Recent content by tracer bullet

About all you can do is try a different yeast next time... hopefully what you have tastes good even if it's not what you wanted. I do know that feeling of disappointment.

Yeah, sounds like it wasn't the right yeast choice, and if it was done a little warm that particular yeast's flavors will be even stronger. I have never used that yeast so I can't say what the characteristics are exactly. But it's the first thing I'd be looking at.

I've done Ward's labs a few times and the results are always similar. I put them into a calculator and add for mash volume accordingly (be sure you revise it for each beer and don't leave it left from the last one). I do a proportional amount for the sparge as well. There are probably better...

Agreed on the above. It speeds up the time to get to a boil if the sparge water is hot but it doesn't have to be, it can still help get a little more wort from the grains. Also look into "no sparge", you'll need more grain but then can save the whole step. Recipe has to adjust accordingly since...

Sometimes, "authentic" actually kind of means "crappy".

American Dwarf Birch perhaps. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betula_glandulosa

Google image search says it's a birch.

Lol - if you suspended it then there was probably some dead space :) Obviously you did fine though and need not worry about it. If the water level is above the grain itself, and you got good efficiency, then certainly just repeat that process!!! For their dead space entry, I wonder why they...

Yes, sorry on a 2nd reading I suppose that was your actual question. If you used only a bag, then yeah I'd say close enough to zero. I'm sure there are nooks and crannies especially if the bag is stiff ("brew bag" vs Wiser for example).

I've measured and it's a tiny bit under a gallon under the basket, and between 25-30% of what's left is outside of the basket. It's kind of a lot. So, subtract a gallon and multiply the remainder by say .75 and you're about there for the gallons of water actually with the grain. Funny thing...

Yeah, your'e right. I missed 5 gallons the first time. and thought maybe it was 10 but didn't know. Oops. 41 pounds is a stupendous amount of grain for that. I'd guess more like 25, possibly less. Something is still not right. 65L size is no longer a concern for not being big enough!

Yeah, a lot more info needs to be provided. I'd think of how much grain I can reasonably fit, with enough water to hit around 1.25 quarts per pound, and enough space above it all to be able to stir and not slop it all out. I'd have it all in a huge mesh bag. I'd also probably think of an...

Indeed. That is definitely me as well. Hmm, I wonder if a lot of brewers are actually like that? Maybe these things actually go together? I could walk around my house at ANY point in time and write down 100 things I'd like to work on. I don't do it, but I absolutely could.

If they expanded outwards far enough, perhaps. Height is covered, but maybe not squish factor. And though there's double the height, and you'd think they'd squish out, they are each taking half of an incomplete clamping force and still might not.

Any chance the post is bottomed out, and can't go tighter? I've had a few leak a little bit right there, and finally realized it's because the post bottomed out and couldn't go tighter, thus it didn't actually squish the o-ring. When I changed to a new post that was physically shorter, it was...