Messages

1

Going Pro / Re: New opportunity...

« on: Today at 11:03:31 am »

What boots do you recommend?  I haven't found any that I love.

I wear pretty basic calf-height work boots. The key (for me at least) was to get some with decent support. The disposable insoles really help me too. http://www.shoesforcrews.com/sfc3/index.cfm?changeWebsite=US_en&route=c_store.viewDetailsOfProduct&partnumber=2060

I like the price   I also like that they are slip-on, I don't want to have to lace up boots.

+1 to good boots and a change of clothes, all the way down to underwear. Worse burn I ever got at brewery was on my foot, stupidly wearing tennis shoes. Make sure the boots you buy have excellent support. I used to run 30 miles a week but my feet never hurt the way they did standing on concrete for a year in piss poor shoes. You might want to look into some inserts, too.

What boots do you recommend?  I haven't found any that I love.

Definitely a change of clothes and eye protection.

I love the pair I have now. I'll send you the name tomorrow (I think they are called "Rocky" or something, I'm off today). Totally water proof and I can stand in them all day.

I had a pair of Red Wings and they were comfy as hell on concrete but they fell aprt under a year.

Thanks, let me know.

2

The Pub / Re: bridge collapse

« on: Today at 10:57:56 am »

As far a I know, that's a pretty good grade compared to other states.  This is what decades of not investing in our infrastructure gets us.

Careful now, only commies love bridges!

Commies and people who like to cross rivers and lakes without getting wet, or getting on a boat of some sort.

3

Going Pro / Re: New opportunity...

« on: Today at 09:20:43 am »

+1 to good boots and a change of clothes, all the way down to underwear. Worse burn I ever got at brewery was on my foot, stupidly wearing tennis shoes. Make sure the boots you buy have excellent support. I used to run 30 miles a week but my feet never hurt the way they did standing on concrete for a year in piss poor shoes. You might want to look into some inserts, too.

What boots do you recommend?  I haven't found any that I love.

Definitely a change of clothes and eye protection.

4

Extract/Partial Mash Brewing / Re: 2nd Extract questions

« on: Today at 09:13:18 am »

Based on the latest pic, it looks like you need some kind of heat diffusion between the burner and the pot.  This could be a piece of metal, moving the pot further from the burner, or getting a thicker bottomed pot.  Or maybe you can just turn the gas down, full blast is not always a great idea.  It is obviously getting too hot right above the flames.

5

The Pub / Re: bridge collapse

« on: Today at 09:06:38 am »

"Washington state was given a C in the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 infrastructure report card and a C- when it came to the state's bridges. The group said more than a quarter of Washington's 7,840 bridges are considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete."  Not good.

As far a I know, that's a pretty good grade compared to other states.  This is what decades of not investing in our infrastructure gets us.

6

All Things Food / Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread

« on: Today at 09:00:46 am »

That's why I suggested fruit trees - pretty low maintenance.

7

All Things Food / Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread

« on: Today at 02:01:16 am »

Alfalfa sprouts!  hellllooooo?   

we were talking about food . . .

8

Going Pro / Re: New opportunity...

« on: May 23, 2013, 10:41:28 pm »

Awesome, congratulations!

Pay attention to the task at hand - a brewery is a dangerous place.  Follow checklists for tasks to make sure you don't miss anything.  Learn what is top priority, and if you don't know ask.  You're never done working, just done for the day.  There will always be other stuff to do.

Also, pay attention to not just what the brewer says, but what he/she does.  If the brewer skimps on important stuff, you might not want to remember too much of what you learn.  I know of one local brewery who will not hire people who have ever worked at another local brewery . . . wrong mindset, bad habits, etc.

9

The Pub / bridge collapse

« on: May 23, 2013, 09:54:47 pm »

Damn!  They're preempting a lot of TV with live coverage of this, haven't gone to commercial in a long time.  So far it looks like no casualties.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57586023/i-5-bridge-collapses-in-nw-wash.-people-in-water/

10

All Things Food / Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread

« on: May 23, 2013, 09:51:33 pm »

I would still plant something edible    Assuming it grows there of course.  Some fruit trees would be nice.

Alfalfa is edible.  Cows love it.

As a professional hydrologist, I can tell you, riparian water rights involve some of the most convoluted and contested laws out there.

Cows are edible, so it counts . . . if he has a cow.

11

All Things Food / Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread

« on: May 23, 2013, 02:01:38 pm »

I would still plant something edible    Assuming it grows there of course.  Some fruit trees would be nice.

12

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: First Harvest

« on: May 22, 2013, 10:20:22 pm »

My old boss was a mechanical engineer who previously worked for Dupont designing centrifuges. He told me stories about doing this on purpose to test the housings.  Fun!

Catastrophic failures can be fun!

13

Beer Recipes / Re: Witbier grain bill: Unmalted wheat vs flaked wheat

« on: May 22, 2013, 10:11:51 pm »

Or you could use flour.

14

The Pub / Re: West Sixth vs Magic Hat

« on: May 21, 2013, 05:01:19 pm »

I wouldn't say they look "nothing alike", but they are clearly different to me.  I wish West Sixth luck.

15

Going Pro / Re: Fermentation Temperature Control

« on: May 21, 2013, 12:20:15 pm »

Slap a fermometer on each bucket?  That way you'll know the temp of each one.

My concern is that 70 is high to turn the AC on, the beer could be much hotter.  The heat of fermentation will take a long time to warm up a room that size, so the beer could be at 75 while the room is at 65.  I would probably set the heater to click on at 62 and the AC at 65.  Play with it though, and you'll figure out a sweet spot.

Allow space between the new buckets to let heat dissipate, and you can cluster the older ones together since they won't be as active.