Search found 1575 matches

by gregorach
Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:23 pm
Forum: Yeast
Topic: Mixing yeast slants
Replies: 10
Views: 1865

Re: Mixing yeast slants

To further avoid confusion: I mean you should grow separate starters. You need a 1L mixed strain starter, grow a 0.5L starter of each strain.
by gregorach
Mon Feb 24, 2014 12:50 pm
Forum: Yeast
Topic: Mixing yeast slants
Replies: 10
Views: 1865

Re: Mixing yeast slants

If you want to do mixed strains, your best option is probably to slant them separately, and only mix them once you've grown a reasonable amount of each - that way, you'll minimise the likelihood of strain drift. If you put them both on the same slant, or mix them very early during propagation, there...
by gregorach
Tue Feb 04, 2014 1:42 pm
Forum: Yeast
Topic: Microscope
Replies: 3
Views: 1285

Re: Microscope

Yeah, that's really the only way to be sure. (Short of nuking it from orbit, anyway. ;)) Microscopy really isn't that good for spotting bacterial contamination unless it's very bad. Professionally, you would use selective media, but that's not really practical for hobbyists (for all sorts of reasons...
by gregorach
Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:53 am
Forum: Yeast
Topic: Microscope
Replies: 3
Views: 1285

Re: Microscope

Could be bacteria, but it's hard to say for certain. Bits of trub are usually larger and fluffier.
by gregorach
Sat Feb 01, 2014 1:31 pm
Forum: Brewing Equipment
Topic: Optimal plate chiller operation
Replies: 5
Views: 1299

Re: Optimal plate chiller operation

My physics has always been poor! I want to cool the wort as quickly as possible, meaning the highest flow rate possible and damn the water usage. Perhaps your knowledge may be able to give a theoretical ideal? I suspect that maximum flow rate of cold through the chiller is not the way to achieve th...
by gregorach
Thu Jan 30, 2014 2:14 pm
Forum: Brewing Equipment
Topic: Optimal plate chiller operation
Replies: 5
Views: 1299

Re: Optimal plate chiller operation

Theoretically when the hot water flow out is at its hottest it must be removing the most heat Not at all - when the wort out is coldest is when it's removing the most heat. Say you pump the entire Atlantic Ocean through the cold side of your plate chiller - you're going to chill the wort to exactly...
by gregorach
Thu Jan 30, 2014 1:07 pm
Forum: Grain Brewing
Topic: Can brewing salts have a shelf life?
Replies: 4
Views: 935

Re: Can brewing salts have a shelf life?

"Best before" is not the same as "use by", although many people confuse the two...
by gregorach
Wed Jan 22, 2014 3:17 pm
Forum: Grain Brewing
Topic: Brewlabs yeast slant question?
Replies: 17
Views: 2430

Re: Brewlabs yeast slant question?

Well, there is one surefire solution to the problem... Fine out all of the primary yeast prior to bottling, and bottle using a different, more flocculent yeast. It's a bit of a pain in the backside though.
by gregorach
Wed Jan 22, 2014 3:07 pm
Forum: Yeast
Topic: Sex Education and Yeast
Replies: 10
Views: 1826

Re: Sex Education and Yeast

S. Cerevisiae I believe has 16 chromosomes in haploid form and 32 in diploid form. [...] Yeasts may have asexual and sexual reproductive cycles. Brewers' yeasts are almost always polyploid or aneuploid, the chromosomes are not usually present in matched sets, and they are generally incapable of sex...
by gregorach
Mon Dec 09, 2013 4:28 pm
Forum: Brewing Equipment
Topic: FV heating, Underfloor heating?
Replies: 13
Views: 2298

Re: FV heating, Underfloor heating?

No - it's not big enough, and I doubt it has enough power.
by gregorach
Mon Dec 09, 2013 10:57 am
Forum: Brewing Equipment
Topic: FV heating, Underfloor heating?
Replies: 13
Views: 2298

Re: FV heating, Underfloor heating?

If you're going to run it off a controller, I find a Brew Belt does the job nicely.
by gregorach
Fri Dec 06, 2013 6:16 pm
Forum: Brewing Liquor
Topic: Campden tablet AFTER mashing
Replies: 6
Views: 2661

Re: Campden tablet AFTER mashing

Hi all, I have made a possible error with Campden tablet usage. I usually add a tablet to my mash and sparge water before I conduct the mash to reduce chloramines, however I have forgotten to add a tablet this time and done the mash without it. Now ive got my brewpot full of wort and ready to boil....
by gregorach
Thu Nov 21, 2013 1:27 pm
Forum: Yeast
Topic: Brewlab Slant Starter
Replies: 141
Views: 16844

Re: Brewlab Slant Starter

AFAIK, the only reason to filter hot break is if you're making wort agar - having less gunk in it makes it easier to spot anything out of the ordinary.
by gregorach
Tue Nov 12, 2013 6:04 pm
Forum: Yeast
Topic: Brewlab Slant Starter
Replies: 141
Views: 16844

Re: Brewlab Slant Starter

Eh? If they're closed, they can only heat up through conduction, which will take an appreciable amount of time. For effective sterilisation, you want the hot, high pressure steam to be able to get to every part of everything you're trying to sterilise. Yes, but I'm talking about when they have the ...
by gregorach
Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:24 pm
Forum: Yeast
Topic: Brewlab Slant Starter
Replies: 141
Views: 16844

Re: Brewlab Slant Starter

Eh? If they're closed, they can only heat up through conduction, which will take an appreciable amount of time. For effective sterilisation, you want the hot, high pressure steam to be able to get to every part of everything you're trying to sterilise.