Recent content by rycollier

Maybe look into a continuous filament synthetic fiber. This is what is used in sleeping bags.

I know this is an old thread but, how did this come out? What yeast did you go with?

I usually preheat my cooler but if I happen to forget I know that I need 4-5 more deg for the mash water depending on the cooler's ambient temp. The most important thing is to know the difference so if you forget you don't end up trying to fix your mash temp with more boiling water. Having to...

Stirring enough during mash? I had a slight drop in efficiency on my last few batches except really bad on my last one, down into the low 60s vs 70-75. I suspect it's because I didn't stir the mash enough. (I'd go get ice for my prechiller during mash time.) Im still trying to figure it out...

Boiling the lids is bad for the seal, I think. Ask a canner. I just know you're not supposed to. Putting a sealed glass canning jar of near boiling liquid into to fridge may cause an explosion or implosion.

I have four or more canning jars filled with boiled water ready to wash yeast whenever I feel then need to save some. When I have a few min to spare on a non-brew day, I'll boil the jars in the water and just pull them out full of water. I pop some sanitized canning lids on and let them seal...

Try getting fresher ingredients. I get dehydrated orange peal and coriander from Penzies. The coriander is so fresh it smells like lemon zest when you grind it. With their dehydrated orange peal you put much less in, like 1/3 the amount you would freshly grated. I put 1/2 oz of each in last 5...

It doesn't make sense. InBev is backing small breweries more and more. They wouldn't have these new investment opportunities if they squashed home brewers. AB use to lead and create the market. Now they do less of that and more investing. If they are being accused of foul play, they can only...

Fiar Tuck in Springfield might sell some stuff. I know the one in Peoria does. Not sure that's closer.

I would vote against champaign yeast too. It may dry it out too much. The best thing is to do is taste it when you think it is finished dropping gravity in primary. If it's too sweet, then decide weather or not to add a yeast that will dry it out. It will taste sweeter uncarbonated, but you'll...

I'm in!

I'm glad this discussion was had on this forum. I read on a distilling forum where a few individuals said yeah go for it.(not to me, just on the thread) I think what started my thought process is someone mentioned using scrap copper they found. Is it really possible to clean the inside of a...

Supposedly freon goes away completely. Just for the record, this was not anything I was considering seriously. It's always better to get the scrap money.

Does anyone know if there is a good reason to not use reclaimed copper refrigerant line from my old AC unit? We got our HVAC system replaced and the copper from the previous AC is just hanging there unused. Should I be concerned about running precious wort through something that once contain freon?

I got my second kettle packaged with a turkey fryer at the HD. I definitely recommend a turkey fryer if you don't have one. 6-7 gallons of water don't boil for a while on most stoves. Anyways, I use the Denny method. It works great for me. I just send my second running right out of the mash tun...