Ways of using tools and tricks to accomplish a task. May refer to any portion of work during any stage in the brewing or fermenting process.
1
vote
1answer
102 views
Does kegging require a fridge
I was planning on building myself one of these for the summer: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/portable-igloo-cooler-kegerator-172047-post1990392/
I currently bottle all my beer and don't own any ...
2
votes
1answer
76 views
Brewing with Tonka Beans
I am planning a recipe with Tonka Beans. At what point should I add them and approx. how many?
I know that vanilla is usually added after primary.
Should I do the same with these or can I add them ...
1
vote
2answers
122 views
What are some effective, cheap, easy ways to clean and re-use bottles?
After a couple year hiatus from home brewing, I'm ready to get back into it and I have been diligently consuming some local microbrews and saving the bottles in preparation. When I brewed before, for ...
1
vote
1answer
709 views
corn beer steps and suggestions using a home stove
I am planning to make corn beer, what are the times you would suggest for mashing?
Is there a way to make it on a home stove?
Has anyone got experience with that?
UPDATE
A friend already does corn ...
3
votes
2answers
259 views
Potential causes of unreliable pre-boil gravity measurement
I usually take a hydrometer reading immediately after sparge so that I can calculate total points of gravity (i.e. gravity reading * volume), and from there calculate what volume of wort I should ...
3
votes
5answers
438 views
How much weight to add to a dry-hop bag?
It sounds like the best place for the bag of hops should be somewhere in the middle on the carboy (or other container). This will mean that no hops are sitting only half in beer which should increase ...
9
votes
2answers
117 views
Should the late addition portion of a recipe be altered based on immersion, counterflow, whirlpooling techiques?
When it comes to late addition hops (or other late aeromatics), it seems to me that there might be significant differences in aroma extraction / utilization as the brewer executes different chilling ...
3
votes
1answer
169 views
What's the difference between casking and kegging?
So this is how my last beer went:
After about three weeks I threw it straight into a keg. It didn't taste great, but I figured it was still young and just needed more time to condition. A few weeks ...
10
votes
4answers
814 views
How fast should I run water through my wort chiller?
My father-in-law got me a wort chiller for my birthday, one of those copper coil immersion jobs and I'm now putting it to the test. This is only my second batch of beer, so I'm pretty new at this.
...
4
votes
5answers
3k views
Adding Vanilla Extract?
I have a black stout fermenting right now. I added about 8oz of cacao powder in the boil and I'd like to add some vanilla extract, to taste. Can this be done before bottling? Should this have been ...
8
votes
6answers
3k views
How to strain wort before primary fermentation
I recently made a big beer (Dogfish Head 90 minute clone) with an OG around 1.11. I had never tried to strain wort before moving to a primary fermenter but thought it would be a good idea since this ...
3
votes
1answer
139 views
Adding water before bottling
Ok. Sorry if this has been asked. I really did try to research it. LOL
I did my first batch of American Amber Ale, and made a few mistakes. I didn't take an initial gravity reading, and I think I ...
3
votes
3answers
188 views
Any special considerations (besides taste) when brewing with mineral water?
I understand that a good rule of thumb for brewing water is that if it tastes good it's good to use for brewing. Most of these nine springs that i've tried are way too mineraly to my taste but "7 ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
Can fermenting temperatures affect a beer's taste?
I'm putting together an "all glass" kit with two carboys and want to brew a DIPA but I'm a little concerned about temperature ranges where I'll be fermenting. I'm looking at somewhere between 15-18 ...
1
vote
0answers
401 views
Infomation about the Still from M.A.S.H [closed]
i was wondering if anyone knows of any recreations of Hawkeyes Still for the TV show MASH?
or really even just some basic infomation about similar Still setups would be amazing.
at this point its ...
9
votes
2answers
6k views
What is wet hopping and how does it differ from dry?
Specifically what types of beer would you use wet hopping for and how does it affect the flavor/process differently than dry hopping a beer?
9
votes
5answers
364 views
Dry malting - a crazy idea?
A lot of talk is about dry-hopping in order to bring out the aroma of hops lost during the boiling process. Could a similar approach be used for malt? That is, could the addition of crushed grains to ...
6
votes
2answers
230 views
Clarification for a low-flocculating yeast
I'm brewing a batch using WY2565 Kolsch which mentions that is low-flocculating and that it "remain in suspension post fermentation. It requires filtration or additional settling time to produce ...
3
votes
1answer
205 views
Controlling exothermic heat from primary fermentation with A/C cooling duct
In terms of brewing with Ale yeasts, I understand that fermenter temps can increase up to 10 degrees, or more, than the ambient room temperature. As a "cheap" method for keeping the temperature of the ...
4
votes
1answer
124 views
Long cooling before pitching — aerate now or later?
This is a follow-up to this question: Long cooling before pitching -- read that for background.
I aerate to add oxygen to my wort by pouring back and forth between buckets. If I wait before ...
8
votes
2answers
184 views
Fly Sparging: Can I start boiling straight away
I fly sparge directly into my boil kettle and in general I have the heat on while I'm doing this. When this was on my stove it wasn't powerful enough to get the water boiling before finishing the ...
5
votes
1answer
206 views
Ramping temperatures during fermentation
What is the appropriate way to ramp temper when say brewing a Belgian beer?
Would I expect to have off flavors from the higher temps?
What's the best range for ramping?
Do I actively manage the temp ...
7
votes
3answers
954 views
Why was original gravity high by .010?
Recently brewed a dry stout extract kit. Boiled 5 gallons on propane. Steeped 2 lbs of roasted malt, crystal malt and flaked barley at 155-160 F. Extract was 6.6lbs of Coopers Light LME. As usual, ...
5
votes
2answers
844 views
Diacetyl Rest for Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager
The Wyeast website seems to strongly suggest a diacetyl as fermentation completes with their Bavarian Lager strain, 2206. I prefer to chill my wort to below fermentation temps prior to pitching the ...
5
votes
2answers
269 views
bottle filling without a rapid bottler
I'm about to bottle my first coopers home brew and i dont have a rapid bottler. Can I pour it straight from the tap or will I have problems?
3
votes
1answer
238 views
recapping my bottles? Will it ruin the outcome of my beer?
I bottled my first batch of homebrew and didnt fill the bottles all the way. So the next day I opened the bottles and poured some more beer into them and recapped them.. I this going to mess up the ...
3
votes
2answers
256 views
When to dry hop a barley wine
I was planning on aging my barley wine in a carboy. Is it appropriate to dry hop upon transfer to the secondary for aging. Or would it be better to dry hop after I consider the aging process to be ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
What is the point of mashing out?
I know it stops the enzymes from breaking down any more sugar, but is there any other point to it? Will I notice any difference in the final product if I just got straight to sparging? Also, if my ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
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?
2
votes
2answers
308 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 ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
Yeast Starter Steps
I want to make a yeast starter for a lager. I even went out and got a 3000 ml Erlenmyer Flask. According to mrmalty.com's calculator I need 506 Billion cells. With the two vials of White Labs yeast ...
2
votes
2answers
340 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
305 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 ...
5
votes
2answers
856 views
When to add fresh ginger?
I am considering brewing an Amber ale with a bit of ginger in it, but I don't know whether I should treat it more like a spice and steep/boil it, or more like fruit, and rack onto the ginger for a ...
7
votes
5answers
401 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 ...
22
votes
2answers
605 views
How to clean yeast
I like reusing yeast to save money, and I like having my own "house" yeast. However sooner or later my yeast eventually dies and becomes unusable. I have a feeling that each time I repitch, I'm ...
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 ...
7
votes
5answers
1k views
Shaking vs not shaking
I'm playing with a yeast starter right now and I've noticed when I shake the mix the yeast gets more active. I'm wondering how this applies to my actual fermentation. So I was thinking I'd let my ...
3
votes
5answers
658 views
Warming up a demijohn / carboy
As a continuation to my previous question about a very slow fermentation of sloe wine, I think my demijohn is just too cold where it is. I haven't taken readings - I'm still fuzzy on how - but judging ...
3
votes
5answers
483 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
428 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 ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
What are some methods to increase extraction efficiency and consistency?
I've got some irregular sugar extraction efficiency problems. My efficiency is regularly low. I need your help. :) I get anywhere from 60% - 85%.
I've fine tuned my mill to the best of my ability, so ...
15
votes
4answers
5k views
How to add fruit to beer
What is the best way to add fruit to a beer? I'm afraid boiling it will break down the fruit too much (a muslin bag could fix this I guess), but I'm not sure how to add it to the fermenter without ...
11
votes
2answers
611 views
How do I make a Yeast Starter?
I know I should be using a Yeast Starter so that I can make sure I have enough, healthy yeast, but I've never managed to go around to it.
How would I start a yeast starter? How long before brewday ...
6
votes
5answers
1k views
How are 10-gallon batches commonly fermented?
Currently I brew 5-gallon all-grain batches using my propane burner and 7.5-gallon brew pot. I've been considering buying a bigger pot and building a bigger MLT to do 10-gallon batches, but I'm not ...
14
votes
4answers
1k views
How can I avoid a lot of foam in the first pint from the keg?
Whenever I go to get a pint from the keg, the first pint is always foamy. I have to fill the glass up about 1/3 of the way and dump it out, just to the pour actual beer. I usually carbonate by ...
8
votes
3answers
531 views
Is There A Way To Get Root Beer Taste/Smell Out Of Kegging Equipment?
I've since learned better, but when I first got my kegging setup, I put root beer on one of the lines. After that keg was empty, I decided to put soda water in instead. Unfortunately, the root beer ...
