Recent content by dpittard

Thanks! Everything looked good and the price to run a 220 line was well within budget. I placed my order yesterday afternoon! I'll be sure to document the setup and the first few brews and share it here. I'm so excited!!! :mug:

As long as the electrician coming out today gives me positive information, it looks like I'll be placing my order for the 15 gallon setup today!

I can't wait until my daughter gets old enough to help out and understand the science behind brewing. I think brewing is a great science experiment where she can learn a lot and get exposure to how cool science actually is.

The Thermapen is well worth the money, especially since I can use it for so many more things like BBQ, grilling, cooking, etc...

I'd use something that gives off a light smoke flavor like cherry wood or other fruit woods (don't worry, you won't get cherry flavor from cherry wood). Heavier woods like oak, mesquite, or hickory produce a stronger smoke flavor, which, IMO, would be too strong for a beer. As far as smoking...

Have you tested your measuring devices against a known control? It's always good to know that your tools are accurate. Testing your thermometer in boiling water and make sure it reads where it should. Make sure your water volume measurements are correct. Make sure your hydrometer reads at...

I'd let it ride too. I'd also be more concerned about why you missed your OG by that amount, especially if your pre-boil gravity was spot on. Did you end up with the correct volume of wort post-boil?

Learn from my mistakes, go VERY light on the smoke. I'm an avid BBQ'er and can turn out some delicious pulled pork, so I've got the proper equipment to smoke things. I attempted to smoke some grains on a beer about 2 years ago and went way to far with it. The problem is, you can't really...

It will definitely be sweeter. Probably couldn't classify it as a dry stout, but it's still beer, right? :mug: How'd it taste before you bottled it?

As an addendum to what Clonefan94 posted, first runnings is what you get in your brew kettle prior to sparging.

Is your pre-boil volume correct? If so, just adjust your boil-off rate. If not, check your later tun dead space calculation.

Yep. Get Beersmith. Awesome software, especially once you have it calibrated to your equipment. I wouldn't attempt all grain without it.

I've done Orfy's English Mild in around 10 days and it tastes great. Like said before, low ABV is key.

If you stir up particles that were originally settled out, they will settle out very quickly.

I would like to see many more data points before I even began to think that fermenter shape played into taste. I mean, the tester had 2 samples of the carboy beer and only 1 sample of the bucket beer. I'm very skeptical.