Messages

16

Equipment and Software / Re: Tired of crappy therm and hydrometer

« on: May 27, 2012, 06:46:22 AM »

Thanks Denny, I'll google it and see what turns up

Here's where I got mine...

http://cynmar.com/SearchByKeyword?word=nist%20thermometer

I bought this thermometer and thought my RANCOs were 7F off. I did an ice bath test (correctly, see the thermapen website) and found it was 3 deg high at 35F. complained to Cynmar and was immediately shipped a new one. Unfortunately it was worse at just over 35F and the boiling points were 221 and 224 respectively. So much for NIST certification. I payed for the Thermapen and have been pleased with the results. The ice bath wavers between 32 and 32.1F. I can live with that...

17

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: A Rose By Any Other Name

« on: May 09, 2012, 03:48:26 PM »

I'm with Denny, mine now all have numbers. The CAP I'm holding goes by the ubiquitous title of #129 CAP. Boring, but it sure makes inventory and labels easy.

18

All Things Food / Re: Cleaning grill grates

« on: May 09, 2012, 05:04:51 AM »

Place an disposable aluminum pan (I use old lasagna pans) over the area you grill on. This serves to act as a reflector and concentrate the heat for quicker grate heating and with longer exposure, gets the temperature up in the "oven clean" area. This makes scraping with a wire brush easier as well as reducing the amount of fuel required to get your grill hot. Usually I follow that with a quick spread of vegetable oil from a paper towel, but for my next steak, I've got to try the Argentine Asadore onion technique! After the grill is turned off, I return the aluminum pans to the grill and the residual heat seems to make it easier to clean the next time.

19

Beer Travel / Re: Prague/Czech Republic

« on: May 04, 2012, 01:14:29 PM »

I hate to "hijack" a thread, but I would like some more information on beer in the Czech Republic. I'm planning a trip to Prague in November and am interested in beer near the city center. Three good ideas so far, but three posting pages to get there...

20

All Grain Brewing / Re: No head!?!?

« on: April 24, 2012, 08:21:05 AM »

I used to use two lab grade thermometers that gave very close readings. One was NIST certified (with serial number), the other was NIST traceable. I suspected something was wrong, so I used water baths to determine how far off. Boiling was off 12 and 10 deg F high respectively, ice water bath (correctly done) was 4-5 high on both. talked myself into getting a Thermapen and confirmed they were both 7 deg low at a 150 mash temperature. Those things were all over the place. The Thermapen also confirmed my Ranco probes and ice bath numbers.

21

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Adding bitterness post-fermentation

« on: April 24, 2012, 08:09:21 AM »

HopTech carries Iso Hop for bittering. Doesn't take much, easy to use. It has been awhile since I've used it because I am diligent in accounting for hop age and storage condition for the whole hops I use.

22

Equipment and Software / Re: Boiling out a ball valve

« on: April 18, 2012, 09:29:35 AM »

After cleaning what ever all my ball valves are connected to, I like to leave them half open. this allows the air exposure throughout the assembly and has really cut down on all the times I used to break them down. Leaving them closed seemed to leave about a teaspoon or two of liquid trapped that would get just plain nasty. I do put my valves from my conical through my pressure cooker on a regular basis, even if I don't see any buildup.

23

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: WLP090 -- interesting yeast

« on: April 05, 2012, 05:19:31 AM »

Here's a short interview with Chris White on WLP090: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=s_O3LPzQpqc

It is produced in San Diego and was introduced at the San Diego Homebrewers Conference, hence the name. I use it as my house IPA strain. I have not pushed it out of it's very narrow fermentation temperature range, but it is very clean, attenuates to 85%, drops very clear, but it is not as fast as claimed. Who's in that big of a hurry anyway?

24

Equipment and Software / Re: Tubing storage and sanitization

« on: March 25, 2012, 05:21:47 AM »

Quick disconnects to make the lengths more manageable?

25

Ingredients / Re: Columbus and ???

« on: March 15, 2012, 02:24:59 PM »

My house IPA uses Columbus all the way from first wort to 30 Minute boil. This mellows the dankness which then plays nicely with some or all of the following: Chinook, Centennial, Cascade and lastly dry hopped with Amarillo.

26

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Batch 500

« on: March 14, 2012, 06:52:26 AM »

All grain is great, but I gotta admit I really like the speed factor of extract sometimes. Some days its just easier to have a two hour brew session.

I just did my first extract in 15 years and can honestly say that either my techniques are better and/or the malt quality has improved since then. Side by side tastings of my house IPA give just a little edge to the all grain but I kind of enjoyed the two hour brew session.

27

Equipment and Software / Re: Which pump for my system?

« on: March 14, 2012, 06:45:47 AM »

The pump motor can't jam due an impeller jam because of the magnetic clutch. I have this mod and can say it is a great improvement with the best things being the reduction in cavitation problems and better throttling of wort.

28

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Why I brew

« on: March 11, 2012, 05:58:56 AM »

Nothing like the roar of the crowd at GABF when Pabst gets an award on Ribbon Day. We all have a deep, dark history with PBR. (Even if you no longer admit it.)

29

Equipment and Software / Re: What NOT to do when you have beer fermenting in a freezer chest

« on: March 08, 2012, 12:46:07 PM »

I use one of these:http://www.amazon.com/Eva-dry-E-500-Renewable-Wireless-Dehumidifer/dp/B000H0XFD2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1331235692&sr=8-2. The base plugs into my power strip to heat and dry it v.s. sticking it in the oven. I found a small fan makes it more efficient which would probably help a bucket of Damp Rid as well.

30

All Grain Brewing / Re: water/grist ratio and efficiency

« on: February 20, 2012, 07:01:08 AM »

How to prepare an proper ice bath from ThermoWorks to calibrate your thermometer.
http://www.thermoworks.com/blog/2010/10/making-a-proper-ice-bath/