Recent content by Redcat

My first attempt at an ESB had me baking my own grain and then crushing it on a cookie sheet with a 3 qt pot. Didn't take very long and seemed to work fine. You can do it.

I've got a K309 with a digital display. Mine is the K309SS, but it only goes to 50F. I double checked before I posted. They might have changed the firmware after I bought mine. I bought mine in September of last year.

On mine the highest you can set it for is 50 degrees F/10 degrees C.

I like my K309, and definitely recommend the 650SS Perlicks over the 630SS. I reduce the flow for the first glass, reducing the amount of foaming.

I've brewed this 4 times total now. Since I liked the beer so much without the oats the first time, I've made all 4 without oats. The last time I made this beer, I fermented with Wyeast 3711 for our local homebrew club's Ironbrewer challenge. The challenge was you had to use 3711 and 1/4lb...

Next time try adding the gypsum during the start of the boil. You won't be raising the PH of the mash, but you'll have enough calcium for good fermentation and clarity.

I'm glad I went with tri-clover over NPT. I can unhook all my gear, clean it and put it away. The stuff I found in my pick up tube is nothing I would want to hang around. It's pretty simple to clean, no places for gunk to hide. The tri-clover stuff is a little more expensive, but I think...

I had the same experience. Really like 5 Star for everything except 5.2.

Nice job on the pictures. What are your plans for it? It looks like you could swap in normal faucets. I'd think just about anything would work better than the plastic ones on there now. Just guessing, but I think the hard lines inside would be stainless. I don't think the outside...

Brewing the Black Pearl Porter recipe this weekend. I'll be making a 5 gallon batch, and using 8 gallons in the mash via BIAB. My plan is 6 mL of 88% Lactic acid in the mash, and then 2.0mg of calcium chloride, 1.6 mg of pickling lime and 1.6mg of Gypsum. The target in Bru'n'water for a...

Was this for 2.5 gallons finished volume?

I prefer the BG14 burner (the middle one). I think it is more efficient than the 23 jet for bringing 10-15 gallons or less to a boil. It can be found in a range of burners from the Bayou Classic KAB4/6, Blichmann burner, etc. The BG10 is good for up to 5 gallons or so. I don't think it is...

I'd search over at probrewer.com. Just put "grain crusher site:probrewer.com" in Google/Bing/Yahoo/whatever. It looks like a lot of nano-breweries are running a Monster Mill. Another option is http://www.maltmills.com/mills.htm

Got the report from Ward Labs: pH 7.8 Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 123 Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.20 Cations / Anions, me/L 2.1 / 2.1 ppm Sodium, Na 16 Potassium, K 2 Calcium, Ca 16 Magnesium, Mg 7 Total Hardness, CaCO3 69 Nitrate, NO3-N 0.4 (SAFE) Sulfate, SO4-S 3...

I have a K309. I like it, and it has worked fine so far. My only complaint is that isn't the quietest kegerator out there. Beverage Factory owns Kegco, so you won't really find a discount on them. My first kegerator from Beverage Factory was damaged in shipping. Make sure to double...