Messages

16

Ingredients / Looking for gratzer malt

« on: April 12, 2013, 08:09:17 AM »

Weyermann makes an oak smoked wheat malt I used in a First place Gratzer. Trouble is it cost me almost as much as the malt to have it shipped. I am working with my LHBS to get some ordered, but in the meantime does anyone know where I can get some and get flat rate shipping?

17

All Grain Brewing / Re: Trub removal

« on: March 14, 2013, 04:59:49 AM »

Sounds like trub removal is not a big deal. I like the stocking method, and i do have a "hopblocker" so I guess I'll have to find something else to keep me up at night. LOL
Thanks everyone.

18

All Grain Brewing / Re: hochkurz mash

« on: March 13, 2013, 10:53:57 AM »

  my batch sparge with strike water raising grist to 168F.

You might be able to get a few more points by fly sparging. Takes a little more time than batch sparging, but if you're decocting, what's a few more minutes. Besides it gives you more time to RDWHAHB and become one with your system/process!

19

All Grain Brewing / Re: Trub removal

« on: March 13, 2013, 10:36:08 AM »

I guess part of my original post was "what do the pros do" ie. the microbrewers. do they simply transfer ALL the wort to a fermenter? I was under the impression that a little trub was ok, but too much would result in inconsistant beer. Good beer is ok, but consistantly GREAT beer is my intent.

20

Ingredients / Re: Hop to complement Citra?

« on: March 13, 2013, 10:24:04 AM »

I am a big fan of Zythos, a Pacific NW blend, but Chinook and centennial are nice pairs with citra. Simcoe is another fav.

21

Equipment and Software / Re: PID autotune question

« on: March 13, 2013, 10:20:20 AM »

Make sure you start the auto-tune after you've got the flowrate adjusted and the water around mash temps.

When you say  "around mash temp" can you be more specific? I was thinking of preheating the water to around 110f and going from there.

22

Equipment and Software / PID autotune question

« on: March 11, 2013, 10:39:20 AM »

I have a RIMS and bought a new water heater element with a higher wattage than the existing one. I was gonna install and run the autotune function. Do you think recirculating water instead of wort will make much of a difference?

23

Equipment and Software / Re: Hoses gone wild

« on: March 11, 2013, 10:31:12 AM »

Blichmann's Beer Gun.
WAYYY simpler to use than the trad. CP filler! Morebeer.com has stainless QDs for 1/2" and are a little spendy.

24

All Grain Brewing / Trub removal

« on: March 07, 2013, 02:13:59 PM »

Been trying to tweak my system to maximize wort collection. I am set up to recirculate the boil(ed) wort through the CFWC and get a pretty decent whirlpool. But when I transfer to the fermentor I'm still picking up alot of trub. I've been xferring to a carboy;  letting it settle out and then rack to another carboy, but I end up leaving behind like a gallon of wort. I was gonna try putting a "starsan"ed mesh bag over the tube going to the carboy. Anybody have any ideas? I guess i could increase my batch size; just seems like 15-20% is such a waste. What do the "pros" do? 

25

Equipment and Software / Re: Pump technique and cleaning

« on: March 07, 2013, 12:06:13 PM »

I clean debris out of my boil kettle at the end of the day, partially fill with an Oxi or PBW solution and let
it recirculate through the pump. I rinse, recirculate, run my bucket of sanitizer through and then remove the hoses and blow a little air through the pump.

Is Oxi better/worse than PBW for cleaning copper CFWC?

26

Equipment and Software / Re: Chiller to pond pump question

« on: March 07, 2013, 11:43:17 AM »

Get one of these: http://morebeer.com/products/chillus-convolutus-counterflow-wort-chiller.html

27

Equipment and Software / Re: promash vs beersmith vs others

« on: March 07, 2013, 11:35:17 AM »

I have been using Promash for years and it does everything i need for recipe formulation. The only thing I dont like about it is running up and down the stairs to my PC on brew day.
I just downloaded the trial version of BeerSmith2 and have to admit there are alot of useful features. Like all new software there is a considerable learning curve and eventually i will make the switch.
Question: does beersmith lite work with beersmith2 or are they 2 seperate animals? I would like to use the full version to create and modify recipes and the lite version on my ipad for the brewery. do the two work together?

28

Equipment and Software / Re: March pump issues

« on: March 07, 2013, 11:04:48 AM »

Have you seen this thread about pump head orientation?
 
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=11157.0

Thank you so much for directing me to this thread. I have installed the new impeller and changed the orientation and Seems to work. Next test is to try recirculating with boiling water. My goal is to get enough flow to create a whirlpool in the BK while pushing the wort through the CFWC.

29

Equipment and Software / March pump issues

« on: February 25, 2013, 04:16:16 PM »

Its the one on the BK side to the CFWC. sometimes it doesnt want to pump. or it will start and quit in a few seconds. I tried lowering it but still has the same problem. i think it might be cavitating. i ordered a new impeller from Morebeer hope it corrects the problem. anyone else ever have this problem?

30

All Grain Brewing / Re: First Wort Hopping question

« on: February 19, 2013, 08:47:21 AM »

Guess I'm a little confused about IBUs. I always thought international bittering units was a measurement of bitterness- something that is quantifiable. So how can a beer with higher IBUs have less bitterness but more flavor? I agree with Denny that beer should is best enjoyed tasted and not measured, but when working with FW hopping and dry hopping (especially using a new hop) it is hard to know how much and how long. Is there a way of measuring how much flavor/aroma a hop will impart based on Alpha acid or some other metric?