All Questions
1
vote
1answer
37 views
Flat beer. Not enough priming sugar?
I'm new to this blog and brewing. Recently i put down my first Coopers Real Ale. All went well, great flavor but flat to very slight carbonation in bottles.
1.5 tsp in 1250ml and .5 tsp in 750ml ...
1
vote
2answers
47 views
Stir fruit in cherry wheat?
My first fruit beer... I have just racked a wheat beer base onto a secondary of food blended frozen cherries. Am I ok to give this a bit of a stir now and again? Im aware introducing too much oxygen ...
1
vote
0answers
27 views
Wine Brewing on Lees (Sur lie)
I have recently learned about Light Lees Protocol and was wondering if someone would be able to relate some practical anecdotal experience.
Is there a substantial difference in quality if you ...
3
votes
0answers
46 views
interesting formation in fermenting beer
Anyone have a clue what these formations are in my Kolsch style beer? Been in secondary for about 3 weeks due primarily to lazyness. I cleared with gelatin about two weeks ago and it's nice and clear ...
0
votes
1answer
29 views
Brewing with a concentrated wort
I'm living in a condo with no outdoors space and a mere 12" clearing on my stovetop. One-gallon all-grain batches are easy, but I'm trying to figure out some logistics for going larger... aside from ...
2
votes
1answer
38 views
no carbonation and a few bottle-bombs
I bottled about a month and a half ago. Every bottle I tried has had no carbonation. But I just opened up a bottle and it was over carbonated, and it almost exploded out of the bottle. I had this ...
1
vote
1answer
68 views
Why does my beer have a separate water aftertaste?
I'm new to the world of homebrewing, having completed 2 batches. Both batches have been 'recipe in a box' kind of beers from Brewer's Best. The first was an Imperial Nut Brown Ale, and the second was ...
1
vote
2answers
60 views
For a Swamp Cooler, what alternatives are there to Bleach, Vodka, and Star San?
I use a swamp cooler to keep my fermentation cool: a bucket full of water where my carboy or bucket goes in, and a t-shirt draped over the carboy/bucket with a fan pointed at it.
One room has two ...
3
votes
0answers
35 views
Can forced air be used effectively to cool a second chamber from a keezer?
Would it be possible and effective, without causing undue stress to the keezer, to temperature control a second insulated chamber? I would like to be able to control fermentation temps and/or run ...
0
votes
2answers
39 views
What are the differences between mashing and steeping grains in preparation
What is the difference between mashing and steeping grains in terms of preparation style or is "mashing" and "steeping" just word semantics?
5
votes
1answer
55 views
How might trub effect taking original gravity?
For the beer that I brewed this past weekend, I finally remembered to take an Original Gravity reading. Unlike my previous last three attempts, I actually had a little more than my target 1 gallon, ...
2
votes
3answers
126 views
How big of a Noob am I? Or, What to Do when You spill a stir-bar in your 5-gallon bucket
So 24 hours ago I made my first yeast starter, ever. I built a homemade stir plate.
Today I was feeling like a boss because of this and simply dumped the 2L flask into the 5gallon wort I spent all ...
4
votes
2answers
99 views
“White wheat” vs “wheat malt” vs “flaked wheat”?
I was looking for flaked wheat at my LHBS and they were out. My recipe called for roughly equal amounts of wheat malt and flaked wheat. The LHBS guy told me to use white wheat malt as a substitute. He ...
1
vote
1answer
56 views
Yeast Starter Vortex Size
I've read online that the size of the vortex in a yeast starter does not matter. Why is this true?
When I was experimenting with water yesterday, I created a monster vortex (very cool) and could see ...
0
votes
2answers
37 views
Total Volume of Yeast Starter in Regards to Evaporation from Boiling Wort
Today I did my first yeast starter. I purchased the 2000mL flask and DME from northernbrewer, and it came with instructions for doing both 1000mL and 2000mL batches. It suggests 1000mL for 5 gallons ...
1
vote
2answers
62 views
How do you add Red Pepper to beer?
I want to try brewing a beer infused with Red Pepper. My original idea was to infuse it with Tabasco sauce but have read about it going wrong or having a vinegar taste. Being from Louisiana I feel ...
3
votes
2answers
77 views
Effect of priming with honey
How prominent might I expect the flavors of honey to be, if used as a priming element for beer?
I am thinking about it in terms of an all-grain pale ale variation, perhaps with honey or biscuit malt ...
2
votes
1answer
47 views
bottles not fermented after 3 weeks of conditioning. Good or bad?
It's been three weeks, and my impatience has had me crack one bottle on days 7, 14, and now 20. There's no carbonation in these bottles, and it doesn't appear to be getting any better over the weeks. ...
3
votes
1answer
70 views
How long can milled grain be stored?
At the rate that I'm going, I'm doing a homebrew roughly every second weekend. (Fun!) I will end up with a small stock of hops, and yeast I can keep around in the fridge for a while if I buy a few ...
3
votes
2answers
42 views
I bought a small 1 liter CO2 gas tank for carbonating drinks, where could I start to find a regulator valve for this tank?
I need to modify this tank with a valve/pressure controler so I can use it to carbonate drinks.
Images of the tank included.
I would order online but i have no specification to get data from. What ...
4
votes
4answers
118 views
Networked/Connected Thermometer for Measuring Water in Swamp Cooler
I was hoping to put together an information system that could measure the temperature of the water in a bucket where I place my fermenting-bucket and notify my smart phone when I need to replace the ...
4
votes
2answers
102 views
Determining beer quantity when FG and weight are known
In making the assumption that given the final gravity and physical weight of beer (or any liquid for that matter), that you can find the total quantity, what is the calculation necessary for ...
1
vote
2answers
32 views
Old malt extract (liquid) for a yeast starter
So by old I'm talking maybe ten years! I was cleaning and found quite a bit of LME gifted to me with all my original homebrew equipment. I was mid-swing into the trash can when I wondered if maybe I ...
6
votes
1answer
117 views
Is this a bottle bomb waiting to happen?
Planning a strong & sweet Belgian style ale, I expected OG to be as high as 1.096. Because of my extremely amateur setup, I used two pots instead of one big one for the boil (between them both I ...
1
vote
1answer
61 views
Why did my airlock overflow?
Why did this happen?
Is this bad? Aside from wasting beer, it seems to me that this would invite infection? If it means anything, I smelled the airlock and it seemed mostly vinegar, but tasting the ...
1
vote
1answer
41 views
Non-plastic siphon tube
I know that some people say that PVC is fine for racking tubes, but I have someone who is looking for an alternative--HDPE or PP would be acceptable but not preferred. Since PVC is the only type of ...
2
votes
3answers
137 views
Too much sweetness and banana like aroma/taste
I've been brewing 6 batches of Ale and I've had problems with sweetness and banana like aroma and taste (esters probably). I think the problem is the fermentation temperature. My fermentation bucket ...
0
votes
1answer
34 views
black lager and diacetyl rest
I am doing a black lager and was wanting to do a rest. I read the instructions wrong and placed it in the secondary. Is it too late to do the rest? Is the new added oxygen going to actually make it ...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
Flowers of Wine (Problem)
Context:
I am currently working on a batch of jalapeno-cranberry wine. It's been in primary for five days so far and I am beginning to suspect I have flowers in my wine. I was not too concerned ...
3
votes
3answers
106 views
Oxidization during transfer
It has become clear that I need to practice my transfer techniques; I just completed a primary-to-secondary transfer which involved what I'm guessing is a fairly significant amount of aeration. ...
4
votes
3answers
137 views
Light & fermenting
Soooo, I know that sunlight is harmful to beer. I am bottling into brown glass, so that part is covered. But for primary fermenting, I'm using a clear glass carboy, and I'm keeping that in a closet. ...
4
votes
1answer
84 views
Why does my witbier stink?
I've searched far and wide and can't find a good answer. Seems to be a lot of talk about the sulphur smell I noticed during fermentation, but this is a bit different.
Brewed this masterpiece up and ...
2
votes
2answers
87 views
Ginger beer that lasts
I want to make a batch of alcoholic ginger beer. However, I know from past experience that one problem with ginger beer is that the bulk of the fermentation happens in the bottles, and I can't drink ...
2
votes
1answer
89 views
Yeast starter left out of refrigerator, is it OK?
I created a yeast starter from some yeast from my primary fermenter and some DME following standard steps and the fermentation looked great. However, I went on vacation and forgot to put my yeast ...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
Brewing with brettanomyces bruxellensis
I got a good deal with some White Labs yeasts, including one Brettanomyces bruxellensis (WLP650), and I really don't know how to brew with it. Should I use it only for secondary or could I made a ...
4
votes
1answer
95 views
Is cold CO2 required for proper kegerator?
I've seen most in-home kegerators have the CO2 tank and regulator inside the fridge. But I remember from my bar-working days that the CO2 tank was outside the fridge. Does this really make a ...
2
votes
1answer
57 views
convert pump tap to kegorator tap
I have a "party" pump tap. I want to convert this to use on a DIY kegerator. Can this be done? After taking the tap apart it looks pretty basic: CO2 in one side, beer out the other. I am specifically ...
1
vote
1answer
79 views
What to do with leftover hops?
Rather than tell you what hops I have leftover from my last brew, I'd like to know... are there any online resources that can suggest recipes based on what I have, similar to Cocktail Builder?
My ...
0
votes
1answer
70 views
What am I doing wrong with my Hard Cider
Ok so I'm trying to make small 1 gallon batches of hard cider. I've already created 2 batches that sucked really bad (vinegary).
I used:
First batch: (pretty obvious why this one sucked)
white ...
4
votes
2answers
103 views
Can a beer be carbonated during primary or secondary fermentation?
Is it always necessary to carbonate your beer with sugar or tablets or is it possible to get the right amount of carbonation with the primary and secondary fermentation?
1
vote
3answers
90 views
How long to dry hop, then when to bottle and taste?
For my second brewing attempt, I'm doing a Pale Ale, with this 20L
Fresh Wort Kit and US-05 yeast.
I put it in the fermenter 7 days ago, and it has remained fairly stable at 19° Celsius (66°F).
...
6
votes
0answers
61 views
Does PH affect hop bitterness?
I've always disagreed with the idea that dry hopping or late hopping added 0 IBUs to your end product. If I ever brewed a kit or recipe and followed the hop schedule exactly, it would pretty much ...
1
vote
1answer
120 views
Kegging vs. Bottling (force-carbonated), what's the difference in taste?
I'm achieving a rather bizarre sense of enlightenment and was hoping someone could explain the impact that force carbonation in a keg vs. force carbonation in a keg with eventually bottling off would ...
3
votes
2answers
64 views
Are pre-fab kegerators modifiable?
I am considering options for kegerators... on a budget. I have scoped out Craigslist, and I have seen a few pre-fabricated kegerators (not that I'm sold on going that route). Obviously, the one-tap ...
0
votes
2answers
101 views
Can I steep aroma malt
I have some Brewferm Aroma malt 150 EBC. I think normally I couldn't because it is full of unconverted starch, but I would like to do some extract beer and use a little (5-10%) of it. Will it be bad ...
4
votes
1answer
50 views
How do conventional foods effect kombucha brewing?
I would like to know how/if chemicals such as pesticides commonly found with conventional foods or even those found in tap water; how/if they affect the quality of the kombucha first or second stage ...
1
vote
1answer
47 views
“Quiescence Yeast” Or will my yeast-to-be survive a travel to the caribbean?
This is a related question, but not a usefull one to me :(
I intend to buy liquid yeast from northenbrewer (WLP099 in case you wonder) and I currently live in Venezuela, a very hot and sunny place ...
1
vote
1answer
66 views
Can one use gelatin while force carbing, or will CO2 keep gelatin suspended
New to world of finings. I figured i'd see if I could get a faster turnaround.
Right now I'm kegging, then conditioning/force carbing at the same time at 40F. Can I cold crash, then on the next day ...
1
vote
1answer
118 views
Can a keg explode?
As I read in some answers to other questions they should not explode, is it true? Why is that? Is it because they have a safety valve or just because they are very strong?
0
votes
2answers
88 views
Lager yeast fermenting at 25-30C
The summer is approaching, and I would like to make some experiments using lager yeast, just completely out of its temperature range. I guess that steam bear was made using lager yeast at higher ...
