Messages

2536

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: new

« on: December 31, 2009, 09:47:06 AM »

yeah, grab one of your homebrews and tell us about yourself

2537

Ingredients / Re: Best Malz lot analysis?

« on: December 30, 2009, 09:36:43 AM »

the volumes I measured were at no more than 150F.  There shouldn't be much difference in that, should there?

Isn't the volume difference between room temp and boiling something like 4%?  If you're measuring at 150F, that's about halfway so maybe 2%?  So, if you measured 10 gallons at 150F, it would really be 9.8 gallons - not a big difference but some.

2538

Equipment and Software / Re: Cooler woes.

« on: December 29, 2009, 10:27:07 AM »

I'll probably look at the lid. Bet it isn't insulated.

Part of what makes the Xtreme line of coolers "Xtreme" is insulation in the lid so that's probably not it.  Although additional insulation in the form of blankets/towels certainly won't hurt.

2539

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Canning Wort for Starters in Pressure Canner

« on: December 28, 2009, 07:43:41 AM »

The pressure canner gets up to temperature fast using a SQ 14 instead of the stove top.

Yep, and don't you love it when the first thing you see when you open the box for your new pressure canner is a big warning thing saying "Do not use with an outdoor propane burner".   Despite what they say, it works great with my SP-10

2540

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Canning Wort for Starters in Pressure Canner

« on: December 27, 2009, 05:48:02 PM »

IAnyone else use this method?

Absolutely!  Also pressure can a few 12ml vials of wort at the same time to use for the first step in propagating from a yeast slant.  Heck, even the slants were created with the pressure canner.

2541

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: HOPS!!!!

« on: December 26, 2009, 08:14:36 PM »

Are you doing a full boil or partial (needing to top up to 5 gallons afterward)?  If partial, what's your boil volume?  Partial boil can affect hop utilization.

2542

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Denny...

« on: December 23, 2009, 08:28:20 PM »

I guess I am the opposite. Most of the beers I brew are under 1.060.

I'm with you there.  1.060 is more like my top end.

2543

General Homebrew Discussion / AHA Polo shirts?

« on: December 23, 2009, 11:42:05 AM »

Now that AHA is getting into today's world with these wonderful forums/boards, would anyone be interested if they were to make polo shirts available in the "shop" section?  They've got Brewers Association polos (in white, god forbid, wife won't allow me to buy any white clothes, call me pigpen) but what's the possibility they might do them for AHA?  Something like...



...and maybe even a "Support Your Local Brewery" version...



Tees are fine for a lot of things, but I can get away with wearing polos for work (not tees).  Love the looks I get on days when I wear my Beer Advocate polo - lot's of double-takes.

2544

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Wyeast 1450

« on: December 22, 2009, 08:21:30 AM »

Hey Denny.  Is your's the old CL-50 yeast?

Not Denny but yep, that's exactly what it is

2545

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Fire at Guinness factory

« on: December 22, 2009, 08:18:39 AM »

Well, at least they should now have an enormous supply of roast barley.

2546

Questions about the forum? / Re: Another area / forum?

« on: December 19, 2009, 12:07:16 PM »

Anybody else wanna chime in?

Definitely agree with not adding endless amounts of subareas.  All Grain gets my vote.

2547

The Pub / Re: merry christmas folks

« on: December 19, 2009, 10:11:23 AM »

Since we're about to (are in the process of) get a foot of snow or so dumped on us

Already shoveled the first foot around 8:30-9:00 this morning here in Manassas.  Time to go out and shovel again.

Merry Christmas, all

2548

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Partial Mash Brewing using Homemade Mash Tun

« on: December 18, 2009, 09:48:53 AM »

Best bet for you might be to first..

Decide what temp you want you strike water to be.  Brewing software like Promash or Beersmith can do this for you.  Also a program someone distributed called MashWater.  Or you can just guess and use 12-13 (like Gail said above) degrees higher than your desired mash temp.

second... heat your strike water to 10 or so degrees higher than the temperature you came up with in the first step.  Dump this water into your cooler/tun and monitor its temp.  Once you lose the 10 degrees that you said it took for preheating the cooler, you should be down to your desired strike temp AND the cooler/tun is preheated.  Dump/stir in your grains and things should eventually settle down to your desired mash temp.

2549

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Dry hopping with pellets

« on: December 14, 2009, 01:44:57 PM »

I guess key word there is "gently".

yes, definitely, gently does it

2550

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Dry hopping with pellets

« on: December 14, 2009, 01:17:31 PM »

People say that the pellet hops will eventually drop out but I guess I've never had the patience to see just how long that might take to actually happen.  At least for me, even after two weeks, there were still some bits floating around.  I also have had issues with trying to filter at the siphon tip as the gunk can clog the filter material so it needs to be cleared and the siphon re-started.  All that said, what I have found to work for me, is those "paint strainer" bags you can get at home improvement joints like Lowes.  The size that fits a 5 gallon bucket comes two to a pack for just a couple of bucks.  I sanitize the bag and use it to line my bottling bucket.  Siphon like normal (and don't worry about getting some bits) and once done, gently lift the bag out of the bucket, taking any pellet bits with you.  Bottle as normal.