2551
Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Yeast Culturing
« on: January 24, 2010, 09:41:59 pm »I may give it a try if I can find some damn agar within 50 miles of me.
it's pretty easy to make your own growth medium from DME and gelatin.
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it's pretty easy to make your own growth medium from DME and gelatin.
2552
Equipment and Software / Re: me no understand refractometer correction....
« on: January 24, 2010, 01:35:17 pm »
Hey blatz, I've been doing both to try to get some data points. Once I have 10 or so I'll let you know and hopefully we can compare notes.
2553
All Grain Brewing / Re: Do Finely Milled Grains Retain Less Water?
« on: January 24, 2010, 01:33:58 pm »BTW, according to Promash, I got 96% efficiency!
So you finally upgraded to fly sparging, eh?
2554
Equipment and Software / Re: me no understand refractometer correction....
« on: January 24, 2010, 11:15:01 am »
Suspended solids shouldn't have any impact on the RI. A cloudy sample makes it hard to read the line accurately. I don't think you could get a ~2°Bx discrepancy from that though.
Things like this are why I went back to using a hydrometer for all FG readings.
Things like this are why I went back to using a hydrometer for all FG readings.
2555
Equipment and Software / Re: How do you clean and reuse your grain and/or hop bags?
« on: January 24, 2010, 10:08:57 am »
I always turned them inside out and ran them through the dishwasher.
2556
The Pub / Re: Beer at Burger King
« on: January 24, 2010, 09:26:17 am »Perception is going to be hard to over come from parents who will view this as a "beer joint" now. Kids have a huge influence on parent's choice where to eat, especially at fast food places like BK, McD's, etc... Not all, but a lot will choose not to trade there because of it. Perception being the key word here. They are going to lose a lot of customers.
Maybe, but at least a few people will probably realize they can raise children and act like adults at the same time. Anything that chips away at the cultural stigma associated with drinking is a win in my book.
Whoopers just taste like butt to me. In fact, even just typing the word "Whooper", makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit.
What about "Whopper"? Can you type "Whopper"?
2557
Equipment and Software / Re: me no understand refractometer correction....
« on: January 24, 2010, 09:19:34 am »What was the final gravity reading of the refractometer?
my original brix (12) and my final brix (5)
2558
Equipment and Software / Re: me no understand refractometer correction....
« on: January 24, 2010, 09:18:31 am »
In my experience, the correlation becomes less reliable the further you get from "normal" gravity and attenuation. At 1.050 and 76%, I don't think that's your problem though. I think high concentrations of dissolved gases also throw off the refractive index, so if fermentation is active that could be a factor. It tends to RAISE the Brix reading though, IME. 5°Bx is very low.
2559
Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Liquid vs Dry Extract
« on: January 24, 2010, 09:11:25 am »I'm not sure I agree. LME is cheaper by the pound, but you need less DME for the same recipe.
I think if you do the math you'll find LME is actually cheaper per gravity unit.
I found dry easier to use and easier to measure, but it left a small sticky cloud no matter how carefully I tried to handle it.
Definitely; you end up with little bits of DME sticking to everything.
2561
Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: Liquid vs Dry Extract
« on: January 23, 2010, 10:52:43 pm »
Liquid: less expensive, attenuates better (mostly).
Dry: easier to handle, longer shelf life (especially at room temperature).
Dry: easier to handle, longer shelf life (especially at room temperature).
2562
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Scottish 60 = Good.
« on: January 23, 2010, 10:45:41 pm »
"Hot Scotchies" are tradition at meetings of the local club... Mmm.
2563
Yeast and Fermentation / Re: Mr Malty Yeast Calc - Slurry Thickness ?
« on: January 23, 2010, 12:42:43 am »
In my experience it stops compacting after about 3-4 days at refrigerator temps. So if you've had it chilled for about that long I would go with 4-4.5 billion/mL.
2564
Kegging and Bottling / Re: Do You Prime Your Kegs?
« on: January 23, 2010, 12:40:09 am »
Well, DME would be an obscenely expensive way to carbonate, but CO2 may be cheaper than sugar anyway. One mole (342 g) of sucrose ferments into four moles (176 g) of CO2. So basically two pounds of sugar yields one pound of CO2. For me, CO2 costs right around $1/lb, so it's cheaper than using table sugar.
2565
Equipment and Software / Re: Propane Burners
« on: January 22, 2010, 02:22:46 pm »Why not drain the mash tun into the kettle while it's already on the burner?If you batch sparge and you only own one burner, that may not be possible.
It isn't a problem for me. I just heat my sparge water to 200°F or so, set it aside, and by the time I'm done with the first runnings it's still plenty hot.