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1. Topics

   1. Documenting my build

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      by thughes, 14 years ago in BIAB Automation

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      Building a single vessel electric BIAB rig. Finished the e-kettle (except for installing the temp probe). Next up is building the control box, then fabricating some type of stand to put it all on.
      
      The kettle is a 62 qt aluminum from Bayou Classic with the steamer basket. I installed 2 weldless bulkhead fittings, one for the drain valve and one for the sight glass (the temp probe will be installed in the sight glass tee). The rig is fired with a 5500w/240v heater element (installed ala Kal's...

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      Thanks joshua, good to see you're still hanging around here too.
      
      ---Todd
      89 Replies
      136154 Views
      thughes
      10 years ago
   2. Brett primary fermentation

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      by thughes, 13 years ago in Creating Your Own Recipes

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      Has anybody done a pure brett (brettanomyces) beer, no normal beer yeast (sacchromyces) used? Brett is supposed to work just like sac for primary fermentation, producing some nice fruity and tropical esters but not the funk it's normally known for when used as a secondary fermentation yeast. The only real concern is very dry beer because brett will eat sugars that normal sac can't.
      
      Chad from Crooked Stave Brewery (who use brett as a primary in almost all of their beers) wrote a fantastic...

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      I didn't say that was the ONLY brew I had going..... ;)
      37 Replies
      32869 Views
      thughes
      12 years ago
   3. SMaSH combos

      by thughes, 13 years ago in Creating Your Own Recipes

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      Vienna malt + Styrian Goldings hops = Yummy!
      
      That is all.
      
      ---Todd

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      thughes
      
      Last year at the local competition. The brew master split open a 50 lb. sack of Styrian Goldings hops. They were giving away as much as you could carry! I got about 10 pounds of it! I have been using it everywhere I could. So now I have to get some Vienna and give it a whirl! Sorry you weren't there!
      4 Replies
      6501 Views
      BobBrews
      13 years ago
   4. Todd's sour mash experiment

      by thughes, 14 years ago in BIABrewer Old Hands

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      Inspired by this thread and a recent interest in sour beers, I tried my first souring experiment today.
      
      After I finished with my regular brew session, I dumped the grain bag into my old converted cooler MLT. I added 4 gallons of 150 F water and allowed the mash to cool to 120 F over the course of about an hour:
      
      I then sprinkled in @ 4oz of fresh uncrushed malt:
      
      covered the mash with a plastic bag (to keep O2 away) and a piece of insulation:
      
      and wrapped it up nice and snug for a...

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      BTW, this was just posted by James, at Basic Brewing Video
      16 Replies
      17636 Views
      shibolet
      13 years ago
   5. Hop harvest 2012

      by thughes, 13 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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      Hop harvest 2012, Cascade on the left, Columbus on the right:
      
      Spread out on the Alton Brown custom dryer:
      
      Western NY Cascade (yummy)

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      I may just do that? I try to take pictures of myself but the lens glass keep cracking? Maybe some plastic surgery is needed?
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      6840 Views
      BobBrews
      13 years ago
   6. Hey Bob, NB is following in your footsteps!

      by thughes, 13 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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      Bob, check out the latest Brewing TV episode:
      
      They're having a contest with gift cards as prizes for anybody that emails them before July 20 describing adventures brewing on ice. You're a shoe in! (You have to send me one of the gift cards when you win.)

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      Magic!
      
      The above looks a lot more fun than ice lake brewing :roll:. Good on ya Bob :peace:.
      8 Replies
      7782 Views
      PistolPatch
      13 years ago
   7. Citra hops

      by thughes, 13 years ago in Creating Your Own Recipes

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      I love Citra!
      
      That is all,
      
      ---Todd

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      thughes,
      
      I just finished a Amarillo/Citra APA. It was wonderful. It was my all Chinook IPA that I normally use to substitute hops in for testing. (SMASH) I did a all Citra (Citra ass down) it was super. I then did the same recipe with both Citra and Amarillo just using up odd packages. Again it was superb! I made a Citra hops vodka too! Good Stuff!
      
      Same here I usually do a M.O./Vienna or Munich/Crystal 60 Chinook APA dry hopped with cascade...but I prefer the Citra dry hop.
      
      Really I have...
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      6977 Views
      the_mc
      13 years ago
   8. A true "house" strain ?

      by thughes, 13 years ago in Yeasts

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      After a recent brew session I saved half a quart of wort and diluted it to 1.030, put it in a mason jar, and left it on a kitchen shelf (uncovered) for a few days until I saw signs of fermentation. Once it started fermenting I covered it with aluminum foil and let it finish fermenting. After it was done, I decided it smelled pretty good and wasn't at all infected, so I stepped it up a few times and now have a nice bunch of kitchen yeast . Each time I stepped it up, the fermented wort smelled...

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      Hadn't seen this thread until now Todd. Nice one! ;)
      
      (Don't use Bob's lake water!!!)
      9 Replies
      11459 Views
      PistolPatch
      13 years ago
   9. Electronic pH meter

      by thughes, 13 years ago in Brewing Water

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      Just picked up a pH meter from Austin Home Brew Supply (the price was right) so now I can check my mash pH. Although I've never worried about pH before, get good conversion, and my beer tastes excellent, I've always wondered if it could be better . I tried the paper strips but discerning the shades of color between 5.0 and 5.4 was beyond the ability of my old eyeballs. :dunno:
      
      So, now I get to measure my mash pH accurately! :thumbs:
      
      (At least until PP shows up and tells me that pH meters...

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      Never put the electrode in hot wort Whoops!
      
      :P
      3 Replies
      11992 Views
      PistolPatch
      13 years ago
   10. DMS information

       by thughes, 13 years ago in BIABrewer Old Hands

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       Darn it! I like Brad Smith and respect his work but I hate it that he is another purveyor of the you absolutely must chill your wort as quickly as possible or it will be ruined by DMS myth.
       
       He has a nice blog post about DMS here:
       
       I just wish he didn't reiterate that nonsense about DMS being a problem if you cool your wort slowly. :angry:

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       Closest I ever came to DMS was when I harvested starter wort from a Hefeweizen.
       
       The 5L demijohn I poured my kettle trub in to separate reeked of vegetable stew, absolutely reeked...
       
       BUT the actual starter after decanting/boiling was fine... and the no-chilled beer was fine too.
       
       I suspect it had something to do with all the hot-break being in the demijohn
       3 Replies
       5636 Views
       stux
       13 years ago
   11. Is it wrong?

       by thughes, 13 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       I brew with a mix of liquid yeasts and dry yeasts, depending upon what I'm making. I just finished up bottling a Vienna/Styrian SMaSH fermented with Safale S-04 which I do not save because it's only a couple dollars a pack. As I was cleaning out my fermenter (a 3 gallon Better Bottle) by rinsing it out and dumping down the toilet so I don't plug up the sink trap, I was overcome with a sense of melancholy......for I was unceremoniously dumping those poor yeasties down the crapper! Those guys...

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       I brew with a mix of liquid yeasts and dry yeasts, depending upon what I'm making. I just finished up bottling a Vienna/Styrian SMaSH fermented with Safale S-04 which I do not save because it's only a couple dollars a pack. As I was cleaning out my fermenter (a 3 gallon Better Bottle) by rinsing it out and dumping down the toilet so I don't plug up the sink trap, I was overcome with a sense of melancholy......for I was unceremoniously dumping those poor yeasties down the crapper! Those guys...
       6 Replies
       6230 Views
       stux
       13 years ago
   12. Doing a happy dance

       by thughes, 13 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       I'm picking up 220 lbs grain tomorrow morning: 1 sack each Western 2-row, Marris Otter, Vienna, and wheat. Todd is going to be a brewing fool for the next few months.

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       Todd,check with your local bakery,they use these buckets all the time.
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       5111 Views
       Lylo
       13 years ago
   13. NZ Members

       by thughes, 13 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       Are you Kiwis OK down there? I saw on the news that y'all are getting more than your fair share of rain lately. Hope everybody is all right.
       
       :pray:
       
       --Todd

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       Thanks Stux, I was hoping I wasn't crazy.
       4 Replies
       5361 Views
       thughes
       13 years ago
   14. Do you use DME/LME or mash barley for your starter wort?

       by thughes, 14 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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       I drain of a quart of wort during the boil, cool it, water it down to @ 1.030, and use that for my starter. No need for LME/DME, etc. Obviously this works works great with no-chill.
       
       If you do not use the no-chill method, simply reserve some wort from your current batch, stick it in the freezer, and then thaw it out (and boil for a few minutes) when you are ready to make your starter. If you do this every batch you will always have supply of wort to make starters with. Easy peasy!
       
       :thumbs:...

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       i got tired of paying $4/lb for dme.. yeah it's ready in no time and NO sediment (break material). now i mini-BIAB as i need it. need to make a standard batch and can the wort for later use. then i spend a few hours every couple months instead of every week!
       4 Replies
       6626 Views
       mordantly
       13 years ago

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