tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post5189440719177412463..comments2024-02-23T15:34:32.816-05:00Comments on The Mad Fermentationist - Homebrewing Blog: Most Important Brewing Investments?The Mad Fermentationist (Mike)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07379932734747507258noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-50138848103008935732015-11-13T02:55:54.465-05:002015-11-13T02:55:54.465-05:00A good temperature controller like Pixsys is essen...A good temperature controller like Pixsys is essential for brewing, even if you just started. It's one of the tips for a good beer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-88191277957142363862013-11-06T18:43:44.908-05:002013-11-06T18:43:44.908-05:00My most recent post is certainly along those line,...<a href="http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2013/11/sour-experiment-1-two-week-sour.html" rel="nofollow">My most recent post</a> is certainly along those line, held warm before fermentation with Lactobacillus for acidity.<br /><br />French medium-toast is a fine default oak cube, but depending on the flavor I want they are all options.<br /><br />Cheers!The Mad Fermentationist (Mike)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07379932734747507258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-10174491677040683712013-11-06T15:33:48.558-05:002013-11-06T15:33:48.558-05:00I mainly serve from the kegerator as I like being ...I mainly serve from the kegerator as I like being able to adjust the carbonation as I go, as well as being able to drink in 4 oz increments. When I brew long term things (mead, barleywine, stouts) I bottle.<br /><br />I was reading in wild brews that certain sours are conditioned in steal tanks ~90 degrees to increase the lacto soursness. Have you ever tried anything similar?<br /><br />Also, when you aged sours on wood cubes, what toast level/type of wood did you use?<br /><br />Thanks for the awesome resource!<br />robotinchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15835607524494145881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-57775885765966280032013-10-31T20:59:05.817-04:002013-10-31T20:59:05.817-04:001. Heat wrap would be great for the Belgians, espe...1. Heat wrap would be great for the Belgians, especially if you want to do saisons. Not a big help for sours or IPAs.<br /><br />2. I don't think barrels are necessary or even important for brewing sours, especially at first. Wait until you've got some good sours brewed, then think about a barrel.<br /><br />3. Hop-back is by no means necessary for great hoppy beers. The set up and cleaning makes my brew days longer and less pleasant. I think I get more hop character from a hop stand than I do the hop back.<br /><br />Do you serve from kegs in addition to crashing/lagering in the kegerator? Kegging was the thing that helped my hoppy beers the most.The Mad Fermentationist (Mike)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07379932734747507258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-17612589540741250402013-10-30T20:14:14.912-04:002013-10-30T20:14:14.912-04:00I live in San Francisco and the apartment is in th...I live in San Francisco and the apartment is in the mid-lo 60s pretty much year round. I also have a kegerator for lagers and cold crashing.<br /><br />I am currently interested in brewing Belgian beers (sour and otherwise), and IPAs. If I was to add gear to the brewery which would you think would have the most impact?<br /><br />1- a heat wrap and temp controller<br />2- a barrel 5-10 gallons<br />3- swap my immersion chiller for a plate chiller and add a hopback.<br /><br />Love the blog, thanks for all the infos!robotinchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15835607524494145881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-22205052078677678172012-02-10T12:18:55.080-05:002012-02-10T12:18:55.080-05:00For heating there is the brew belt, which could be...For heating there is the brew belt, which could be combined with a temperature controller and thermowell to take the actual temperature of the fermenting beer into account. There are jacked conical fermentors that have automatic heating and cooling, although only if you want to part with several thousand dollars.The Mad Fermentationist (Mike)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07379932734747507258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-4308823632427725982012-02-09T09:53:51.284-05:002012-02-09T09:53:51.284-05:00Are there any products on the market that will con...Are there any products on the market that will control the temperature of the fermenting wort all the way through the fermentation process? Most people just stick their fermentation vessel in a fridge, but is there a jacket, or plate or something that can be plugged in and used in a similar fashion?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-89048347531152824232012-02-06T17:30:20.097-05:002012-02-06T17:30:20.097-05:00Top of my list, fermentation temp. but a quick sec...Top of my list, fermentation temp. but a quick second is abandoning the carboy for open fermentors. I love the ease of yeast salvaging, racking from a spigot rather then a cane and cleaning. The quality of the beer is just as good but the ease of use and time savings are a huge plus for me.<br />mark<br />www.backyardbrewer.blogspot.commarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02629477662540676675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-53575310351314525452012-02-06T15:33:54.778-05:002012-02-06T15:33:54.778-05:00Campden tablets are even cheaper than a filter and...Campden tablets are even cheaper than a filter and do a great job. I can absolutely taste the difference from the first batch I used them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-11793765666646038242012-02-05T15:12:37.397-05:002012-02-05T15:12:37.397-05:00Personally I don't brew many beers that need t...Personally I don't brew many beers that need to be kept strictly in low-mid 60s. Most of the time they're saisons that just ferment at whatever the room is at. When I do need temp control, I already had a small fridge sitting around so that wasn't much of an investment.<br />Therefore I chose wort chiller.BKYeasthttp://bkyeast.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-68639362122049925552012-02-03T21:53:20.846-05:002012-02-03T21:53:20.846-05:00Temp control would be great if brewed lagers, but ...Temp control would be great if brewed lagers, but I don't and don't want to. I just brew American and UK styles in what passes for winter in Houston, Belgians in the endless summer and Saisons in my garage. I could lower my temps with an ice bath, but I wouldn't call that an investment, since it would only cost me the ice.<br /><br />I voted for the large brew pot, since I hate boil-overs; the outdoor burner since my wife won't let me brew inside, and the grain mill since it allows me to buy in bulk (and roast my own specialty grains).kingwood kidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-80494292349345126592012-02-03T12:57:45.660-05:002012-02-03T12:57:45.660-05:00Totally agree with temp control being at the top. ...Totally agree with temp control being at the top. Some others:<br /><br />I love my plate chiller. I feel it helps me leave the post-boil setup as more of a "closed" system to contaminants after the wort cooled, and it's closer to what happens in a pro brewery, so there's less "lost in translation" if I want to scale that batch up to use in a brewery.<br /><br />I don't filter, but I do use campden tablets in every batch, 1 tab per 20 gallons, and I've never had a problem with fermentation from it.Seanywontonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06142253930096998849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-8241474472326990742012-02-03T11:52:21.797-05:002012-02-03T11:52:21.797-05:00I'm really surprised a stir plate is not high ...I'm really surprised a stir plate is not high on that list. It should be. To make a large amount of healthy, vital yeast, constant aeration in the form of a stir plate is key. Also, I larger Erlenmeyer flask is helpful for larger starters (5L).Jasonhttp://www.sciencebrewer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-73787199951404668612012-02-03T09:35:42.780-05:002012-02-03T09:35:42.780-05:00Fully agree with you on the bias towards the ferme...Fully agree with you on the bias towards the fermentation side.<br /><br />If I recall, I think I was one of the folks who clicked "other", because to my mind there is hardly a close third to stir plate and fermentation temp control.Robbynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-57057915859179004492012-02-03T08:49:02.635-05:002012-02-03T08:49:02.635-05:00Chloramines don't replace chlorine. Chloramin...Chloramines don't replace chlorine. Chloramines are used for secondary disinfection (keeping the water safe in the distribution system as it makes its way to you) and chlorine is used for primary disinfection (initially reducing the levels of microorganisms in the water in the treatment facility), so it's almost never and either/or with these two.<br /><br />Some systems use alternate methods for primary disinfection (in Boston it's Ozone) and as a result will have no Chlorine in the water, but the presence of chrloramines doesn't mean you won't have chlorine.Toddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13074947576215511448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-17746467902027146222012-02-03T08:28:27.496-05:002012-02-03T08:28:27.496-05:00DC uses chloramines as well (except for a month ev...DC uses chloramines as well (except for a month every spring where they blast swimming pool levels of chlorine) and I've never had an issue. I tend to run my filter at significantly less than full blast. I did however have two failed fermentations the two times I used 1/4 Campden tablet per 5 gallons of brewing water; it seems to work for everyone else, but I gave up on it.The Mad Fermentationist (Mike)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07379932734747507258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-65951647637965750032012-02-02T22:52:45.316-05:002012-02-02T22:52:45.316-05:00I considered choosing the water filter. Carbon fi...I considered choosing the water filter. Carbon filters aren't very effective for removing chloramines, which are used in Denver. I haven't had much success with my carbon filter here, so I'm about to switch to using k-meta.blizzardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-41465205855908805592012-02-02T22:04:04.556-05:002012-02-02T22:04:04.556-05:00I followed a similar analysis to picking my equipm...I followed a similar analysis to picking my equipment, but had to wait for a fridge until I moved to a big enough place. One thing I found on a few batches was a phenolic off-flavor that some said could be water-related, but I always used bottles or filtered tap water. Two possibilities: wild yeast (most likely), or bad bottled water. I say bad bottled water because sometimes that water comes out of the bottle pretty phenolic, i.e. the bottle is leeching.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11571133911941375629noreply@blogger.com