Recent content by vinpaysdoc

I did a Ruddles County Clone a month ago that I'm just now tasting. OG - 1.046 FG - 1.008 Attenuation - 78% Plenty of sulfur smell during active fermentation. I set the fermentation temp for the freezer at 64 F for the first 72 hours and then let it free rise to 68 F. After a week I brought it...

I've been doing this for about 4 months. If you don't have enough White Labs test tubes look for the Baby Soda Bottle Preforms that are 33 ml. These are very close to the same size as the White Lab tubes. http://imgur.com/a/Bdh2I This was an adaptation of Brulosopher's Novel approach to...

Here 'ya go: http://www.hometrainingtools.com/giant-test-tubes-6-pack-baby-soda-bottles/p/CE-TTBSB06/

If you are not planning on pitching the yeast right away, you can store it in the refrigerator with the foil still in place. When you are ready to brew, decant off most (80%) of the clear liquid from the top, being careful not to disturb the yeast layer below. Once the yeast and your wort...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/entries/yeast-harvesting-novel-approach.html Brulosopher's post linked above got me started culturing yeast. I use baby soda bottle test tubes instead of Mason jars to store mine in the refrigerator. The test tubes closely approximate the White Labs tubes. White...

I would recommend that you attach the temperature probe to the carboy in a block of styrofoam. The styrofoam is used to insulate the probe from the air temperature in the refrigerator. The probe should sit against the carboy with the styrofoam covering it. I use an elastic belt taped to the...

Just got done brewing an Imperial Barleywine. My normal mash efficiency with a 10 gal cylindrical cooler mash tun is 75%. My mash efficiency with this brew was around 62%. The estimated OG for my grain bill was 1.161. I suspect that a 65% mash efficiency will be spot on for your brew. For my...

You may have used a lower water volume. Mine came up with 4.9 when I was using 1.25 qt/lb. I increased the water/grain ratio to 2 qt/lb and that helped. I was able to get the mash to 5.4 if I kept the roasted grains out of the mash. I also was thinking that I needed to mash somewhere between...

Mashing with 1.25 qt/lb (roughly 3.05 gal) is where I get the 4.9 pH associated with this grain bill. I'm using 3.5 L Maris Otter. The decreased water accounts for a good bit of the difference. I substituted Crystal 10 for both Crystals in the recipe and found it much easier to balance the...

Perhaps Martin will chime in at some point. If I missed a decimal point, I've done it several times and Matt seems to have as well. No, there must be some discrepancy with how Bru'n Water comes up with the projected pH and how you are doing so. As I recall, Martin's program uses the Lovibond...

Thanks Matt. I have yet to purchase a pH meter. It's next on the list. I guess it's time to look into pickling lime. I already ordered lighter crystal malts for this time around. I will probably have a go at using the pickling lime next time around.

Matt's numbers below are exactly what I was getting.

Alkalinity - 26 pH - 7.88

Existing Water Profile Na - 15 Sulfate - 22 Bicarb - 32 Ca - 0 Mg - 0 Cl - 0 5 gal batch grain bill Maris Otter 6 lb 15 oz Crystal 80 1 lb Crystal 120 10 oz Special Roast (50 L) 8 oz Pale Chocolate (180 L) 6 oz Carafa II (430 L) 4 oz From BCS Southern English Brown My...

I'm currently putting the numbers into Bru'n Water for the BCS Southern English Brown recipe. If I put all of the crystal and roast malts in the mash I end up with a screamingly low predicted pH. I have very soft water and have thus far only had to use gypsum, CaCl2, epsom, and occasional baking...