All Questions
2
votes
1answer
79 views
Spigot broke on primary fermentation bucket
After 6 days in primary I went to move bucket and the spigot broke. Managed to keep it in place while attaching a hose and transferring the wort. There was a ring around the top of the bucket where ...
2
votes
2answers
73 views
How much ginger should I add to my mead?
I'm using this recipe for a start
http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?showtopic=6114 (Joe Mattioli's Ancient Orange and Spice Mead)
1 gallon batch
3 1/2 lbs Clover or your choice honey or ...
1
vote
2answers
117 views
What effect does adding flaked corn to a recipe have?
I've been taught to look down on breweries that use corn in their beer, because it's a cheaper ingredient, and obviously men would never put corn in their beer.
That being said, why would you put ...
13
votes
4answers
2k views
How to Properly Oxygenate Wort
How much oxygen do I need to put into my wort?
I've heard that homebrewers need to aerate with an oxygen stone and either aquarium pumps or oxygen. Is this true, or is shaking my carboy enough to ...
0
votes
1answer
80 views
Can Lalvin EC-1118 be reused?
I'll make a cider with Lalvin EC-1118, but I want to know if there's a chance to harvest the yeast cake after fermentation. Normally, I don't have problems reusing ale yeast, but this champagne yeast ...
5
votes
4answers
141 views
Quality difference between LME and DME
Is there any quality difference between the two? Dry malt extract is way more convenient for me, but are there any downsides? Can I use just DME (and no liquid malt extract) with no problems in some ...
1
vote
1answer
54 views
What activity to expect when fermenting a lager?
I have a lager in primary fermentation, with the temp in the fridge around 10C. The fridge smells of fermentation and the bubbler is not level, but I have not seen a single bubble escape from the ...
5
votes
4answers
206 views
how much air would I need to move to be able to brew in my basement?
I currently brew in my garage but everything that I need is in the basement, so I was wondering if it would be reasonable to think about power venting the fumes, and therefore to CO outside to make it ...
21
votes
4answers
592 views
Open-Fermented or Native Yeast Beers
I've always been very careful about control and sanitation with beer. But with my wine I do some native yeast Pinots, and some friends of mine are into the same with beers- they like funky, ...
0
votes
1answer
53 views
What materials are good for mashing/boiling container
What material are good for mashing/boiling. I think stainless steel and copper are good, what about aluminum and enamel?
6
votes
1answer
112 views
Can BIAB be scaled down to tiny batches?
I just watched a Brewing TV epsiode on brewing-in-a-bag (BIAB). They took 7lb (3.2KG) of grains, and 5 US Gallon (19 Litres) of water. After mashing they had 4 US Gallons (15 Litres) of 1.052 gravity ...
2
votes
2answers
86 views
Aroma and flavor
Maybe it is just because I am not a native Wnglish speaker, but I do not exactly know the meaning of those two words. What do aroma and flavor mean, what do they refer to and what is the difference ...
3
votes
3answers
616 views
Per-bottle priming tablets?
The "Why is our beer not carbonating?" question mentions "sugar tablets". I am aware of a product called "prime tabs", but as far as I can tell that product is not longer being produced.
I have used ...
3
votes
2answers
143 views
Rescuing a weak lager fermentation
I'm currently fermenting a spiced dark lager with an original gravity of 1.064. I began fermentation 2 weeks ago today with a White Labs 830 yeast that I made a starter with. The yeast was a bit old, ...
0
votes
2answers
55 views
Fermentation #2
So earlier I had mentioned the broken spigot on my primary that I managed to siphon into a glass carboy. It had been in primary for 6 days . Earlier I noticed that there was about an inch & 1/2 of ...
3
votes
3answers
575 views
Beer not carbonating
I'm having issues with my Belgian Tripel not carbonating. There is a small amount of sediment in the bottles, and I get a hiss when they're opened, but that's about it. It's gotten cold in Virginia ...
5
votes
4answers
231 views
Small Space & Apartment Brewing: Cellaring
Given the limited space of an apartment, where do you store your homebrew before drinking?
Do not consider budget to be a factor.
This is the eighth question in a series of discussions about ...
2
votes
1answer
158 views
How to make a beer which is quickly ready to drink
I guess anyone doing beer is impatient to taste his "creation", and I sometimes have less patience than average.
What beer (I prefer ale) could I brew to have it ready to drink as soon as possilbe?
4
votes
1answer
58 views
Disconnecting a keg
I have a mobile bar business and wanted to add draught beers to our menu. I am a layman with regards to this but I understand how the basic system works using a CO2 (or 70/30 CO2 & Nitrogen) and ...
5
votes
2answers
171 views
Will Jalapeno or Habanero peppers adversely effect yeast
I have a recipe in front of me for a Saison of the spicy variety. It calls for the addition of one Jalapeno pepper, seeds included. First off, I do enjoy a fair amount of spice (far more than anyone ...
7
votes
2answers
94 views
How to affect the color of head
Is there a particular way to manipulate a grain bill to change the color of the head of a beer? Ie if you want an off-white head in an RIS as opposed to a brown head?
5
votes
12answers
924 views
Best beer to brew that will last a long time
I have just started brewing so I apologize for my stupidity. My nephew was just born today and I want celebrate by brewing a batch and storing it until his 21st birthday. I think it would be cool to ...
3
votes
2answers
64 views
BJCP Category for a Black Witbier
After seeing that Guinness was making a black lager I decided that I wanted to try to make a darker version of a lighter colored beer. Having recent success with a Witbier I decided that it would be a ...
3
votes
2answers
103 views
Oxyclean safe inside the bottle
I just bought some oxyclean to remove labels from a lot of bottles. What I do to remove the labels is: put the bottles standing in the bucket, fill each bottle with water, and then fill the bucket ...
4
votes
2answers
149 views
Can I use nylon stockings as a hop-bag in wort?
I was thinking of using some nylon stockings as a hop-bag for dry hopping in my fermentor. Are they safe to use or will they be degraded by the wort?
13
votes
7answers
3k views
Is it OK to starting fermentation while wort is still warm?
I'm just getting started, so in my first couple batches I realized I had a problem cooling the wort all the way down to 60°F/16°C recommended by my instructions. I boil all of my water, but I don't ...
5
votes
5answers
4k views
Under-carbonated bottled beer
I just opened up a couple bottles of a brown ale I just brewed, and there is much less carbonation then I had hoped. The beer was in the primary for a week, secondary for 3 weeks, then primed and ...
0
votes
2answers
651 views
Will refrigeration help carbonate my beer?
After two weeks of bottle conditioning at about 55-60°F (13-16°C), my beer is still a bit flat. I put a few in the fridge and after 2 days, they tasted just as flat. At this point, what should I do? ...
6
votes
1answer
636 views
Can I bottle condition / carbonate my Hefeweizen at “room” temperature (74-78 degrees)?
My first brew is almost ready for bottling. Winter is pretty much non-existent where I live, so "room temperature" is typically between 74°F and 78°F (23°c to 26°c).
I was planning to leave the ...
2
votes
1answer
107 views
Off flavor of kegged Wheat beer
I brewed an AG wheat beer and used WLP351 as the yeast for this. Let it sit in the primary for near two weeks (66°F/19°C) and I did do a secondary on it for about another weak to try and decrease the ...
2
votes
2answers
174 views
Is there a way to protect beer from freezing in a garage with no electricity
I would like to run a few brews back-to-back to build up a stock of beer. However, I would not be able to store all of the bottles in my house and would be forced to place them in the garage. My ...
2
votes
1answer
138 views
Will this Pilsner technique work?
I want to brew the Brewers Best Continental Pilsner with the given equipment and parameters that I have, which is not much. My basement is averaging 40-45°F (4-7°C) degrees which I think should be ok ...
9
votes
4answers
2k views
Alpha acids vs. beta acids in aging?
Can someone explain the difference in hop bitterness between alpha acids in my wort vs. beta acids bittering during aging? And is it predictable enough to plan for in recipe formulation?
4
votes
2answers
586 views
Increasing IBUs post fermentation
I have recently brewed at APA and the IBUs have come out a little on the low side. I would like to increase the IBUS slightly. I was thinking of making a hop tea and adding it straight to the keg. Has ...
1
vote
1answer
98 views
What is the recommended procedure for bottling given this setup?
I'm a beginner. This is my second batch (and the first made from my own recipe idea). The equipment I have is the standard starter kit, made up of two large plastic buckets with spigots near the ...
0
votes
1answer
130 views
Irish Red Recipe [closed]
My friend and I are brewing 3 batches of beer for St. Patrick's Day this year. We are going to make a green pale ale, a milk stout, and we want to make an Irish Red. The unfortunate part is the only ...
1
vote
1answer
167 views
First Brew: Yellow Mold - Transfer to Carboy - Slowing of Fermentation
I brewed a batch of Pale (first solo brew) and after pitching yeast (6 hours), noticed yellow clusters of what I think was mold. I thought I had an infection, so I siphoned off, and collected ...
4
votes
4answers
1k views
How much effect does light have on fermenting beer?
If I keep my fermenting beer in my living room, should I cover it with blankets or otherwise keep it out of the light? I've seen topics on brewing referencing this, but most just settle for "why take ...
2
votes
2answers
245 views
Carbonating using table sugar
I have an IPA that is ready to bottle. I don't have any carbonation drops, so I'm considering using table sugar. Apparently 250grams for the 60 bottles of beer in the tub is about right (equivalent ...
5
votes
2answers
130 views
White mold on my corney kegs?
Iv'e got a basic beer serving fridge out in the garage, just a few taps on the front and some bottles on the door. I'm developing a problem with what looks kinda like mold, I notice it mostly on the ...
1
vote
1answer
57 views
How should I store oak cubes to be used later?
I ordered more oak cubes than I currently need from an online store, since my local store stopped carrying them.
Are there any special considerations for storing these, and is there a shelf life?
4
votes
1answer
95 views
House's furnace died while fermenting, what should I do?
I'm doing my first homebrew (using this kit), and started fermentation 6 days ago. I've kept it in my basement, which is usually around 66F. The kit's instructions just tell me to let it ferment in a ...
0
votes
1answer
76 views
Cider molding and wont go away but not getting worse?
I have three ciders going, two "spiced" ciders and one regular/standard whatever the straight apple squeezed cider ("Ryan's" brand if anyone is familiar) is called. This is my first attempt at cider, ...
2
votes
1answer
122 views
keeping the wort pump primed seems to have a learning curve
So, I bought myself a pump and a chillizilla-type chiller and a chugger pump for christmas...thanks for the christmas bonus, Boss...also, silicone tubing and stainless fittings and such to make it ...
0
votes
3answers
134 views
Would it be possible to connect a keg (or series of kegs) to a soda fountain?
Before I go converting my old refrigerator into a kegerator, I was wondering if there was a way to possible connect my keg(s) to a soda fountain? It may grate against the traditionalist tap handles, ...
2
votes
3answers
223 views
Cider fermentation stopped after only 4 days. What to do?
I bought a "Magnum Apple Cider Kit" 1.7Kg kit. Added 1 Kg of corn sugar + 300 gr brown sugar and oak chips. For the first 3 days it has been fermenting like crazy. Today (4th day) the fermentation ...
12
votes
10answers
1k views
Uses for spent grains
What are some uses for spent grains - either a few pounds from a partial mash or the 10+ from an all-grain batch - that don't include just throwing the grains away?
If your answer is to include some ...
3
votes
3answers
78 views
How to clean my my stove top?
Just finished cooking up my first batch of home brew, and during the boil I boiled over just a little bit. Now there's this dark black burned stuff all over my stove that does not want to come off. ...
1
vote
1answer
312 views
Screw dimensions for camco/reliance water heater element?
I'm planning to install a water heater element in my boiling kettle.
I have been looking at the Reliance and Camco elements but since neither is easy to get by in Finland I really need to go for a ...
2
votes
1answer
64 views
Is it normal for WY2112 to stall?
I've made three batches with the same colony of WY2112, and each one of them has exhibited the same odd behavior. I pitch a good quantity of yeast into oxygenated wort at 65 degrees F. Within 24 hours ...
