Messages

586

Equipment and Software / Re: Questions you may have about March Pumps? post them here

« on: February 29, 2012, 01:20:45 pm »

Here's my system.

 

Where's the drool emote??? 

587

Equipment and Software / Re: Good video showing proper way to calibrate with an ice bath

« on: February 29, 2012, 10:38:11 am »

I came across it because the temp controller I bought allows for calibration, and I'd never done an ice bath calibration before.

I thought it was interesting how he says to leave it alone if its within the accuracy rating for a given thermometer.

588

Equipment and Software / Good video showing proper way to calibrate with an ice bath

« on: February 29, 2012, 09:05:54 am »

Found this today and thought I would share, its from the makers of the Thermapen:

The Truth About Ice Baths: Five Secrets Revealed

589

Equipment and Software / Re: I hope this pump is strong enough...

« on: February 28, 2012, 07:51:43 pm »

Well, I just tested the flow rate through my chiller and it works out to 40 GPH. I think I'll return it and get one that is rated higher (wow, 1/6th the "rated" flow rate, I wonder how they actually test them to get 264 GPH). The next one up is 620 GPH for $35. Assuming I get 1/6th of that I should be at 100 GPH. I can't find the web site where I saw a test of immersion chillers and recirculation of ice baths, but I seem to remember 100 GPH was the sweet spot.

590

Ingredients / Re: Deciphering the various water spreadsheets

« on: February 28, 2012, 01:23:59 pm »

Great, thanks for the help. I'm brewing it this weekend...

591

Ingredients / Re: Deciphering the various water spreadsheets

« on: February 28, 2012, 01:10:25 pm »

Actually, now that I look at it, I'd probably just brew with your existing profile.

You mean my existing water with no gypsum added of the one with gypsum?

592

Beer Recipes / Re: What makes a recipe "yours"?

« on: February 28, 2012, 11:40:12 am »

I don't think I should mess with existing recipes until I understand my process better and can reproduce the same batch. I just wasn't sure how protective people were of their "creations."

593

Ingredients / Re: Deciphering the various water spreadsheets

« on: February 28, 2012, 11:35:59 am »

OK, went back and did something a bit more simple (again, this is for an american pale ale). No dilution of my filtered tap water, just added a little gypsum:

594

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: First batch is drinkable!

« on: February 28, 2012, 10:47:21 am »

Gratz!

595

Beer Recipes / What makes a recipe "yours"?

« on: February 28, 2012, 10:25:56 am »

At what point can someone legitimately say a recipe is theirs, or uniquely theirs?

596

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Just had my first kolsh...

« on: February 27, 2012, 12:07:01 pm »

I'll chime in here. It's the wife's beer and I've made a total of about 40 or gallons of it. Three weeks in the bucket, and then in the keggerator. Starts clearing after two weeks, you can read a newspaper through it after four. I use the Wyeast Kölsch and ferment around 66º-68º It comes out really nice. Here's my very simple recipe:

http://hopville.com/recipe/1033643/klsch-recipes/wooden-shoe-klsch

Batch infusion at 148º, batch sparge around 165º. As far as water, mine is very soft, all I do is treat it for the chlorine/chloramine the city puts in there with a carbon filter and a Campden tablet. If your water is hard, Euge's suggestion of 20% tap with 80% bottled/RO would probably work well.

Thanks for the info.

I'm currently listening to an old episode of the Jamil Show where he discusses the style.

I ordered a freezer and temp controller this week so I can improve the fermentation side... 

597

Equipment and Software / Re: Accounting for Water Under a False Bottom

« on: February 25, 2012, 10:34:39 pm »

What you lose in the mash is a combination of the losses to deadspace and the water absorbed by the grain.  If your grists are relatively consistent in terms of lbs of grain then it doesn't matter.  You know how much you're going to lose. 

My differences arise when I'm mashing a much larger quantity of grain than my standard brews.  Since I take careful measurements with each brew, and I have a ton of data points I think a formula could be written to quantify the amount of deadspace vs grain absorption.  I actually wouldn't bother if my wife weren't a math teacher who lives for these kinds of word problems 

I just need to give her my data and she can punch it up in her graphing calculator.  Just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Have you messed with beersmith? It includes grain absorption and dead space when calculating the water you need for a mash. I think it needs to be tweaked for different people's equipment but from the little but I've used it, it seems to do a decent job.

598

Equipment and Software / Re: Accounting for Water Under a False Bottom

« on: February 25, 2012, 10:15:29 pm »

I see an adjustment for dead space in my equipment profile in Beersmith, but where is the adjustment for water under the false bottom that is otherwise lauterable?  Dead space would still be calculated into the liquor:grist ratio.

Not sure if I did it correctly but I drained mine until the flow stopped then I measure how much was left in there, then I entered that into the mash tun dead space value.

599

All Grain Brewing / Re: Go big or go home!!??

« on: February 25, 2012, 09:51:36 pm »

Sounds like you're having fun while making beer.

...and that's what it's all about. 

Yup! It seems to be turning out OK. I took a gravity reading last night and it's close to what beersmith predicted. Tastes decent, too (or rather, it doesn't taste like kerosene or donkey piss).

600

Ingredients / Re: Deciphering the various water spreadsheets

« on: February 24, 2012, 07:35:47 am »

Adding alkalinity and acidity to the water is counterproductive as Nate points out.  The next version of Bru'n Water already has more error checking capabilities and adding alkalinity and acidity is one of those warning flags that were built in.

Oh, nice. I look forward to that. In the mean time I'll go back and try this again.