Questions tagged [experiments]

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8 votes
5 answers
715 views

How can I compare hop flavours quickly?

I want to try and acquaint myself with different hop flavours and brewing a few batches of beer can be quite time consuming (and wasteful if the results are no good). How can I quickly (in say, a day)...
Mark McDonald's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
4k views

Too much Irish moss?

Following inspiration from this question, I've set myself up with equipment to brew one gallon batches. The idea is to brew small batches to get a solid recipe down, then scale up to a larger batch. ...
Bill's user avatar
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6 votes
8 answers
1k views

Has anyone brewed hop-free beer?

I just tried a beer called Reverend James and it tasted really weird. Full-bodied and slightly spicy but I could detect absolutely no hop characteristics in it at all. Now, it could be that my ...
Poshpaws's user avatar
  • 2,144
6 votes
3 answers
787 views

How do I start experimenting?

Ok, I've become comfortable brewing all grains but I want to start experimenting. Where do I start? Should I start experimenting at the primary fermentation stage and brew a bunch of small different ...
Slimasaurus's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
116 views

How to mix beers?

I know this question doesn't really comply to standards but, I wanted to know if we can mix beers after, say cold crash. I want to create different beers using the ones I already brewed. Can I mix ...
Emre Türkiş's user avatar
6 votes
6 answers
2k views

Any suggestions / stories on heather ale brewing?

I'm interested in hearing about people's experience brewing a heather ale.. from what I understand this was the predominant flavoring of beers before hops and it just seems like an interesting part of ...
SimonH's user avatar
  • 497
5 votes
5 answers
3k views

Fermentation vessels options for 1/2 batch experiments (~2.5 gallons)?

What are some good options for primary and secondary fermentation vessels for half batch (2.5 gallons) recipes? At the moment half batches seem to be the best compromise between ease of brewing, ...
rheone's user avatar
  • 153
5 votes
1 answer
2k views

Malt extract fermentability

Does anyone know of resources that specify the fermentability of malt extracts like muntons and coopers? Has anyone done a forced fermentation on these extracts who has results they are willing to ...
daveb's user avatar
  • 525
4 votes
2 answers
5k views

Is Mixing Yeast OK?

Say I wanted to make an ale which has some of the banana characteristics of a Belgian yeast, but also wanted some of the citrusy flavors of an American ale yeast. Could I achieve this by making a ...
Bill's user avatar
  • 571
3 votes
3 answers
140 views

Splitting a kit five ways: yeast (or other) advice?

I'm planning to split a kit five ways to do a test on different water types. The kit is a two-can 3.6Kg LME kit (St Peter's IPA made by Muntons) that's designed to make about 20 litres of beer. I ...
Giles Thomas's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
375 views

Hop schedule for Single hop ale brewing

I am planning on brewing up a handful of quasi-pale ales using only a single hop varietal per batch. The goal is to get a feel for the bittering, flavor and aroma of some varieties I want to ...
brewchez's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
284 views

How does “clearing” beer affect flavour and mouthfeel

So Im brewing a Mango Lassi Milkshake IPA. One of the things I forgot to do while boiling was to add my Irish moss. I was looking up alternatives on what I could do, where I found out things such as ...
Lucas Kauffman's user avatar
  • 1,127
3 votes
2 answers
253 views

Advice for a Harry Potter butterbeer

I'm in the inception phase of a Harry Potter inspired butterbeer recipe. Since it's not well explained in the books, I'm going for a a flavor profile in the range of spiced eggnog and root beer. I'm ...
bendl's user avatar
  • 373
2 votes
1 answer
40 views

Own recipe, any hints or tweaks?

A newbie here. I've brewed thousands of litres of good, bright tasty wine over the years, but this year I've turned my hand to beer. I brewed a Yorkshire bitter already, and am currently brewing a ...
Louis Brodigan's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
579 views

Brew Hack - What Can I Make with These Ingredients?

I have some leftover ingredients that are just going to go bad as I won't be making any brew for awhile. What I have: ~1 lb Carafa III crushed malted barley Several Packets of Dry Champagne Yeast 1/...
Matthew's user avatar
  • 902
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Sarsaparilla beer?

I was enjoying some craft sodas with some friends wile brewing a saison recently, and the idea of a sarsaparilla beer occurred to me as a not terrible idea. My instinct is to go with a pale ale (or ...
Bill's user avatar
  • 571
1 vote
1 answer
79 views

Will this work?

If I make 1.25 gallons of mead with Lalvin 71B, and put half in one gallon carboy for secondary and half in another gallon carboy. To fill the carboy I will use fruit juice or fresh fruit, possibly ...
Czernina's user avatar
  • 560
1 vote
2 answers
194 views

Adding butterscotch syrup in primary

After some searching around, I've not been able to find butterscotch extract in any nearby stores. I suppose I could order online, but I've realized that there is quite a bit of butterscotch syrup ...
bendl's user avatar
  • 373
1 vote
2 answers
169 views

Yeast Contact Time Experiment Results

Anyone know the outcome of the Basic Brewing Radio yeast contact time experiment, where they asked people to let their beers sit on the yeast for four weeks? I can't seem to get the podcast out of ...
Rich Armstrong's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

Lagering an Ale

I was wondering what would happen if I brewed an ale, let it sit through its normal time period at traditional ale temperature (let's say, one month), and then lagered it at 40˚F for 1-4 weeks? I ...
Matthew Moisen's user avatar