All Questions
1
vote
2answers
24 views
Sanitize the bottle capper?
When bottling, is it wise to dunk the bottle capper in sanitizing solution or is that overkill?
2
votes
3answers
37 views
Keeping beer from entering CO2 line while Carbing Keg?
So I am getting ready to carbonate my first keg! But I am worried about beer entering the CO2 line if I use the 'rock on my lap like a baby' method :)
I am worried because I tried to carbonate a ...
1
vote
2answers
47 views
How to improve freshness bottled beer?
I'm getting some sour flavors and off-aromas in my bottled beer when they have more of one month in bottle. When the beers are young, they taste really good with full aromas, but even if I stored all ...
3
votes
2answers
38 views
Does skunk off flavour go away?
Skunky off-flavours are caused by ultraviolet light causing chemical reaction that transforms alpha-acids. Once this flavour is created, does it go away with time, and if so how much time? Or will it ...
1
vote
3answers
52 views
How do I calculate how much sugar to add, for carbonation
I have a brew, that I will need to bottle soon.
But, how do I calculate, how much sugar to add, before bottling?
I'll be adding table-sugar, but I am very worried about exploding bottles.
Are there ...
0
votes
2answers
66 views
Which is the superior air-lock liquid: Vodka or Star-San?
I've had a life-long fancy for using vodka to clean sanitize and naturally use it in my air-lock.
Given that it is only 40%, however, and I live in California where pure grain alcohol is illegal, ...
1
vote
1answer
41 views
How long must an ale be conditioned in bottles outside of the fridgerator?
I bottled my first batch of beer 72 hours ago. I am under the impression that bottled beer should not immediately be placed in the refrigerator, as this would prevent the remaining yeast from ...
0
votes
2answers
62 views
What to expect from champagne yeast?
I bought a pack of champagne yeast, but not sure why, just to try it :) What differences should I expect compared to a "normal" English ale yest?
1
vote
1answer
80 views
My bottles are Conditioning underwater. Why are there bubbles on the caps on day 2 but not day 0 through 1?
On Sunday (day 0) I bottled beer for the first time (with my first batch). I asked my brother how I could determine whether or not I successfully locked the caps onto the bottles to make them ...
0
votes
1answer
40 views
How to Sterilize Bung and Hole while Maintaining a Strong Seal?
How do you sanitize and prepare a bung for stopping a carboy? While making sure that it will maintain a good seal and not POP off sometime later.
In depth
I removed and sterilized my bung and ...
4
votes
3answers
99 views
What do you get if you distill mead?
This is just out of curiosity...
I mean if you distill beer, you get whiskey... if you distill wine, you get cognac/brandy... if you distill fermented molasses, you get rum... if you distill ...
2
votes
2answers
75 views
What to brew in the summer?
What kind of beer can I brew in the summer (30C by day, a few less by night), without special cooling equipment? Anything special (but not too coplicate/expensive) I should do?
0
votes
1answer
30 views
What is the potential of rock candi sugar?
I have acquired "white belgian candi sugar" from BrewFerm, and it is in rock form. AFAIK, this is just solid invert sugar, and should have potential 46 PPG, but BrewSmith and Brewer's Friend both list ...
3
votes
2answers
64 views
Not Red but Orange: How to correct the color of an Irish Red after brewing?
Probably we used not enough of the carared, but what we can do? Is it possible to use a dark fruit extract(sour, not sweet) to correct the color in the end? And what will be the effect on taste?
5
votes
2answers
75 views
The “correct” step to add cinnamon and vanilla?
I want to experiment a bit by adding spices - I'm thinking cinnamon and vanilla - to my beer, but wonder at which step is considered the best time to add it. Personal experience is very welcome.
I ...
1
vote
1answer
21 views
Isinglass and temperature
The wine kit that I am making uses isinglass for fining and recommends storing the wine at 70 degrees during the process. In the past I've used gelatin in my beers to clear and I know that it works ...
2
votes
1answer
54 views
Fitering BIAB wort
I have recently started BIAB, and my wort is very cloudy after the boil. Much "cloud material" ends up in the fermentor, since it takes really long to settle and is easily stirred. It mostly looks ...
2
votes
2answers
80 views
How to mash quickly?
I have been using mashing procedure described by Charlie Papazian:
30' at 56C
60' at 68C
15' at 70C
mash out at 75'
It seems to work great, but it is rather long since it requires a whole two hours ...
0
votes
4answers
43 views
Measuring Cup for Batch Sparging?
What do people like in terms of heat resistant measuring cups for batch sparging? I found this one on Amazon. I was wondering if there were other options that were better.
I'm using it for ...
2
votes
1answer
48 views
Fruit Flies in Airlock. How can I Test if Mead is Okay?
In short After approximately 5.5 month my airlock full of vodka has lost 60% of its volume and now has trapped a couple dozen of fruit flies. Should I be concerned for my batch of Mead?
What methods ...
1
vote
2answers
43 views
Unusual flavourings
What are some of the weirder (successful) flavourings you have tried in your beers, and at what point would you normally add these extras?
It occurred to me the other day that basil or even rocket ...
2
votes
1answer
25 views
Effects of sugar before bottling
I've just finished my second batch of beer and am about to bottle it. I'm already happy with both ABV and how it tastes. Carbonation's not a big deal to me and it's already a tiny bit fizzy anyway, so ...
0
votes
2answers
71 views
What volume of brewer's yeast to use for yeast-nutrient-less dandelion wine?
I'm trying my first, 1-gallon batch of dandelion wine. Some recipes say "1 packet" of brewer's yeast, and mine doesn't even specify an amount. It also specifies to add "yeast nutrient," which my ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
A aroma/flavor hops taxonomy
I would like to gain some knowledge about hops and have an idea in what all those varieties differ. Is it possible to define a few categories for hops (for example based on region of origin), so to ...
2
votes
1answer
54 views
Dropped the temperature as it was getting out of control, did I shock my yeast?
Making an IPA with an OG of 1.069, we pitched at 70°F with good ol' Safale US-05, just dry out of the packet as I've always done with US-05 with good success (I tend to trust it a little too much ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
Aging full kegs out of fridge - carbonate now or later?
I just bought my first two kegs, and don't yet have a fridge set up for them. Even when I do get my fridge set up I plan to have more kegs than will fit at once. When I fill them is it better to ...
2
votes
2answers
59 views
What about grain storage?
I recently cleaned up after brewing one day and realized that I threw away a couple of four gallon water jugs. Could these be used for storing grain for long term? Would the air in the container ...
1
vote
2answers
73 views
Carbonating cider
I'm carbonating my cider in 1 gallon glass carboys and my solid rubber bungs popped off a few times so I tied them down with cable ties. Can anyone tell me if this is ok and the carboy can take the ...
0
votes
1answer
50 views
How much heat can a demijohn take?
I'm planning to serve some homemade cider, hot and mulled at a market stall in the coming weeks. I'll be siphoning out of a 23L demijohn (like this: ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
Wine and yeast “clean up”
I have now decided to try my hand at some wine making as SHMBO decided she would also like to enjoy the fruits (haha) of my hobby.
In the instructions for the kit I received (White Riesling) I was ...
3
votes
3answers
146 views
Can you mash for too long?
I'm looking at brewing an all-grain barley wine in the near future, and I'm aiming for a high ABV (13%-14% ABV). From what I've heard in discussions elsewhere, by single-infusion mashing at a lower ...
0
votes
1answer
44 views
Problems with Wyeast London Ale 1028?
I had a brew day yesterday and ran into something a little odd. I smacked a pack of Wyeast London Ale #1028 berfore I started my routine. After everything was said and done with the boil it had been ...
2
votes
2answers
79 views
Using pine in beer
I know about spruce, and pine is a really close relative, so it seems legit to me. I was planning to use the brown part in the picture, which has a really nice smell.
I would like some advices:
...
1
vote
3answers
57 views
Rubber Keg Boot Glue Recommendation
I just bought two reconditioned 5 gal pin lock kegs. When I filled them up with hot water to clean them out I noticed that the rubber boot at the top of one of them was completely loose - it's only ...
1
vote
2answers
53 views
Variations in Recycled Crown Bottles
I have noticed diffenences in bottle necks which may affect my capping.
I was merrily capping away with standard 12 oz bottles with my red baron
I decided to bottle hard cider in green bottles, ...
6
votes
3answers
122 views
Why an erlynmeyer flask?
Why is the erlynmeyer style flask the automatic go to for yeast starters? I know people use other containers besides flasks, and some flasks dont have flat bottoms but is there something special about ...
1
vote
3answers
89 views
105 Day Fermentation?
I am half dozen or so batches into my homebrewing "career" (Saison du Buff, Jasmine IPA and Midas Touch among my highlights) I found a recipe for a darker saison. I made some modifications (chocolate ...
1
vote
3answers
122 views
How to make more beer than I can boil?
I will soon need to buy some more equipment, but I want to think it a little bit what I really need to buy and in the meantime I will try some workaround.
I was thinking of brewing mash/extract ...
1
vote
2answers
51 views
hops for belgian trappist/abbey beers
I love Rochefort 10, Chimay (to a lower degree), and some other belgian beers. So I would like to try to do something similar, or just take some inspiration from them. What are the most commonly used ...
2
votes
3answers
73 views
Online hops reference
Is there any online place to get as much information as possible about hops. For example alpha and beta acids, cohumulone content, aroma progile and any other possibly useful information?
I did my ...
0
votes
2answers
83 views
Aggressive foam from Keg
For the record, I am using some storebought kegs, but figure you guys know more about all of this than I do. EDIT: I checked the internet and the couplers to the keg are of the sanke variety.
Here's ...
2
votes
1answer
57 views
Filtering using a keg and a carboy instead of two kegs
I've read that filtering requires two kegs. I've only got one corny keg but I'd like to filter my brew with a canister or plate filter. Do I risk overly oxidizing the beer if I were to filter from a ...
0
votes
1answer
62 views
Keeping pressure in secondary keg
I recently started brewing again as I was bought some new kit:
5 gallon fermenting bucket
5 gallon plastic keg with tap
This is the first time I've brewed without bottling.
I've just got my wort ...
2
votes
2answers
72 views
How to prime with maple syrup?
I'm not necessarily looking for a flavor add from the maple, but I want to carbonate my beer with some pure Vermont maple syrup that my brother harvested and prepared.
I'm comfortable with the ...
7
votes
2answers
85 views
How to train my nose for hop aromas?
I oftes see videos where people describe (what I believe is hop-related aroma) with words like spicy, floral, citrusy, etc., but for me it is very hard to get (and to tell apart) any of this. So what ...
1
vote
2answers
80 views
Well carbonated, but no head
I've tried looking for duplicates to this question, but can't quite find a single question that covers it, so here goes (pls let me know if I've missed one)
Last night I tasted the first bottle of my ...
3
votes
1answer
125 views
How little light can spoil a beer?
I build a fermentation chamber that has a small computer fan that is equipped with tiny blue led lights. Is it only UV light that can skunk a beer? What would the effect of this frequently run fan ...
3
votes
2answers
123 views
What is the benefit of long fermentations/leaving beer on yeast for weeks?
I know the 'general' answers: "it allows the yeast to 'clean up' compounds", "it allows the beer to 'condition'", "it allows the flavors to come together", none of which I am satisfied with.
My ...
2
votes
2answers
102 views
Do commercial breweries mash every day?
I guess it depends on how the brewery is organized, but I am mostly referring to small breweries. Since the fermentation takes several days (and will keep equipment busy for several days) and ...
1
vote
2answers
77 views
Gravity going down during boil. How can it happen?
Can you think of any scenario (apart from errors of the measurement tools) where gravity actually goes down during boil. Normally, due to the loss of water, gravity should always go up. During our ...
