Questions tagged [troubleshooting]

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6 votes
1 answer
4k views

What is the white film on my beer in my bottles?

I brewed a double batch of IPA with a buddy about 8 weeks ago. We split this into two 5 gallon pails and 2 weeks later into two carboys. His was fine, but mine developed a bit of white stuff on ...
0 votes
0 answers
55 views

Weird taste and smell after heating

So I'm making high ABV alcohol with just plain sugarwash, high alcohol yeast and freeze distilling. I added chitosan and kieselsol(turbo cleaner) to clear it before freeze distilling but my yeast was ...
2 votes
0 answers
573 views

Grainfather Glycol Chiller

A home brewing group I am with has a Grainfather Glycol Chiller. It has been working fine until yesterday. We turned it on and we had an issue. The pump is working and circulating but the chiller is ...
4 votes
2 answers
3k views

How do I get larger bubbles in my finished beer?

I keg and force carbonate, and my beer has really fine bubbles. Is there something that I can do (turn up the pressure, maybe) that will give me larger, coarser bubbles in the finished beer? Thanks!
9 votes
2 answers
5k views

Tasting my uncarbonated beer: Bitter.

OK, so I'm now bottling my first batch. I opened the primary fermenter (did not use a secondary) and I've racked the beer to the bottling container. It smells hoppy and delicious. I'm pleased. I ...
3 votes
2 answers
67 views

Help! Brewed same IPA recipe multiple times and this time not as hoppy!

I have brewed this recipe multiple times and has always turned out great, well balanced with bitterness, flavor and aroma. This time it is showing low IBU's even though I used same hop schedule and ...
4 votes
3 answers
4k views

Should I stir this (possibly stuck) batch or not?

First time brewing, made a lot of mistakes and now I'm concerned that my fermentation is stuck. Am I just being paranoid or impatient? Six days ago brewed this stout recipe: 6.6 lbs Briess "...
11 votes
8 answers
27k 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 ...
1 vote
1 answer
199 views

Floating fibres in Bochet mead

I made a Bochet style mead (burnt honey mead) and it's spent about a week bubbling away, but there's some strange fibrous floaties that I've never seen before, circulating around the must. They ...
3 votes
2 answers
196 views

Hazy beer with new braumeister

I've just purchased a 20 litre braumeister and have done two batches with it so far. Prior to the braumeister I used a 3 vessel RIMS. After fermentation had completed I'd transfer it to a secondary, ...
3 votes
2 answers
11k views

How to raise pH (or lower acidity) of mead

I have a mead that I think has too high of an acid level. I am looking for ways to raise the pH or lower the acidity1. Roughly 7 months ago, I made a 5 gal batch of mead. The original fermentation ...
13 votes
3 answers
8k views

Corny keg that won't hold pressure.

I have a corny keg that won't hold pressure unless it's kept at constant pressure at around 10 - 15 psi which apparently is enough to compress the seal against the opening of the keg enough to stop ...
2 votes
2 answers
158 views

Have I ruined my brew before I even begin?

I've a question. Have I ruined my brew? I sterilised everything as normal. Got my 2 litres of boiling water and added the contents of my coopers Australian pale ale to it mixed it up with the spoon. ...
0 votes
1 answer
191 views

I am having trouble finding 1/2" inside diameter hose barb fittings to feed my Chugger pump

Where can I buy a " 1/2" NPT female x 1/2" ID hose barb " with a true 1/2" inside diameter? My Chugger pump requires a minimum of 1/2" feed to eliminate cavitation.
0 votes
1 answer
489 views

Troubleshooting a stuck fermentation with Ringwood Ale

I'm brewing an IPA using Wyeast 1187 (Ringwood Ale) and it seems stuck. I'm brewing 19L (5G) with an OG of 1.052 and pitched two (smacked) smackpacks of 1187 straight into the primary bucket. I used ...
1 vote
2 answers
932 views

Will my airlock problem ruin my wine?

I'm brewing a Barolo wine which is now stabilizing in a carboy with a bubble airlock fitted, the water from the airlock is being drawn into the carboy. Is this normal ? If not how can I stop this ? ...
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Sediment in bottled elderflower wine

Hi Last year for the first time ever, I made Elderflower wine in September for our daughters wedding March 2014. I've left it alone since bottling it, however I've noticed there is sediment at the ...
4 votes
2 answers
6k views

help: Beer smells bad

This is my 4th batch (I'm new), but first Belgian ale. Kit from here: http://www.midwestsupplies.com/flat-tire.html I also did another batch at the same time (different kit) and it seems fine and ...
6 votes
2 answers
6k views

Why would OG be significantly higher than predicted?

I know there are several questions on the forum about OG being lower than predicted. Please bear with me though. I'm at a loss. I just brewed a straightforward extract wheat beer recipe. The ...
6 votes
4 answers
8k views

Recover a brew that quit fermenting after I moved to secondary fermenter

I started my first batch of beer, a "Nut Brown Ale", 2 weeks ago. Its initial gravity was 1.040. As per the instructions, I siphoned the beer into the secondary fermenter (a glass carboy) after two ...
3 votes
3 answers
214 views

Different OG than predicted

Just brewed a batch, and my OG reading is significantly different (1.051 as opposed to 1.070) than what Beercalculus.com predicted based on my recipe. Is there any possible reason for this that ...
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Low gravity reading after one week

My first home brew batch has been in the primary fermentation for one week and the gravity reading has dropped from 1055 to 1008. Is it going down too quickly? 4 kg pale ale malt 0,5 kg crystal malt ...
1 vote
1 answer
551 views

Batch not carbonated/off flavor a week after bottling

What does a home brew taste like if it is contaminated? I just bought a home brew kit about a month ago that came with a recipe for an Irish Red Ale. My beer has been bottled now for a week and upon ...
11 votes
5 answers
12k views

What would cause yeast to fail to flocculate?

I am using WLP002 - English Ale Yeast - in my current batch, a Young's double chocolate clone. According to the manufacturer's product page, this yeast is highly flocculant. The beer remained in the ...
5 votes
1 answer
164 views

Can an under-target and under-volume wort be fixed by adding more wort of higher gravity?

Here's the situation: today I brewed a Kölsch style ale, and I encountered two problems: The mash wasn't very efficient: 60% instead of 70%. OG 1.038 instead of 1.045. It came in under-volume: 4.5gal ...
4 votes
2 answers
285 views

New brewer, question about state of beer prior to bottling

Tomorrow is the Big Bottling Day. I snuck a peek about a week ago and took a hydro reading, and all is well I believe. I took another peek today (14 days in) just to make sure I'm not about to bottle ...
2 votes
2 answers
248 views

Fermentation Process

Good Evening Folks, Well...my first batch seemed to go pretty well. Within 24 hours it was bubbling pretty good. Now 72 hours later, the bubbling has become very slow I'm talking one bubble every ...
4 votes
1 answer
3k views

Can I compensate for pitching too much yeast?

I just pitched a whole 35mls vial of White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast into a 1 gallon batch of brown ale wort. I only intended to pitch half of the vial, but my brain turned off at exactly the ...
4 votes
4 answers
2k views

Bad "Canned Meat" smell after bottling, and briefly mid-fermentation

I've had an ongoing problem for the last several months that never used to happen: My brew smells pretty normal during fermentation, except midway through, it changes from the normal US-05 yeast ...
3 votes
3 answers
2k views

Forgot 1 piece to a 3 piece airlock, is this recoverable?

Last weekend I brewed my first batch of beer. I ordered the kit back in April because there was a Groupon and stuck the yeast in the fridge until I needed it. Its been a week and I haven't seen any ...
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

Pitched unnecessary 2nd round of yeast - what will be the effects?

First off, a bit of background: This is my 3rd batch of homebrew so I am new to this. I'm using the following: Morgan's Golden Saaz Pilsner can of goo, Fermentis Saflager s-23 yeast and a brew ...
9 votes
3 answers
10k views

How do I achieve a nuttier flavor?

My most recent batch I tried almond extract, but I'm not getting the nuttiness I expected. I've heard using different malts can get different nutty flavors but how can I get a rich nutty flavor?
6 votes
4 answers
2k views

Need help with my 1st IPA recipe

I've got a couple extract (kits) batches under my belt and now want to venture out into the unknown and create my own recipe. The following is what I've come up with after doing a bit of research. I'...
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

Crust on inside of Fermentor?

Ok. Day three into brewing my first ever batch of brew. It is an American Amber Ale from a kit. Moved it to the glass carboy and its been in there for 3 days. It bubbled like crazy the first two days ...
3 votes
2 answers
837 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?
4 votes
2 answers
436 views

Rust in a plastic fermenter?

I've got a 6 gallon plastic fermenter - one of those food-grade plastic buckets Midwest gives you in the starter kit. I guess after our last brew, my brother and I carelessly tossed the remains of our ...
8 votes
2 answers
6k views

How to troubleshoot flat beer?

Since I started brewing in January, every single batch (6 so far) has come out flat. I've had a couple come good after a few months in the back of the garage but for the most part, it's all flat. At ...
5 votes
2 answers
243 views

What would make my gravity increase?

I have a cider that i have been fermenting for almost two weeks. I took a reading about four days ago and it was 1.005, we decided it was about time to bottle. Then last night when we got around to ...
2 votes
1 answer
264 views

My latest batch of Must had half a dozen floating spots and low sediment, what happend?

Sequence of Events: March 21st - Boiled water and honey and placed in sanitized plastic bucket with airlock (containing sanitary solution: Iodophor). Bucket placed in basement to cool overnight. ...
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

Letting the gas out of a keg

I'm new to this homebrewing, made a mistake and wondering the consequences of my actions. I have just completed the first week of fermentation and now have moved over to a plastic keg supplied with ...
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

should i keep my carboy at current fermentation temp after moving from 75F+ to 68F?

I brewed an amber ale kit on Sunday (my second time brewing at all). Using white labs wlp008. I left the carboy upstairs and the fermentation was very rapid and extremely active for two days reaching ...
2 votes
1 answer
547 views

My cider stopped fermenting after it accidentally got opened and darkened in color

I am making a Pom Cider and the bubbler cap got taken off my cider, 2 days later it has stopped fermenting and is darkening in color. Is it done? Is is bad? Can I fix it? Thanks ~~J
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Wine overflowed through airlock

I've had two demijohns of blackberry wine fermeting for about 3 weeks. One of them was slightly over filled and frothed through the airlock, leaving winey yeasty liquid in the airlock. Rather than ...
8 votes
3 answers
1k views

Pellet Hops spilled out of bag in secondary. Advice?

My hop bag came undone in my secondary while dry-hopping and now I have pellet hops directly in my beer. What is the best way to filter out the hops for bottling?
2 votes
1 answer
643 views

What are the symptoms of poor aeration?

I made a beer over a month ago. Rather than taking 3-5 days to ferment, it took over 20. After fermentation finished, I took a gravity reading and it fell from 1.040(ish) to 1.010(ish)... Primed, ...
5 votes
1 answer
515 views

Fermenator Question(s)

After 20 years of fermenting in glass carboys, I recently dove in and bought a Blichmann Fermenator. I Scrubbed it according to the docs that came with it, and then gave it my usual BTF soak and air ...
2 votes
2 answers
914 views

What can happened in a wheat beer with a lot of foam?

Me and my friend made a hefeweizen a time ago and this beer had a strange behaviour, when we open the bottles the foam grows up fast until get out of the bottle. The beer is ok, in fact it tastes ...
6 votes
2 answers
776 views

Scottish Ale - is it supposed to taste like fire?

Just yesterday I opened up my first stage fermenter to transfer my Scottish ale to it's second stage. First of all...it looked like toxic waste. Second of all...I smelled it and it literally singed my ...
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why does my brew look cloudy

i took a reading of my brew and the hydrometer is reading 1.010, it smells great to me but the beer looks cloudy not clear can someone help plzzzz
8 votes
4 answers
25k views

Ale Fermentation Temp. Too Cold?

Recently, I've had a streak of hot fermentations. My primary vessel nears 80º, and sometimes more. With my latest batch, I've moved to a much cooler part of the house. I expect it to consistently ...