Recent content by JohnnyNeurotic

So far no grief - and no interest. And I meant it when I said "Best Offer." I know I'll never get anything close to what I paid for it.

Brand new, never used. Bought it, then upgraded to a BrewMation panel. Three LOVE controllers and heat on/off switches for HLT and Kettle. Also on/off switches for Wort and Water pumps. Can be used for a HERMS setup. I believe it includes the VFD for rake/plow, but I honestly can't remember...

Thanks! I thought about the malto, but I'm worried that will add a little haze to the beer. I suppose I should just exercise patience. Just wasn't expecting a 75% attenuation... grrrr. Beer can be frustrating.

I brewed an APA about 10 days ago using Northwest Ale yeast (pitched at 68, holding steady at 66 for 9 days) and fermentation has been as active as ever. My target FG was 1.015 - from 1.058 - and after taking a reading today, I'm at 1.014. Is it an absolutely terrible idea to cold crash...

*bump* I'm working out a recipe today and will be brewing later... I've been meaning to do this for a while. I'll let anyone interested know how it turns out!

I'll just agree to disagree and assume that all of the guys - who are a lot smarter and more experienced than me - who came up with hop utilization formulas were correct. In my early experience with extract brewing, especially IPAs, the size of my boil had a huge impact on bitterness and the...

The gravity of your boil GREATLY effects your hop utilization. So we'll assume you're adding, let's say, 6lbs of DME and doing a 1.5 gallon boil - the gravity of your wort is VERY high. By doing a slightly larger boil you're increasing hop utilization because your gravity is lower. Doing...

I've heard stories of people pitching as high as 43C (110F) and not killing the yeast. You shocked the hell out of it, but it probably isn't dead. What Silver said... just wait. Yeast has a way of surprising you. If it isn't active in another 48 hrs I would guess you're in trouble! Lesson...

I've read quite a few examples of diacetyl levels being exceedingly high if you start warm and slowly cool - because the yeast slows down too much to eat up the diacetyl it created early on in fermentation. That's part of the reason I'm a little hesitant to cool my current brew down too much...

Thanks! I considered bags of ice, etc... Guess I'm gonna have to babysit this bad boy until it goes into the fridge for lagering!

Finished a Czech-style pils on Monday evening, chilled my brew down to 56 degrees (the same temp as my starter) and pitched. I live in a 100+ year old farmhouse that usually maintains a 56 degree cellar. Unfortunately for me, and probably 75% of the USA, this insanely hot summer has taken...

Excellent decision. The difference in my beer when I made the full jump ahead was insane. It went from being "good for NFL Sundays" to "competition quality." Good luck! I'm brewing again this weekend... fingers crossed. If it goes bad, there's always :mug:

I believe my first two brews, from Niagara Traditions of course, were their Red Ale and Brass Ale. Not bad, but I realized very early on that I wasn't happy brewing someone else's recipe! They've been very helpful along the way, even though I must seem mad on days when I'm going...

I guess the next logical question is, how was their aroma before you added them to your boil? If they were duds before boiling, there's not much hope you'd get any aroma in your brew. Also, what was your hop schedule?