May be taking a trip to Wally World tomorrow to find some travel size stuff. The liquids I was going to put in the checked bag ain't gonna work for a carry on.

Lots of long pants and things I can wear in the rain lol. We have been spending whatever time we can together to know each other and because we work different schedules.

You do have to watch the dates on the liquid yeast.

How much did you pitch and at what temperature? Lagers need a BIG pitch. If you pitch big, AND the yeast is healthy and not out of date, they will start fast. If not, they won't. What is the expiration date on the yeast?

My girlfriend is going to help me pack lighter on Saturday. I will be overseas, probably freezing my ass off next week. I'm still looking forward to it.

I like some of the lagers in the skinny, tall glasses. I also like to do 1/2 pours sometimes, so hopefully some 9 oz glasses are being looked at too.

If you ever want to play with it differently, try almost all Vienna (97.5 or 98ish%) and use just a tiny bit of Chocolate 350 to darken it up. Yummm:)

I definitely have some ideas for a Dunkelweizen next. Although I missed gravity badly on the Hefe, I pretty much got what I wanted, but a more sessionable version. I wanted to see what a more clovey version would be like, and I got it. I am actually enjoying this beer with that in mind after it...

5.8 is a pretty big "Pilsner" LOL

It does work with BIAB. If the nice guy is working at the brewstore, they will double crush for me. With BIAB, you DO almost need powder. Double crush is good.

With a calculator and a good strike water temp, it will be accurate at the start. Mine are usually dead on at the end unless it is really cold outside. A calculator and a little insulation (even if only a couple of beach towels) goes a long way once the heat is off.

A different answer plus for every brewer LOL. I don't mess with it all once grain has been added, but I do run very low efficiencies. I just like easy, and that works.

I mash like I like to use the smoker: Leave it alone and let it do it's thing.

Don't. I have a long probe manual thermometer. I use it to hit strikewater temp. I use a calculator for where the strikewater will mash after the grain. Cover the kettle with towels or whatever and leave the damn thing alone until after the mash. In a big kettle you should be very close after 60...

Agree with the Otter. I don't do Caramel ones, but A Chocolate 350/Munich/C120 mix does work nicely with Maris Otter and with some Flaked Oats. Guinness style yeast (WLP004) also works very well.

I'm lucky enough to have a local place 20 minutes up the road. I think the buying in bulk is going to depend on how much you brew as well. For me, that doesn't make sense. German beers, you definitely want a good Pilner, Munich and Vienna. Your lighter beers and your IPAs, you might want a...

As long as you aren't using that thing in salt water. I rusted the shit out of one like that in no time. My beach chairs don't last long either.

Dude, use some paragraphs. I can't make heads or tails of what you want.

Not sure about the smaller Ugly Stiks, but I keep 15# on the bigger ones all the time. I'm on my second one. The first one lasted almost 40 years:) I think you do have to go to the store to look at those things and play with them. The reels are all pieces of shit these days. I had a Penn for...

Obviously, nothing on the surf LOL, or that Ugly Stik would be at least 2 1/2 feet longer.