A fermented beverage where the majority of the fermentable sugars are derived from malted grains via mashing.
3
votes
1answer
134 views
Hop Analysis for Home Brewers - Interest Poll [closed]
My future stepson is growing hops this coming season here in WA state. I'm a chemist and am thinking of doing the hop analysis for him. I'd like to poll you all and see if there is much interest in ...
2
votes
2answers
624 views
Malted or Flaked Rye?
I'm wanting to make an American Rye Beer, and I'm wondering which sort of rye I should use. My LHBS carries flaked rye, and the nearby big-box brew supplier carries both flaked and malted rye.
...
5
votes
1answer
835 views
How can I bottle using corks?
After downing a bottle of Saison Dupont last night and wishing to re-use the bottle, I wondered if any home brewers have "capped" their brews using corks?
The bottle looks like it might be re-usable ...
9
votes
2answers
3k views
What is Fermcap-S and what does it do?
Lately I've been doing some very large boils -- 7 gallons in a 7.5 gallon kettle. To prevent boilovers, I've been using Fermcap-s. It's great, and I've had no boilover problems, but I have no idea how ...
6
votes
2answers
717 views
Is a cider-like smell a bad sign in a culture of beer yeast?
I started culturing yeast from a La Fin Du Monde bottle about 3 days ago. I have since stepped it up to a 2L container about half full of wort. I have been very careful about sanitizing everything ...
3
votes
4answers
4k views
Does yeast choice matter as much in ginger beer?
I'm about to brew a ginger beer and was wondering if the choice of yeast is as important in a ginger beer, where the ginger dominates the flavour.
I've got the yeast-under-the-cap packet and a US-05 ...
2
votes
3answers
338 views
Mash / Hops Timing Confusion
I am getting started with my first brewing experience, I have some doubt in my mind, and I was hoping someone could clear this up for me once and for all.
I have seen a lot of beer recipes that leave ...
3
votes
1answer
318 views
Quantifying the level of hoppiness in a beer
Does anyone know of some sort of measurement for the hoppiness of a beer? Late hop additions don't add much to the bitterness (IBUs) but they can add tons of hop flavor. Is there some way to ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
help: Beer smells bad
This is my 4th batch (I'm new), but first Belgian ale. Kit from here: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/flat-tire.html
I also did another batch at the same time (different kit) and it seems fine and ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
What happens if a beer gets oxidized?
Everywhere I read it is very cautious about oxidizing your beer. What is the worst case if your beer gets oxidized? It tastes funny?
3
votes
2answers
765 views
Stuck fermentation
My beer is stuck at 1.052 and it started at 1.092. The type of yeast is wyeast #3522, so I expect it to get quite a bit lower. It's been 3 weeks since we brewed it and it's now rather clear. I suspect ...
6
votes
3answers
646 views
Not using bittering hops
Has anyone brewed without using any bittering hops? Are there any consequences to doing this?
Edit: I ask because I want to brew a style that's not normally very bitter (weizen), but give it a ...
5
votes
2answers
269 views
What are the steps in recapping overcarbonated beer?
What are the steps involved in recapping a bottle of beer for any reason (e.g. if too much priming sugar is added, if a cap appears to be defective or failing, etc)?
4
votes
3answers
3k views
Can I use wine yeast to ferment beer?
Can I use wine yeast to ferment a beer? What sort of problems might I encounter that are unique to wine yeast trying to ferment malt sugars? What sort of flavor differences might I encounter?
1
vote
2answers
123 views
What form of hops should I use for this recipe?
My LHBS sells whole hops, hop pellets, and hop plugs. Is there a way to know which this recipe calls for, and is there some sort of conversion formula between the different forms?
...
7
votes
2answers
461 views
What is the danger zone for overcarbonating and making bottle bombs?
Just curious how many volumes of CO2 most average beer bottles can hold. Is there a rough number where alarms should start going off?
Update -- I'm seeing in different carbonation calculators that ...
2
votes
2answers
309 views
Should steeping grains be crushed differently than mashing grains?
Looking at the process for steeping grains I see that it omits a vorlauf. Would crushing steeping grains in the same way as mashing grains produce too much fine particulate? Should wort from ...
2
votes
2answers
341 views
How to treat Brettanomyces for secondary fermentation?
I'm wanting to add some Brettanomyces lambicus to an old ale after it has been moved to a secondary fermentor (it should be in the 7-8% ABV range at this point, and the primary yeast will be Wyeast ...
10
votes
5answers
6k views
Why do all my beers taste better after having aged for a couple months?
My impression is that ales are typically best drunk within a couple weeks of brew day. It's my experience that letting them age in the bottles for 2-3 months yields the best beer, both improving body, ...
4
votes
4answers
1k views
5
votes
4answers
629 views
How to transport homebrew
I'm in the process of brewing several carboys of beer to serve at my wedding in a few months. The catch is that the wedding is on the other side of the country. I'm planning on taking a few days to ...
1
vote
3answers
729 views
What is the Maillard reaction, and why should I care what a duck thinks?
What is the Maillard Reaction? What does it do for my beer? What can I do to encourage or discourage it?
3
votes
2answers
624 views
How to brew a Low-Carb Beer?
What would you do differently if trying to brew a low-carb beer? Could it be done with an extract brew?
3
votes
3answers
575 views
Beer not carbonating
I'm having issues with my Belgian Tripel not carbonating. There is a small amount of sediment in the bottles, and I get a hiss when they're opened, but that's about it. It's gotten cold in Virginia ...
6
votes
6answers
2k views
Reusable Beer Label
So my Dad is an avid brewer, and has always re-used old beer bottles that we drank our way through to bottle his home-brew in. However, for Christmas I made a label on photoshop with our families ...
5
votes
5answers
227 views
Profesionally Printed Labels?
A friend has offered to design labels for a few of my favourite beers. I just got the first one, and I love it. The only problem is some of the design elements don't show up very well when printed on ...
3
votes
2answers
306 views
How much time should a warm-fermenting yeast strain sit at the high primary temperature?
I made a batch of braggot (~46% honey) a couple of weeks ago, and used the Duvel strain (a pack of Wyeast 1388 and a vial of WLP570). Pitched at 65 and ramped it up to 82 over the course of 7 days. ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
How to smoke your malts
How would I go about smoking barley (no points awarded for answering "in a pipe")? My LHBS has a couple of smoked varieties, but not the exact type of smoke I want. I'd like a method that doesn't ...
7
votes
5answers
403 views
Critical Steps to follow for any homebrew beer recipe or process
I've got my second batch of homebrew fermenting, and in just two batches I've learned a lot the hard way (messed up batch priming, possibly under-aerated the wort, etc)
What steps are critical to any ...
13
votes
5answers
1k views
What class of beer is Newcastle, and what do I need to brew my own?
I like Newcastle, and now I would like to brew some.
What class / style of beer is Newcastle?
Where does it get its brown color?
Are there any kits out there that would give pretty close results?
10
votes
5answers
861 views
Is it necessary to aerate wort when pitching onto an existing yeast cake?
To my knowledge, aeration provides oxygen so that the yeast can reproduce before fermentation. If you're pitching onto an existing yeast cake, there should theoretically be enough yeast already to ...
2
votes
3answers
649 views
Wrong yeast…cloudy beer?
I was planning to make an IPA and was planning to use wyeast #1056 but i think that I mixed up my yeast with another guy at the store cus after I pitched i noticed that the yeast I had added was ...
6
votes
2answers
227 views
Why measure gravities?
I've brewed a good dozen batches of beer from kits, extract, extract+grain, and now all-grain, and I've never measured gravities. Why measure gravity, besides to know what you're getting? Is there any ...
13
votes
4answers
2k views
How to Properly Oxygenate Wort
How much oxygen do I need to put into my wort?
I've heard that homebrewers need to aerate with an oxygen stone and either aquarium pumps or oxygen. Is this true, or is shaking my carboy enough to ...
6
votes
7answers
3k views
Cardboard alternatives to bottle cases for storage
A problem I hadn't really anticipated was how to store/transport bottled homebrew. I've been reusing old cardboard store-bought boxes, but they seem to be breaking down pretty quickly, especially ...
5
votes
6answers
691 views
Wort aeration on a budget
To aerate my wort I have been using a whisk, but i am worried about contamination. What are other more effective ways to aerate wort without spending too much money?
3
votes
4answers
162 views
Hop utilization
I've been thinking, especially after brewing my last IPA, about getting the most out of my hops. The higher the SG of your wort, the less you get from your hops, so the more you have to put in. I've ...
7
votes
3answers
455 views
Pennies in the Boil
I've heard that adding cleaned pennies to the wort can help prevent boil-overs. I guess they could provide nucleation points- I dunno.
Any truth to this, or is it just an old wives' tail?
16
votes
2answers
6k views
What does gypsum do?
I'm brewing from an Austin Homebrew extract kit, and it came with some gypsum. I thought gypsum was only for modifying water chemistry, but there seems to be some other schools of thought around.
...
3
votes
5answers
781 views
What would make a good mulled ale?
I just came back from a festival that was serving mulled cider and mulled wine. I've heard of a few mulled beers, such as buttered beer, so I know people must make them. Has anyone out there tried ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
How do you convert between SRM and Lovibond?
For instance, if a grain is specified at 300 SRM, what is the equation to convert that to Lovibond? What is the equation to convert it back?
3
votes
3answers
1k views
How to maximize the maple syrup flavor and minimize the cost?
Is it possible to add less maple syrup later in the boil or even after the boil and get a comparable flavor to adding more earlier in the boil?
It seems like we should be able to essentially "dry ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
What wattage element is needed for hot liquor tank/heat exchanger, and what about brew kettle?
I'm completely captivated by www.theelectricbrewery.com, love their directions, and have ordered the parts, so I'll have my experience soon, but what is your experience with selecting hot water heater ...
2
votes
3answers
414 views
Can you brew using a mini Yorkshire Square?
Is it possible to brew using the same method as a Yorkshire Square but at home? Since the entire thing is open to the air, it seems like it would be a lot easier to brew like this instead of spending ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
What does a 0 minute boil time mean?
I have a recipe that calls for an ounce of hops at 0 mins. boil time, any idea what you would do here?
Typically, after a my 60 minute partial boil is complete, I take the pot off of the stove ...
8
votes
1answer
1k views
How does malted wheat differ from malted barley?
Aside from the fact that they're two different types of grain, how do the two malted grains differ in terms of their effects in beer such as flavor, body, head, etc. when used as base malts?
13
votes
17answers
661 views
What is the best beer to make for a spouse who prefers sauvignon blanc?
I am trying to solve the "wife who loves wine instead of beer" problem. She would normally choose a Sauvignon blanc for herself but that's just no fun for the beer-drinking / making husband. My goal ...
3
votes
5answers
484 views
Is it possible to do full boils without a propane burner?
I currently brew all-grain using a 7.5 gallon pot on a propane burner outside at a house I currently rent. However, I'm planning to move within the year to an apartment in the city and likely won't ...
4
votes
3answers
255 views
Post-Secondary Fermentation
I've heard mentions of people using tertiary, quaternary, quinary, etc fermentations. Does this really provide any significant benefit beyond secondary?
9
votes
6answers
2k views
Why is my IPA not hoppy enough?
I am about to start my second attempt at making an IPA. My first did not turn out anything like an IPA. It was much darker than I expected (I may have burnt it a little) and did not really have the ...
