2506
Equipment and Software / Re: Carboy Hauler
« on: January 13, 2010, 07:27:37 PM »
Yep, love mine also. Will probably get another one just because I couldn't live without it if something happened to my first one. 
News: Welcome to the American Homebrewers Association Forum. Though you do not need to be a member to participate, we would love for you to join us!
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
2507
The Pub / Re: Name My Pub - Finals
« on: January 13, 2010, 02:12:28 PM »
I like "Reads Landing"
2508
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: cleaning
« on: January 13, 2010, 02:08:41 PM »
OxyClean, StarSan, and Barkeeper's Friend
2509
The Pub / Re: Haitian Earthquake
« on: January 13, 2010, 11:44:08 AM »A travesty of unimaginable magnitude!Prayers to those affected.....
maybe you meant "tragedy" ?
2510
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Pressure Canning Wort For Starters
« on: January 13, 2010, 10:08:19 AM »
The OP specifically asked for alternatives "rather than make a starter every time I'm about to brew". Plus there are lots of other advantages to canning starter wort.
1. No need to do the mix-boil-chill hassle every time you need a starter.
2. No need to keep DME around. When I used to handle that stuff, I could never avoid making a giant mess (plus it's expensive).
3. If you're culturing yeast, you've got "sterile" starter wort for the intial steps. Boiling only gets you "sanitized" starter wort.
4. Gives you more to do with your pressure canner
and it's really not much hassle to mash up a small batch to get your wort collection started. You don't even have to boil it - the pressure canner takes care of that. Once you've got some jars canned up, then it's an easy thing to just bump your batch size up slightly each time you brew and can the extra for more starters.
1. No need to do the mix-boil-chill hassle every time you need a starter.
2. No need to keep DME around. When I used to handle that stuff, I could never avoid making a giant mess (plus it's expensive).
3. If you're culturing yeast, you've got "sterile" starter wort for the intial steps. Boiling only gets you "sanitized" starter wort.
4. Gives you more to do with your pressure canner
and it's really not much hassle to mash up a small batch to get your wort collection started. You don't even have to boil it - the pressure canner takes care of that. Once you've got some jars canned up, then it's an easy thing to just bump your batch size up slightly each time you brew and can the extra for more starters.
2511
Yeast and Fermentation / Re: stuff I'm finding under the microscope
« on: January 13, 2010, 09:49:48 AM »
Maybe the magnification is off and the "thing" is really...
2512
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: wort chiller
« on: January 13, 2010, 09:36:51 AM »
Sounds like you've already got the chiller, just need to hook it up to the sink? If so, and assuming it has garden hose type connectors, you just need one of these...
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/faucet-adapter.html
unfortunately, they're out of stock at the moment, but someone else probably has them.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/faucet-adapter.html
unfortunately, they're out of stock at the moment, but someone else probably has them.
2513
Equipment and Software / Re: water filters
« on: January 13, 2010, 07:14:20 AM »chlorine filter on the water line coming into the sink.
First thing to do is check with your municipality supplying your water and find out if they use chlorine or chloramines. Most these days are moving to chloramines. If so, it means a much different filter than what will filter out simple chlorine.
Probably a lot simpler to just use Campden tablets - they wipe out both chlorine and chloramines.
2514
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Pressure Canning Wort For Starters
« on: January 12, 2010, 06:25:56 PM »1. What pressure level should I maintain and for how long?I always give it 15 minutes at 15 pounds
Quote
2. How full do I fill the jars?I fill them to the bottom of the threads
Quote
3. Is there anything else you need to add other than boiled wort?I haven't but some people add yeast nutrient. Might start doing that.
Quote
4. How long have you kept it for?Only been doing for six months or so so that's all the longer I've kept 'em
2515
The Pub / How appropriate is this
« on: January 11, 2010, 07:27:28 AM »
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/10/AR2010011002558.html?hpid=artslot
What's next? brewing on the subway?
What's next? brewing on the subway?
2516
Ingredients / Re: Correctly reading ph test strips
« on: January 10, 2010, 08:23:16 PM »will give a reading that is about 0.3 lower than the mash's room temp pH.
So since that is room temp pH and mash temp pH is about 0.3 lower than room temp pH does that mean that the reading on the strip ends up being equal to the mash temp pH? and it's the mash temp pH that we're targeting to be 5.2?
2517
Ingredients / Re: Correctly reading ph test strips
« on: January 10, 2010, 12:46:02 PM »"I.e. the strips tend to report a pH reading that is about 0.3 pH less than what is determined with a calibrated pH meter"
Ok, got that part. So above, when I read 5.8 with the strip, that really means 6.1? Still leaves what do I do about the temp? The ph at mash temp is supposedly 0.3 off from the ph at ambient. Do I add or subtract 0.3? Ultimately, I guess I want to find out how from the magical 5.2 I am so I can see which direction to adjust things, right?
2518
Equipment and Software / Re: Ice Cube MLT conversion
« on: January 09, 2010, 09:32:49 PM »
Shouldn't need to cut a new hole. As long as you have the two elbows (in the picture above), you could just attach a braid instead of the manifold shown. Both (manifold or braid) should work equally for batch sparging and leave you about the same amount of deadspace.
2519
Ingredients / Correctly reading ph test strips
« on: January 09, 2010, 04:48:41 PM »
Ok, I've seen all the discussion about the difference between ph at mash temp and at room temp... also the discussion of the test strips reading about 0.3 hi/lo. And now I'm confused.
I wait at least 10 minutes after dough-in, collect a small sample that is, as much as possible, just liquid, let it cool to ambient temp, and then check it with the test strip. Say I read 5.8. Does that mean the mash ph was 5.5? (subtract 0.3 for temperature)... or was it 5.2? (subtract 0.3 for temp and another 0.3 for strip inaccuracy)... or was it 5.8? (subtract 0.3 and then add 0.3)... or am I adding when I should be subtracting or what?
Also, if ph differs at the different temperatures, when they say 5.2 is ideal, what temp is that at?
I wait at least 10 minutes after dough-in, collect a small sample that is, as much as possible, just liquid, let it cool to ambient temp, and then check it with the test strip. Say I read 5.8. Does that mean the mash ph was 5.5? (subtract 0.3 for temperature)... or was it 5.2? (subtract 0.3 for temp and another 0.3 for strip inaccuracy)... or was it 5.8? (subtract 0.3 and then add 0.3)... or am I adding when I should be subtracting or what?
Also, if ph differs at the different temperatures, when they say 5.2 is ideal, what temp is that at?
2520
Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Yeast Culturing
« on: January 08, 2010, 05:40:08 PM »Kai's recipe:
* 100 ml wort
* 3-4 g agar
http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Making_Plates_Slants
This is the ratio that works best for me (4% that is). I find it easier to squirt 5ml of wort into as many of the 12ml vials as I want slants. I then weigh out enough agar to come out to about 4g for every 100ml. Divide it up by eye into equal portions (and hope nobody walks in while I'm pushing white powder around with a razor blade) and dump a portion into each vial. Shake it up good and then pressure can them.
If I mix in the agar first, it starts to set before I get all the mixture measured into the vials and if I use less than the 4% ratio, my slants "slump".