Hey y'all! I know that it's been a long, long, long time ago in a homebrewery far away that I made any posts. First of all, Happy(new) Brew Year! Last year was full of lots of exciting things. I graduated with my BS in Biology, I power brewed three beers for my grad party (Bavarian Hef, Red Grapefruit Pale Ale, Cream Ale). All big hits!
After several scares, three weeks of bed rest, a 200 mile move from Dallas to Austin, and 5 hospitals later my lovely wife gave birth to our first born son. Where he then spent the next 10 weeks in the NICU. I am ecstatic to say that our little man has been home for 8+ weeks now and is doing great and no worse for it.
I just laid out my brewing plans for this year and began a list of several breweries and brewpubs to visit and even some posts that were in progress from last years adventures.
Fear not, more posts to come.....and the promised follow-up post to The #1 Homebrewing Kit: Part I.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Friday, May 25, 2012
How to Siphon Beer?
"Son-of-a-Bitter!?"
Ah, yes! I remember my first time siphoning and the nightmares I had for weeks about spilling precious beer. My first siphon wasn't even the proper size either - meant for siphoning from a one-gallon jug. It took me several batches trying to perfect my technique and I still wasn't able to get a good solid siphon going. There would be this bubble that formed where the hose mated with the racking cane and it would start out small and only got bigger the further I siphoned, or at least, attempted to siphon. I thumbed through all of my brewing books looking for a step or even an asterisk that I had overlooked; none were found. But then it hit me like a tomato whipped at wall - suction, I was losing suction.
Ah, yes! I remember my first time siphoning and the nightmares I had for weeks about spilling precious beer. My first siphon wasn't even the proper size either - meant for siphoning from a one-gallon jug. It took me several batches trying to perfect my technique and I still wasn't able to get a good solid siphon going. There would be this bubble that formed where the hose mated with the racking cane and it would start out small and only got bigger the further I siphoned, or at least, attempted to siphon. I thumbed through all of my brewing books looking for a step or even an asterisk that I had overlooked; none were found. But then it hit me like a tomato whipped at wall - suction, I was losing suction.
Friday, March 23, 2012
How to Install a Valve on a Brewpot
So, you decided to finally put a spigot on your brewpot, huh? And now you need to know how to go about doing it? It's a damn great feeling when you know that soon you won't be lifting 40 lbs. of 212 degrees F wort. No more ice baths and waiting 30 minutes for it to cool.....because it won't fit in the sink anymore. Unfortunately, I was apparently so excited that I became absent minded in the process, because I completely forgot about this aspect until it was time to cool down. Don't make the same mistake as I did y'all, and be sure you know how you're going to chill your wort before you make any improvements to your setup. If you have homebrewing buddies, they might be willing to lend you a chiller - at least, for your first few batches.
"And now for something completely different." - Monty Python's Flying Circus. That's right. Let's get down to materials and process for our homebrewing excursion.
What You Will Need For Installing a Weldless Valve on a Brewpot:
"And now for something completely different." - Monty Python's Flying Circus. That's right. Let's get down to materials and process for our homebrewing excursion.
What You Will Need For Installing a Weldless Valve on a Brewpot:
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