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  1. IslandLizard

    heating element quit during mash

    In the name of science... thank you! :rock:
  2. IslandLizard

    IPA’s to Calibrate Sensory Palette

    Once you narrowed down what suits your palate (and nose) you may want to test what those hops do in your (homebrewed) IPAs. For that you can make a series of small brews, using only 1 or 2 hops in each. I've often brewed a 5 gallon batch, with just a small amount of bittering hops (say, to...
  3. IslandLizard

    Long time no see (Return to homebrewing)

    Of course I forgot to ask the obvious but very important question: "What does your tap water smell and taste like?" Water may look good "on paper," but still smell or taste horribly.
  4. IslandLizard

    Long time no see (Return to homebrewing)

    Thank you for giving us your more detailed brewing history. It helps to know experience level. My emphasis^ You may be surprised to know you're in the small 1% (est.) of homebrewers who are aware of that and actually care. :D That's the important part! Then at some point you may start to...
  5. IslandLizard

    Long time no see (Return to homebrewing)

    The lower readings of combined Calcium and Magnesium hardness are still considered "soft" water (lower than 60-75 ppm total), and very suitable for most brewing, except the lightest beers perhaps. When the higher levels prevail you will need to add a little acid to keep the mash pH around 5.4...
  6. IslandLizard

    heating element quit during mash

    Please, let us know how your time-suspended mash fared when resumed. You said the issue was with the controller. Have you figured out what failed? Could it be simply a thermal protection that can be reset or replaced?
  7. IslandLizard

    Long time no see (Return to homebrewing)

    If you feel safer to hide it from public view, there's no need to list your actual location. You can leave it blank or cook up your own. ;) I was just curious where you are.
  8. IslandLizard

    Hello all, wanting to dabble my toes

    Welcome to HomebrewTalk! Thanks for your confession! I sincerely hope you can regulate your tongue dabbles. Drinking good beer in moderation, it being homebrew or commercial, can be a real treat! The best part of having a kegerator is being able to sip little bits, and they're always fresh.
  9. IslandLizard

    IPA’s to Calibrate Sensory Palette

    Definitely Sierra Nevada IPAs (and Pales). Even their Juicy Little Thing and Hazy Little Thing are good IPA references. But they're nothing like real New England IPAs, they're their own class.
  10. IslandLizard

    Long time no see (Return to homebrewing)

    Where are you now? "Los Angeles" still shows in your member profile (and thus in the sidebar). Keep in mind, many (most) kitchen stoves can not adequately boil 6 gallons of wort, with some exceptions. Using a heat stick as @MaxStout mentioned (in the post above) can alleviate that.
  11. IslandLizard

    heating element quit during mash

    Most had probably converted already by the time you started chilling. Did you take a gravity sample? If the mash hadn't completed yet, I'm pretty sure you can revive it and finish the brew. I would have packed a thick blanket around the Grainfather and let the mash do its thing for an hour or...
  12. IslandLizard

    Long time no see (Return to homebrewing)

    I think getting a dedicated (digital) timer is no luxury. I sometimes use an old but very useful laptop, placed in the far corner of the "dry" counter. BeerSmith (BS)... I consider it a step up in recipe design compared to Brewer's Friend, but both work fine. BeerSmith has mostly become a...
  13. IslandLizard

    Long time no see (Return to homebrewing)

    Welcome back to brewing, and HBT! I've been brewing all-grain in the kitchen since 2008. Since I "own" the kitchen, doing most of the cooking, cleaning, and such, I don't get much flack from my wife. I spread a few large (and old) towels on the (hardwood strip) floor to catch drips and small...
  14. IslandLizard

    For Sale Niagara Ontario for sale Grain to glass

    Moderator's note: Per forum rules, you must list asking prices of items you're selling and/or a package price! You can negotiate from there on. Please edit your original post, ASAP.
  15. IslandLizard

    Multiple Concurrent Small Batch Brewing

    I would steer well clear of any inferences to Zymatic or Picobrew. Tetra <> Tetris (game) connotation?
  16. IslandLizard

    When to know if yeast is stalling

    1.074 reading from a hydrometer? Why start spunding this early? Dissolved CO2 slows down yeast activity, so does pressure.
  17. IslandLizard

    Wanted Wanted to buy - Used cask (pin)

    That seems to be what @Peebee is hinting to. I've never seen any such application using a bladder. Most pins, firkins, and (real) casks* I've come across use a breather, so the beer will be exposed to air. * Quite a few brewery tap rooms I've been in use a regular Sanke keg under low pressure...
  18. IslandLizard

    Wanted Wanted to buy - Used cask (pin)

    Hence my suggestion to keep the headspace filled with an inert gas such as Nitrogen (N2), at either room pressure, or say, up to 2 psi. CO2 can be used instead to keep the cask beer lowly carbonated and should keep it fine for several months that way, no different than beer in a keg, but at much...
  19. IslandLizard

    Multiple Concurrent Small Batch Brewing

    I second that.^
  20. IslandLizard

    Zinc usage - amount for healthy fermentation

    In a discussion a few years ago, one of our yeast gurus claimed the gluconate makes the Zinc ion inaccessible to the yeast. IIRC, Zinc Chloride (ZnCl2) or Zinc Sulphate (ZnSO4) apparently are fine to use. But he used one of those dropper bottles with a much more accessible form of Zinc. It was...
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