Messages

286

Equipment and Software / Cleaning and sanitizing airstones

« on: June 12, 2012, 10:30:30 AM »

What is the best way too clean and sanitize an airstone?  I got a cheapie blue aquarium bubbler that is 4" long.  Is it enough to leave it in sanitizer overnight?

287

Equipment and Software / Re: recirculating boil kettle during immersion chilling

« on: June 12, 2012, 10:17:32 AM »

Then I make up for the deficiency by placing 2-3 frozen and sanitized 2-liter PET bottles in the wort after I turn the chiller off and stir it a bit.

Making it as simple as possible and headache free is my goal. If it takes an extra 30 minutes to chill the wort the rest of the way with the PET bottles I don't care.

And my beer hasn't suffered one bit.

I was thinking of buying a propeller to stir the pot with a hand drill, but using frozen PET bottles sounds a lot easier.  I will try the frozen PET bottles now that my water temp will be over 60 F for the rest of the summer.

I've also used an aeration stone to stir up the wort during cooling (two birds with one stone) but I haven't tried to measure its effectiveness.  I stopped over concerns of properly sanitizing the stone.

288

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: St. Loius: Home brew illegal at festival

« on: June 12, 2012, 09:59:48 AM »

I'd like to see a new class of liquor license for festivals permitting the festivals to serve homebrew if they pay for taxes on the homebrew.  Illinois has new law on the books permitting people to sell food made at home (e.g., not in a commercial kitchen).  It's time to further deregulate homebrew.

289

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Yeast and Pressure

« on: June 12, 2012, 08:15:03 AM »

1 psi = 2.3 ft of water
Height of water in a airlock is ~1".  =>back pressure is miniscule.

Using foil on starter may be beneficial because it allows diffusion of air into the starter vessel. 

290

All Grain Brewing / Re: Is my water any good for all-grain brewing?

« on: June 12, 2012, 07:16:30 AM »

At first glance it looks fine.  The water has a mild alkalinity which is suitable with little to no adjustment for making most beers (a little acid may be necessary for pale beers and a little alkalinity may be necessary for dark beers).  For troubleshooting mash efficiency, check out Kai's website http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Troubleshooting_Brewhouse_Efficiency.

291

Beer Travel / Re: Albuquerque & Santa Fe

« on: June 09, 2012, 03:17:52 PM »

Nexus, La Cumbre and Marble are worth hitting up in Albuquerque. IMO Marble has the best atmosphere, Nexus has the best food (southwest twist on soul food), and La Cumbre has the best beer.

In Santa Fe stop at Santa Fe Brewing and if you skipped marble in Albuquerque they have a tap room in Santa Fe on the plaza.

Thanks for the info on Nexus.  When on family vacations, I have to keep the family happy so good food is often the most important criterion for choosing a brew pub.

292

Equipment and Software / Re: How's your Thermapen?

« on: June 09, 2012, 03:12:22 PM »

0.1 degrees? I'm happy if I get within one or two degrees of my strike temp. Hell, I doubt if even bud is that anal. 

The thing sounds like a great thermometer. But it is way overpriced, as is obvious by their offering higher priced "limited" designs.

I didn't say I was within 0.1 degrees of the desired strike temperature.  If I get within 2 F, I've hit the target as far as I'm concerned.

What I said was that I felt that I had sufficiently stirred the mash or properly mixed the water and the grains once the temperature variations within the mash got to 0.1 degrees F.

293

Equipment and Software / Re: How's your Thermapen?

« on: June 09, 2012, 11:46:27 AM »

You can instal a permanent dial thermometer and just walk up and look at it at any time and save way more $$$$$ if that's the way you look at it. 

I use my thermapen to check if I have stirred the mash enough.  When I don't see any more grain balls and the temperature fluctuations are below 0.1 F, I stop stirring and put the lid on the mash tun.  Can't do that with a dial thermometer!  Anecdoctally my mash efficiency improved since I started using the thermapen although it is pretty clear to me now that I wasn't stirring nearly enough before.

294

Beer Travel / Re: Albuquerque & Santa Fe

« on: June 05, 2012, 12:46:26 PM »

Any thoughts about Nexus Brewery in ABQ?

295

The Pub / Re: song title game

« on: May 22, 2012, 07:50:09 PM »

Right here, right now - Jesus Jones or High School Musical

296

The Pub / Re: song title game

« on: May 22, 2012, 07:13:39 PM »

Baby Got Back - Sir -Mix-A-Lot

BZZZT!

Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
-Led Zeppelin

I thought I restarted the chain with the following...

Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
-Led Zeppelin

You gotta go there to come back - Stereophonics

I got you babe -Sonny & Cher

297

The Pub / Re: song title game

« on: May 22, 2012, 08:16:38 AM »

Fight the Power - Public Enemy

298

Beer Travel / Re: Albuquerque & Santa Fe

« on: May 22, 2012, 08:12:07 AM »

Thanks for the recommendations

299

Beer Travel / Albuquerque & Santa Fe

« on: May 21, 2012, 12:55:59 PM »

I'm looking to visit 1-2 breweries in each city during my family vacation in June. My preference is for a brewpub with a good selection of beers with <7 % alc. beer, preferably served at temperatures you can taste the beer.  Good food is important for the other family members, but doesn't need to be fancy.  I like most beers except lagers.  Thanks

300

The Pub / Re: Police in Chicago bust NATO protestors homebrewing

« on: May 18, 2012, 11:40:35 AM »

Kinda reminds me of a story about 15 years ago when the FBI were following homebrewers home after visiting Brew and Grow/Chicago Indoor Garden Supply b/c they suspected the homebrewers of buying grow lights for the funny stuff.