Messages

1

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Brewstrong

« on: April 29, 2013, 07:44:28 am »

Basic Brewing Radio was very useful to me when I started homebrewing in early 2009, not just for information about homebrewing but also as my travel companion for long drives around Georgia for a job I had back then. I still listen and enjoy the shows, and don't find them at all dry. They are professionally done and often very amusing, and I feel comfortable recommending the shows (and the DVDs) to new homebrewers. I also appreciate the emphasis on entry-level brewing and on cost-effective approaches to have fun with the hobby.

I gave up on BN. There are gems of information in those podcasts, but the signal to noise ratio just isn't worth it.

2

Equipment and Software / Re: Storage of equipment (tubes, brushes, funnel, etc.)

« on: April 29, 2013, 06:07:18 am »

Funny you should ask, I'm an apartment brewer in stage 2 of getting my gear better organized. I'm using a combo of bins and plastic containers. Hoses are hung til they are dry and then coiled into a bucket. Long skinny things that can be hung are on the side hanging from hooks. Long things that can't be hung currently go into a wallpaper tray I use for sanitizing them, though I'm looking for another solution. I have an Ikea trip in my future to buy more bins.

Edit: Here's the shelving: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kgs/8692867956/

3

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: New brew pot suggestions

« on: April 17, 2013, 09:08:19 pm »

I have the 32-quart Winware. If you're doing 5-gallon batches, the 10-gallon pot is a good idea, and not much more money.

http://www.amazon.com/Winware-Stainless-Steel-Quart-Stock/dp/B001AS81BQ/

It's a really nice pot. You can build on it as you go -- add a ball valve, etc.

4

Ingredients / RO water

« on: April 16, 2013, 10:20:16 am »

SF gets all of its water from hetch hetchy, as far as I know. The EB sources can vary. SF water has also been treated with chloramine since 2004 (despite what some brewers think).

5

Ingredients / Getting started with Bru'n Water

« on: April 16, 2013, 10:18:16 am »

It is tasty water! I add a little campden. My hoppy beers have been unevenly hoppy and I have wondered if the drop in water levels and snowpack due to low precipitation has increased the average alkalinity. Thanks for the feedback on my figurin'!

6

Ingredients / Getting started with Bru'n Water

« on: April 16, 2013, 05:30:44 am »

To get used to this spreadsheet, I took the averages from the San Francisco County 2011 water report.


Here's the report: http://www.sfwater.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=2379


Here's a screen shot of the spreadsheet's water report input sheet:



http://www.flickr.com/photos/kgs/8655247088/


Does that look about right?

7

Ingredients / Re: RO water

« on: April 15, 2013, 05:36:58 am »

Thanks -- we probably have the same water source (Hetch Hetchy).

8

Ingredients / Re: RO water

« on: April 14, 2013, 08:16:28 am »

For CA Common, you want fairly soft water, as this is a style that developed from using snow-melt water.
IMHO, R/O with a touch of spring water should get you where you need to go.
I've done versions with hard & soft water & liked both results.
The harder water had a little more hop bite, but all have turned out nicely.
Seems this style is hard to kill.

Yeah, that's one of the reasons I like it. and it's a 'local' style. The test batch I brewed with water that has so much calcium that after boiling two kettles full in my tea kettle there was a noticable white flaky buildup.

The the next batch was with filtered sacremento water.

and this one was with RO + 2 gallons spring water.

we will see.

So how was it?

9

Equipment and Software / Re: Something to help with lifting

« on: April 07, 2013, 01:50:48 pm »

Alewyfe, what's your brewing process?  Also, are you seeking a temporary remediation of a problem or are you seeking to make your brewing more accessible in general for the long haul?

My own solution, which isn't for everyone, is to brew small. I also have a pump, which is great but as you point out only goes so far. My Radio Flyer is also handy. I just bought a small fridge and eliminated a big PITA for me which was lugging fermenters down stairs and then down a ramp and into a garage (and then up again). My dream is an all-electric mobile brewstand that is energy- and water-conscious and eliminates all heavy lifting. But I don't keg, which is one more thing to fit into the accessibility scenario. Use smaller kegs and more of them?

(And I drool over gymrat's hoist... just wouldn't work for my scenario. Though I keep trying to justify it... I guess I could buy a slipcover for it ;-) )

10

Equipment and Software / Re: Height, Depth of Danby DAR440

« on: April 07, 2013, 01:32:05 pm »

Update 1: Purchase done! Had a rebate check from CostCo so the fridge cost me about $100. Big thanks to the stranger who volunteered to muscle the fridge into my car.

Update 2: no mods needed for my purposes! Without removing anything other than the main shelves:

* A 5-gallon food-grade bucket with a standard airlock fits with plenty of clearance all around.
* A 5-gallon Better Bottle would fit if it had a silicon airlock.
* Two 3-gallon Better Bottle fermenters with silicon airlocks would work side-by-side, though with limited clearance between them.

Modding the door would allow more stuff to fit... can always do that someday. Met my primary goal, however.

I even put back most of the door shelves, since I will probably use the fridge to chill other things (Fermcap, etc.). I'm letting the fridge settle for a day before I turn it on (getting it home and into the apartment was its own interesting project). Next stop: temp controller!

No more dragging buckets up and down the stairs! Hello locked-in-temps! Guten tag, lagers!

11

Equipment and Software / Re: All-electric 3-gallon brewstand design

« on: April 07, 2013, 01:13:16 pm »

To minimize space and water use, you could use a plate chiller and fill your HLT with ice water to recirculate as chilling water. You'd need two pumps for that though. One for wort and one for ice water.

In this scenario, would a utility pump work? I already own one.

12

Equipment and Software / Re: All-electric 3-gallon brewstand design

« on: April 07, 2013, 08:20:26 am »

I too am about to descend into a period of No Life for a long while (PhD program)...

In?

Managerial leadership in the information professions (aka organizational leadership for librarians)

Wow!  Who knew such a thing existed?  I'm glad there are people who are interested in that.

Some people say that to me about homebrewing. :-)

13

Equipment and Software / Re: All-electric 3-gallon brewstand design

« on: April 06, 2013, 07:03:20 pm »

I too am about to descend into a period of No Life for a long while (PhD program)...

In?

Managerial leadership in the information professions (aka organizational leadership for librarians)

14

Equipment and Software / Re: All-electric 3-gallon brewstand design

« on: April 06, 2013, 09:04:10 am »

actually, my kettle is not getting used for a while ( i have my 10 year boards coming up that i have been studying for.) i would be happy to let you try my electric kettle and see.

That's a long way to send a kettle (and back), but that's a very kind offer. And funny enough that if you're up for it, message me. (The Sister and Brotherhood of the Traveling Kettle?)

I too am about to descend into a period of No Life for a long while (PhD program)... I'm finishing up some projects because of that. I'm thinking that with my "free life" over soon, in the next several weeks I'll get fermentation temp control out of the way first and do a small-fridge conversion. If I end up not brewing, I'll store beer in it!

15

Equipment and Software / Re: Height, Depth of Danby DAR440

« on: April 06, 2013, 08:53:05 am »

Buuuy it!

It's tomorrow's task! I found a thread on HBT that had very clear photos of the conversion. It looks like the interior door panel needs to be cut away, not unscrewed, so I have to figure out if I need the tool described in the thread or can get away with something else for a one-shot job.