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I've moved up to 9 and 10 gallon batches and my bag of spent grain was getting proportionally heavier, so I decided I needed some mechanical advantage in the form of a second pulley.

I brewed with my new 15.5 gallon kettle again today. I got some cinder blocks and block tops to raise it high enough to siphon into my fermenter without having to move the kettle. I also rigged a pulley so I don't have to dead lift a hot, heavy bag of grain. I did another 5 gallon batch today...

Is homebrewing becoming that mainstream?

I started about 7 am. I had just finished doughing in and wrapping the kettle when it started to sprinkle. I figured it was just the marine layer, but it drizzled most of the day. I moved the patio umbrella over to cover the kettle and soldiered on. 5 gallons of Irish Red Ale is now safe in the...

I brewed an American wheat beer a few weeks ago and I'm getting a very strong sulfury/DMS type flavor that seems to be overlaid with, well, wheat flour. Recipe – 4 gal OG 1.042 FG 1.011 Fermentables 3 lb American 2-row 3 lb Wheat Malt Hops 0.5 oz Liberty 4.9% 60 min 0.5 oz Liberty 4.9%...

The good news is that my new pond pump to recirculate ice water for chilling kicked butt. I cooled from boiling to 100 F with tap water in about 10 minutes, then from 100 to 65 recirculating through a Homer bucket of ice water in another 10. It saved a whole bunch of time and water, and the pump...

SWMBO and I went to dinner tonight and I mentioned that I was going to buy some ingredients for a batch of beer. She - "You need to check what you have in the fridge and the freezer before you buy new stuff. You're the engineer, you have lists for everything else, why don't you keep an...

I made an ESB and used a bit too much of a good thing. The original recipe called for 1/2 lb of Crystal 60L. For some reason I can't remember I wound up using 1 lb of Crystal 80L. It's definitely sweet and caramely. I'm going to let this one sit for a little longer. I'm sure it'll be fine in the...

OK, so it's not the most complex build in the world, but I figured I was doing it anyway, why not take pictures? I wanted a 2-gallon bottling bucket for small batches. I decided to use a 2-gallon paint bucket from Home Depot. I wanted to use the same spigot and 3/4" elbow/dip tube from my...

Last week I did my first BIAB. Things went smoothly, but my efficiencies were low. This week I did another batch and did much better. This time I had the LHBS double-mill the grain. I hit my strike temp (158F) right on, doughed in 9.25 lbs. of grain into 6.5 gallons of water, and hit the mash...

It was a fundraiser for the local high school girls basketball team, on which Kid #2 used to play and which she now coaches. Very limited but good food menu, but check out their beer selections: http://www.thecounterburger.com/pdfs/MENU_NewportBeachCA_0214.pdf I had a Hoegaarden and a...

Things went pretty smoothly, though my efficiencies were much lower than I was hoping for. 3 gallon batch 6 lbs 2-row 1/2 lb Crystal 60 1/2 oz Cascade @ 60 minutes 1/4 oz Cascade @ 30 minutes 1/4 oz Cascade @ 15 minutes 1/2 Whirlfloc tablet @ 10 minutes I started with 5.5 gallons...

I just bought the bag, some grain, hops and yeast at lunch. I've been doing extract plus steeping grains for about a year now, figured it was time to give this a try. I've been doing full-boil 5 gallon batches in an 8 gallon kettle on a turkey fryer. Since this is my first attempt I'm trying to...

She's visiting from Fresno. I heated some steaks on the grill and Kid #1 asked if there were any "real" beers in the fridge. Feeling slightly offended I said, "I think there's a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in there. Her: "That's too bitter for me." Me: "You like Shock Top and you think Sierra...

I tried a 1-gallon extract recipe based on something I saw on Basic Brewing. It was 1 lb. amber DME and 3/8 oz. of Cascade boiled for 15 minutes. I pitched a full packet of US-05 dry because I'm lazy. Fermentation went well. At 2 weeks I hydro'd it and it looked good - 1.012. The sample tasted...

I brewed an extract batch of APA based on a recipe from John Palmer's "How To Brew" and was pleased with the results. Side-by-side with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale the taste was very close, as was the color of the beer. However, the color of the head of my beer was noticeably whiter with considerably...

I cooked up an experimental batch of brown ale yesterday and put it into my Mr. Beer LBK. This morning I went to check on it and I could hear bubbling when I walked in the room. It had never done that before. I also noticed a little drip pool under the spigot. I decided I'd better look into this...

I've just recently started brewing from recipes rather than kits. A couple of weeks ago I put together a batch based on Palmer's ESB recipe from "How To Brew". I did a 2.5 gallon batch (full boil) so I just divided everything by half. After the fact I ran the ingredients I bought through a...

I've tried many times to install the Home Brew Talk app on my Nexus 7 and it doesn't seem to do anything at all. When I open it it just displays the splash screen with the logo, then does nothing else. If I come to the forum through my tablet's browser and click on "Open in app" I get the error...

Hi everyone. I've been reading some great advice here and decided to join up. I've been a newbie brewer for a long time, the kids having bought me a Brew Bag (don't ask), a Beer Machine (if you don't like Mr. Beer don't ask) and a Mr. Beer. I have a million hobbies and I cycle through them...