A fermented beverage where the majority of the fermentable sugars are derived from malted grains via mashing.
3
votes
2answers
310 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. ...
3
votes
2answers
457 views
What are some popular methods for measuring boil and HLT volume?
Particularly during lautering and during a boil, I have a hard time keeping track of water/wort volume. What method(s) and equipment do you all recommend for accurately calculating liquid volume ...
2
votes
3answers
659 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 ...
7
votes
5answers
406 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 ...
7
votes
3answers
463 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?
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 ...
23
votes
8answers
1k views
What's the point of going all-grain?
My extract beers are good, I think better than most commercial beers that I buy. Extract takes less time, less equipment and seems to produce great quality beers. Why do people do full grain?
7
votes
3answers
721 views
What should be done differently for high-gravity beers?
What, if anything, should you do differently when brewing a high-gravity beer?
4
votes
2answers
206 views
Looking for a relatively low attenuating yeast with distinct Belgian flavors.
I'm working on a recipe for a Baltic porter but would like to ferment it with a stran that produces distinct belgian flavors. The problem is that most of your belgian strains are too high attenuating. ...
10
votes
7answers
1k views
Aluminium boil pots: Heresy or not?
Are aluminium pots acceptable as boil vessels? They're cheap, but I've heard they can produce off-flavors. Any experiences with them?
2
votes
3answers
434 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?
11
votes
3answers
1k views
Will scaling a recipe from 5 gallons to 1 gallon introduce significant differences?
Will scaling a recipe down to 1 gallon (i.e.: dividing the amount of each ingredient by 5) produce a pretty close approximation of the results of a full 5 gallon batch? Are there any additional ...
8
votes
1answer
2k views
When brewing a chocolate stout, should the cacao nibs be added in the boil, the secondary, or both?
When using cacao nibs to brew a chocolate stout, should they be added in the boil (if so, when?), in the secondary fermenter, or both? Is there a better ingredient to add to produce the chocolate ...
14
votes
4answers
3k views
What are some alternatives to hops?
I have a friend that is allergic to hops and can not drink our beer (or just about any others for that matter). What alternatives do I have if I want to make a beer for him? What could I substitute ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
My beer tastes like green apples.
I brewed a blonde ale with extract a little over a month ago. I fermented in primary for three weeks and have been bottle-conditioning for two weeks. I didn't take an OG, but the final gravity ...
4
votes
1answer
159 views
Anyone have experience doing a decoction with a pressure cooker?
How were the results compared to a traditional decoction? Any tricks to know about?
Edit: For some context, see here.
9
votes
1answer
475 views
What does Irish Moss do?
I've heard that it helps clear the beer, but how does it do that, and how is it used? Further, are there any tradeoffs associated with using it?
6
votes
2answers
237 views
I want to make a Rauchbier. How do I go about smoking my grain?
I've never made a Rauchbier before. I have some pear wood that I've been curing for about 5 months now and would like to use. I've got an all-grain setup, but no smoker; I suppose I'll need to get ...
7
votes
2answers
383 views
How long for a pellicle to drop when brewing lambic?
I made a saison earlier this summer. After primary fermentation was complete I took 3 gallons of it and added Wyeast Roeselare Blend. Two months later I added cherries and pecan chips. It formed a ...
8
votes
2answers
568 views
Boiling with lid on or off?
In this answer it is mentioned that boiling with the lid on or off may make a difference in final gravity. Which do you recommend and why?
5
votes
3answers
368 views
What's your favorite type of beer to brew… and why?
Many people have drastically different taste in beers. I can only imagine that carries over to the types of beer people love to brew. What's your favorite beer to brew yourself, and why?
6
votes
2answers
330 views
How much does a full boil affect things?
I've seen a few threads here and there saying that one thing to do as soon as possible is start doing a full boil (5 gallons in the boil instead of ~3 in the boil with ~2 of water added later). For ...
6
votes
4answers
474 views
Does bottle color matter for a given beer style?
With clear, green, and brown bottles abound (e.g., Corona, Heineken, and Yeungling respectively), is there a hard and fast rule for what color of bottle to use for a given beer style?
Also, are brown ...
6
votes
4answers
368 views
How should bulk DME be stored?
Related to this question, but I'd like to get a 50 lb. bag of pilsner DME from the LHBS to use over the course of 3-6 months. Can it be stored like grain, or are there additional considerations that ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
How do I convert between all-grain and extract recipes?
If I have an all-grain recipe, and I want to convert it to an extract or partial-mash recipe, the easiest way is to replace the base malt with malt extract. Conversely, converting an extract recipe to ...
8
votes
3answers
303 views
9
votes
3answers
4k views
Consequences of infection in a beer?
Everyone learns during their first brewing experience that you have to carefully sanitize anything that touches your wort after the boil to avoid infection.
What happens when wort gets infected? How ...
4
votes
2answers
603 views
How can I prime for bottle conditioning without oxidizing the beer?
I'm probably being too paranoid here, but what's the best way to make sure the priming sugar (I tend to use corn sugar boiled in a few cups of water for 5 minutes and then cooled) is thoroughly mixed ...
4
votes
2answers
82 views
What is a good resource for flavor contributions of different ingredients?
For those of us who are still brewing from kits and recipes and want to branch out and try building our own flavors, what resources are there that describe the various flavors contributed by ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
How to adjust alcohol content of a beer?
I have read stories about people brewing beer with an extremely high alcohol content, and am curious about how they do it.
At a basic level, I know that alcohol is a byproduct of yeast breaking down ...
3
votes
2answers
406 views
Good holiday beer recipes? [closed]
I'm getting ready to brew up a holiday batch to bring to parties and give as gifts, etc. Any suggestions on a good one? I'm thinking a cranberry beer might be surprising and delicious...
1
vote
0answers
137 views
New Wyeast private stcok yeast strains? [closed]
Has anyone had any experiences with the new Wyeast Private Reserve yeast strains. I just bought a Cask Ale, and wondered if anyone had tried a beer with it yet?
