaya

    Cleaning & caring for a grain mill

    Shop vac or compressed air. That's it. Mine has been going 20 years strong with no problems. I think I've squirted some lube on the crank spindle a couple times when it got a little squeaky. That was 7+ years ago.
  18. MikeSzwaya

    Propane Tank and Regulator freezing up

    I just had my first freeze-up in 20 years last Friday during the boil. I took what was left of the warm sparge water, put it in a spare bucket and dropped the LP tank in there. The burner instantly came back to life. I'll agree with mtbiker278's observation where the tank was less than a third...
  19. MikeSzwaya

    Is my lager ready for secondary?

    It may be too late now but consider a forced ferment test next time. Personally, I got tired of the "is it done yet?" feeling. A 250 ml sample is enough to use for a hydrometer test. This way, I know how much more I have to go and whether I should relax and let it finish out or consider...
  20. MikeSzwaya

    first time using a starter yeast.

    +1. 10 gallons of 1.060 wort will need roughly 12 million cells / mL. You won't get that from a 2L starter. 10 gallon batches are really difficult to pitch correctly from a smack pack/vial and just 1 starter step. It may work for a low gravity, sub-1.040 ale but that's about it. For a batch...
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