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.
4
votes
3answers
404 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 ...
8
votes
5answers
913 views
How can I fill bottles from a keg and maintain pressure
I've been kegging for awhile now, but I still haven't managed to successfully fill bottles from my kegs without losing all pressure.
I don't have a counter pressure beer filler or a Blichmann Beer ...
9
votes
2answers
1k 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 ...
21
votes
11answers
2k views
Are there any tricks for removing labels from bottles?
Some labels can be a pain to remove. I've tried soaking bottles in water with a little bit of dish soap but it doesn't really do much to break down the adhesive. What methods do you have for easily ...
5
votes
3answers
519 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?
10
votes
4answers
944 views
Should you rehydrate dry yeast?
I've read conflicting opinions on whether or not to re-hydrate dried yeast. I've had successful fermentation with dried yeast in the past but have not tried re-hydrating. Has anyone had better/worse ...
13
votes
5answers
3k views
How do I culture yeast from a commercial beer? Is it legal?
If I like the flavor profile of a yeast in a commercial beer, how would I go about culturing it?
I have some very basic lab equipment, but I can buy anything that's reasonably priced.
Also, would it ...
4
votes
1answer
413 views
Aging a naturally carbonated ale that was bottled from a keg
Okay, let's see if I can keep this question brief--I have a lot of followup questions that go with this so it may be difficult.
Background: Last year I decided to start doing an annual Birthday Brew ...
4
votes
1answer
545 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 ...
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, ...
3
votes
1answer
438 views
Small batch size brewing trub issues
Five gallon batches generate a certain amount of trub in the fermenter. However, its a relatively small percent of the total batch. I am interested in trying some 2 gallon maybe even one gallon ...
3
votes
2answers
548 views
Preparing Cherries for Secondary
A related question was asked about fruit in general but it didn't answer a particular question I have.
I have 6 pounds of fresh cherries ready for a holiday beer. I'm planning on cleaning/sanitizing ...
2
votes
1answer
98 views
Glucan rest necessary
I am brewing all-grain and have in the past always held a glucan rast when mashing. I am trying to speed up my brewing process and that rest of course slows me down quite a bit because of the heating ...
2
votes
4answers
2k views
Infusing a beer with grapefruit
I was recently at a beer festival and one of the breweries (Fulton) had a delicious pale ale that had been infused with grapefruit. I asked the brewer how they did it and he told me that the night ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Re-use the mini kegs that are used in 'Krups Beer Tender' for home brewing?
For me, these 5 liter kegs seem like the perfect device for storage as well as remaining fresh when making beer.
I understand there is a way to remove the top piece of the mini keg with some type ...
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 ...
5
votes
3answers
808 views
Cleaning out beer lines
How often do you need to clean out your beer lines when using a home draft system?
What type of cleaner do you use?
Can I leave sanitizer in the tubing when a line isn't in use?
2
votes
2answers
400 views
Checking for CO2 leaks
If you have an at home draft system, how do you check for leaks in the CO2 side of the set up? How often do you need to check for leaks?
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 ...
4
votes
5answers
525 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.
3
votes
1answer
376 views
What is a swamp cooler?
What type of equipment do you need to build one?
How do you use it?
What are the realistic expectations of using one?
3
votes
2answers
434 views
Open Fermentation Process
Can open fermentation be done simply by putting the fermenting beer in a bucket carboy and covering it with foil?
The purpose of the foil would be to just keep airborne contaminants from falling into ...
14
votes
3answers
740 views
My keg is empty. Now what?
So I kicked my first Corny keg and need to get the keg and the system cleaned and ready for another batch, which might not be ready for some time. What's my process here?
1
vote
1answer
374 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 ...
4
votes
1answer
401 views
Maturation - what does it mean?
Homebrew recipes often give information along the lines of "6-8 weeks maturation". What exactly does maturation mean here in terms of conditions? Is it the same as a secondary? Can the beer "mature" ...
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
156 views
Dispensing beers at two different pressures?
I'm working on getting a dual-tap kegerator. Is it worth it to pay the extra to dispense two beers at two different pressures? I can see dispensing a low-carbonation ESB and a high-carbonation ...
6
votes
2answers
192 views
Homebrewing: Decoction Mashing
Many beers, especially German, are produced with a method called decoction mash. In that, the rising of mash temperature is achieved each time by talking a portion of the MASH, boiling it, and adding ...
5
votes
3answers
799 views
Wyeast 1187 Ringwood Failure
I'll start by saying that I've never used liquid yeast before, so it could all be my fault... Anyway, I ordered some Wyeast 1187 Ringwood to use for a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA clone that I did on ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
Detriment of gelatin fining on flavor or aroma
Does using gelatin effect aromatics or flavor appreciably?
I was reading this post about using gelatin. I have one keg that I use as a cold conditioning vessel (sort of like secondary), and I was ...
4
votes
1answer
265 views
Use of a mash screen
I have recently had some problems with my false bottom and want to experiment with a mash screen. This might be a bit of a stupid question but I have never used one before:
Can you do the mashing with ...
7
votes
2answers
317 views
Starter and smack-packs
Is making a starter a good idea when using a larger activator pack from Wyeast?
Should you smack the packet and add it to the starter, or add it after it swells?
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 ...
7
votes
2answers
370 views
Cask beer at home
Anyone have a good source for getting smaller versions of a firkin for home use?
I am interested in casking some beer at home for parties and special occasions.
Are there any good links out there for ...
5
votes
2answers
956 views
Can I add finings after fermentation has begun?
My first all-grain batch was, er, a bit hectic. I forgot to add my Whirlfloc tablet in the last ten minutes of the boil.
I know I can use isinglass for fining at room temperature, but my brew ...
4
votes
1answer
125 views
Would you trust this starter?
I had one WLP001 vial of yeast that was only 14 days past its "best buy" date. I made a starter on a stir plate 2 full days before brewing. I got good growth as estimated by an increase in creamy ...
5
votes
6answers
756 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
3k views
12
votes
1answer
3k views
What is a hopback?
How do you use it?
What does it do?
Do you pass finished wort through it hot or cold?
6
votes
1answer
215 views
Priming still possible after bottling
I must have been really lucky with my yeasts so far but usually my beers turned out nicely carbonated without any priming. The last batch though is really flat. Is it still possible to prime in the ...
3
votes
1answer
160 views
Basic information on priming
I'd appreciate a little input on "Priming": How do you do it? Which sugars do you use? Do you use it for all your beers and if not for which ones?
8
votes
2answers
603 views
Effects of different boil intensities
What are the effects of having a super rapid crazy boil vs. a very slow, slightly rolling boil, and the different stages in between? If you're boiling 6 gallons on an electric stove or trying to do ...
4
votes
2answers
413 views
Using flakes in a mash
Do you just mix them with the grains or cook them first to get them gelatinized? What are the pros and cons of each method? What portion of the fermentables can be in flake form?
2
votes
2answers
3k views
Ale bottle conditioning temperature
For bottom-fermented beers the conditioning/storage temperature is crucial and supposed to be really low (32F / 0C). Is this the same for top-fermented beers or is conditioning / storage at higher ...
9
votes
4answers
4k views
What malt should I use to get a red beer?
So, I want to make a red beer, what is the best malt to get this color?
8
votes
3answers
297 views
Is aeration necessary if you overpitch?
We all know that aeration is necessary for yeast growth. Does it facilitate more than that? If you massively overpitch, on a previous yeast-cake for example, do you need the same amount of dissolved ...
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 ...
5
votes
2answers
661 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?
5
votes
13answers
2k views
How do you prevent boil-overs?
This is a shill question for Mark Taylor. I stumbled on his great tip about keeping a spray bottle on hand to prevent boil-overs while looking for advice on yeast re-use. The spray bottle worked ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
How do you filter at home?
I thought I'd ask this after reading Brewchez's effects of filtering question.
I personally don't filter at home, for the most part. I generally make dark beer, and people who drink my beer ...
