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Post by Ken on Mar 14, 2022 10:46:23 GMT -6
I think you're right about taking breaks. For me, I just haven't been making beer that I love. I've brewed for about 15 years but was forced to take a break when kids came. Now I have a house and pretty much everything I could want to make beer but the beer I'm making isn't the best. I've taken about a year off, and even with that I wasn't brewing nearly as much as I used to. I'm hoping that I can just chill, make some beer that I want to drink and hopefully feel reinvigorated by the hobby. It's a shame to stop since I've done it for so long and have poured so much of my time into it. Then again, if I'm not enjoying it like I used to, it's not quite worth continuing. Like I said, 50lbs of base malt is the plan (obviously I'll also buy specialty malts). If I can't make something I like with that, I might just give up the hobby and switch to only drinking commercial beer. Unless you're in a spot I don't know about, we probably use the same water. Are you on Lake Michigan water? I feel like my beers improved once I understood the best way to use our water. We all go into a slump and we all (hopefully) get the desire to brew again. I had a few months off because I moved but then got the bug bad... five batches brewed the last five weekends! Also, JB: I really like Brewbama's simplified approach to brewing and his beers always look good. When many people on the boards seemed like they were getting into more complex processes, BB was trying to simplify and I like that approach much better especially if it makes good beer. I am NOT one of these overly technical number crunchers who loves gadgetry, tracking numbers and publishing them to a website, etc. so I was receptive to simplifying. The other thing that I think I really overlooked (I mentioned this numerous times here and on AHA) was that I think I was taking my "hop freshness" for granted. I don't buy hops from homebrew suppliers anymore. Only Yakima Valley and Hop Heaven. The freshness of the hops are always great and that translates to better beer. I also keep the hops vac-sealed and in the freezer at all times. I hope you make some good beers and keep you equipment. Cheers Brother.
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Post by jayb151 on Mar 14, 2022 18:34:18 GMT -6
Lately, I tried full volume mash to further simplify by removing the sparge step. That's something I also tried the last few times. I think your comment about Ph is a big one for me. I've never really kept track of my water stuff that well, so I think that's going to be a big factor for me. Cheers!
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Post by jayb151 on Mar 14, 2022 18:43:04 GMT -6
I'm actually not on Lake Michigan water. In Batavia we're technically on well water, but it's a city well, not my personal well. I've also been using RO water from the tap we drink from because I also have a water softener and I'm kind of not sure that's ok. I'll adjust a bit with salts, but I've not looked into it too closely. That's probably something I should do.
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Post by Ken on Mar 14, 2022 23:15:09 GMT -6
I'm actually not on Lake Michigan water. In Batavia we're technically on well water, but it's a city well, not my personal well. I've also been using RO water from the tap we drink from because I also have a water softener and I'm kind of not sure that's ok. I'll adjust a bit with salts, but I've not looked into it too closely. That's probably something I should do. Generally, "softened" water is not suitable for brewing so be careful of that. If you're using RO then you're good as long as you're adding back some amount of calcium for yeast health, etc. Can you get a Batavia water report online? Might show you some good stuff. Cheers brother.
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Post by jayb151 on Mar 15, 2022 22:28:51 GMT -6
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Post by denny on Mar 17, 2022 14:09:17 GMT -6
Unfortunately the only info useful for brewing is sodium. The rest is worthless.
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Post by denny on Mar 17, 2022 14:09:40 GMT -6
So is this picnic tap available for sale somewhere?
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Post by Seven on Mar 17, 2022 14:19:03 GMT -6
I believe you have to email Trong directly. These are very tempting...I don't serve away from the kegerator often but when I do, I find the cobra tap and tubing a bit annoying.
trong@homebrewerlab.com
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Post by jayb151 on Mar 17, 2022 15:17:48 GMT -6
So is this picnic tap available for sale somewhere? I did have to directly email him. Edit to add: He was super responsive. We even had some back and forth and the taps showed up a few days after payment.
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Post by gusso on Mar 18, 2022 5:55:56 GMT -6
He's a great guy to work with. When I bought his early edition of the FLOTit (floating diptube), I had an issue. He actually called me and corrected the issue. Whenever I text him, he responds quickly.
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Post by gusso on Mar 18, 2022 5:57:08 GMT -6
Trong is the person who introduced me to pressurized fermentation and chilling wort in the pool!
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Post by tommymorris on Apr 20, 2022 13:40:58 GMT -6
I just ordered two of the Picnic Tap 2.0s. I’ll report back. I’m very curious about people saying no foam. Hopefully I get some foam
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Post by Seven on Apr 21, 2022 7:45:27 GMT -6
I took delivery of one last week, plus his floating dip tube set-up. Both look well-built and designed. I'm using the FLOTit in my 10G corny fermenter now so no actual experience with it yet.
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Post by gusso on Apr 22, 2022 9:59:54 GMT -6
I just ordered two of the Picnic Tap 2.0s. I’ll report back. I’m very curious about people saying no foam. Hopefully I get some foam You get foam, but not excess foam. Zero dripping.
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Post by tommymorris on Apr 22, 2022 16:48:38 GMT -6
I’m gonna have 5 taps for 4 kegs. I’m probably going to need a Trong Keg 2.0.
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