How important is carbon dioxide to brewing?

I think its the most important thing about brewing, but, I'm curious about what you think. Why is carbon dioxide so important?

Brewing with Honey...

Today Brew Dudes posted some interesting reading about brewing with honey. The simple vs. complex sugars thing never occured to me. Hmmm...

I do have pics of 18 foot hops :-)

Wow! Rain & sun, rain & sun...really gets these puppies growing.

1, 2, 3, Hop bines over 18 feet tall
4. And we have burrs!

Edit: Not spurs, but, burrs...heheh.

Bleeder valve...

I use this bleeder valve with a pressure guage to check the pressureof my beer when its carbonating in the keg. Connect it to the gas in side of the cornie. I let off excess pressure every so often until it stabilizes close to serving PSI. Good for over carbonated beer.

If you prime your kegs to carbonate them you can use this to help monitor that fermentation. No more increase in pressure, means it must be close to finished.

Of course that's just me. Maybe I like things with guages.

Note: Photo from Norther Brewer website.

Helping a friend convert a kegerator!

Stopped by Jeremy's with some homebrewed barleywine in tow. We modified the fridge, connected the hoses and voila! :-)

Perlick faucets with Anchor Steam and Sly Fox tap handles. Yards Brawler and Jackie's Belgian Style Imperial Wheat on tap. Mmmm...

No more ads on Beer Bits 2

I made my millions. Now I'm gonna retire. I wonder if I can live on a dime a day?

I have no pictures of the 18 foot hops.

I really don't have pictures yet, but, I have to tell you I am amazed at these first year rhizhomes cut from my backyard cascades. Some of them are 18 feet tall. Wow!

How many flowers will Gavin's first year plants get? I guess I'll have to wait for those spurs. Maybe we'll have too many for us to deal with and we'll have to hold a hop picking party.

I wonder if there are any other hopyards with eighteen foot trellis systems in Pennsylvania.

Video: The Science of a Good Beer

Dave McLean of Magnolia Pub & Brewery details the science of brewing, from the perspective of a craft brewer. I have to meet Dave some day. I enjoyed this video immensely.

Backyard hops pictures...

1: Hops growing on the shed
2: New hop flowers hiding behind the leaves
3: Young Chinook hop flower
4: Cascade hop flower spur

Summertime brewing, beating the heat...

I'll be very direct since I'm pressed for time. Here's my June 2009 Fermentation Friday write up. With regard to fermentation temps...

• temp controller in old fridge
• I have a basement so its easier to find a cool place, but, not always good enough
  
• wet towel or t-shirt over glass carboy (haven't done this since I got the temp controller)
  
• choose styles that like the heat (haven't done this much, saison)
  

And then there's the chilling of the wort. Well summertime increases the time it takes an immersion chiller to chill the wort. This is due to the temp of the tap water. I've decided to build a chiller with two separate coils. One side gets immersed in ice cold water, the other in the wort. I have the coils, now I have to put it to good use. Less water wasted and less time spent.