'NewB'rewer in Seattle

[SmokeyRydr]

Hi Everyone. I've been lurking on HBT for a while as I've been learning about brewing.

Thanks to these forums and the guys at my local shop Brewhouse Provisions (http://www.brewhouseprovisions.com), I've done ten 5-gallon batches so far. Including Strong Belgian Ales, Porters, IPAs (shocker, I know) and even a Gluten-Free beer for a friend who is GF. Mostly extracts, but I did an all-grain as well.

What's the best advise so far?

Go straight to kegging! I did that and haven't looked back.
​

I've learned what most of you already know:

It's easy to brew a good drinkable beer, but it's really tough to brew the same beer consistently!​

In that vein, I'm working on dialing-in my simple extract rig (10g boiler, pump and counter-flow chiller), before I start shifting to all-grains.


I've scavenged most of my gear on Craig's List, but actually bought a pump and Exchilerator Counterflow Chiller (https://www.exchilerator.com/product/maxx-counterflow-wort-chiller). I'm really liking the Exchilerator. Taking 5g of boiling wort to pitching temp in 5 minutes is awesome!!!

I'm adding a DIY whirlpool arm and pickup tube as suggested here on HBT. I'm hoping to cut my kettle & trub loss down while having cleaner wort into the fermentor. More on that in the forums...

I've tried several sites & tools to track & calculate my brewing and I'm having a hard time deciding between the these: Brewer's friend, Brew Toad & Beer Smith. Use the poll or drop me a comment with your opinion.

Cheers!
Odin

 

[JohnSand]

Welcome aboard Smokey!
I think you'll find dedicated adherents to various calculators, it's a popular topic. I used Brewer's Friend for several years and like it. Now I mostly modify recipes I've already brewed or find new ones here on HBT or in BYO magazine. Good luck, keep us posted, and brew on!

 

[PeteSeattle]

Hi from Seattle!

I’ve been using Brewer’s Friend but have recently started using Brewfather. It’s a web based app which can be accessed anywhere there’s internet. I has great calculators plus an auto complete water calculator (once you input your parameters). It also works with my Bluetooth tilt hydrometer so I can see gravity and temperature change in real time.

Let us know how your whirlpool arm works out.

Cheers!

 

[SmokeyRydr]

Hey @PeteSeattle, I checked out the BrewFather site. Pretty nice and comparable to Brewer's Friend.

A couple of quick observations:
1) in an extract recipe, I found no way to control the time and temp for steeping grains in BrewFather, just %.
2) the brew day sheets on BrewFather weren't as nice as Brewer's Friend.

Thx for the tip. I'll play with it a bit more before decide where to put my $.

/Smokey

 

[PeteSeattle]

Hey @PeteSeattle, I checked out the BrewFather site. Pretty nice and comparable to Brewer's Friend.

A couple of quick observations:
1) in an extract recipe, I found no way to control the time and temp for steeping grains in BrewFather, just %.
2) the brew day sheets on BrewFather weren't as nice as Brewer's Friend.

Thx for the tip. I'll play with it a bit more before decide where to put my $.

/Smokey

Good observation. I can’t speak for the extract experience since I’m all grain. Things such as this submitted as a bug or support item will most likely be addressed shortly.

As for design I just got used to it. I am starting to like the minimalist look of it. Anyhow, glad you’re getting to try out several before you commit.

 

[SmokeyRydr]

here's my latest project: adding a DIY whirlpool arm and pickup tube to my brew kettle. Of course it leaves a nice cone in the middle but it also dropped my kettle loss to about 2 cups vs. 3 quarts before.

I'll post the specifics separately in a DIY forum.

 

[PeteSeattle]

here's my latest project: adding a DIY whirlpool arm and pickup tube to my brew kettle. Of course it leaves a nice cone in the middle but it also dropped my kettle loss to about 2 cups vs. 3 quarts before.

I'll post the specifics separately in a DIY forum.

View attachment 592342

Hey, that’s a pretty cool solution.

 

[SmokeyRydr]

Hey, that’s a pretty cool solution.

Here's the DIY Post