Recent content by Dr. Dirk

I've always found pellet hops to be too astringent for my taste, so I use whole hops. But whole hops soak up so much beer that I put them in a bag, so I can squeeze them out again and get my precious beer back. After I did that for a while, I noticed there's still alot of hop aroma left in the...

I've been following the discussion here for a while, haven't commented as I'm still weighing all the info. I would be interested to hear what folks make of this doctor's analysis of the situation (about 30 minutes long): (Edit: he isn't a doctor, as was told to me, but a biochemical engineer...

ha, yes! One advantage of the Brewtech SS buckets is that they're stackable, so save room if space is an issue. (I ferment in the corner of our kitchen, so space is is premium!) Also, I imagine they'll hold their resale value. Plastic buckets are easier to clean, though. The Brewtech...

ah, I see. The Brewbuckets have metal taps; that might be the difference.

I have my FV's in my kitchen, so only need the water bath in the summer when the temperatures get too hot. I fill the bath with water and Starsan solution at the beginning of the warm season and use the same bath for the whole season. I'm using SS Brewtech Brewbuckets (because they're...

If you're just filling up a few bottles to bring to your friends, then you could consider just filling them from the tap. I have an intertap flow control forward sealing tap, and have done this successfully numerous times. I'm sure the beer won't be properly preserved, but if you're going to...

hahaha, clever, I love it; no wonder they call you Foxy!

my Chinooks (2nd year) have a few shoots starting to show. I still have to build a proper trellis for them, so for now I covered them up with some compost/mulch to buy some time!

excellent point, Baron! I tend to turn off the gas when I'm not dispensing, just to be sure, but I've been lucky enough to only have experienced a leaky corny once. Had to turn up the pressure in that case to seal it up, and ended up with a few foamy beers at the start. I replaced the O ring...

This thread is a bit old, but for what it's worth, I've got one of the intertap flow control taps, and yes it works fine connected right to the keg. It took a bit of time to get used to. At first, the first few beers in a keg were always foamy, until I learned that initially it needs only a...

ha, thanks for the chuckle!

Some of the interesting replies I'd gotten before the thread got closed: I've just brewed batch #120, and have been hand-squeezing hop bags since about batch #15 (about 3 years now) and have never had a bad batch (knocks on wood!). I will often use a spray bottle full of Starsan solution to...

I originally posted this in terrym's thread "Newbies Guide to Dry Hopping Your Beer", but I suppose it's a bit too in depth for that, so the thread got closed just as the discussion started getting interesting. I'm starting a new thread because I'm very interested in other folks' experiences...

ah, I see. What pressure do you use? When I forced carbed, I put it at 30psi for somewhere b/t 24 and 36 hours, didn't shake it around though.

...after the wort has cooled, of course. During the course of the boil, I occasionally use a large SS spoon to squeeze the bags against the side of the kettle.