Recent content by Baloo

The streaking method savannahbrew posted provides a higher number of single cell colonies with each plate so you need fewer plates to get the requisite number of single cell colonies. Maybe I spent too many hours streaking plates as a workaday Molecular Biologist right out of college, but this...

The streaking method savannahbrew posted provides a higher number of single cell colonies with each plate so you need fewer plates to get the requisite number of single cell colonies. Maybe I spent too many hours streaking plates as a workaday Molecular Biologist right out of college, but this...

It does. You get acetic acid by replacing two of ethanol's hydrogen molecules with oxygen

There’s a chart in wild brews that details the amount of Oxygen that diffuses through various vessels. A 40L home-brew keg comes in at about the same as a 200L commercial HDPE fermenter and just under 3 times that of a 300L wine barrel. So it’s actually not too bad. I’d be...

QUOTE=dwarven_stout;4179743] That's why I'm skeptical of your claim that (paraphrased) "wood is essential because bacteria won't grow without it". I never said bacteria wouldn’t grow without wood. They will be happier with wood in the fermenter and happier bugs are more likely to give you...

Correct while yeast is perfectly happy hanging out in suspension, bacteria tend to like having nooks and crannies to work their way into. Brett can also use cellulose as a food source. Oak or really wood (Chestnut is used as well) is pretty essential for lamibics and not the flavor. So instead...

That should have been the singular "stratum", in the geologic sense. I'm in the middle of a Kölsh brew and not spending time proof-reading. The point is that the oak provides a nice comfy home for the bacteria. This is especially helpful for pediococcus which doesn't get started until after...

First the function of the Oak is to provide a strata for the bacteria to grow on, not to impart any flavor so you definitely do not want a new barrel, but you definitely want Oak in your fermenter. You also want old (as in lying around exposed to oxygen for at least a year) nasty cheesy hops...

PV =nRT It's not just a good idea it's the Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideal_gas_law To carbonate beer you need CO2 and pressure. Yeast + sugar in a capped bottle and CO2 from a tank into a sealed keg are the two most common ways to do it at home. Are you in a hurry or just...

One other solution would be to go down to your LHBS and ask for a malt extract substitute for the Marris Otter. Don't get me wrong I love MO, and use it in all my Burton on Trent style brews, but I'm a fan of starting simple. I've always viewed partial mashes as a way to get more creative...

Decided to make my first Lambic; Google lead me to several solid threads here.

Since you asked: Trub and autolysing yeast can import flavors you probably don't want into your beer, and stirring them up increases that chance. Which is why you're better off racking to a secondary. Make sure to grab a bit of the top of the yeast cake to ferment the sugar from the...

Over multiple propagations your yeast will mutate, whether said mutant is of the creature of the black lagoon or X-man variety is up to the beholder. Probably not go away but it might fade into the background. You will likely get better results out of the Pale especially if it has a big hop...