Recent content by headfullahops

Absolutely. And gelatin a day or two after reaching lager temp. Cheers!

I have mashed with and without RIMS and the biggest variable in my efficiency number is sparge/lauter rate. The slower I runoff, the higher the efficiency. Every time. RIMS just keeps mash temp consistent (hopefully).

Aging at fermentation temps is all I've ever done and my beer turns out just fine, if I do say so myself. I use gelatin as a fining and I add it after the beer is at SERVING temperature. It is much more effective in beer that has already formed its chill haze before the gelatin is added, whether...

Just got myself an inkbird controller. Now for a chest freezer and some controlled fermentations!

I don't know that it's a good idea to bring the beer back to room temp after having refrigerated it. I can't site any sources, but I believe that is a way to degrade the quality of your beer. Might be a better idea to age it longer at serving temp. Just a thought. Cheers!

Bobby has flexible (silicone tubing) sight glasses in his store at brewhardware.com I have one on my boil kettle and it works great. Cheers!

THIS. People win medals in homebrew competitions with extract beers, so brewing with extract isn't a guarantee of inferior beer and, conversely, brewing all-grain isn't a guarantee of superior beer. I think the problem lies in that extract brewers are usually (painting with an extremely broad...

I RIMS mash and pump through a plate chiller with fittings for inline oxygenation and digital temp monitoring, but I have never controlled fermentation temperature. I ferment Belgians upstairs and ales in the basement. I also ferment "lagers" in the basement with Cali Common yeast. I've also...

Looks like hop residue pushed up during high kreusen of fermentation. My advice is to never get worked up about how things look until you know how things taste. I don't know that I've had 2 fermentations look the same and have learned from experience to trust my tongue over my eyes. Cheers!

Most of the issue probably does stem from the mash process as mentioned above, but you may also want to consider using a higher attenuating yeast strain like 1098 or WLP007. All things being equal, they will drive your FG down farther than 1318.

I currently brew 5 gallon batches and am seriously considering picking up a couple 1.4 gallon fermenters to do 1 gallon batches of special high ABV brews to bottle cage & cork style. I love having 5 gallons of 5-7% ABV beer on draft, but having that much 8-12% ABV really slows down the rotation...

You need a friend with a house or garage and his/her own system so you can contract brew on it. It's also good to have another pair of hands and eyes on a brew session. Cheers!

Sounds like a good time to get a plate chiller, especially since you already have a pump. :) Cheers!

Stop sniffing the airlock. LOL ;)

I just fermented a pale ale that I brewed 6 days ago. I did a 1000mL starter, pitched at 67F, and fermented in my basement, which is mid-60s ambient. It began fermenting within a few hours at what I would call medium-vigorously, not still, but not going bananas like hefe yeast, and on the third...