Proposition 122 said:

So, I bought a liquid culture syringe (I know, I know...) from a "Trusted Vendor" on here. The myc looks (and acts) like a wad of cotton. I shook and shook until I thought my arm would fall off but I could not break it up. Tried again, several different days - no change.

When attempting to use the syringe in a vertical position the "wad" sinks down to the needle and completely blocks the tip and I use A LOT OF PRESSURE on the plunger. And I mean a lot of pressure! Cannot get a drop out in vertical orientation.

Any idea what is going on with this?

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Puffin said:

That's awesome! I have been meaning to brew for so long (since starting mycology) so I think it is now on the cards and I will play around with a yeast starter when I do for sure.

I don't really know what I would call my favorite recipe. It is my attempt to combine two of my favorite beers from some of my travels; a Slovene beer called Mali Grad and a Hungarian beer called Mangobay. I took the qualities from them that I liked and tried to recreate them in a single beer and called it Mango Grad. Those are both pale ales but it has some Belgian Blonde influence in there too being about that colour and 6.5%. I'll get the recipe out tomorrow and send it over!



That'll be my next brew for sure but I also want to play around with a really dark beer.

What is your preferred beer style?

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Hmmm, a pale ale with belgian yeast, if you threw in some wheat that would be a white IPA, it's a great beer I'll have a look at the recipe for sure, maybe I can get some inspiration to get off my lazy ass and brew again

I don't make starters these days, since I don't brew that often I just pitch dry yeast, been slacking big time, and I use my fermentation fridge as an incubator and soon a cold fruiting chamber, the stir plate for starters is now being used for LI

I brew a lot of different styles, but I guess the style I've brewed the most is Saisons. I really like Saison d'Erpe-Mere so I made a clone recipe I brewed a lot. For dark beers I enjoy a tasty oatmeal stout

TedsDead said:

Im still sad ball discontinued the white ones.  I got 5 packs of em for 1$ each at least when they stopped stocking them at the feed store.  The leakproof ones the threads get sticky after pc use

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Gilmour Hendrix said:

When using unmodded lids covered in foil for PC, wait for the jars to cool or tighten lids as soon as they come out of the PC?

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With unmodded lids you would have to wait for the jars too cool, or the leak-proof lids will draw a vacuum and warp, guess how I know

Kloakk said:

Gilmour Hendrix said:

When using unmodded lids covered in foil for PC, wait for the jars to cool or tighten lids as soon as they come out of the PC?

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With unmodded lids you would have to wait for the jars too cool, or the leak-proof lids will draw a vacuum and warp, guess how I know

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Then I made the right choice!

Gilmour Hendrix said:

Proposition 122 said:

No idea wgjat you are doing with DE. I use it in garden as a pest control. Its razor sharp edge will kill insects. Also good for getting rid of pesky fleas in bedding, etc.
I don't know what it would do to myc. How did you get onto this?

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Grain preservation. Read on here that some put it in their grain to preserve it from infestation. I can't find the thread now...

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Proposition 122 said:

So, I bought a liquid culture syringe (I know, I know...) from a "Trusted Vendor" on here. The myc looks (and acts) like a wad of cotton. I shook and shook until I thought my arm would fall off but I could not break it up. Tried again, several different days - no change.

When attempting to use the syringe in a vertical position the "wad" sinks down to the needle and completely blocks the tip and I use A LOT OF PRESSURE on the plunger. And I mean a lot of pressure! Cannot get a drop out in vertical orientation.

Any idea what is going on with this?

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dopesauce said:

I have the quarts of white millet that are now almost 5 months old. They are from my first experiment using my pc, which means I didn’t adjust for elevation.

I am at 4500ft I am trying to figure out if I need to:
add 15% to my cook time
Pc at 18 psi instead of 15 (quarters taped to weight)
Or do both.

I am tempted to just knock them up and see, but:

There is a little white milky ooze? Liquid? That has developed. I have been watching it, and it does not appear to have spread. 3 have only a little on the very bottom, one has a fair amount all over.

Should I try them and see?
I believe this is some of the starches that have formed?
? From not rinsing the millet well enough?
Not letting it strain enough before bottling?

Getting ready to pc some more millet and would love to fix this if possible.


Thanks in advance

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I can't speak about millet but I do rye grains at 18psi for at least 2 hours. I'm at a bit of altitude as well and rye/wheat stand up just fine in a pc for 2-3 hours. I tried millet a few time and just got clumps so I stick to rye and wheat. For the PSI boost I use a small fridge magnet that just sits on the weight.

And those jars are sketch. Dump that shit and save yourself the time and headache. It happens and we all learn from it, but seriously save yourself the time and start new jars.

dopesauce said:

Thank you. I’ve been meaning to toss them I tossed the rest  I just had some extra agar plates and was like oooh maybe but more like maybe not. I’m getting some new jars prepped now.

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Gilmour Hendrix said:

When using unmodded lids covered in foil for PC, wait for the jars to cool or tighten lids as soon as they come out of the PC?

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TedsDead said:

callmehippie said:

Gilmour Hendrix said:

I'm too new to get willy nilly with my procedures. I need to know, beyond a doubt, what works for me.

I have ship's, rtv, and sfd's on deck, jic. Gonna roll with unmodded lids until I see a need for anything else. Maybe MS/LC/LI? I dunno. Not there yet...



Thanks for the info on storage options. I have a large, gasketed container I use for cat food. Like you said CMH, that would work well.

Still need to nab a bucket for coir. Those screw tops look nice, Henry.

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Look into getting a 5 gallon insulated drink cooler for doing your coir.

Like this



Use this as your dedicated bucket for coir. I know it's already been mentioned but label them and only ever put coir in it. Same goes for your grain bucket. It's so important I'm definitely repeating it.

But yeah the 5 gallon insulated cooler is perfect. Holds temperature really well without having to wrap blankets and stuff around it. You also don't have to worry about the Heat and vacuum deforming your bucket. Which did happen to me once with one of those orange  Home Depot buckets with the gasketed lids that does a super tight seal.

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Waste of $ use 5 gallon bucket or tote.  The insulation doesnt benefit anything

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I stopped using the ones I got from home depot cause the seal was too tight. It would vacuume. And I kept ending up with this




I can't remember. Feel like it was bod who recommends the insulated cooler.

But ya i agree  20-30$ is not the cheapest option.  I  do like how sturdy it is.