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For questions related to warm fermentation of beer with yeast comfortable near room temperature (i.e. ale yeast).

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19
votes
5answers
31k views

Why do all my beers taste better after having aged for a couple months?

My impression is that ales are typically best drunk within a couple weeks of brew day. It's my experience that letting them age in the bottles for 2-3 months yields the best beer, both improving body, ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views

Diluting beer after 11 hours of fermentation. What to expect?

Ended up with too high gravity wort. Since I was not prepared for this I didn't have enough sterile water to dilute the wort. I ended up pitching the yeast anyway and adding sterile water at 11 hours ...
9
votes
9answers
17k views

How do I make my ginger beer SPICY?

I've made tons of ginger beer (often just like this http://ieatfood.net/2009/12/18/real-ginger-ale/ ), I've tried various different recipes, and they all come out quite nicely. But I want a ginger ...
9
votes
2answers
677 views

How do I prevent off-flavors in ciders

There's an abundance of apples this time of year (admittedly getting thinner now), and I would like to try a decent hard cider, but in the past I've had serious troubles with Cloudy results Odd ...
9
votes
2answers
4k views

What's the line between brown ale and porter?

Southern English brown ale, which I like, seems to differ from porter, which I dislike, by only a matter of degree. It just seems to be about the amount of specialty grains. Is there any other ...
8
votes
6answers
13k views

What ale yeasts can closely approximate the clean and crisp characteristics of lagers?

I'd like to brew a black lager. I don't have a temperature control setup yet, so accepting that my fermentation will be around 68-70 F, what ale yeasts would come the closest to mimicking the clean ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views

What does “a thorough diacetyl rest” mean when talking about ale yeast?

Most of my knowledge of diactyl rests come from Palmer's How to Brew, and it applies entirely to lagers. It mainly means bringing the temperature up slowly and letting the lager sit at a slightly ...
6
votes
2answers
782 views

Long cold crash for an ale. Benefit or harm?

I cold crash my ales to reduce sediment and clear the beer. My understanding is that even as little as a day would do that. But my brewing partner and I have often (due to time constraints) kept them ...
6
votes
4answers
623 views

Making a strong belgian ale

I'm pretty new to home brewing. I made a 1 gallon Belgian Ale kit which came out pretty good and then did a 5-gallon Strong Belgian Ale recipe I found on the internet which also came out pretty well. ...
6
votes
3answers
92 views

Adding extra ingredients/flavouring: what stage should I add?

I am stil fairly new to homebrewing; on my third batch of real ale now, and I wanted to experiment with adding a few extra things to my brew: some elderflowers, and miscellaneous herbs. My idea was ...
6
votes
5answers
3k views

Which strains of yeasts are the cleanest for warm/hot fermentation?

I am from Puerto Rico and the temperature here is like summer all year round(between 75 to 95*F) , and I really want to know the cleanest strains of yeasts for this kind of temperature. (clean yeast=...
6
votes
6answers
2k views

Any suggestions / stories on heather ale brewing?

I'm interested in hearing about people's experience brewing a heather ale.. from what I understand this was the predominant flavoring of beers before hops and it just seems like an interesting part of ...
6
votes
1answer
130 views

Didn't reach expected FG. Should I postpone bottling? Also: It looks weird!

I'm a newbie brewer currently trying his luck with an irish red ale kit. I've followed the instructions (which weren't complicated since it's a kit), and I've let it brew for about 6 days now (...
6
votes
2answers
748 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 ...
5
votes
3answers
287 views

Problems with sealing fermentation tank

I am new to the world of the craft beer, and new to this community too! I'm developing my first liters of beer, and so far, I have obtained results that have fascinated me! I think i will never gonna ...
5
votes
3answers
438 views

Using Maple Syrup/Sap in Brew

I am planning a Sweet Potato Ale and was toying with the idea of using maple syrup or sap. One thought was to substitute a gallon of water with a gallon of sap, if that is economically feasible. I ...
5
votes
2answers
533 views

What's the line between ale and lager?

There are several beers that blur the lines between ale and lager. Here's a few I'm aware of: Styles California Common is fermented at ale temperatures with a lager yeast, most often Wyeast 2112 ...
5
votes
2answers
565 views

Should I brew in too-warm climate or substitute the yeast?

I'm about to brew an Amber Ale (from an LHBS kit) that comes with a US-05 Safale yeast. The forecasted temperature for the next couple of weeks is likely to remain at min 20C (68F) overnight & ...
4
votes
6answers
3k views

Flat beer with table sugar?

I brewed this Ale Oktoberfest beer and I thought everything went perfectly, but the bottles are flat (have tried 4 of them) Some details: 2 weeks in the primary 1 week in secondary (5 gal carboy) FG ...
4
votes
4answers
348 views

Repitching yeast on back to back brews, which one first?

I'm brewing two beers back to back so I can reuse some White Labs California Ale (WLP001). One is a basic APA 1.058 OG and the Other is a Scottish Export/80 1.051 OG. Is there any reason I should ...
4
votes
2answers
90 views

Any hop recommendations for a single hop PA out of these options

I'm about to brew an American Pale Ale or Pale Ale. I'm only considering a single hop on this time around. Any recommendation out of these options listed below? It’s what I have left. I'd love to go a ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views

Adding graham cracker flavor to a pumpkin ale

Has anyone had any luck/experience using graham crackers in a pumpkin ale recipe? I've seen some people using graham cracker "extract" with some luck, however, I'm referring to using actual graham ...
4
votes
2answers
269 views

Unexpected flavours after bottle conditioning

Been brewing beer for a few years. In my experience, bottle conditioning introduces unintentional flavours. It makes it very hard to make anything lighter than an IPA, IIPA and barley wine. The ...
4
votes
2answers
5k views

WLP001 v. WLP051

WhiteLabs provides these two great American Ale yeast strains (among others). WLP051 (California Ale V yeast) and WLP001 (California Ale Yeast) What are the differences in these two strains and what ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views

Recipe simply calls for caramalt

Some friends and I wanted to try to recreate the brew dog Vagabond Pale Ale from their diy dog catalog. The grain bill looks as follows Pale Ale 3.38kg 7.43lb Caramalt 0.5kg 1.1lb Crystal 150 0.19kg ...
4
votes
2answers
273 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
460 views

Thick/Chunky Pumpkin Ale

I racked my Pumpkin Ale into a carboy last night and it seemed chunky or thick. Is this a product of using the Pumpkin in the brew? I siphoned as much as I could but I questioned how much of the "...
4
votes
2answers
629 views

Yeasty Tasting Pale Ale

This is already after the fact, since the batch has been consumed but... My pale ale that I made had quite a 'yeasty' taste. It still wasn't bad, though I would have preferred it to be a bit milder. ...
3
votes
3answers
62 views

Lager vs Ale a comparison

Would it be incorrect to say a Lager is a lighter (in flavor) beer that takes a long time to make, while an Ale is a heavier more flavorful beer that can be made in less time than a lager? Ignoring ...
3
votes
2answers
121 views

Cidery or wine flavor after bottle conditioning ale

I’ve done a few batches using Safale F2 in combination with dextrose for bottle conditioning. They all came out tasting sour after 2,5 weeks, like I image young sparkling wine would taste. Now it’s do ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views

Best yeast for bottle conditioning

I’ve used Safale F-2 and sometimes CBC-1 for bottle conditioning with good results. Doing so, flavour impact has been minimal. It also drops its dead clear once bottle fermentation is mostly done. It ...
3
votes
6answers
9k views

Should I stir the fermentation?

After week 2 my double IPA is still fermenting and has a healthy yeast cap of about 1 inch. Should I leave it be or stir it into the beer? The gravity is 1.019, near to what I'm expecting the final ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views

Corny Real Ale?

I am interested in learning some of the intricacies associated with 'real ale'. I realize that out in industry, this is done in large stainless steel (or aluminum?) barrels with special corks etc etc ...
3
votes
3answers
86 views

How do old homebrews taste like?

I often come across guides on detecting off-flavors. But I never seen a guide on how to how to identify flavor caused by poorly aged beer, though I’ve come across plenty of home brews past it’s prime. ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views

Bourbon soaked wood chips in secondary

Making a wee heavy and adding medium toasted oak chips that have been soaked in bourbon. The chips are tied up in a cheese cloth bag. My question is, should I let the chips dry thoroughly before ...
3
votes
1answer
81 views

Brewing with chili pepper

I would like to have a hot peppered ale from extract batch. I won't be able to make an all grain, what style do you recommend? How should I add the peppers, in secondary or primary, or into the bottle?...
3
votes
1answer
369 views

What changes needed to recipe when switching Ale to Lager yeast

I plan on brewing a porter next week that calls for a American Ale yeast. But my basement temperature would be perfect for using a California Lager yeast (aka Anchor Steam yeast). I've seen some ...
3
votes
1answer
333 views

Pumpkin Ale Slow Fermentation

I tried out my first five gallon batch (prior to this I had a 1 gallon system) with a pumpkin ale. I followed this recipe: SMASHING PUMPKIN ALE except that at the last 15 minutes of the boil I added a ...
2
votes
2answers
887 views

What makes a beer syrupy in texture?

I have recently brewed a nice rye ale. It turned out very nicely, however, compared to all the other beers I've brewed, it has a really syrupy texture and thickness to it. It quite dry but it isn't ...
2
votes
3answers
801 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 ...
2
votes
3answers
94 views

Wine or cider yeast for ale

I'm a noob brewer and being distracted added boiling water to my yeast. I added cold water immediately however I'm afraid I may have committed yeastocide. The only place I could think of around me ...
2
votes
1answer
259 views

How can I save my beer after long delay before bottling?

I have a home ale brew in a tub from a kit, and I added 20 teaspoons of sugar to the beer as instructed (the equivalent of 1 half teaspoon per bottle) but this was about 10 days ago. I haven't bottled ...
2
votes
2answers
470 views

Cold crashing and risk of oxidation

I'm brewing a Belgian golden strong ale for the first time. According to the fermentation schedule, it should cold crash and lager at 32°F (0°C) for three weeks. Even though I've cold crashed before, ...
2
votes
1answer
46 views

Does the presence of hops in early unfermented beer retard the fermentation process?

I've been making a heather ale (so not of the usual process of making an beer wort). I got the Boadicea hops for aroma, but because I got them the day after making the wort (poor organisation on my ...
1
vote
4answers
2k views

Do I have to bottle/keg an ale?

I've got an ale (23L) that's been brewing for six days now, my recipe says I should bottle or keg it after eight. I don't have any bottles or a keg, but I do have another bucket (25L, made for brewing ...
1
vote
2answers
4k views

How to get a richer body when brewing

I brewed my first home written beer recipe in the end of last year, now I want to improve the beer. It was a simple single hops pale ale recipe, brewed in a 5L container, so it was a very small batch ...
1
vote
2answers
4k views

Amount of lactose (or milk?) to make a real 'Cream Ale',

So I'm brewing the recipe below for my wife. (She wanted a "fruity" beer.") It was listed on beersmith.com as "Strawberry Cream Ale". I asked at the LHBS, and they confirmed what I thought, in that ...
1
vote
3answers
4k views

Adding boiling water to raise temperature during fermentation

Beer was getting cold so in a desperate attempt to raise the temperature I put near boiling water into the container. So 450ml into 23litres of beer. The beer had only been brewing for 4 days. Will ...
1
vote
3answers
1k views

Ale is cloudy and really fizzy

I tried my very first home brew kit recently. I don't recall the specific brand, but it was a 'Newkie Brown' kit that came in a tin and was like black treacle to start with (e.g. a syrup not a powder ...
1
vote
4answers
733 views

Controlling fermentation temperatures

I'm conscious this is the third question I've asked before I even get started on my first brew, but hey-ho; better to learn from the experience of others and get as close to "right" first time. I am ...

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