Messages

1

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 10/1

« on: September 30, 2010, 09:24:28 PM »

Brewin' up an ESB and cleaning my carboy. Hopefully selling some electronics so I can buy a temperature controller for my chest freezer. I also need to bottle my oktoberale, which was supposed to happen last week until my roommate stepped on the siphon. Ooops.

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All Grain Brewing / Re: Round Igloo or rectangular cooler for mash tun

« on: September 29, 2010, 10:04:20 PM »

Thanks for this post. I'm about to dive into all grain and the first decision I had to make was the style for my mash tun. I now know that I need a blue rectangular cooler.

I'm a big fan of the blue cooler. I think red is a little too fast looking, you might get pulled over for reckless mashing.

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Kegging and Bottling / Re: Converting a chest freezer into a temperature controlled fermentation station

« on: September 29, 2010, 06:47:04 PM »

Awesome. I'm glad to hear that it has worked out for so many people. After the funds are secured I'm buying the temperature controller.

Thanks forum

4

Kegging and Bottling / Converting a chest freezer into a temperature controlled fermentation station

« on: September 29, 2010, 05:07:18 PM »

So I pulled the trigger on an old chest freezer I found on craigslist. 100 dollars and it works perfect. My plan as of now is to convert it into a temperature controlled chest (and eventually acquire kegerator parts and make a kegerator) . I feel that this is one of the biggest steps towards me making more consistent beers. I've been looking at the options for temperature control units. I have very little electrical knowledge (surprisingly, an economics degree has very little mechanical training), so I am considering using a plug-in system like this:
 
http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/kegerator-conversion-kits-pid-E26.html
or this
http://www.amazon.com/RANCO-ETC-111000-Digital-Temperature-Control/dp/B0015NV5BE

My question(s) is:
Is this going to be a good set up? I've read various forum posts supporting these while others say I will burn out the motor.
Will something like a plug in temperature control work out in the long run for a kegging system down the road?

I'm looking for some knowledgeable opinions to help guide my next step.

5

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Glassware

« on: September 29, 2010, 04:53:26 PM »

One Liter BOOT!!

What if you don't want a short pour?

Exactly! My Stiefel is 2 liters.  

1 upin' me huh?  Yeah, I really want one of the 2 or 3 liter boots (and apparently they make a 4 liter) but considering that the only time that I would use an ornate, delicate glass drinking boot would probably be when I have consumed a fair share of beer, it would probably be better to hold off on the purchase.

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Glassware

« on: September 28, 2010, 07:13:21 PM »

One Liter BOOT!!

But only in the months of September and October.

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Pimp My System / Re: Kegerator Showcase

« on: September 28, 2010, 05:09:02 PM »

My socks tell me a different story.

Your socks are liars.   

The first person to say it was probably some marketing guy who said, "Hey, why don't we take something Benjamin Franklin said about wine, make it about beer, and print it on t-shirts [or socks ].  I'll bet we could make a bunch of money that way!"

It comes from a letter he wrote to André Morellet in 1779.  In the letter, he said:

We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.  The miracle in question was only performed to hasten the operation, under circumstances of present necessity, which required it.

I'm gonna be ignorant and just believe that at some point Ol' Ben said something about beer being amazing. And that marketing guy was right because I definitely bought those socks because the quote was so cool (and they're nice bike socks).

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Pimp My System / Re: Kegerator Showcase

« on: September 23, 2010, 10:46:25 PM »

Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy-
BF

Who is BF?  Because Benjamin Franklin never said that

My socks tell me a different story. Who was the first person to say that? I feel like this happens a lot- someone says something clever and then someone who is famous for being clever takes credit for it.

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Pimp My System / Re: Kegerator Showcase

« on: September 23, 2010, 08:19:27 PM »

Here is my setup, went with new energy efficient models and also went vertical for the obvious reasons,

So what are the obvious reasons for going vertical? I'm oblivious to the obvious...

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: What's Brewing This Weekend - 9/24 Edition

« on: September 22, 2010, 06:35:47 PM »

Finally installing the proper braided stainless steel supply hose in my mash tun and then its time for a stab at everyone's favorite- BLACK IPA!

And hopefully getting a chest freezer.... assuming I sell my digital picture frame.

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Pimp My System / Re: Kegerator Showcase

« on: September 22, 2010, 03:28:33 PM »

Always go for the biggest size that will fit and is newest. I've never heard anyone lamenting that their chest freezer is too damn big.

Old ones may seem like a bargain but then you start seeing the difference in monthly power costs the gap disappears rapidly.

 

Good call, I didn't even think about power consumption as a long term cost. Newest and biggest, check.

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Pimp My System / Re: Kegerator Showcase

« on: September 21, 2010, 09:10:01 PM »

Alright internet friends! I'm working on some craiglist's transactions and I will hopefully have the fundage to buy a chest freezer for fermentation and eventually keggeration. What sizes should I be looking for? Is there such thing as overkill or is bigger better?

I have 3 potential candidates one is 12 cubic ft, another is 42" Wide, 22" deep, 36" tall (similar size in cubic feet I believe), and a 15.7 cubic ft chest freezer.

What are other considerations besides size that I should be looking into to?

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The Pub / Re: No football thread yet?

« on: September 07, 2010, 10:31:15 PM »

This topic is coming dangerously close to discussing religion.

I'm hoping for some improvement from the Denver Broncos now that we have Tim Tebow (which in turn means Jesus) on our side. We're taking the AFC West this year (Chargers are worthless)!

...and hopefully the CU Buffs can win a game or two more.

14

The Pub / Re: Give us your Chuck Norris jokes

« on: September 07, 2010, 06:54:59 PM »

Chuck Norris can believe it's not butter.

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General Homebrew Discussion / Re: How fast is too fast to move to all grain?

« on: September 02, 2010, 07:54:31 PM »

I would definitely recommend doing a couple of extract batches, especially to see if you enjoy the process. All grain will require more equipment, more space, more time to brew but it will also be more fun and rewarding. I did one mini mash before stepping up to all grain and I thought it helped me understand the science and process of all grain. I'm just glad to hear that you are doing your homework before brewing. My first batch was yanking the package out of the mail and firing up the stove-- but it somehow worked out.