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Has anyone extracted a hint of smokiness in a Scottish ale using yeast alone? If so, what yeast did you use and what ferment temp? I don't have my notes handy, but I think I used Edinburgh yeast last time I made a 70/- and though it had a great flavor, Smokiness was not there. I think I fermented at...

Thanks Bill. My chicken with the head cut off brewing would make yours look positively Zen. I guess it's more art than engineering. I've only done 4 all grain batches so far and only 2 where I started grinding my own grains so I have a lot of trial and error left to go. This last batch I double-mill...

I've completed my converted keg brew rig with bayou classic sp10 burners using a 20 psi regulator. I preboil my first 1/2 batch sparge while I'm sparging/vorlaufing the second half. I boil for 90 minutes. Every batch I've done on this set up has yielded .5-1.25 gallons less than expected in the brew...

How far is the keggle sitting from the flame base in the set up? I assume with your turkey fryer burner, it's about right, but most people say 4-5" is optimal for heat transfer. What style of burner is it? If it's a 10 psi, it may just take a while to get going. Make sure the flame is a nice ev...

Thanks Orlando! Yeah, it's coming from the rubber gasket on the Type 1 fitting that you have pictured. The threaded ends seem to be leak free coming to and from the regulator. I'll check over the part again and if I can't seem to resolve the problem, I'll try and order a couple of those fittings. Th...

Regulator that is... I had a 20 psi propane regulator develop a leak after only a few brews. It's one like this: http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/m5hpr1_propane_regulator.htm The leak developed right between the plastic attachment and the regulator. Anyone have this problem and know if it's user err...

If you have time, unplugging the fridge a day or more in advance can help defrost it and that combined with room temp kegs Orlando suggested (e.g. no condensation) should keep your fridge from getting any growths/odors. Luckily you're not going through many altitude changes. I hope all your beers (a...

Are you also moving a fridge/freezer? If so, you could transport some in it. Just pack them in tight and make sure the door is strapped closed. It's basically an insulated box, so it should work like a thermos to keep your beer at a steady temp, at least for a few days. Beyond that, you've got me......

I'd give it some more time. If you see a ton of yeast sediment on the bottom of the fermenter, you could try and gently swirl the fermenter to rouse the yeast beack in suspension. Some yeasts are highly flocculent, meaning they glob onto eachother and protiens and settle out of the fermenting beer. ...

I've done a Wheat beer and a Scottish that way. Worked out fine. In a big beer, lager, or one that's going to sit around a month or more, the fear of autolysis > risk of contamination by transferring to secondary in my case. (one I can control, the other I can't) I've never done a side by side to se...

Hey Jason, Welcome! I can't recommend the Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian enough. You can get started brewing your first beer reading about 20 pages. It's a thick book, but most of it is recipes and info about anything you want to dig further into. Papazian's book will walk you throu...

Just curious, I imagine the hose method works great for a wetter mash, but how about a wheat beer? I hear it can be a sticky mess (no experience here) and I would think a hose would channel more through a mash that resists whirlpooling.

Well, this weekend I welded it all up. I'll get some pictures on when i get some time. It turned out as well as I could hope for a first effort. I was afraid it wouldn't be square or that the angles would warp on me, but that wasn't the case. I'm pretty happy with it. If I were to do it again I woul...

This is great. Keep on posting. Any idea how long a window unit will last cooling a room like this to refrigerated temps? Bill, I have a window unit (heat/ac) for our sun room and it runs pretty much 24-7 all year long. Not anything too noticable on the electricity bill but it does have a tough time...

I agree that's a pretty impressive rig, Bart. I like the shined up kegs. I'm sure I'll move on to a HERMS-style eventually, but for now, I'm going to be all hands on.

My progress has been delayed by lack of time. I'll make sure to post a few pics when I get around to the actual fabrication.