Search found 778 matches

by billvelek
Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:44 pm
Forum: BeerTools Pro General Topics
Topic: BTP program will not let me register!
Replies: 1
Views: 5560

BTP program will not let me register!

Hello Jeff, and all of my old friends here. I just started back to brewing after probably more than a year off due to some severe demands on my time and then getting out of the grove. Today I am in the process of brewing a pale ale and an oatmeal stout (partigyle with some additional two-row and spe...
by billvelek
Sat Jun 05, 2010 12:41 pm
Forum: BeerTools Pro Feature Requests
Topic: Batch Sparge
Replies: 9
Views: 14207

I agree, too

Now that I've recovered from my intense envy (you apparently have either a RIMS or HERMS with capacity for 15 gallon batches), I'll add a few comments. First, I agree that it would be nice if BTP would either actively warn a brewer whenever the proposed additions would exceed the capacity of a vesse...
by billvelek
Wed Apr 14, 2010 3:44 pm
Forum: Equipment
Topic: Need help with refractometer maintenance
Replies: 3
Views: 18119

Thanks, Slothrob

Thanks, Slothrob, for the very fast and informative reply. I guess I was in error about the field being normally all white with the blue representing the amount of sugar; just bad memory. So, the field should be all blue when only light passes through the prism, and the white portion should appear w...
by billvelek
Wed Apr 14, 2010 1:38 pm
Forum: Equipment
Topic: Need help with refractometer maintenance
Replies: 3
Views: 18119

Need help with refractometer maintenance

I have an Atago refractometer that I somehow managed to screw up, but I don't know how I did it because I _thought_ I used it the same way as I have for the past couple of years. I take my readings, run a small amount of cool water from the faucet over the sample-window and then dry it with a paper ...
by billvelek
Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:59 am
Forum: BeerTools Pro General Topics
Topic: What is your brewing setup?
Replies: 19
Views: 73963

I can't think of any other combinations.

I can't think of any other combinations.

Bill Velek
by billvelek
Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:07 pm
Forum: BeerTools Pro General Topics
Topic: What is your brewing setup?
Replies: 19
Views: 73963

My equipment

Hi Jeff. I mash in a picnic cooler (48 quart ice chest) with a stainless steel mesh hose for lautering (I use the batch sparge method). I then boil in a propane turkey fryer; the pot is 32 quarts as I recall, and I've had it so long that I can't remember the BTUs of the burner, but I'd guess it is j...
by billvelek
Tue Sep 08, 2009 6:27 pm
Forum: BeerTools Pro Bug Reports
Topic: Bug?
Replies: 2
Views: 9508

Bug?

I realize that Jeff is probably sick and tired of my nit-picking and a few 'false alarms', but I've discovered something in BTP that mystifies me. I was trying to use BTP to determine the gravity of a sugar-water solution for the purpose of furthering a discussion in another forum regarding the chan...
by billvelek
Mon Sep 07, 2009 2:15 pm
Forum: Brewing Problems, Emergencies, Help!
Topic: Priming Sugar
Replies: 2
Views: 7115

RE: Primer added to fermenting bucket

If you boiled the priming sugar in some water, just let it ferment out and bottle later. If you didn't boil the sugar, some or most of it is probably sitting on the bottom undissolved which is likely for the finish of fermentation to take awhile, so I would stir it up to dissolve the sugar, and let ...
by billvelek
Fri Sep 04, 2009 6:19 pm
Forum: Techniques, Methods, Tips & How To
Topic: Mash Thickness in rect. cooler mash tun
Replies: 9
Views: 16538

Re: water lost

snip ... There's still some math to get from Daniels' 0.2 to 0.12. There's a good discussion of this in this thread on efficiency . You can see some of my stumbling in learning this (around pages 4 and 5). There's some fun calculations for different types of efficiencies based on Kai's theories. Th...
by billvelek
Fri Sep 04, 2009 5:22 am
Forum: Techniques, Methods, Tips & How To
Topic: Mash Thickness in rect. cooler mash tun
Replies: 9
Views: 16538

Thanks for reply, Slothrob ... but

Thanks for your reply, Slothrob. It has been a long time since I read Ray's book -- which is a shame because it really is great, and I ought to be reviewing it all the time; however, since I use BTP and have the basics down very well from my years of brewing, I'm probably over confident and think I ...
by billvelek
Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:38 am
Forum: Techniques, Methods, Tips & How To
Topic: Mash Thickness in rect. cooler mash tun
Replies: 9
Views: 16538

Malt Water Absorption: is BTP wrong?

I've changed the subject line, but this is essentially a continuation of what we have been discussing in this thread about batch sparging efficiency. However, I want to get some thoughts about BTP's "Malt Water Absorption" 'preference setting' and some comments made in the link provided by...
by billvelek
Tue Sep 01, 2009 6:46 pm
Forum: Techniques, Methods, Tips & How To
Topic: Mash Thickness in rect. cooler mash tun
Replies: 9
Views: 16538

One-sparge is supposed to be most efficient

Thanks for the links, Slothrob. I don't have the time right now to really digest the info -- which looks very intriguing and useful -- but I'm going to make a point of studying it as soon as I have a chance. Meanwhile, let me add that I was involved in a discussion about batch sparging with Denny Co...
by billvelek
Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:46 am
Forum: BeerTools Pro Bug Reports
Topic: Carbonation tab -- possible bug
Replies: 3
Views: 10321

Thanks, Slothrob ... what about this?

Thanks, Slothrob; that makes perfect sense and I should have figured that out myself. At the time that I had posted, I was engaged in a completely different discussion in another forum -- about "pressure" changes with termperature, and the effect of refrigerating over-carbonated beers that...
by billvelek
Fri Aug 28, 2009 10:39 am
Forum: BeerTools Pro Bug Reports
Topic: Carbonation tab -- possible bug
Replies: 3
Views: 10321

Carbonation tab -- possible bug

I don't know if this is a bug or not, because I might not understand carbonation well enough, but here is my question: using "Natural Conditioning", when the "Beer Temperature" is changed, why does either the "Priming Agent Mass" or the ''Volumes CO2" change (one o...
by billvelek
Fri Aug 28, 2009 8:36 am
Forum: BeerTools Pro Feature Requests
Topic: "Kraeusening Calculator"
Replies: 1
Views: 5882

Further thoughts re 'kraeusening' calculator

I was thinking about this again and I realized that in order to make such calculations completely accurately also requires one to know the degree of fermentability of the wort being used as a primer, and since the batch used as a primer has not yet finished fermenting, we can't know the percentage o...