Recent content by joftinac

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  1. joftinac

    Bottling Tips for the Homebrewer

    Tip: Don't bottle two batches after work. You may get distracted by hungry kids, normal family life, etc... and forget something important. As I was cleaning up from bottling two batches last night I noticed there was a cold pot of boiled sugar water on the stove. oops! Looks like my Cream...
  2. joftinac

    HomeBrewTalk 2013 Big Giveaway!

    Sign me up! 8^)
  3. joftinac

    Sanity Check - Starter for Bottling two batches

    Thanks for the input! I ended up going with beerman0001's suggestion. I re-hydrated the yeast in boilded/cooled water in a mason jar. I then pitched half of the solution to each batch in the bottling bucket. I made separate priming solutions for each batch and stirred in the slurry and...
  4. joftinac

    Sanity Check - Starter for Bottling two batches

    Brewers, I'm planning to bottle two batches of beer that have been in secondary for about 5 months so my intention is to re-yeast at bottling. I've never done this before, so I was thinking about making a small, (400ml) starter with one packet of dry yeast and splitting it in half to...
  5. joftinac

    Thermometer Reliability - Digital vs Analog

    Brewers: I'm looking for some opinions. After calibrating my new thermometer in a 60/40 Ice/Water slush, these are the readings I saw. In your opinion and from your experience, which of these would you trust in the 145-170 F range? Does it even really matter for homebrew? What are your...
  6. joftinac

    Add bottling sugar to 1.030 FG Barleywine?

    Thanks for the tips! I appreciate your insight and think I'll go ahead and go with the "normal" sugar amount -- maybe a little less. I don't want this barleywine to be too fizzy anyway, so I think that will be a fair compromise. :) :mug:
  7. joftinac

    Add bottling sugar to 1.030 FG Barleywine?

    Brewers, I'm getting ready to bottle a Lord Fatbottom Barleywine batch and I'm trying to figure out the best plan for bottling sugar. Bottle-bombs and/or over-carbonation are things I would like to avoid. :p I will be re-yeasting, as it's been in secondary for about 5 months. With the...
  8. joftinac

    New brewer from Nebraska

    Welcome! I just happened to notice your post and live in Bellevue as well. :p You just asked a few questions that have no definitive answer, so take what I write simply as opinions or suggestions. I've found the main purpose of a secondary tends to be for clarity - something you probably...
  9. joftinac

    Rubber Stopper submerged in Freshly Pitched Wort

    Another update: After noticing the rubbery smell begin to fade, I decided to let a few friends try this brew. I told them each there was a flaw and their job was to tell me what it was. After assuring them it was okay to drink, they all tasted it and none of them could pick out the rubber...
  10. joftinac

    Bottling Tips for the Homebrewer

    If you can't fit the tubing over the spigot, run it under some hot water for a few seconds and it might become pliable enough to fit nice and snug - no clamp required. :)
  11. joftinac

    Rubber Stopper submerged in Freshly Pitched Wort

    Update with Bottom Line Up Front: Beer is finally drinkable, but not something I want to share with my friends. If you drop a stopper in to your beer and it is a "cheap rubber" stopper, get it out asap, transfer your beer asap, or be prepared to take a few months to let it mellow out so you...
  12. joftinac

    Left my wyeast out, is it ruined?

    Has the smack pack swelled much? If so, how much? I'd suggest you activate it and see if it swells at all. If it does, make your starter as planned. Even if it swells a little after activation, your starter will probably revive enough to ferment well. If you're uncomfortable with that, step...
  13. joftinac

    Rubber Stopper submerged in Freshly Pitched Wort

    Yeah, I actually pushed my rubber stopper in to my carboy full of 5.5 gallons of freshly pitched wort. Has anyone ever done this and tasted the results of the fermentation? I think I can save the carboy, after watching this awesome video: http://blog.viddler.com/cdevroe/wine-cork/ My...
  14. joftinac

    HomeBrewTalk 2012 Big Giveaway

    Awesome prizes! Sign me up! This was enough of a give-away to make me finally decide to purchase my membership to HBT. Good call! : )
  15. joftinac

    Bottling Tips for the Homebrewer

    Depending on the position in the bottle carb timeline, this could be normal. Did you chill both bottles for a day or two each before opening them? It's possible your bottle carb process is working as it should and the second bottle you opened is just getting ready to start working the CO2 back...
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