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.
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 ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Dry hopping without secondary fermentation
I have so far only done bottom-fermented beers without transferring into a second vessel for secondary fermentation. If I wanted to do some dry hopping with this technique, when is the best time to ...
5
votes
2answers
385 views
Brewing with veggies
This may be more of a wiki than a specific question, but has anyone ever tried brewing with vegetables? If so, what is your experience? I'm considering mostly root vegetables. carrots, beets, ...
10
votes
8answers
3k views
Sanitizing oak chips
Going to try using dry oak chips in my secondary fermenter. How do you recommend sanitizing the chips before adding them?
12
votes
5answers
5k views
What's the difference between primary & secondary fermentation?
Over here PJ asked "How do you differentiate primary to secondary if you keep it in the same bucket?"
9
votes
2answers
1k views
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?
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 ...
22
votes
2answers
607 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 ...
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 ...
4
votes
3answers
406 views
What is the proper method of pitching a starter?
What's the proper method of pitching a starter? Do I just pour the whole thing in or do I need to "harvest" a certain portion of it?
I just started using starters (.25-.5 Gallons water + 2-4 cups ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
What's the best method to catch a strain of wild yeast for homebrewing?
I'm interested in learning about brewing using wild yeast, but I wonder what is the best method to catch a strain that would produce good results in homebrewing. And of course how to ensure that it ...
4
votes
1answer
550 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
101 views
Preparing Yeast
I've been reading the How To Brew book, and it (amongst other sites) recommends rehydrating yeast before pitching it.
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html
Some sites suggest adding a ...
13
votes
4answers
1k views
Reusing yeast at home
Reusing yeast at home is something I'm incredibly interested in, but haven't found the time to learn enough about it just yet.
What are the basic steps for harvesting, cultivating, or whatever other ...
10
votes
1answer
1k views
How do you pitch additional yeast for bottling?
This is a follow on to my other question about when you would need to pitch additional yeast for bottle conditioning.
Assuming you know that you need to pitch more yeast before bottling to ensure ...
10
votes
4answers
12k views
How to grow yeast?
I have read that it is possible to grow your own yeast, but I have not been able to find exact instructions. I would like to grow my own yeast so that I don't have to spend money on those small ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
5
votes
6answers
757 views
Alternative/Non-traditional Brewing Practices
Brew in a bag.
No chill.
Olive Oil aeration substitute.
Overnight mashing.
Batch Sparging.
The list continues.
These types of techniques are great and frequent areas of discussion in the home ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
Should I ferment a new batch directly on the yeast cake generated by the previous batch?
I'm going to re-use the yeast cake from a low-gravity batch to ferment a high-gravity batch.
Can I just put the wort directly on it? Does it then need to be agitated?
Is it worth the risk of ...
3
votes
1answer
206 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 ...
8
votes
4answers
624 views
Steeping grain time
We are steeping 5# of grain. Is the time the grains should steep based on the weight? We were just going to do 30 mins. Is this the correct amount of time or should it be more or less? This is for an ...
6
votes
2answers
232 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 ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
Gelatin for clearer beer
Does gelatin work for clarifying beer? If so:
How much do you use?
When do you add it?
How do you prepare it? (Do you boil it in water? How much water to dissolve the gelatin?)
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 ...
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 ...
5
votes
3answers
526 views
How do I do a decoction mash?
I've brewed a number of all grain beers and have been reading a bit about decoction mashing. However the explanations I've read have been a bit complicated.
How do I do a decoction mash?
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
845 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 ...
9
votes
5answers
525 views
Shorter Brew Day
For all grain brewers, what part of the brew session lends itself best to shortening the total brew session. Time is tight for me these days and shortening up the brew session a bit will certainly ...
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 ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
Is there a more durable alternative to a plastic auto-siphon?
Right now I am using the standard fermtech plastic auto siphon, but it already broke and it's a pretty flimsy and poorly designed way to siphon beer (the plastic piece in the tip broke and it can't ...
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?
6
votes
2answers
307 views
Extract late with a full boil?
If you can do a full wort boil with extracts is it still beneficial to be adding extract late to avoid color changes and the like?
What would happen to hop utilization with extract late in a full ...
5
votes
1answer
187 views
Estimating Alpha Acids of Home Grown Hops
For the homebrewer that grows and harvests his/her own hops; how best can one approximate the alpha acids in the hops they have?
Is it worth it or should brewers stick to using home grown hops for ...
5
votes
2answers
662 views
What is cold steeping?
What is cold steeping specialty grains all about?
How do I do it? What does 'cold' really mean? How long does it take?
Advantages and disadvantages?
1
vote
1answer
3k views
1
vote
1answer
377 views
Brewing a braggot.
How much honey do you need to put into a beer recipe before you can really call it a braggot? I am sure the taste is largely subjective.
I want to brew a beer with 1/3 Honey, 1/3 2-row, 1/3 wheat. I ...
14
votes
7answers
334 views
Brewing with a deadline
Occasionally I need to brew beer for an event, and I procrastinate. One time, I brewed a pretty hefty IPA, and went from boil to bottle (keg, actually) in about 10 days. It was pretty malty, ...
6
votes
5answers
2k views
How long do sanitized bottles keep?
If you sanitize a bunch of bottles and store them upside down on a tree or in a box (still upside down); how long can you store them like that before you feel the need to resanitize them?
Is there a ...
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 ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
Brew day notes template [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the best brewing log sheet to use?
One of the things I'm guilty of being terrible at is note taking. I know I should keep track of temperatures, times, tastes, ...
4
votes
5answers
527 views
Cloning commercial beer
Where do you turn for good sources of info when researching a commercial beer you want to brew yourself?
Magazines, web or the brewers themselves.
