Recent content by BigBlueDog

EC-1118 is a beast. Many wine kits come with this Lalvin yeast because it is reliable and neutral across a wide fermentation temperature range. The recommended temperature range for Lalvin D-47 is 15-20 C, so 68 F on the high end. I have used it with meads and white wines. Just finishing a...

Very nice! Congrats!

What do you feel is missing from your extract batches? Have you brewed any recipes that included steeping grains? That might bring some complexity to the flavor profile you're looking for. It may be that you need to focus on your fermentation process. As myndflyte suggests, you can prepare...

Montrachet would be a fine choice. It is a fast fermenter with a wide temperature range, so is fairly forgiving. It will ferment to dry but leave some body. I have had good success with Red Star's Pasteur Red when fermenting dark berry wines. To preserve fruit flavor/aroma, I like Lalvin D-47...

That "late hop addition" towards the end of the boil is an aroma addition, intended to impart hop aroma character in the finished beer. Doubling that addition (to a full ounce) will increase the aroma character, not necessarily in a bad way. Vacuum sealed hops can be stored in the freezer up...

What was your FG? If you generally followed the original recipe (steeping at > 155F and using DME), then Nottingham/US-05 wouldn't be expected to ferment dry (i.e., < 0.996), producing a tart/dry character. Sour could be a different problem altogether. Individual palates vary though, so you may...

A racking cane makes a narrow thief in a pinch. Sanitize, immerse in the fermenter, cover the open end with you thumb, and you've got a sample.

Here's an example for executing Option 2: http://byo.com/stories/issue/item/2799-build-a-heated-mash-tun-projects

That is a lot of amazing stuff! Great sponsors. Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

Mash/lauter efficiency measures the percentage of available sugars that actually made it to the boil kettle. If your mash efficiency is lower than expected, you want to look at aspects of your mashing process to figure out what's causing the low efficiency. Brewhouse efficiency takes into...

One other point not previously mentioned, don't rely on activity in the air lock to determine when fermentation is complete. Better to take a couple of SG readings with your hydrometer 2-3 days apart. When the readings are the same, you're good to proceed with kegging/bottling if you choose. Of...

A new thread has been created to organize another CMC group buy for Denver and the Front Range. If you're interested in participating, check that thread out here.

This is the group buy thread for the Denver/Front Range group buy #7 from Colorado Malting Company. (Note this is a follow-on from this thread, to move the latest group buy details to its own thread.) Pricing has been quoted as follows: The price for all bulk malted barley is 89 cents...

Entered in the Indigenous Beer category at GABF. Now that's ballsy.

Check the recipe for Smashing Pumpkin Ale over on Northern Brewer's website. As I recall when I was looking for information on how to handle pumpkin for an extract beer, it described a steeping process.