Recent content by shellerb

blizzard -- Sorry I took so long. The 62-qt system needs about 1.9-2 gallons to the top of the element and 2.6 gallons to the bottom of the strainer. I don't think I would want to use it for the 3-gal starters you described. Just a thought... ever consider an induction cooktop? I have a 120V...

I have the 62-qt system and would not want to brew a big 5 gallon batch in a smaller pot. Do you make all grain biab starters? I'm fairly certain you could make a dme starter without the basket in the 62-qt pot. But, I would personally just use a stove at that point. I'll measure the volume...

Belgian strong dark ale for something very different than the other choices. I've found that some wine people that don't like beer will enjoy a strong dark ale.

That sounds like the batch of Pliny that I brewed... smoother than Hopslam, but with less citrusy aroma/taste than Hopslam. Honestly, I like the Dead Ringer (Two-Hearted clone) from Northern Brewer a little better than the Pliny batch. Still, I'd love to try the real thing sometime (and the...

What is missing from the equation? I've never had Pliny the Elder except for the clone of it that I made.

I also just bought the system and am looking forward to using it. I'm an engineer, not an electrician, but I think what he meant was that a 50A breaker would be slower and less likely to trip/overload and be [slightly?] less safe. The ideal is a 30A GFCI breaker which is more current than...

Are you saying that warming back up and re-pitching in the keg is unlikely to restart fermentation and dry up the beer? Also, are Wyeast/White Labs attenuation numbers for various strains apparent or real attenuation values?

I'm no expert, but I think when you lay a fridge down on its back you have a high probability of bad things happening to the fridge: http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=operating+refrigerator+on+its+back Personal experience shows 1 hour laying on the fridge's back in the bed of a pickup truck and then...

The original and final gravity readings were 1.051 and 1.025, respectively. After correction (according to the spreadsheet at (http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refractometer-calculator/), after correction, the FG is about 1.0122 for an apparent attenuation of 75.2%. WY1272 should have an...

It sat at 12 psi for a week. I opened the keg but wouldn't it still have a lot of dissolved CO2? How does that affect the hydrometer/refractometer readings? I'm not completely trusting of the absolute refractometer measurements but assume that a stable reading over a few days would still be...

I added more yeast after kegging, carbing, waiting a week, and pouring the first sweet glass. I thought it would help finish fermenting it.

Thanks. I didn't think it should be sweet if it was settled yeast but read that from another website. That site also says that a lack of carbonation can change the perceived sweetness also. Hopefully, it finishes fermenting in the keg.

After carbonating, should I have to pour off much from the bottom of the keg (settled yeast) before the first "good" glass? I kegged for the second time and it tasted very sweet (and not much carbonation for having been at 12psi/~45 deg for 1 week). I thought based on corrected refractometer...

I brewed my third batch this afternoon using The Number 8 extract kit from Northern Brewer. It's a big Belgian dark strong ale. SG: 1.086. I also happened to use a big yeast starter with a stir plate for the first time. Thankfully, I stopped in at my local home brew shop yesterday and got a...