All Questions
6
votes
4answers
4k views
Adding potassium metabisulphite (i.e. sulfites) to prevent oxidation?
Winemakers often add potassium metabisulphite to the finished product for two purposes: To prevent further yeast growth (so that they do not eat the remaining sugars) and as a preservative, to prevent ...
6
votes
3answers
688 views
What are some ways to make low-carb beer?
I and a few friends have dabbled with the various "low carb" diets. But I've found that after a while, you don't want to break the diet, but just want a beer.
What are some ways to make a beer ...
6
votes
2answers
735 views
Refractometer - what exactly can it measure?
I am using a refractometer to determine gravities. I am aware of course that values measured need to be corrected depending on OG of the fermenting batch. What I don't know is, what kind of sugars am ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
Lager bottle conditioning temperature
After adding priming sugar and bottling a lager, does the temperature need to be raised (if so, for how long) to ensure carbonation?
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Amount of Water to Boil for Wort
If I'm making a 5 gallon batch of beer, how much water should I use for my wort? Papazian's book says to use 1.5g and add it to 3.5g of room temperature water already in the carboy. I see how this ...
6
votes
2answers
233 views
I want to make a Rauchbier. How do I go about smoking my grain?
I've never made a Rauchbier before. I have some pear wood that I've been curing for about 5 months now and would like to use. I've got an all-grain setup, but no smoker; I suppose I'll need to get ...
6
votes
5answers
637 views
Should I always use a starter?
I like using a starter because it seems like it cuts down on the fermentation time, but do I really need to do it for beers that are under 1.070 OG?
5
votes
3answers
193 views
How do I start experimenting?
Ok, I've become comfortable brewing all grains but I want to start experimenting. Where do I start? Should I start experimenting at the primary fermentation stage and brew a bunch of small different ...
5
votes
2answers
145 views
Experimenting, Priming Sugars
I've got a 3 gallon batch of bourbon dubbel fermenting, recipe calls for priming with maple syrup, I'm thinking of siphoning off .5 gal to prime with honey and .5 gal to prime with black treacle.
...
5
votes
3answers
594 views
What is the best way to flavor beer with Oak?
Background:
I've purchased some lovely dark roasted oak chips that I plan on soaking in bourbon and using to flavor an Irish Red.
Friends of mine who have seasoned their beer on oak chips claim that ...
5
votes
4answers
237 views
Weighing Liquid Malt Extract
In Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainasheff, many of the recipes call for LME. Often, the amount is 0.5 lbs or similar, particularly of things like Munich extract. I typically brew all-grain, but ...
5
votes
3answers
552 views
At what stage of the fermentation process is temperature control most important?
I've been using a fridge w/thermostat to control fermentation temperature for ~6 months now & have recently started dual-purposing the fridge for a keg as well. Since serving & fermentation ...
5
votes
1answer
467 views
Is it ever unsafe to drink an aged beer?
I am new to brewing, my first batch is in secondary now. This is more of a curiosity question. Is there a point when an aged beer becomes a health risk? If so what are the signs of spoilage?
5
votes
1answer
266 views
Does Irish Moss expire?
I've only bought one bag of Irish Moss in at least 2 years. It's so cheap but is there really any need to replace it?
5
votes
4answers
803 views
What is this white stuff on the surface of my beer?
I've just gone to rack & bottle a witbier that has been in primary for about 5 weeks and noticed this white gunk floating on top of the beer.
It doesn't look too healthy, what is it? Is it safe? ...
5
votes
6answers
702 views
What is the purpose of dry hopping in intervals (multiple additions)?
What would be the purpose in adding dry hops, then removing them prior to adding a second, even third addition, rather than simply putting all the dry hops in at the same time?
If the answer has to ...
5
votes
1answer
1k 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
544 views
What is skunking?
Doing a bit of reading about the effect light can have during fermentation & came across the term 'skunking'.
What is skunking? What happens to the beer and how do you know if you've skunked a ...
5
votes
1answer
198 views
What causes wort darkening in the kettle?
What reaction is happening in the wort to cause darkening? Maltose for example doesn't caramelize until 365F. Maillard reactions are another source of non-enzymatic browning, but they require low ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
What happens if a beer gets oxidized?
Everywhere I read it is very cautious about oxidizing your beer. What is the worst case if your beer gets oxidized? It tastes funny?
5
votes
2answers
270 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)?
5
votes
2answers
860 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 ...
5
votes
4answers
3k views
What kind of infection is this and is the beer ruined?
Picture of Infection
This is my first all-grain batch and unfortunately it has developed some kind of growth. It didn't smell like death, actually smelled pretty good, and the samples I have been ...
5
votes
3answers
725 views
Why would I want a conical fermenter?
I've seen conical fermenters in catalogs and on the web, but I've never heard why they are better than fermenting in a glass carboy.
Why would I want to use a conical instead of a carboy?
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Immersion chiller or counter-flow chiller?
Based on your actual experience with each, what are the pros and cons of the two most common types of wort chillers - immersion and counter-flow? Which do you prefer?
5
votes
2answers
408 views
Keeping a barrel
Our club acquired a 65 gallon American oak wine barrel that we want to age beer in. With the holidays upon us it will be a few more weeks before we can organize a club brew and the barrel is standing ...
5
votes
9answers
740 views
Spigots: What's the consensus
I like to use an ale pail with a spigot for my secondary. It makes it super easy to test the gravity before actually bottling/kegging/etc.
However, that sort of installation in plastic can open the ...
4
votes
4answers
164 views
Would placing the fermenter tank in a tub of water be a good way to handle hot environments?
Summers where I live typically have 80F nights and it can easily pick up to 95 degrees during the day.
I have a plastic trash can (which I bought for this purpose) that I have filled up with water. ...
4
votes
1answer
179 views
How much does gravity typically drop after high krausen
I have two fermenters going with about a cup of slurry of S-04. Pitched Sunday morning at 61 degrees ambient, they were showing activity within 5 hours, vigorous activity within 12 hours. Went to ...
4
votes
1answer
165 views
Accidental steam beer, temp control and diacetyl
I brewed a 16-gallon batch of my Lawnmower Lager, popped it into my Brewhemoth and inoculated it with 3 packets of Saflager S-23. My chilling solution isn't working as well as I'd hoped, and it's ...
4
votes
4answers
403 views
Yeast , dead or alive?
G'day , how long after the fermentation has finished does the yeast live ? I am curious because not only is it the cost of the yeast but if you find a particular strain and you like the taste ( ...
4
votes
3answers
641 views
Concerns with brewing indoors
Are there any particular safety or damage concerns with brewing in a basement? Things I'm thinking of are damage from moisture, possible fire or maybe gasses emitted from the propane tank.
I've seen ...
4
votes
4answers
928 views
Salvaging flat beer?
I recently brewed a Schneider Aventus clone and the end result was a flat beer. I missed a step in the instructions to add a fresh dose of yeast a few days before bottling so I'm assuming that this is ...
4
votes
3answers
165 views
Referment after Adding Priming Sugar
So I accidentally grabbed the wrong fermenting carboy today, this one started fermenting 3 days ago, but already has a gravity of 1.010 (it got a little warm up to 78F).
Before we noticed it was the ...
4
votes
1answer
315 views
I think I ruined my first brew
After years of finding excuses to not home brew, I finally gave in and bought a starter kit from Brewers Best and ingredients for my first batch; Muntons Connoisseurs Export Pilsner.
Anyway, it's ...
4
votes
1answer
232 views
How to garde a Biere De Garde?
Biere De Garde recipes seem to generally recommend a period of 4 to 6 weeks of cold storage, essentially lagering. My brewing experience consists solely of fermenting ales, so this is somewhat ...
4
votes
2answers
272 views
Is RTD beer susceptible to any damage from temperature fluctuations?
I've got a fridge set up in my garage loaded full of delicious home brew, all ready to drink. To save on power, I'd like to only turn it on when I need it, say once a week or once a fortnight.
Could ...
4
votes
3answers
923 views
Beer calculators and batch/boil size with late fermentable additions
It seems to me that the calculator that I have been using for my recipes (Beer Calculus) allows me to change my batch size, but does not let me adjust WHEN I add my fermentables, as to allow for ...
4
votes
3answers
868 views
Brewed an Oatmeal Stout and the gravity did not drop as much as predicted, should I re-pitch or add yeast nutrients/energizer?
I just brewed an oatmeal stout see recipe details here and I have a question about missing Orignal and/or Final gravities.
The OG was supposed to be 1.061 and the FG 1.016. I brewed and got an OG or ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
Ginger Beer recipe
Reeds Ginger Beer is one of my favorite non-alcoholic fizzy-drinks... just curious if anyone has a recipe for brewing something similar.
Also, what's the brewing process like? Similar to beer, or ...
4
votes
2answers
731 views
Campden Tablets to Control Final Sugar Content
I've used Campden tablets per a recipe for cider to prepare the unpasteurized cider before pitching yeast, but recently came across the following in Wikipedia:
Campden tablets are also used ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
90-minute boil for pilsner malt?
On the "Belgian Blond Ale" episode of the Jamil Show (podcast) it was said that you should do a 90-minute boil because of the pilsner malt.
Can someone explain this further?
4
votes
3answers
516 views
Can extract brewing achieve professional results?
I was recently on vacation and I toured a brewpub in the Chicago area. I was surprised to find out that they are extract brewers. Is this common practice for small brewpubs? Would this place a ...
4
votes
2answers
418 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?
4
votes
4answers
6k 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
534 views
Can I use my Country Living Grain Mill for homebrewing?
I already own a Country Living Grain Mill for making flour and want to start crushing my own grain for my homebrew. Will this style of mill work for homebrew or should I buy a mill specially for ...
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 ...
3
votes
1answer
53 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
178 views
Is my beer contaminated?
I just finished fermenting a brew and I forgot to remove the blow off tube which is a tube sitting in a 500 ml bottle of water. So when I started sucking beer out of my fermenter, I sucked all the ...
3
votes
5answers
207 views
How to keep sugar from fermentation and carbonization?
We want to made sweet low ABV cider. How to do that?
I understand that yeasts are dying somewhere between 10 and 15% ABV but we want our cider to be between 2 and 5% ABV. We can interrupt ...
