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crazyfish posted:Is that thermometer a remote probe thermometer (i.e. the probe is on the end of a cable)? If so, take the probe (not the main unit) and put it in a cold oven. Heat the oven to 350 and leave it there for 20 minutes. Let the probe cool down, and it will tell you the right temperature again. I've fixed several thermometer probes that way. Yes. I saw somewhere else that that would work, but I obviously can't use it for liquids again. 
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Sep 4, 2012 16:13
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zedprime posted:Gonna make some bratwurst beer. Please Post Recipe I cooked a Breakfast Stout on Monday that has this ridiculous ammount of stuff in it: 
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Sep 4, 2012 16:36
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BDawg posted:What are people using for a thermometer? Optimally, I'd like one that I can leave in the pot for the boil and the cooldown. The $15 one I bought apparently wasn't very waterproof and that's why it was telling me my boiling water was over 350 degrees. Depending on how serious you are about brewing, the $90 thermapen (I think they have a probe version as well) is absolutely amazing. I still consider it one of my best purchases.
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Sep 4, 2012 16:44
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BDawg posted:What are people using for a thermometer? Optimally, I'd like one that I can leave in the pot for the boil and the cooldown. The $15 one I bought apparently wasn't very waterproof and that's why it was telling me my boiling water was over 350 degrees. I've used a few things. I started with a dairy style floating thermometer and while I have one I managed to break a few along the way due to the glass construction. It's good to leave in the mash undisturbed, but when I'm actively working with things I prefer to use a digital kitchen thermometer for precise results. That can't be submersed, but it doesn't take too long to get a reading and it's good for a lot of other kitchen uses. One of my favorite gadgets is my infrared thermometer that I picked up when it was under $20. It's only accurate within a couple degrees so not for precise things, but it's totally instant and just fun to use wherever.
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Sep 4, 2012 17:24
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RiggenBlaque posted:Depending on how serious you are about brewing, the $90 thermapen (I think they have a probe version as well) is absolutely amazing. I still consider it one of my best purchases. They sell some pretty heavy duty thermocouple probes you don't need to worry about contacts getting wet but the outlay is a bit higher than the thermapen. Most of that is for the receiving station though so if you want to wire your entire house and Every cooking apparatus you own you can end up ahead. The thermapen has such a fast response I don't miss a stick it and forget it probe.
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Sep 4, 2012 17:42
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I use a regular old instant digital read meat thermometer, although I've noticed at the very least it only reads 208* in a rolling boil, which leads me to believe either a) it's only accurate in the meat range (which is where mashes are anyways) or its just inaccurate in general. I'd really like a thermapen, but its hard to drop 90 bucks on a thermometer when I have plenty of other "needs." LaserWash posted:That's weird. Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Sep 4, 2012 |
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Sep 4, 2012 17:45
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rage-saq posted:I put together a Rye IPA (finally!) Chinook/Citra sounds super tasty. My most recent IPA ended up being all Amarillo and Citra and it was just all tropical fruit and sweetness, it lacked the balancing force of that grapefruit or pine you get in a lot of good IPA's.
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Sep 4, 2012 18:38
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All thermometers I used prior to the thermapen were inadequate for accurate mashing. Fortunately, accurate mashing isn't really necessary for making great single-infusion beers, but it is important for making reproducible beers and sometimes you want to do something like step mashing and feel like you actually know what you're doing rather than realizing you have no idea which targets are being met and missed. If you have more crucial things to purchase that's fine, but someday you'll probably want to look into getting something that will actually give you the data you're after.
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Sep 4, 2012 18:44
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Can you get longer probes for Thermapens? The short wand always seemed like a major drawback.
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Sep 4, 2012 18:56
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Not for the pen but they do have a modular probe / reader system, depending on which reader/probe combo you get it can price out more expensive than the thermapen.
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Sep 4, 2012 19:00
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A brew-safe stiff flexible (ie stays where it's put) probe with a reader that clipped on the side of a pot would be rad. But if I could get a Thermapen with a set of swappable set of probes that included a 1.5'-long solid-rod probe I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
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Sep 4, 2012 19:04
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Splizwarf posted:Can you get longer probes for Thermapens? The short wand always seemed like a major drawback. That's what I would love. I'd like to clip something to the pot so I don't have to worry about moving the lid around and sanitizing.
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Sep 4, 2012 19:50
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Unfortunately Thermapens are designed for checking the temp of meat and not for sticking into the middle of a mash tun. So if you need a longer probe then one of the models that use a K type thermocouple is your only option. At least from Thermoworks. I have no idea what the other thermometer manufacturers have available.
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Sep 4, 2012 19:54
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Galler posted:Unfortunately Thermapens are designed for checking the temp of meat and not for sticking into the middle of a mash tun. So if you need a longer probe then one of the models that use a K type thermocouple is your only option. At least from Thermoworks. I have no idea what the other thermometer manufacturers have available. Couldn't you just put a thermowell into your mashtun?
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Sep 4, 2012 19:59
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Most of the thermometers you can get at any kitchen supply place have the same limitation - they just aren't intended to take temperatures way down in a big pot of porridge, so the probes are either too short or are hung on the end of non-submersible cables. I bought my Thermapen for brewing, but I found the short probe to be an issue, so I went back to using a dial thermo mounted through the wall. The Thermapen is awesome for cooking and grilling and I use it for that all the time.
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Sep 4, 2012 20:00
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Angry Grimace posted:I use a regular old instant digital read meat thermometer, although I've noticed at the very least it only reads 208* in a rolling boil, which leads me to believe either a) it's only accurate in the meat range (which is where mashes are anyways) or its just inaccurate in general. Depends, if you're in an area around 2000 feet above sea level that's where boiling should be. If you're on the coast, yeah it's a problem.
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Sep 4, 2012 20:14
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So I plugged in my sestos PID. Bazam!
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Sep 4, 2012 20:24
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Galler posted:Unfortunately Thermapens are designed for checking the temp of meat and not for sticking into the middle of a mash tun. So if you need a longer probe then one of the models that use a K type thermocouple is your only option. At least from Thermoworks. I have no idea what the other thermometer manufacturers have available. Heh. I should be more clear, the standard Thermapen is not even appealing to me for meat because I tend to roast large cuts. 
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Sep 4, 2012 20:55
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Killer robot posted:Depends, if you're in an area around 2000 feet above sea level that's where boiling should be. If you're on the coast, yeah it's a problem. The best I can hope for without drilling a thermowell in my mash tun is to get the temperatures right in a single infusion by getting an accurate measurement of the strike water and trusting that I did the mathy calculations correctly. Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Sep 4, 2012 |
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Sep 4, 2012 21:18
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Splizwarf posted:Heh. I should be more clear, the standard Thermapen is not even appealing to me for meat because I tend to roast large cuts. The gently caress cuts are you roasting that a 4.5" probe can't reach the center?
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Sep 4, 2012 23:58
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Dunno but I think we should hang out. e: relating to thermopens, I post something like this all the time: quote:
There's also a PTFE tipped k-type probe that works extremely well. You need to add some kind of weight to it so it stays down. http://www.thermoworks.com/products/probe/tc_wire.html Hypnolobster fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Sep 5, 2012 |
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Sep 5, 2012 00:26
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What do ya know? Ahs shipped today! I'm sure they appreciated that I ordered two cartons of bottles, filling the basket juuuuuuuussssstttt over 50 bucks, to take advantage of the free shipping. A 30 pound box is headed my way, will be here tomorrow. On the Caribou Slobber extract kit, I've got plenty of space, can I use more than the 2.5 gallons of water to bring it to a "fuller" boilthan the recipe asks for or should I just stick to what is on the recipe from nb?
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Sep 5, 2012 01:07
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Boil as much of the water as you can. When I do extract batches I don't use any top up water. I start with ~6.5 gallons of water and follow the instructions aside from the top up water step at the end.
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Sep 5, 2012 01:27
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My first batch started fermenting about 3 hours after pitching (8PM last night). Now, the krausen is dying down, which makes me think fermentation is ending soon. To confirm what I've found via research - I probably added my yeast before the wort was cool enough. The beer will still be perfectly fine, just not as clear or flavorful as it could be, correct?
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Sep 5, 2012 01:34
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BlueGrot posted:So I plugged in my sestos PID.
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Sep 5, 2012 01:52
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BDawg posted:I probably added my yeast before the wort was cool enough. The beer will still be perfectly fine, just not as clear or flavorful as it could be, correct? depending on hot warm it was when you pitched, you may get some off flavors or "hot" alcohol character. It will almost certainly still be good beer, though. Leave it for at least several more days, or more ideally a couple of weeks, before bottling it so that it can settle and clear. The yeast will also do some cleanup of fermentation byproducts, yielding better beer. Jo3sh fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Sep 5, 2012 |
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Sep 5, 2012 01:53
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Very close to buying the full kegerator setup, and not building one. My current plan is to go with this Kegerator (Free Shipping!): http://www.compactappliance.com/KC2000TWIN-EdgeStar-Full-Size-Dual-Tap-Kegerator-And-Keg-Beer-Cooler/KC2000TWIN,default,pd.html#BVRRWidgetID and to buy two Ball Lock Kegs from this place: http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=1 The description of the Kegerator says that it will fit [quote] two cornelius (homebrewed) kegs with an additional ball lock connector (sold separately)[\quote]. Is that something separate from the Ball Lock Kegs that I am getting from KegConnection?
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Sep 5, 2012 02:44
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From the product description it comes with Sanke-style connectors so you need to make sure you get that additional Sanke => Ball Lock connector (maybe two of them?) otherwise the ball lock kegs wont connect up to the taps.
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Sep 5, 2012 03:33
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I would also invest in an external temperature controller as they are much more accurate than the built-in temperature dial. For example: http://stores.kegconnection.com/Detail.bok?no=49
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Sep 5, 2012 03:36
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j3rkstore posted:From the product description it comes with Sanke-style connectors so you need to make sure you get that additional Sanke => Ball Lock connector (maybe two of them?) otherwise the ball lock kegs wont connect up to the taps. Commercial kegs have one big fitting that allows you to push gas in and draw beer out. Cornies have two posts, one for gas in and one for beer out. The good news is that the disconnects are cheaper than Sanke connectors. So what you would do with that kegerator is remove the Sanke connector from each set of lines and replace it with a set of ball-lock connectors. You can put the Sanke connectors on the shelf in case you someday want to pour commercial beer, or sell them on Craigslist, or whatever.
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Sep 5, 2012 04:37
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If it's kosher, I'd like to hear others thoughts on Brewing school and the necessity of it.
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Sep 5, 2012 04:46
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j3rkstore posted:I would also invest in an external temperature controller as they are much more accurate than the built-in temperature dial. I already have one, but that is good advice. Thanks! Jo3sh posted:Commercial kegs have one big fitting that allows you to push gas in and draw beer out. Cornies have two posts, one for gas in and one for beer out. The good news is that the disconnects are cheaper than Sanke connectors. Thanks guys! I appreciate it. I think I'm going to make the plunge. ScaerCroe fucked around with this message at 05:02 on Sep 5, 2012 |
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Sep 5, 2012 04:55
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Midorka posted:If it's kosher, I'd like to hear others thoughts on Brewing school and the necessity of it. Like, to enter a career in professional brewing, or to improve your homebrew?
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Sep 5, 2012 05:19
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Docjowles posted:Like, to enter a career in professional brewing, or to improve your homebrew? To become a professional brewer. I'm aware many breweries want this now if hiring a brewer, but what about opening your own brewery? Is it necessary or would you say that learning the techniques while homebrewing are more important? From my understanding with a bit of self-reading most of everything taught at these brewing schools can be learned at home for the serious home brewer, though I may be wrong. Edit: Also what would you put as a higher importance, brewing school or a deep appreciation and knowledge of homebrewing? I mean that as someone who bothers to get their water perfect, someone who understands the reactions and why they occur, and so forth.
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Sep 5, 2012 05:21
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I'm about to start interning for a local brew pub, the head brewer was a homebrewing paralegal who knew a head brewer at a different brewery, started working for him, then got hired at this brewpub. He said a lot of brewing is about having an in. He told me there are tons of a who would do 1000% better then the guy with commercial experience, but unless you have an in like he did, they will almost always pick the guy with commercial experience. I don't know where brew school fits into this, but I feel like it implies that experience trumps all, despite the fact that, at least at small (~10 barrel) breweries the process is homebrewing but bigger. I's say your best bet is to get tight with a local brewery, do some volunteering for them and getting them to like you enough and proving you're knowledgable and competent enough that they think of you first when they have an opening. That's basically what I'm trying to do. I'm sure the actual professional brewers could tell you better though.
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Sep 5, 2012 08:11
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~$220 later (controller and freezer) and excited as hell:   It's going to hold 5 buckets for sure(!) and possibly 6 if I want to get tricky. A bucket will fit in the slot next to the bump-in and another will fit on top, which I am really jazzed about in terms of not wasting space. It's deep enough that a full-height bucket sitting on the bump-in will fit as long as I use a blow-off tube. I also got another Saison going (NB's Saison de Noel) and the fermentation range is something absurd like 70F to 94F. It appears to love ~78F:  Bubbling like a jackhammer and I'm mildly concerned about the krausen that's making it up into the airlock. Hoping it doesn't push the whole airlock out while I'm at work today, going to get a blow-off onto it tonight. 
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Sep 5, 2012 14:09
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Daedalus Esquire posted:I'm about to start interning for a local brew pub, the head brewer was a homebrewing paralegal who knew a head brewer at a different brewery, started working for him, then got hired at this brewpub. He said a lot of brewing is about having an in. He told me there are tons of a who would do 1000% better then the guy with commercial experience, but unless you have an in like he did, they will almost always pick the guy with commercial experience. That's how I was kind of thinking, that networking was far more important than school, and in my area it's very easy to network thanks to a great homebrew group. From the classes I saw it seems they teach basic math, a crash course in marketing and business, and intricate brewing classes down to the ingredients, but I mean there are so many great resources, namely Charlie Papazian's books, that I can't see how brewing school would be any better than a deeply interested/learned homebrewer, other than how to operate professional machinery. I could understand a brewery wanting a dude from a college though if they simply wanted someone who knew the equipment, rather than someone who was creative with new recipes and such. I'm not saying that going to school will mean you're not creative, by any means though.
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Sep 5, 2012 14:34
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One thing you won't learn just homebrewing is how all the bigger, more complex and extremely dangerous industrial equipment and caustic chemicals work. It's hard for me to imagine jumping head first into pro brewing just because of that. Finding a local brewer that would let you be his unpaid bitch for a while seems like it would be a good call. I don't really know enough about what one learns at a brewing school to comment, other than to say I've heard/read interviews with a lot of brewers and people have found success both with and without formal education.
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Sep 5, 2012 15:52
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I'm sure home brewing experience helps but if you're working at anything but the tiniest brewpub things are going to be a lot different. The change in scale is huge. Also you're probably not going to walk in off the street and start doing anything that requires thought. It's going to be clean that, then dump 10 bags of this and 1 bag of that and then push that button.
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Sep 5, 2012 17:09
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Yeah, I think going to school is mainly a way of finding an "in" with a pro brewery if you don't have one already. It's also probably pretty crucial if you want to open a brewery from scratch - otherwise you will probably be putting most of what you learned in school in the back of your mind as you adapt to whatever methodologies the brewery you wish to work for uses.
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Sep 5, 2012 17:09
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