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256

The Pub / Re: NASA finds 'significant' water on moon

« on: November 13, 2009, 01:40:49 PM »

I grew up watching the Apollo missions and have always had a fascination with space exploration. There is a NASA research facility here in the Cleveland area where they developed the heat-resistant tiles for the space shuttles. And, a guy I grew up with http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/good-mt.html ended up becoming an astronaut and did a space walk to repair the Hubbel Space Telescope on a recent shuttle mission. And I though making my own beer was cool...

257

The Pub / Re: Lets get to know each other!

« on: November 13, 2009, 01:32:54 PM »

My name is Jim. I'm 46, and live in Parma, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland) with my wife of 25 years. I'm a senior project manager for an environmental construction and remediation contracting company www.emsonsite.com. I mainly deal with project safety and environmental compliance and inside project management. Our son (23) is my assistant brewer, recently graduated from college, lives at home, and works for the same company I do as a field project assistant/technician. Our daughter (21) will finish her undergraduate degree this coming May, then continue to graduate school.

I've been brewing just over two years. I did a few extract batches, then switched to all grain. I am now set up for 10-gallon batches, have a temperature controlled fridge for fermenting and lagering, and have four faucets on a separate serving fridge. I'm a member of our local brewing club, the Society of Northeast Ohio Brewers ("SNOBs") http://www.beersnobs.org/ I brew all sorts of styles, but especially enjoy brewing German styles for the "OktoBEERfest!" I hold at my house each year. My latest brewing milestone is that I've begun buying base malt by the sack.

And, despite my best efforts to be a fairly rational person, I remain a Browns fan....

258

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Whatcha Brewin' this week -- 2009 Nov 11-17?

« on: November 11, 2009, 06:41:23 AM »

I'm brewing 10-gallons of imperial porter to split into two batches. One will be Denny's BVIP, and the other will be the "base" porter without the vanilla or bourbon. I did this last year and both beers turned out great. If you haven't tried the BVIP recipe, you're missing a good one. Thanks Denny!

259

Questions about the forum? / Re: bigger images

« on: November 10, 2009, 10:37:10 AM »

Quote from: denny on November 09, 2009, 10:55:53 AM

Quote from: bonjour on November 09, 2009, 10:44:37 AM
Quote from: denny on November 09, 2009, 10:40:21 AM
Quote from: dbeechum on November 09, 2009, 10:36:12 AM
Ok, we'll try 640x480 for a while and see how it works for people.

Man, I'm getting old cause I remember when having a screen that ws 640x480 was badddd assss

You and me both, man, and I'm old enough to be your father! OK, maybe older brother!
You forgot that you would NEVER in your lifetime need more storage than a 10MB hrad drive could provide!!!

Do they even make those anymore?

You get more storage than that on a USB memory stick! I had one of the first computer based recording studios in the US. I looked all over for the biggest HD I could find. I ended up with a 212 MB drive that I paid $1500 for!

Yeah... I used to work for an audio-visual company, and recall when we moved from CPM-based machines to PCs. I remember when we bought our first computer for my Dad's family business back in the mid-80s. The "big decision" was whether to get the 10MB or 20MB hard drive - a price difference of about $500 at the time. We decided on the 20MB, figuring we'd never fill that up. I still often refer to file structure as "directories" rather than "folders," and occasionally get nostalgic for the old "C:\>" prompt...

260

Questions about the forum? / Re: Weekly "whose brewing" thread.

« on: November 10, 2009, 10:28:42 AM »

Cool by me - especially letting the old ones die. If not a sticky, the subject of the OP should at least include a date - maybe the date of the Saturday of the appropriate weekend.

261

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: How many carboys do you own?

« on: November 10, 2009, 10:12:49 AM »

I have:

Two 6-gallon glass carboys
One 5-gallon glass carboy
Two 7.9-gallon buckets
One converted Sanke keg fermenter
Eight corny kegs

I seldom use the carboys anymore. I've started skipping the secondary for most ales, and just cold crash, and keg after a longer primary. For lagers, I rack to a corny for secondary and lagering.

262

The Pub / Re: What do you like besides homebrew

« on: November 10, 2009, 08:12:18 AM »

- BSA volunteer at District and Council levels
- Hiking, backpacking, cycling
- Playing & recording music (guitar, bass, keyboards, ukulele, dulcimer)
- Cooking
- Gardening (includes hops)
- Reading

263

The Pub / Re: Football Thread

« on: November 10, 2009, 08:01:30 AM »

Quote from: weazletoe on November 06, 2009, 10:12:44 PM

Go Browns? $:-\$

+1 ?

264

The Pub / Re: Howdy everybody!

« on: November 10, 2009, 07:59:13 AM »

Well, better late than never...

Greetings from Cleveland!

265

Equipment and Software / Re: How do you chill your wort?

« on: November 10, 2009, 07:40:17 AM »

I have the 3/8" x 25' IC that I started out with and still use for 5-gallon batches, and also have a 1/2" x 50' IC I built for 10-gallon batches. I chill to around 80F with tap water, then switch to recirculating ice water to get down to pitching temps. I'm hoping to add a pump soon (hear that Santa?) so I can whirlpool while chilling.

266

Equipment and Software / Re: How do you brew?

« on: November 10, 2009, 07:33:48 AM »

I crush with a Barley Crusher, mash in a cooler and batch sparge. For now, my setup is pretty simple (see pic), and I do the whole brew day on the patio. Over the winter, I'll be working on converting a used factory cart into a two-burner brew cart with a pump. The idea is to eliminate as much lifting as I can.

267

All Grain Brewing / Re: What kind of mash tun do you use?

« on: November 10, 2009, 06:51:27 AM »

I use a 28-quart Rubbermaid for 5-gallon batches, and a 60-quart Igloo for 10-gallon batches and higher gravity beers. I use the same CPVC manifold in both with some minor reconfiguration.