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Brewing Equipment Homebrewing Reviews

TriCoil 1.2 Review: Equipment Review of the CuS.S. Brewing TriCoil 1.2

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Brewmaster Jerry with the CuS.S. TriCoil 1.2

I am so glad I had a chance to do a TriCoil 1.2 review! So I’m looking around the homebrewing market, and there are always things that seem to catch your eye and make you go hmmm. This triple immersion chiller from CuS.S Brewing did just that. I was curious about the claims I had read online, as well as the ones they had on their website and whether or not it actually chilled as fast as a did. I reached out to CuS.S Brewing and was provided with a TriCoil 1.2 triple immersion chiller to test out so I could put it through the paces. Jeremy McGranahan gave me the hook-up, I did not receive anything other than a unit to review.

Unboxing The TriCoil 1.2

So the looks, during the unboxing, I was immediately impressed with the precision that it was put together with. It definitely weighs a good amount, but when you think about the fact that there is three times the amount of coils, plus different adapters to hook it up, this totally makes sense.

Baseline Measurements With A Basic Immersion Chiller

So to test it out I decided that I should get a baseline with my single immersion chiller. It’s not a name brand, it’s your basic single immersion chiller which I’ve been very happy with across the years. I received it as a gift from my wife for a birthday or a Christmas present, and it has done the job. I am using it both inside and outside along the way. Here are the results of chilling a 5-gallon batch from that. It was 74F outside. The water temp was approximately 63F from the hose. I started the hose about 2 minutes after flameout. I created some vertical agitation for about 20 seconds every 2 minutes. After 5 minutes, thye wort was down to 143F. It was 110F at 8 minutes, and finally at 100F after 11 minutes.

TriCoil 1.2 Review Run

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Brewing Equipment Homebrewing Reviews

Equipment Review: The BrewSSSential BrewSSSiphon

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BrewSSSiphon Complete Kit

Just when you think that your pieces of your homebrewery are satisfactory, and you have everything that you need, you find something new just like the BrewSSSiphon. I was intrigued by the stainless steel construction and the supposed heavy weight of the unit, so I reached out to the Brewsssential to see if I could do a review of their unit, and let you all know just how on point or not it was. I was very happy when I got the news that I was going to get to test the BrewSSSiphon . So to try the BrewSSSiphon out, I had two brew a batch of beer! That was going to be a difficult task… 😉 There is always a tasty treat when doing a test, like a BrewSSSiphon review!

For this, I used a rye double IPA that I was brewing. I figured I would try a different original recipe that allowed for me to have something different on tap. So I brewed it up and then gave the BrewSSSiphon a shot.

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Ask The Brewmaster

A Visit To Rising Storm Brewing Company: Interviewing Bill and Jeff About Going Pro

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So as a teacher, I have to maximize my summertime as much as possible. So with it being a great summer day, I went to Rising Storm Brewing Company in Livonia New York. you may remember that I interviewed the owners years ago in this post. Since then they’ve gone from homebrewers to Pro Brewers. Traveling just south of Rochester New York, I pulled up to the brewery.

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Brewing Equipment Homebrewing Reviews

Equipment Review – The Bouncer Pro For Professional Breweries

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This equipment review for the Bouncer Pro is a little different than my other reviews. The Bouncer Pro is the newest toy from the guys at Bouncer.  I was lucky enough to have an avenue to test it out and see how it works.  The Bouncer Pro is a much larger Bouncer product that is made for professional breweries, rather than the homebrewer.  So I brought it to Rising Storm Brewing Company in Livonia NY to test it out.

Rising Storm Brewing Company is a relatively new brewery in the expanding Rochester NY(and surrounding areas) craft beer.  They are located on a nice piece of property that houses their 30 barrel brewhouse and gives some great opportunities for outdoor events.  Billn Blake and Jeff Reidl are the owners and brewmasters. They graciously allowed me in to have some fun with the new Bouncer Pro.


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Ask The Brewmaster Homebrew Talk

Dehydrating Kveik Yeast – My Experimental Results

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Dehydrating kveik yeast in a food dehydrator. A “new” concept applied to an “old yeast”.  I have come up with a “new” way to make dried kveik yeast. That is probably one of the coolest properties of kveik yeast.  So let’s look at how I got here, and what I am doing. I am not an expert, just a guy who is dabbling in the world of kveik.

My Background With Kveik

So I fell into the rabbit hole of kveik yeast.  I found myself constantly searching for any information that I could find. It was really great to run into the information from Lars on the Larsblog, who is like the godfather of kveik in the brewing culture around the world. He may not have been the one that found it, but he documented in research, and gave me and others so many things to learn about.

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Ask The Brewmaster

Gameday Cooking – Homebrew Chili

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Every gameday needs a good dish to consume at it, and homebrew chili is a great choice. “Why homebrew beer in the chili?” may be your next question. The answer is a simple one…. why not?!?

I make most of my chili on the Camp Chef smoker now. I love that smokey taste infused into my meals. When it is reheated, the smoker smell comes out. With the smoker, you lose more moisture, in my experience, than making it in a crock pot. This beckons you to add more liquid!

I have made my chili with stouts, ales, and ciders that I have made. I used to always put a can of our local Genesee beer into my chilis in the crock pot. Once I started to brew, it became common place to put my beer in there. Once I started kegging, it got even easier!

Recipes

Here is my base “healthy and fresh” chili recipe that helped me win a contest at work, I hope it helps!

Ingredients:

1 lb 90% lean ground beef ($3.29/lb)

1 lb turkey sausage ($4.39/lb)

40 oz dark red kidney beans ($1.79.can)

29 oz diced tomatoes – chili style ($0.79/14.5 oz can)

4 oz diced mild green chilies ($0.99/4 oz can)

16 oz parmesan romano tomato sauce ($1.49/jar)

1 FRESH garlic clove – minced ($0.75/head)

1 FRESH green pepper ($1.99/pound)

1 FRESH poblano pepper ($3.99/pound)

1 FRESH small onion ($0.99/pound)

8 fl oz brewed espresso coffee ($9.99/pound)

1 oz unsweetened 100% cacao ($2.39/4oz)

1 package chili seasonings ($1.50/packet)

¼ cup parmesan bread crumbs (mix parmesan cheese and bread crumbs)

1 bay leaf

Smoke the ground beef and ground turkey, In a large skillet, add freshly pressed minced garlic and diced onion.  Finely shave cacao into small shavings. Dice green peppers and poblano peppers into pieces about 1 inch by ¼ inch.  Add undrained kidney beans, undrained diced tomatoes, as well as the diced chilies to skillet. Mix them up. Pour in the espresso and beer.  Sprinkle the package of chili seasoning across the top. Add meat mixture and tomato sauce, stir to mix. Sprinkle bread crumbs and cacao shavings across the top and mix evenly.  Drop in bay leaf. Cook on smoker for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally. Break up and add the meat after about 3 hours.

Another choice of a quick recipe from ready to use ingredients.

2 big cans of stewed tomatoes

3 cans of chili beans

1 large can of pinto beans

2+ pounds of ground beef

1 pound ground sausage

a few diced hot peppers of your choice

1 onion diced

boatload of your spices – chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, salt, paprika, cinnamon, ground coffee, dark chocolate (ground up or shaved), cayenne pepper, oregano, mustard powder, and anything else you want to throw in

Favorite Flavors For Homebrew Chili?

Darker brews darken your chili!

What is your favorite beer in chili? Drop an answer in the comments below. Have any ingredients to add? Am I missing something? Lemmie know!

Brewing Homebrewing

Smoked Pumpkin Imperial Stout

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Smoked Pumpkin Imperial Stout, a new creation from Brewmaster Jerry! It brings together two thing I love, brewing beer and smoking foods. So for another try at something different, I decided to smoke some pumpkins. It is really cool, I sourced the pumpkins from a former student. He grows them, and then gives a bunch of money to charity. So, this is a brew with a good cause being supported from it.

 

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Brewing Equipment Homebrewing Reviews

Equipment Review: Cereal Killer Grain Mill Review

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Time to get another piece of equipment, and time for the Cereal Killer Grain Mill review! This is a great piece of equipment that any all grain brewer should have in their arsenal. It took me a while to get one, as I often crushed my grain at the LHBS. Tired of paying a premium, and having access to some great uncrushed grain from Murmuration Malts, it showed me it was time to upgrade my equipment. If you are a video type person, fly over here to see it, and give me a follow!


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Brewing Homebrew Talk

Zombie Level 8 Brews – A Single Hop Experiment Series

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A single hop experiment can be fun.  When you are looking for a great brew to make over and over again, you have to have a good recipe.  You also want to have a little variety in hops so you can have some fun too.  So, this beckoned my Zombie Level 8 Series.  I enjoyed Three Floyd’s Zombie Dust, so I formulated a recipe that is homage to it.  The great thing about about this is that it allows the hops to shine.  Why level 8 you ask?  8 ounces of hops in each batch.

 

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Ask The Brewmaster

Smoked Homebrew Brined Turkey 2018

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So this year, I continued my smoked homebrew brined turkey tradition for 2018.  You can find out what I have done in the past here, here, and here. I think one of the coolest things I have done, since I started homebrewing, is using that homebrew to brine the turkey.  The addition of the smoker was just a great one. In the end, it gives some really tasty bird and a fun project that a group can enjoy.  Let’s face it. Not everyone will drink your beer. Not everyone can eat your turkey. Yet those who do, can enjoy a tasty treat.

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    Untappd Derby (2021)
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    Cue the bugle...On your mark… get set… go! The inaugural Untappd Derby is here. May the best style win! Follow the winner’s progress. View more