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silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

Tedronai66 posted:

Portlanders (I know there's a few of you in here, or at least 1): http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/for/2610767741.html might be worth looking in to. Organic grains for $1/lb or $40/bag.
Yeah, CL DRAMA actually a guy had like 40 bags of pils malt he was selling for $10 or something ridiculous like that, and a ton of carafa and caramunich he was practically giving away at like 5 bags for $20. He sold out of the pils quick, and I'm guessing that guy bought all the carafa and caramunich in hope of making a profit. I thought about it, but poo poo, who wants to deal with selling 1000# of carafa and caramunich when the most you use is 5% for carafa?

I'll add that my favorite place to get malt in the Portland metro is http://brewbrothers.biz/. I live in Vancouver but they deliver to my house. They have the cheapest prices*, They also have the largest selection of malt I've seen (Almost 50 base malts), and dry yeast is almost half price. The owner is very friendly, and there customer service so far has been great.

*With a minor exception to https://www.mainbrew.com/pages/beerpages/ingredientpgs/grains.html who will beat malt prices by 10% of any local competitor, but he won't deliver, and since my average purchase is around $150 in malt it's not worth $15 to drive 60 miles. They also don't carry some malts I like, but if you're already in Hillsboro it would be worth it.

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silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

tesilential posted:

Nope.

Also you should be leaving virtually all your brews in primary for AT LEAST 2 weeks. There are very few brews that are ready to be taken off the yeast in just one week.

You know I've found this to be more a homebrewer thing than a universal beer thing. If you're brewing a normal gravity ale around 1.050 with an english or american strain it should be package ready in 10 days. It will have reached terminal gravity in 3-4 days, then raise the temperature up about 5 degrees for 3 days to condition, lower to 32 for 2 days so it drops bright and you're done.

My normal fermentation schedule is 68* for 3 days 72* for 3 days then chilled to 32 for 1 or 2 days.

That being said, having a metered amount of oxygen injected, proper pitching rates, and accurate temperature control are imperative. If you don't have those things down then it's going to take longer or be less predictable.

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

BerkerkLurk posted:

The big surprise for Star San was you're probably better off making it fresh every time. If you keep it covered, it doesn't cloud up, and the pH doesn't change, you're good to go, though. Also if you keep it covered and use distilled water it will last forever. But unless you're willing to get distilled water or test your pH all the time, it's better to just make it fresh everytime.

I mix up 5 gallons at time with distilled water then put it in a corny keg. It takes me about 20 batches to go through it, I tested it periodically with pH strips and was always in range. I like it because it's on tap if I need it, fill up my spray bottle from it, push it through hoses after cleaning so they're ready to go. I can't imagine brewing without it now. Plus side is that you don't waste anywhere near as much, I really don't think I'm going to need another bottle of starsan for 5 years.

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

Jo3sh posted:

That's a frighteningly good idea, considering I have been rehabbing these kegs I have had lying around and now have extras...
I almost put in bold but I thought it would be pompous. I use a keg that has a retarded lid with no blow off valve but still holds pressure. When I want to sanitize corny kegs I just use my jumper line to push through the liquid out, thus sanitizing that annoying diptube. I am all about ease of use (Laziness), I find the more I brew the easier I want to make things.

I also have a co2 line that runs to my brewstand, I just put a T coming off the main regulator and it hangs down so I can use it when needed, very handy and cheap. Having a hose with a sprayer on it is helpful too, the water is always on, just pull the trigger, it lives in the utility sink but reaches to the brewstand.

Time optimization and reduction of variables are my new objectives, it's pretty amazing how many variables are involved in brewing, and tricky to eliminate them. Recently I've been working on getting Beersmith to have 6 different profiles so I can accurately predict gravity based on grain bill and boil length, a lot more fun than it sounds like.

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

plester1 posted:

Carbonic acid is a diprotic acid that can act as a buffer. Yes it's an acid, but that just means its pH is less than 7; it likes to sit at pH 5.7 or around that neighborhood. The instructions for Star San say its good as long as it's pH is below 3. I would not keep Star San under CO2.

I do not know enough to speak academically on the subject, however I checked it after 75 days of storage under CO2, pH was 2.7. Of course it's stored at 68, and since CO2 is less soluble at higher temperatures there's less in solution. I've really given up on checking, I was paranoid at first but after sampling for over 2 months and seeing no change I'm pretty well sold.

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

RiggenBlaque posted:

Part of the problem is that it seems pretty tough to find any sources online that aren't either too general or way too specific.

The How to Brew book has an excellent chapter on water, it may look advanced at first but that's just explaining the nomagraph, which is really easy actually.

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

rage-saq posted:

Yeast starter poo poo

I agree, and this is why I do most lagers with dry yeast, 1-3 packs depending on gravity and it's so easy.

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

Jo3sh posted:

All you guys who use counterflow or plate chillers, how do you clean them after use, and how do you sanitize them before use?

I have a plate chiller, I recirculate the boiling wort for 30 minutes, chill. To clean I alternate between flushing forward and reverse flow until no more particulates come out, about 4 times. Every other brew i'll recirculate hot PBW through it and my kettle to clean. The whole process is about 5 minutes.

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

mindphlux posted:

in any case, degassing kegs is like, the bane of my existence. I can't even serve out of my normal taps without degassing, otherwise it's complete foam for everyone. I feel like that's something I must be able to fix, but I have like, a keg fridge at 38deg, some perlite taps with 5-6ft of hose between them and the kegs, and my desired level of co2 for most kegs is like 10-15psi (@40deg)

still though if I don't vent and drop them down to ~2-5psi before a party, everyone is just like 'wahhh my beer is all foam'

Read the Brewers Association publication http://www.draughtquality.org/w/page/18182201/FrontPage completely. It really has everything you need to know about balancing a draft setup. That combined with the line length calculator http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f84/beer-line-length-pressure-calculator-35369/ should get you pretty close, start 1' longer and trim accordingly. I do not in any way endorse reading HBT as it is the shithole of homebrew information, but that calculator was put together well.

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

Darth Goku Jr posted:

Does anyone use nitro when they carb? if it wasn't too much of an additional investment over co2, It would be awesome to do the occasional stout or esb with it. Show all those assholes that Guinness isn't all that special.

I have a nitro setup, there's a good article here http://www.byo.com/stories/techniques/article/indices/35-head-retention/747-head-games that covers why N2 is different for foam

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time
So I got some sweet new tap handles made by Bad Munki and he did a great job! It's been a little over a year since I started putting it together and it's been mostly finished but sans tap handles. They're the standard shape but made out of spalted tamarind which I thought appropriate as the lines are caused by fungi fighting.





I think the only thing left is to get some stainless shank collars.

Big thanks to Bad Munki, he worked with me, gave helpful advice, really pleased with the results.

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

Jo3sh posted:

What did you guys brew this year?

2/7 Foreign export stout
2/16 Northern english brown
2/20 Blonde
3/21 Belgian pale
3/23 Belgian blonde
4/24 American pale ale
4/28 Hefeweizen
5/6 Ordinary Bitter
5/8 Munich helles
5/8 German pils
6/3 IPA
6/10 ESB
6/28 Hefeweizen
7/3 SMASH ALAH MO/Amarillo/S05
7/7 American rye
7/12 SMASH ALAH 2-row/Willamette/S05
7/13 Belgian blonde
7/20 Obsidian stout clone
8/10 German pils
8/12 SMASH ALAH GP/Golding/S04
8/17 Witbier
8/23 Scottish 70/-
8/25 SMASH ALAH MO/Fuggles/S04
8/30 Dunkelweizen
9/1 Mild
9/4 American stout
9/7 SMASH ALAH 2-row/Citra/S05
9/11 Berlinerweiss
9/13 Wee Heavy
9/16 Jann's Strong ale
9/19 SMASH ALAH GP/Hallertau/S04
9/22 Maibock
9/25 Belgian dark strong
9/28 SMASH ALAH 2-row/Centennial/S05
10/1 English barleywine
10/4 Hefeweizen
10/25 Pumpkin ale
10/28 Vienna lager
11/1 Northern English brown
11/26 Baltic porter
11/28 Sweet stout
12/27 SMASH ALAH MO/Fuggles/S04

Should bang out a doppelbock Friday

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

Dolemite posted:

I don't want to roll up to my first home brewing club meet with some lovely home brew. :(

There's no obligation to bring anything, some people only brew once or twice a year, if you bring a nice commercial beer that's more than enough. I would recommend just going regardless.

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

Docjowles posted:

I entered my first competition recently with a Belgian tripel. Just got scores back, 29/40 :saddowns: Don't have judges' comments yet but I bet some of the markdowns stem from my lovely "bottling wand jammed into picnic tap" bottling method (and also from the beer not being all that great, not fishing for excuses). I wouldn't be shocked to see oxidation, lack of carbonation or even infection on the score sheet. May need to add a Beer Gun to my brewing wish list if I ever care to take comps seriously.

I bought a beergun before christmas, and subsequently used it to bottle my first beers in a year, worked pretty well. I can attest to the oxidation issues with the picnic faucet method, it kinda sucks. But so goes the never ending debate/battle between those with $15 to spend and those with $70.

What I mean is that if you're serious about bottling beer you'll spend $70, if you aren't you'll spend $15

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

Jacobey000 posted:

Just because you buy shinny things doesn't exactly mean you aren't "as serious" as anyone else. I've got a 5gal pot, use a $5 bottle filler, do extract brewing still, but I still spend most of my waking hours reading about beer. Just because I don't have money to blow doesn't mean I'm not serious.

indigi posted:

Not really, if you're serious about bottling beer you'll tinker with your process, using whichever equipment you choose (the wand I use cost about ~$3 and the O2 absorbing bottle caps are an extra few pennies a go), til you get it right.

Bottling isn't an all-grain/extract, cheap/expensive debate, packaging is the last step of the brewing process, the beer is vulnerable your only job is to get it in there without O2 or contaminants. If you read industry texts they focus a lot on packaging because it's so critical to long term flavor stability. Even when breweries bottle condition they still purge the bottles with CO2, often times twice before filling. There are places to skimp out on, my HLT is made from a $20 Rubbermaid trash can, my fittings are brass, but packaging is really important.

O2 absorbing caps are great, but they only scrub oxygen out of the headspace, not the dissolved O2 that gets in the beer if you don't purge with CO2.

You go through all the hassle(fun) of brewday, expense of a batch, through fermentation, conditioning, why not bottle in a way that protects your work?

silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time

TenjouUtena posted:

Normal white cane sugar needs to be boiled in order for yeasties to be able to eat them.

Yeast can ferment sucrose (Table sugar) fine, invert sugar eliminates the need for the yeast to break down the longer sucrose chains but is almost academic in its differences

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silver97232
Apr 30, 2004
I dare you, I double dare you, say "what" one more time
So who is planning on attending the NHC this year? This will be my first time but I'm already excited about it, registration opens on Feb 1st. I'm also going to enter some beers for the first time.

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