10
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When bottling, is it better to use corn sugar or saved wort?
Having done both, I can tell you that sugar (corn or table, doesn't matter) is the way to go. It's easy reliable and tasteless. Priming with gyle (the name for what you propose) is uncertain and ...
- 33.4k
9
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Does homebrewed beer have a "Golden Age"?
Beers do tend to age and have a sweet spot, per se, of when their flavor peaks. Every beer and beer style is different without a doubt.
But what you are describing is more related to your experience ...
- 36.2k
9
votes
Tips for brewing at high temperatures
I advise looking at HotHead from Omega Labs: http://www.omegayeast.com/portfolio/14158-2/
Flocculation: Medium-High
Attenuation: 75-85%
Temperature Range: 62-98° F (16-37° C)
Alcohol Tolerance: 11%...
- 7,018
8
votes
does adding water to wort to top off for fermentation raise the original gravity?
Adding water to something will lower its gravity.
When adding water to wort from a concentrated extract brew process its not uncommon for the two to not mix completely. When you added the water you ...
- 36.2k
8
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Could this have oxidized the beer?
'Anything to worry about?'
Really, it's nothing to worry about at all.
'Could this have oxidized the beer?'
Sure, technically, but to a really negligible amount.
How much this might effect the ...
- 6,417
7
votes
Will accidentally shaking the mead lower the alcohol percentage?
No it wont. In fact it can break up yeast floculation and aid fermentation.
There is risk of oxidation if much alcohol has been produced when it was shook. But the c02 in headspace should minimize it....
- 18.5k
7
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What is the max time it would take yeast to "clean up"?
According to info I got from John Palmer for an upcoming article I wrote for BYO magazine, the cleanup happens concurrently with fermentation. Here's the quote..."Yeast have 3 phases in their life ...
- 33.4k
7
votes
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Are hops fermentable by beer yeast?
Interestingly, I found a presentation by Thomas H. Shellhammer, professor of fermentation science at OSU, that shows the composition of a typical hop cone:
Cellulose and Lignin: 40-50%
Protein: 15%
...
- 383
7
votes
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Starsan in double bubble airlock keeps getting sucked into fermenter - why and how to prevent?
This is caused by a drop in temp before co2 is being produced. Just cap the fermenter in sanitized foil until you're past the lag phase, or cooled to fermentaion temp. Though a little bit of starsan ...
- 18.5k
7
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How do you let water sit until the chlorine vapours off without any contamination?
Chlorine you can boil off before use, usually a hard boil for 20 minutes will get rid of Chlorine. Unless your water district uses a binder which is rare.
Chloramine cannot be boiled off and needs to ...
- 18.5k
7
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How to know if kombucha is alcoholic?
The problem is that the hydrometer is used the amount of sugar in the solution, not the amount of alcohol. So you can measure the original gravity (OG), and the final gravity (FG), but in kombucha the ...
- 3,655
6
votes
If/When to move to secondary fermentation
Some widely respected people advise against it, like:
Racking to prevent autolysis is not necessary
Whilst it might be true, in some cases, it is not true in case of strong stuff, stuff that will ...
- 3,718
6
votes
What can I use for a small-batch fermentation vessel?
Depends on batch size. If your doing 2-3 gallons. I would recommend using glass 1 gallon jugs from wine or Apple juice.
The cheeseball containers I believe are made from the same foodgrade plastic as ...
- 18.5k
6
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What can I use for a small-batch fermentation vessel?
If you live near a good juice bar or restuarant that serves smoothies, ask the sales clerk if they have any empty glass jugs. Many drinks have an apple juice base and organic apple juice often ships ...
- 650
6
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Will Brett C contaminate my equipment?
The standard wisdom I've seen is, as mentioned, that glass and metal "should" be fine but plastic is much more prone to scratching, making it a concern.
Brett has a reputation of being very resilient ...
- 1,900
6
votes
Safe to return sampled wort to the primary after sampling?
I've read in a few places not to do this as it risks contamination.
I do it every time using a well-sanitized thief. I have never had an issue doing this.
Does it increase the risk of contamination? ...
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Safe to return sampled wort to the primary after sampling?
Do not return samples to the batch.
Risk of infection is very high. Sacrificing this small amount of wort makes life easier and give peace of mind.
sample tubes are difficult to clean. Many are two ...
- 18.5k
6
votes
fermentation process stopped quickly
Airlock activity is a poor measure of fermentation. IMHO every brewer/brewster should get a hydrometer, they are cheap enough and will allow the brewer/brewster to determine what is happening in the ...
- 5,631
6
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What are the downside of a super-quick fermentation?
Usually a fermentation happens quicker than normal for 3 reasons. Poor oxygen, large yeast pitch, warm temperatures.
Low Disolved Oxygen: Yeast needs oxygen in wort to multiply. When oxygen is gone ...
- 18.5k
6
votes
How SCOBY is grown?
This question kind of brings up some more fundamental questions about fermentation (like whether or not you could even call something kombucha if it's not made with a 'proper' SCOBY, given that a ...
- 6,417
6
votes
If I stop fermentation early does the sugar left in juice still turns into Co2 after bottling
Priming is really just another word for fermentation, sometimes called secondary fermentation.
If you stop fermentation when 20% of sugar remains, you normally do this by killing the yeast. This means ...
- 641
5
votes
Should I worry about this smell?
At the 1 week stage: do not worry.
If it's still there in a few weeks, sure, worry then.
All sorts of weird flavours come off yeast when it's actively fermenting. For example lager yeasts can just ...
- 2,060
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When bottling, is it better to use corn sugar or saved wort?
Using sugar is easier. There is no risk that you have too much gyle or too little. You can just buy extra sugar and be on the safe side. Gyle needs to be saved in sterile containers (I usually fill a ...
- 1,266
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Adding water just after fermentation has started, wait, or not worth it?
What you're looking to do is called high gravity brewing. This technique is oft employed by macro brewers to produce more beer with less fermenter space. They dilute after fermentation is complete.
...
- 608
5
votes
Total Cider Noob Move
That's an insane amount of yeast for a one gallon batch. Your yeast ate through all the sugar quickly, and now it probably doesn't have anything left to eat. Do you have a hydrometer? If you don't, ...
- 177
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Is juiced Ginger root fermentable?
Ginger juice alone does not have enough sugar to be fermentable. However, ginger beer is a popular, slightly alcoholic beverage made from ginger root, sugar, water and citric acid. Take a look at this ...
- 9,028
5
votes
Accepted
Rapidly moving particles during fermentation?
This is a totally normal active fermentation. It won't be flocculated yeast at this point, so much as break protein and hop material.
- 10.1k
5
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Problems with sealing fermentation tank
Don't worry so much. Put some sanitized foil over the top and wrap with a rubber band. If the beer is chilled to pitching temp before being transferred to the fermenter, air locks are absolutely ...
- 363
5
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Putting a stopper in a fermenter if you leave it for a long time
Like above, I've found corney kegs to be a great sealed aging container.
Couple notes.
I wouldn't allow any pressure in any glass carboy. Below is box from 6gal Italian glass carboy.
!
PSI is pounds ...
- 18.5k
5
votes
Foam on top of fermentation keg
It sounds like krausen to me. Search images of "krausen" on the internet or have a look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ-M4ZFw5Fs
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