Messages

16

Kegging and Bottling / Re: Pin lock VS Ball Lock

« on: May 13, 2013, 01:28:01 PM »

I've got one that is very difficult to seal. I've been using my used kegs for fermenters and bought a couple new Italian kegs for serving. If I buy more kegs in the future, they'll be new.

17

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Goose Island beer

« on: May 13, 2013, 06:19:18 AM »

I've always been a Goose Island fan, drank a lot of of the 312 back in my formative beer years. I remember I went to a Cubs game a few years ago and afterwards my friend and I stopped at a bar a couple blocks away from Wrigley and got a Honker's. It was the freshest pint of Honker's I'd ever had, it rocked.  I miss the oatmeal stout, but they stopped bottling that a few years ago, it was one of my favorite commercial versions. I'm kind of surprised Sam Adam's doesn't have an oatmeal stout, now that I think about it.

18

Equipment and Software / Re: Mesh bags for hops?

« on: May 10, 2013, 11:24:36 AM »

Wouldn't the bag melt if it touches the bottom? Or do you keep the bag off the bottom somehow?

19

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: An observation...

« on: May 10, 2013, 11:14:47 AM »

Before I opened my brewery I was 165 lbs. close to 185 now and counting....

That doesn't make sense...shouldn't you be working harder now? Or is it because you're doing less hiking and the like?
I gained 15lbs when I started homebrewing 4 1/2 years ago and I'm still around that weight; lost a few pounds so far, I'm at 172. Currently trying to drop it down to 155 or so, but counting calories suuuuuuucks.

20

Equipment and Software / Re: PBW

« on: May 09, 2013, 09:13:03 AM »

Hot tap water is fine for carboys. My tap water is 110F or so and that worked great when I used carboys. I'd call that hot.

You can make your own PBW mix with a 70/30 blend of Oxiclean and TSP/90 (The Red Devil kind found at Ace Hardware). Much cheaper and just as effective.

21

All Grain Brewing / Re: a first - my hefe dropped clear!

« on: May 08, 2013, 01:56:18 PM »

Don't know, but kristalweizens are pretty tasty, also.

22

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Give this guy some beer

« on: May 08, 2013, 10:51:56 AM »

Target practice with a 30-30...pretty cool seeing them explode!

(and then recycle the cans of course)

Oh yes, of course.
He could do beer brats too....mmmm brats. Could go for a brat with some kraut and a nice helles right about now.

23

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Give this guy some beer

« on: May 08, 2013, 08:55:43 AM »

Ha, that's funny. I drink some PBR on occasion.

24

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: i'm brewing a beer for a movie

« on: May 08, 2013, 06:06:22 AM »

Awesome! Congratulations! Is this going to be a major production movie? Not straight to DVD?

25

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Mangrove Jack's Dry Yeast

« on: May 03, 2013, 07:15:39 PM »

I saw today that William's Brewing supplies has the Mangrove Jack's yeast. So I decided to make an order for the aeration wand and 2 packs of the Bavarian Hefe yeast. Going to ferment it at 68F, see if I can get the banana esters I want that I get from the Weihenstephaner yeast.

26

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: sanitation questions

« on: May 02, 2013, 07:11:23 AM »

The sanitizer can stay effective for a long time, I leave things like a wine thief, airlocks, and stoppers in it.  You can't leave some types of plastic in it though, vinyl beer line ends up with a gummy sticky coating on it from something in the starsan.

So is it bad to leave your beer line or a jumper hose for keg to keg transfer filled with sanitizer for a while? Say, a couple weeks or longer in between batches?

In my opinion, yes.  The gumminess is fine for a use, but then it gives critters a place to hide and will decrease the effectiveness of your sanitization.  On the other hand, it is caused by something coming out of solution and there is so little sanitizer actually left in your line that it might not be a big deal for a while.

Hmmm, perhaps when I sanitized the jumper after use I will let it empty and leave it like that. Or maybe I'll just rinse it out after use and sanitize before use. Thanks, Tom.

27

Kegging and Bottling / Re: IPA and Co2

« on: May 02, 2013, 06:59:44 AM »

Check your gas lines! I'm working through an issue right now where everything was turning funky (mainly noticeable in IPA's or hoppy beers) and not good after a few days to a week in the keg. I've narrowed it down (I think) to crud or mold in the gas lines. I disassembled my lines and soaked them for a day in Oxiclean, rinsed, and let hang dry for a couple days.  Just reassembled and kegged a nice IPA the other day. So far, so good.  The gas itself is fine, but if your gas lines have mold in them from back pressure or liquid/moisture getting in the lines (pressure in keg higher than what's going in), you'll get mold build up and the co2 going into the keg will taint your beer. I'm preeeeetty sure this is what was happening to me. If it isn't, then I am absolutely lost as to where to look next; I've cleaned, sanitized, replaced hoses, started fermenting in kegs, doing closed transfers, make sure I pitch a lot of yeast, aerate well, the works!

28

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: sanitation questions

« on: May 01, 2013, 10:58:47 AM »

The sanitizer can stay effective for a long time, I leave things like a wine thief, airlocks, and stoppers in it.  You can't leave some types of plastic in it though, vinyl beer line ends up with a gummy sticky coating on it from something in the starsan.

So is it bad to leave your beer line or a jumper hose for keg to keg transfer filled with sanitizer for a while? Say, a couple weeks or longer in between batches?

29

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Mangrove Jack's Dry Yeast

« on: April 30, 2013, 07:56:51 AM »

That's cool, always good to have more options. I'd be interested to try the Bavarian wheat strain. Haven't tried the WB-06 from Fermentis yet, but I've read that it's not very banana-y.

If the M20 is truly a dry version of 3638, I think the ester profile is largely the same as the Weihenstephan, but the phenolic side has some cinnamon/cardamom/vanilla and a bit less clovey-ness.

I'd like to order a couple packs, but shipping will be pricey. They do have a "super saver" option I guess...not sure about that though...suppose it wouldn't hurt for dry yeast.

30

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Mangrove Jack's Dry Yeast

« on: April 30, 2013, 06:20:45 AM »

That's cool, always good to have more options. I'd be interested to try the Bavarian wheat strain. Haven't tried the WB-06 from Fermentis yet, but I've read that it's not very banana-y.