The best way to get rich is to sell stupid s#%t to rich people. Seriously.

I wonder how the energy costs compare between electric boiling and using gas. Buying propane runs about $4 a batch, but if I switched over to natural gas, it would be much cheaper. I'm thinking that would likely beat electric, since most of our juice comes from burning gas anyway...

Or as the cows say: Happy Moo Year!

Irish moss is mostly for keeping the trub out of the fermenter, and upping your efficiency by reducing kettle losses. Most of the final haze is yeast - which is taken out by gelatin, or chill haze,which can be improved with mashing technique and refrigeration.

That's some tiny livestock!! What kind of dogs do you use to herd them? :D

Good health and happiness for one and all. And no more losses of old friends... at least not for a while.

I used 1/4 lb in a 3 gallon batch of porter a few months back and you couldn't taste it at all. So there: you have it bracketed!

I always use a starter just because it's easy and gives you an edge over the bad bugs. Kinda fun, too... If your yeast is fairly fresh and you're using a good amount you probably would be OK without a starter, though.

We're supposed to have cold soon, too, but more like 5 °C (41 °F), so I can't complain to you!! Brrrrr....

I'm no expert, having never made a lager, but just based on physics I'd say the carboy will reach 55 °F in time as long as the ambient is below that. If you're concerned that it's not getting there quickly enough, here's what I'd do: Take off the blankets until you see the ferm wrap turning on...

Crikey! You made me mouth water with that one, mate! A big, frosty, frothy slap in the face on a hot (Australian) summer day :D:D Sign me up!

Welcome, Spanky's! I'm an Igloo all grain brewer, too. It's a great community here (I just joined a couple of months ago) and you'll certainly get lots of help. I imagine with your experience you'll be able to give some help too. RDWHAHB!

I think the point of distorting the shape is not to increase the overal surface area but to distribute it more efficiently around the wort. With each coil positioned closely to the ones above and below it the most efficient transfer of heat is into the larger volume of wort to the outside and...

Two great approaches to a difficult problem. Hats off to Starter Hops and Nosybear!!

But how did it come out as far as body, Oliver? Mashing at such a low temperature, I mean.

I had the same question.

Hey! We have those birds here in California, too! But here they're black, and we call them crows!! :D:p:rolleyes:

I'm a big fan of East Kent goldings myself. If you don't mind a British hop.

I took four bottles and roused the yeast; it was painful to say the least to make such a beautifully bright and clear beer cloudy again, after taking the usual pains to avoid disturbing it. I think this makes sense, though, since by mistake I let them sit in the cold garage for the first three...

Well, I've got buds coming over next Sunday for a tasting, so I'll try the yeast rouse and wait a week method. I'll do some and not others so we can compare the results. If I re-sugared them they'd never be ready in a week anyway...