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1. Topics

   1. Overnight Hopping???

      by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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      I am forever looking for time efficiencies, in a busy life, but at the same time wanting great beer. Also I like to experiment.
      
      I have a beer that I really like that is FWH hopped only (at the rate of 8oz per batch) and it is a single malt with Marris Otter only.
      
      I have read the threads on here about overnight mashing and I found great information on the pros and cons of that. My query is mostly about adding hops to the mash for an overnight stew prior to boiling.
      
      I am wondering if I can...

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      Yes you are right Bob. That was all very well put. I know I am just doing educated mucking around, but it's fun, and you stumble across things, maybe a simpler way of doing things, or a beer that you really like.
      12 Replies
      15802 Views
      GuingesRock
      12 years ago
   2. Guinges Project

      by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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      I think I have finished investigating and experimenting for my Guinges project. I’m off now for a week or two to finalise the project and give you all a much needed break. I can report back with results. Say right now if you don’t want a report, or forever hold your peace :)
      
      The project will incorporate everything I have learnt on here and everything I have developed through experimentation and research.
      
      I have learnt a lot and had a lot of help on this site, and I really appreciate that. I...

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      Thanks for the discussion Lylo, I realise all that stuff. That’s why I said real-ale “simulation” rather than “real-ale”.
      
      The way I do it seems to work to produce low carbonated beer, with less harsh carbonation.
      
      There is a good discussion on all the points you mentioned on the Real-Ale thread.
      
      Good idea about putting the CO2 on intermittently but it doesn’t work (I tried it before here ) because, at these low carbonation levels, the CO2 in the kegs is absorbed by the beer and the kegs...
      10 Replies
      12979 Views
      GuingesRock
      12 years ago
   3. Bottling Shortcuts

      by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in Bottling

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      Before I kegged, I bottled. Bottling is tedious (so is cleaning kegs). I came up with a time saving solution to bottling which someone might find useful. I’m also wondering if anyone else has any time saving bottling tips to pass on.
      
      I started using wide necked stainless steel drink bottles. I liked them because with the wide necks I could wash them with the dishes in the dishwasher at the end of the evening, and on bottling day I’d sanitize them in the dishwasher (on sanitize setting) with a...

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      Just did this for the first time last week. Got 44 bottles filled in just over 20 minutes. Delighted with the speed up. Expect to easily get it under 20 mins when I streamline my process as I didn't have stuff within easy reach and had a few overflows trying to watch 2 bottles at once
      12 Replies
      21872 Views
      Lars
      12 years ago
   4. Links Library - Share Your Links

      by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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      Some of my favorite links:
      
      Great doccumentary on history of beer:
      
      Mash chemistry and body of beer:
      
      Common off-flavours:
      
      Late hopping (hop bursting):
      
      Simple article on BIAB. It’s the one that got me interested in it:
      
      Note: To post a link, go into full editor, click on URL, and paste the link (URL) in the middle, between the sets of square brackets.

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      Joshua posted link about Hop Stands:
      13 Replies
      12482 Views
      GuingesRock
      12 years ago
   5. Brewing and Fermenting Shortcuts

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      by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      This is a big topic and I need help with this one.
      
      There is so much unproven theory in brewing and fermenting which tends to complicate and lead to a lot of unnecessary work, in my opinion. If I posted the way my mother made beer, back in the day, it would scare the living daylights out of people, and yet her beer was famous!
      
      People seem to be moving away from two stage fermenting and moving to single stage fermentation (without racking into a carboy), as there is no advantage, and a lot more...

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      Yes, that human doesn't look very appetizing. Probably already has a highish alcohol content.
      48 Replies
      39085 Views
      GuingesRock
      12 years ago
   6. Fermenting in the Brew Kettle

      by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in Fermentation (Wort to Still Beer)

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      PP wants me to this spin off...............................
      
      From here:
      
      My comment: I thought I’d talk about single stage fermenting right in the brew kettle. It is something I’ve done for my last 15 batches and I love doing it. I single stage ferment for 10 days in kettle with a ball valve, and then keg (or bottle) from the ball valve. The ball valve has a bazooka screen on the inside which works well to keep my leaf hops out of the keg/bottles. I have some smaller stock pots that I use for...

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      I kegged two batches today, both fermented in the brew kettle, as I usually do. One batch was a FWH only IPA with leaf hops. The other batch was a barley wine which was made with extract and pellet hops. The idea was to get rid of the extract I had as I’ve gone off extract. It’s expensive, it doesn't taste quite as good, and it's a PITA. I was also wanting to try using pellet hops. I didn’t use a hop sock for either batch as I usually leave all the hops in for the ferment.
      
      What I discovered is...
      11 Replies
      19375 Views
      GuingesRock
      12 years ago
   7. Health Kicks & Hangover Hell-Pers

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      by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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      Any suggestions apart from not drinking more than a few on a Friday night (how do you do that by the way?).
      
      Did a quick search on here for hangover remedies, and I suspect there might be a few experts:
      
      For a hobby I enjoy lying comatose from testing home-brew. When I wake up I test out hangover remedies. The next day I do it all over again! As an extra bit of hobby I am growing a beard. People have said that The more he covers his face the better he looks ! I assume they meant they wanted...

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      What happened to johnny_dove’s question? It was a good one about how to brew beers that are less likely to cause hangovers. Does anyone know? It wasn’t about making them with less alcohol. I think his friend said the commercial beer caused less hangover than home-brew?
      
      We had friends staying with us last night, I did Bob’s sipping thing but the others had bad hangovers today from the IPA. If I brew Mally’s St. Austell brewery bitter, I think it might be worse than the IPA which has MO only....
      38 Replies
      33432 Views
      GuingesRock
      12 years ago
   8. Partial Mash BIAB?

      by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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      I just finished pulling the bag for a version of my AG BIAB house beer. I have a 16 gallon (60L) pot and it now has 8 gallons of wort in it.
      
      I still make an extract version of the same house beer when I don’t have time to do AG.
      
      Looking at that half empty pot, just after pulling the bag, I was tempted to add extract and water in the proportions that I use for the extract house beer, to double the batch and make two cornys of partial mash.
      
      I might try that next time.
      
      Any issues with doing...

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      Interesting! Thanks Joshua.
      24 Replies
      23920 Views
      GuingesRock
      12 years ago
   9. Free Range Mash Experiment

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      by GuingesRock, 13 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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      I’ve often wondered about how important it is to maintain a constant mash temperature. I’ve read an awful lot about how to do that and noticed an obsession with the importance of maintaining mash temp and ways of doing it. But I don’t understand why. I can understand it would be important if you were trying to duplicate a recipe.
      I’m after making my brewing as simple as possible, but I will take the extra time to do something if there is an understandable and proven benefit.
      If alpha-amylase...

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      I entered the figures for a free range mash brew into BIABacus. I think I am getting a good efficiency.
      
      I end up with a dry beer, perfect for IPAs to showcase the hops.
      
      Would anyone try not insulating their mash and see if it improves their efficiency?
      
      Note: batch fermented in kettle so kettle figures=fermentor figures.
      
      BIABacus Pre-Release 1.3 RECIPE REPORT
      BIAB Recipe Designer, Calculator and Scaler.
      (Please visit onclick= window.open(this.href);return false; for the latest...
      77 Replies
      66386 Views
      GuingesRock
      12 years ago
   10. Happy Hopheads

       by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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       Here I am, three months into brewing and I'm stuck on one theme, with no inclination to move on.
       
       The theme is IPAs made with a single large late hopping (hop bursting) addition and the hops left in for the ferment to extract more hoppy goodness. I don't really care much about the grain bill and I use a single malt (MO).
       
       My hop bill is escalating in size exponentially and I am fanatically researching more ways of hopping...FWH, dry hopping, Bob's hop vodka.
       
       My pet name for my wife is Bunnies...

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       Not sure Mally. Don’t think so.
       
       Cilurzo coined the phrase “Lupulin Threshold Shift,” defined as
       
       1. When a once-extraordinarily hoppy beer now seems pedestrian
       
       2. The phenomenon a person has when craving more bitterness in beer
       
       3. The long term exposure to extremely hoppy beers; if excessive or prolonged, a habitual dependence on hops will occur
       
       4. When a double IPA just isn’t enough
       
       Just came across that in my IPA book.
       3 Replies
       6117 Views
       GuingesRock
       12 years ago
   11. Book Reviews

       by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       I read a book on IPA styles and history. It’s a fantastic read and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in IPA. It’s called IPA by Mitch Steele. It has many historical recipes too.
       
       I have the book also and I concur. I love the style of beer and this book has lots of it's history. A good book for your shelf!
       
       .
       
       Sorry to start another thread…and using a quote from Bob too. What should people be reading?

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       Well, It could be.. but.. Hysterical fits in there someplace :D
       I like smoking foods.. so.. possibly Hysterical Beer and Grub or Hysterical Bar and Grill
       or
       Simply a shortened form of my town, Healdsburg
       
       Lot's of potential. Never thought about it until you started making waves.. VBG
       16 Replies
       14605 Views
       HbgBill
       12 years ago
   12. Posting Advice

       by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in Your Feedback

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       I’ve been posting for a month now, and it’s a bit like talking to a brick wall sometimes! At other times you get into a good discussion with feedback. That’s quite exciting and you can learn a lot.
       
       It can be like talking to a brick wall because when you are sitting having a chat with someone, things are much more fluid, and you have constant feedback, facial expressions and empathy. Posting is different. It’s difficult to express yourself to an unknown audience. You don’t know what they are...

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       Good quetion GR.
       Approval has to come from the Mods and they don't like to have anyone waiting too long for approval, they don't always have time to do a formal welcome so everyone is welcome to pitch in on the welcoming committee and I am sure Joshua won't feel offended if you want to help out.
       23 Replies
       22253 Views
       Ironhide
       12 years ago
   13. Cooking With Beer

       by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       I made a fantastic beef and porter stew last night. To be served on top of mashed potato. I used up a whole lot of, not so perfect, test batch beer and mixed it up with a bit of stout to make the “porter”. Cubes of beef, Ground pepper, chopped up roma tomatoes, lots red onions, sprinkle of mixed herbs, garlic, mushrooms cut in half, bag of ready shredded carrots.
       
       Beer tenderizes the meat and adds a huge flavour.
       
       The Process: heat the beer to 157F, add the meat from a pulley system attached...

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       My Father-in-law is a fishing guide. He has a great beer batter recipe for fish. It's very crispy, delicious, easy to make and easy to remember:
       
       1 cup beer, 1 cup flour, mix and let stand 10 minutes.
       3 Replies
       5116 Views
       GuingesRock
       12 years ago
   14. Members Stories Pictures Videos

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       by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       I just put my three and a half year old to bed. I couldn’t find my glasses (been drinking my 12FRM beer) and he said don’t worry! I’ll read it, and he read the entire book from memory, word for word, it was a long book. I’m scared :argh:
       
       When he had just turned 3 he marched into my office and said to all and sundry “Where’s that silly old doctor!” the waiting room was in stitches! I was scared then. :argh:
       
       Kids these days :argh:
       
       I might need help :argh:
       
       If your kid doesn’t say much for...

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       Hi,
       
       I was asked to visit this thread and post my pizza oven build from last year. I am new to this forum, Hi again! and have been brewing for about a year. I'll be doing my 3 BIAB AG this weekend. So far it has been pretty successful.
       
       So this pizza oven in my backyard. I call it the world's largest paperweight.
       
       I couldn't afford to hire someone, so I did a bunch of research and just went at it one day in April. By July I was ready for pizza. By October I was finally finished with the water...
       26 Replies
       22362 Views
       BabyfaceFinster
       12 years ago
   15. The Midas Touch - Going Pro

       by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       Commercial beers are so awful, and people love really good beer. There must be a huge potential business opportunity for home brewers to expand. Home brewers have the Midas touch!
       
       I just started googling it. Found a link to a book on starting your own microbrewery/craft brewery here and a newspaper article about a new startup that can’t keep up with demand here
       
       Has anyone looked into it? Does anyone know anyone who has done that? How does a craft brewery brew beer? Can we learn anything from...

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       Hi Yeasty Thanks,
       
       I was writing more when you posted.
       
       …He works all the hours that God sends. Just him and “his girl” who was a sweet young employee of his, standing behind the counter waiting to sell beer. She smiled constantly and was so warm. I had no idea you could go in a door around the back of the pub and buy his beer and I suggested he should put a sign up. He said “no way” he couldn’t keep up with his orders as it was. He supplies pubs in Halifax. He bottled, and also had a canning...
       16 Replies
       14318 Views
       GuingesRock
       12 years ago
   16. Fancy Gear/Crazy Gear - a walk on the wild side

       by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in Bags, Mashers, Thermometers, Kettles etc.

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       Mad_Scientist, The blizzard woke me up early this morning. I’m sitting here waiting for the house to blow away (It’s a complete whiteout outside) and I have been looking through your photos . You have all the latest fancy gear! Your setup looks like Huston Texas a bit. I think you might be designing a rocket. Something’s afoot there.
       
       I’ve seen your fermentor online. How the heck do those fermentors work? What’s that thing that looks like a Corny lid on the top of it? Do they ferment under...

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       Do the research on the breather, you can build you own using a propane regulator from a camper (I think you blokes call campers a caravan ) for 1/3 the cost of buying.
       
       Why do you need that fancy breather thing? Why couldn't a person hook the cask directly to a CO2 tank with a regulator set to a very low pressure?
       
       The CO2 would probably only need to be turned on when beer ws being poured.
       15 Replies
       14140 Views
       GuingesRock
       12 years ago
   17. Heirloom Beer

       by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       My mother’s “famous” beer, 50 years ago:
       
       She used to boil water in a pot on a primus stove (they had no electricity or fancy gear). Then she would pour the boiling water onto hops from the garden and LME and Honey (if we had some) in a plastic bucket. She would wait for that to cool to what she called “blood heat” (that would be no-chill I guess). She tested the temperature with her elbow as she didn’t have a thermometer. When it was at “blood heat” she would add the yeast that her friend at...

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       Perfect! Thanks Bob. Saved me doing hours of testing.
       12 Replies
       10556 Views
       GuingesRock
       12 years ago
   18. BIABacus For Dummies

       by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in General Chit-Chat, Nonsense & Rambles

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       Hi PP,
       
       Yesterday afternoon you had Aces High around for a beer and you taught him how to use BIABacus. He became an expert in a short period of time.
       
       I can’t come around for an afternoon beer; there is a small issue of you being geographically light years away.
       
       I wonder if I could ask you to take me through the process, one simple dummy sized step at a time. I’ll ask a question every day or two, and hopefully others will follow along and ask questions.
       
       Could we do it slowly, so that after a...

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       I learn better when I stumble through and ask questions when I get stuck. In the meantime I would suggest downloading both copies and have a look and a play around.
       I think you will find it is as easy as ABC, literally! Thanks for the idea of this thread GuingesRock and please accept our apologies for closing it. There are many reasons for closing it but some of the main ones are as follows.
       
       1. The BIABacus has not been officially released yet and feedback, discussion, help and questions on it...
       7 Replies
       8022 Views
       Nuff
       12 years ago
   19. Chilling Ideas

       by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in Chilling

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       Dustinj,
       
       I have two large kettles (70L versus your 50L) and I chill and no-chill. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. If you have an immersion chiller and are single batching, I would advise using it especially when starting out.
       
       The immersion chiller you have built is a great investment. I would advise you to ignore no-chilling for now unless you get in a situation where you don't have a fermentor available to pitch immediately.
       
       An immersion chiller offers many advantages not...

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       Thanks Joshua, I was hoping some version of it might have some use for somebody.
       
       Does anyone else have any chilling ideas? There’s a lot on here about the no-chilling discovery. It’s time poor old chilling got some attention.
       12 Replies
       11887 Views
       GuingesRock
       12 years ago
   20. Black Gold - How can I brew the Guinness?

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       by GuingesRock, 13 years ago in BIAB Recipes

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       Would anyone be able to help with information, ingredients, or anything at all, on how to make Guinness please.
       
       I know nothing about it, so I would like to quote Skink if I may.
       
       Sorry GR, I'm just not experienced enough at beer making to tell you how to brew a good Guinness (well experienced in drinking it, though!) - I really come from a wine making background. Maybe the reason why Guinness tastes so good in Ireland is to do with the water supply, in the same way that the best British ales...

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       GuingesRock,
       
       I missed your post #31 sorry! When losing weight I normally go low carb. I am well aware of the evils of sugar and easily converted foods like bread. I am also a big proponent of living life as we evolved to live it. I know that civilization came about so that these ancient people could stay in one place to brew beer! That is where I try to emulate my ancestors who stumbled onto the plains of Africa (before they moved to Poland) Alcohol is in my blood. Err- I mean brewing is in my...
       38 Replies
       35834 Views
       BobBrews
       12 years ago
   21. Kegging Shortcuts

       by GuingesRock, 12 years ago in Cleaning and Sanitisation

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       Washing and sanitising kegs, has taken over from bottling as being the bane of my life. I’d rather be brewing and being creative. It’s like being stuck with the washing up after cooking a great meal. I need Help!...please!
       
       1. Does anyone have any good time efficient tips on cleaning and sanitising kegs please?
       
       2. Does anyone fill a keg when it becomes empty, right away, without cleaning and sanitising, on occasion. I did it once with a test batch I wasn’t worried about and got away with it....

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       Both, One Step came with a start up kit when I first started brewing. I bought more when it was gone and when that was used up I wanted to try something else and I tried StarSan. I never looked back! The only infections I had were from a leaky connection on my immersion chiller. Now I no-chill and am infection free!
       17 Replies
       25120 Views
       BobBrews
       12 years ago
   22. H2O2

       by GuingesRock, 13 years ago in Cleaning and Sanitisation

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       Does anyone know anything about using hydrogen peroxide to sanitize the kegs and the lines. I believe it is used in commercial brewing, but don’t know if it is used on a small scale. Hydrogen peroxide is nice to work with and degrades to oxygen and water only which obviously are harmless (I wouldn’t want it to oxidise the beer though). At the biochem lab where my wife works they have moved over to hydrogen peroxide for sterilizing for the same reasons. I believe it would be diluted in water...

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       Listening to it (supposed to be doing chores though)
       Interesting :think:
       12 Replies
       23522 Views
       GuingesRock
       13 years ago
   23. Misfit Beer

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

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       Been designing and making small “test batches” of beer. If batch B is better than batch A... I can’t be bothered to drink A anymore. Then batch C comes along and B is superseded. C gets made in a Corney keg size batch...then bugger it! D comes along and I’m stuck with a Corney full of C.
       It's good in some ways to have lots of batches ready for drinking as they can be compared against each other with notes on how they were made in hand.
       What to do with the ones that are out of favour?
       People who...

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       Same article got me too!
       17 Replies
       14644 Views
       thughes
       13 years ago
   24. Induction Heat for Maintaining Mash Temp ?

       by GuingesRock, 13 years ago in Electric BIAB

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       Merry Christmas to everyone!
       I’m getting this Kettle/BIAB mash tun and a bag for Christmas.
       
       I am thinking of investing in an induction hob similar to this one.
       
       My thinking is that it would heat the large mash tun/kettle more quickly and efficiently firstly, but secondly you can set the induction plate to maintain the pot at a constant temperature (designed for making sauces, melting chocolate, keeping food warm etc). So my question is…has any one used this feature of an induction plate to...

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       Hi Joshua, I'm up before the family this christmas morning. Chilling before the excitement of the day. Just wanted to say thanks for the friendly and helpful messages.
       Hope you have a good Xmas Day.
       Mark
       2 Replies
       5597 Views
       GuingesRock
       13 years ago

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