Messages

1

The Pub / Re: Good news! Beer bellies are a myth!

« on: June 14, 2013, 06:06:58 AM »

Sorry if i scare you. My metabolism is young, I can eat garbage all day and sit on the couch with brew all night, without gaining any weight. I have been told the only way I can gain weight, besides lifting weights "Like thats going to happen," is to get older. 150lbs and not yet thirty

Your time will come, son.  Your time will come.

2

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Who's going to NHC?

« on: June 04, 2013, 06:02:22 AM »

I'm going....not wearing anything special, though.  I'm also not affiliated with a club.  I guess you could say I'm going solo.  I only live about 50 miles NW of Philly, so I'm taking the train back and forth.  $90 total to commute is still cheaper than a hotel room....and I get to sleep in my own bed.

3

Ingredients / Re: Columbus hops

« on: March 24, 2013, 05:36:42 AM »

I just did an all Columbus pale ale a couple of weeks ago.  The additions I chose were: .5 oz 30 min and 1 oz ea @ 10, flameout, and dryhop (in primary after 4 days).  5 gal batch...OG 1.050.  It's been in the keg a week and the flavor is like eating a grapefruit.  My sniffer isn't very good, so I can't tell exactly what the aroma is (people say dank, pungent, citrusy...I have no idea), but it certainly smells good to me.   The only way you'll know is to give it a try.  If you don't like it, you can always send it to me...I'll even pay shipping.

4

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What is your favorite music to listen to while homebrewing?

« on: March 23, 2013, 05:51:30 AM »

My first concert was Rush on the Roll the Bones tour

Hold Your Fire '88, Presto '90, Roll the Bones '91, Counterparts '94

Test for Echo '97, Vapor Trails '02(I think), 30th Anniversary '04, Snakes and Arrows '07, Time Machine Tour '10(I think), Clockwork Angels '12....Unfortunately, I won't catch them on their extended tour this summer    Neil's drum solo is always worth the price of admission.

5

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What is your favorite music to listen to while homebrewing?

« on: March 07, 2013, 04:19:54 PM »

Rule #1: In my brewhouse its Rush. All Rush, all the time. No exceptions.

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about.  I don't generally listen to music but, when I do, it's either Rush or Dream Theater (Mike Portnoy era, of course)

6

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 2/16 Edition

« on: February 15, 2013, 01:40:18 PM »

SNPA Clone.  I know, I know...boring.  What can I say, it's a guilty pleasure 

7

Going Pro / Re: Pro Brewing Software

« on: February 14, 2013, 06:53:02 AM »

I use Beersmith to design the recipe and give me all the necessary calculations, but I use Excel to document the process and end result....for me, it's much easier to create a new tab for each new batch.  To be fair, I've been using the same Excel spreadsheet since batch no. 1 and I'm not ready to give it up, but Beersmith has helped me tremendously in the recipe design and alteration phase.

8

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Refactometer

« on: February 12, 2013, 06:11:15 PM »

i've tried several conversion methods and I never got an accurate reading for FG.

Yeah, I've never been able to get an accurate FG either, so I just use the hydrometer on the fermented side.  The refractometer sure is handy as hell for runnings gravity, preboil gravity, and OG, though.

9

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Anybody familiar with BRY-97 by lallemand?

« on: February 07, 2013, 09:50:35 AM »

I just used it in an American Brown this weekend.  I rehydrated it just as I do all dry yeast and it took about 36 hours for it to take off, but man, did it take off!!!  Let's just say I'm glad I used a blowoff tube.  It was very active at 64F.  From everything I've read, that's pretty much standard protocol for that yeast.  I won't know anything about flavor profile until I take a gravity reading in a few days, but it's my understanding that it's fairly clean.

10

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Why does all my beer taste the same?

« on: February 05, 2013, 08:30:09 AM »

Sounds like they're overcarbed.  Overcarbing can make your beer seem thin.  In my experience, the 3/4 cup of priming sugar that they include with those kits is way too much.  I generally go for about 4 oz of priming sugar per 5 gallons.  I use a calculator like this one  (http://www.brewblogger.net/index.php?page=tools&section=sugar) to determine exactly how much sugar to use.  I also prefer to weigh my sugar instead of measuring it.  I feel it's more consistent.  Hope this helps.

11

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Signs of Infection

« on: January 31, 2013, 06:51:41 PM »

Yep...I had a Celebration clone that finished 6 points lower than predicted because it was infected.  Looked great, but smelled and tasted awful.  My first post, by the way.