Recent content by LowNotes

This is the way I went when facing the same issues of thermopen cost, and I love it. Would recommend for brewing 10 out of 10 times. It is easy, fast, super accurate, and I can use it for meat too.

Re-reading this comment helped to put some words to the flavors, thanks. I would definitely say the "West Coast finish" was there, and I was very happy with how it balanced out the roasted flavors from the malt. As far as a "spice" flavor from the Nugget, I don't know if I have ever really...

So I kegged this last Thursday and quick-carbed it by shaking it for 30 minutes while under about 14-15psi on Friday morning for the party weekend. It turned out to be pretty spectacular in my opinion. Nice roastiness from teh de-bittered black, and the hop schedule gave a not-overwhelming...

Kind of a followup question: Is there a point at which you should NOT trim the bull shoots back if they have been growing freely? I have 3 plants and am getting great 2nd year growth. So far the biggest has 10-12 bines and the longest are probably 18"-24", should I still chop everything...

Ouch... I use the nylon paint straining bags to hold my boil hops (pellets not leaf though, so must not have been me!:D) I have what is basically a false bottom though...it is actually just a metal 'plate' with about 1.5" high rim aorund the edge, and 1/4" diameter holes all across the...

Yep, water has its highest density at 4*C, however the change is generally very small as long as it remains liquid... I guess if there was literally zero headspace, liquid beer right up to the bottom of the cap, it could happen. Although I would also expect the cap to blow before the glass...

Here is one of my first BIA batches. I now use a second bag in my kettle for my mash. Unfortunately...I don't have any photos of the mash itself, as I was preoccupied with getting it in and covered, but you can see my bag before in the water, and then after when I pull it out full of grain...

Okay, this is making a lot more sense now. You were mashing, and that was your strike water temp. As somone else mentioned, there is a great BIAB (Brew In A Bag) Sticky at the top of the All Grain forum page. It has photos and step by step explanations. In a nutshell, you want to: Heat...

If I am understanding you correctly, both should yield the same results, and both should turn out fine. Between those two methods it is really more a question of which one is easier/preferable to you, as the end product will be the same. How much grain were you "steeping"? Was it just a...

I had a beer I had never heard of before back in January, Zymatore: Cuvee Freddy, which was listed on the menu as "blend of sour ales and stout; matured for 1 year in oak zinfandel barrels", it was 8% ABV, and I loved it. As far as the specific flavors, I remember it being very well balanced...

When the beer level gets below the "in" post (typically the CO2, but the beer-out in your case) won't it no longer be able to pour? My posts are all 2-4" long, which would leave a few pints in the keg unreachable.

Just to bring this back to the front, starting today the water has chlorine. My wife noted the smell this morning.

Yeah, that is more or less what I was thinking, but with 3 tubes from 3 buckets all running to one pitcher of sanitizer/water.

I saw an article in the Washington Post earlier this week stating that the water system for DC, Arlington, and NE Fairfax County will be using chlorine as a disinfectant (instead of the usual chloromines) from 3/17/14 - 4/28/14. You may notice a change in smell/taste in these areas. Link below...

Cool, thanks for the info. When I looked through your link I realized a lot of my questions were answered there, but thanks for taking the time to answer them here too. Very nice to hear that is enough insulation, I was worrying about my plan a lot, and was erring on the side of too much...