Recent content by BrewmasterBrad

Okay. Now I am even more confused. Isn't the racking arm always in the wort? If not, how do you propose putting the racking arm on the tank without dumping all your beer? Unless the carb stone is on the outside part of the racking arm, which seems kind of funky.

I guess the humor got lost in the interwebs. I have another question as I am looking at the CF10 on the web site and comparing it to my other options out there for unitanks. If Spike is indeed working on a carb stone option, where is it going to go? There are no more ports available on the tank.

Seems a little misleading to post this. I emailed you guys and the response I got says there is no such trade-in program, nor is there a program being planned. Was this posted in error or as a joke?

I guess that depends on which SS unit you are comparing it to. I am in the market for a unitank, so for me, I would like a fair comparison between the SS unitank and the new Spike tank. I ferment in Sanke kegs, transfer to my brite tanks (which are just corny kegs with the dip tubes...

Thanks for the info. I will be interested to see what you think of the quality. I will also be interested to see what the final cost is after adding all the accessories that I would want. It looks like most of the accessories on the Spike tank are standard on the Ss Brew Tech unitank (carb...

I'm glad I found this thread since I have been researching conical fermenters and I am just trying to decide which way I should go. I am currently fermenting in converted Sanke kegs, which work great but I am getting tired of lifting them and moving them around. My ideal solution would be a...

Astringency can come from more than one source as illustrated in the previous post. Dark roasted grains can cause your mash pH to get too low resulting in a harsh flavor from the dark grains. Astringency can also come from your sparge runoff pH getting too high. This results in tannin extraction...

I love Vienna malt as well. For a while, I was formulating recipes and adding Vienna to them for no other reason than I liked it. I have used it in large proportions, but I haven't tried a SMASH with it yet. Sounds like a fun experiment. For me, Vienna has a very toasty flavor - like bread...

I agree with the previous poster that you have too much Sodium. I wouldn't add any table salt at all. Sodium is not a necessary mineral at all for brewing or yeast health. It's not clear from your post as to what type of filter you are using and when you are taking your pH readings. Your mash...

I can't even imagine coming home to a 126F beer in the fermentor. That really sucks. I haven't used the Fermostat. For simple 'set it and forget it' temp control, I've been using the Ranco single stage controllers. They work pretty well, but I have fried a couple as well. I don't think there is...

I've been doing some comparisons between BeerSmith and Bru'n Water lately, but I need to work more with the pH tools in the new version of BeerSmith before I can really say which one is more accurate. I will post my results here when I have more data. I am starting with RO water and building...

Sounds good. That reminds me that I need to start a new batch of sauerkraut this weekend too.

Saw this at HomebrewCon in Baltimore. Good idea for a beginner brewer, but there are much better options out there for less money.

Cleaning kegs, transferring beer, and collecting yeast so I can brew next weekend!

That would be great AJ. I guess my ultimate goal is to find the path of least resistance to create the best beer possible and take the mystery out of water chemistry. I know that understanding the chemistry itself is beyond the comprehension of most of us, but we should at least understand the...