Messages

16

Ingredients / Re: All Zythos APA or IPA

« on: February 13, 2013, 10:23:26 AM »

Local brewpub just put a Zythos IPA on tap. It's OK, but not really my thing. I get dank flavors, some pine, similar to what I tend to get from Simcoe.  Not much citrus. (Their new Mosaic ale, on the other hand...  wow.)

17

Equipment and Software / Re: I am not sure where to post this but...

« on: February 13, 2013, 10:19:43 AM »

There are a few sites that sell outdoor-scale chess sets, and often you can get individual pieces.

Here's a wooden knight for a set with a 12" king, for example. You'll still have to work out how to attach it to your tap, but that should at least get you started.

18

Kegging and Bottling / Re: morebeer reconditioned corny kegs

« on: February 11, 2013, 03:28:41 PM »

I don't know kegs, but is there a reason you can't take a blowtorch to the thing and melt back the rubber so that you can get a socket on that nut?

19

Equipment and Software / Re: FastRack

« on: February 07, 2013, 02:02:31 PM »

I've been eyeballing it, wondering if it would be a better choice than the bottle tree I currently use during the cleaning/draining/sanitizing process.

20

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Add Extract DURING a Mini-Mash to use the Enzymes?

« on: February 05, 2013, 11:19:50 AM »

Seems to me that this would be one time it might be worth it to try Beano. Or would it be too watery even for a light beer clone?

21

The Pub / Re: Just checkin' in.

« on: February 04, 2013, 11:37:16 AM »

Been there, seem to do that with some regularity. Wishing you the best of luck with getting good help for it.

For what it's worth, I recommend volunteering. Helping other people seems to make you feel like a worthwhile human being more than indulging your own (usual) desires. But I also have to learn to take my own advise on the matter, sometimes.

22

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: I literally cannot wait any longer to try this

« on: February 01, 2013, 02:05:10 PM »

Hell, sometimes I just drink the entire hydrometer sample that I take before packaging!

Sometimes? Every time.

+1  If it's horrific, might as well not go through the trouble of bottling.

23

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: I literally cannot wait any longer to try this

« on: February 01, 2013, 12:01:42 PM »

These are the caps, right?  As far as labor-intensive goes, I bottle now.

The gas fitting doesn't look right.  I was thinking of these...

http://morebeer.com/view_product/18250/

They require a different fitting, which is another $4 part.  Here's the set. Also seems like a good way for people who have pin-lock systems to use carbonation caps.

24

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: I literally cannot wait any longer to try this

« on: February 01, 2013, 11:11:38 AM »

Silly question: could one theoretically forego a kegging system with bottles, carbonator caps, a CO2 tank, that the requisite hoses and regulator? (Currently lack space for a kegerator, but I could see this setup for, say, a small batch and a canoe trip.)

You could do that.  It would be kind of labor intensive and expensive for the caps, but it would work.

These are the caps, right?  As far as labor-intensive goes, I bottle now.

25

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: I literally cannot wait any longer to try this

« on: February 01, 2013, 10:28:33 AM »

I just took a gravity sample on a 10 day old IPA.  After I got my reading I put it in a PET bottle with a carbonator cap, hit it with 30 psi and stuck it in the freezer.  In an hour I'll have a cold, carbed sample to taste.

Carbonator caps are one of my favorite tools.

Silly question: could one theoretically forego a kegging system with bottles, carbonator caps, a CO2 tank, that the requisite hoses and regulator? (Currently lack space for a kegerator, but I could see this setup for, say, a small batch and a canoe trip.)

26

The Pub / Re: Lone Star Bock

« on: February 01, 2013, 10:23:21 AM »

I drank one of the last ones I had the other day. I didn't get diacityl.  I got maple syrup.  Sweet and cloying.

Today, I got a six pack of Alaskan Amber at my local beer store. "Buy the last six pack and I'll give you a 10% discount," the owner says.  "Sure!" I say.

Tastes a lot like Lone Star Bock to me.  Anyone want 5 bottles of Alaskan Amber?

Never been one of my favorites....

I tried a 6-pack because it said "alt" style on it. I was underwhelmed but Alaskan Amber is somewhat better than lonestar bock, but not by much.

Yeah. I got a 6-pack of Alaskan Amber because someone in my club was raving about it, talked me into getting a case for them when I was last in WI (since it's not distributed here). I suspect most of it is still taking up valuable fridge space that could be devoted to beers I would actually choose to drink.

27

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Questions about using corn meal

« on: January 31, 2013, 02:46:04 PM »

It can also magically have bugs appear in it. Take a good long look at it before using it, as a general rule.
/hates flour beetles.

28

All Grain Brewing / Re: Mash/Sparge H2O Amounts

« on: January 31, 2013, 02:31:12 PM »

OP: Couldn't you devise something with less dead space?

I don't suppose that expansion foam insulation stuff is food-grade...  Maybe a couple gallons of marbles?

29

Equipment and Software / Re: has anyone dissected their plate chiller?

« on: January 30, 2013, 03:26:17 PM »

I am NOT putting $2 on the table to see Tom chop up his plate chiller. It's like looking inside a burrito - some things you just don't do.

But unlike the burrito, you wouldn't have to put this back together again.

30

Equipment and Software / Re: has anyone dissected their plate chiller?

« on: January 29, 2013, 07:41:18 PM »

Oh heck, I'll play. $2 for cross-section pics from a well-loved plate chiller.