Recent content by BLTalpos

Sorry if I came across as lecturing. Just meant to give a few options for how to solve the predicament. I agree that if you have a hydrometer on the way, no harm can come from waiting for it to arrive; that's probably the best option. I also should stress that my friend who has used the airlock...

I'll have to look it up in my brewbook, it was about a year ago when I was just starting out. I'll also ask my friend what he was talking about in case I totally misinterpreted the meaning of what he was saying. Since I've started leaving my beers in secondary much longer, I have had great...

I left the beer in secondary for only 3-4 weeks. When I bottled, I used a very small amount of sugar to prime. The bottles were foaming over when opened and you could taste a bit too much carbonation. I knew it wasn't from the bottling sugar, so I asked a brewer friend. Apparently if you don't...

Personally, I leave it in secondary for at least 4 weeks (usually about 8 weeks). I brewed an English Bitter that turned out a bit too carbonated due to too short a time in secondary. Have some patience and have a beer.

Only if you need an exact ABV. What recipe did you use? Unless you made your own, most list a target OG. Just use that to get a ballpark idea of where it could be. If you made your own recipe, there are brewing calculators and programs that can give you an idea based on your ingredients.

The only real threat is if it solidifies and sinks to the bottom. Then you have to worry about it burning on the bottom of the pot. That can introduce some off-flavors. Just pour slow and stir and you'll be fine.

Once your fermentation slows down, you should transfer (aka racking) the beer from your primary to your secondary. Take care to avoid sucking up the sludge at the bottom of the bucket. If you do, it's not that big of a deal, but the idea of using a secondary is to get away from that stuff. As...

So true

I'd leave it be. If the airlock is bubbling, you have fermentation. Every few day you should take a Specific Gravity reading (make sure to sterilize equipment!), and that will give you proof of fermentation. Are you going to transfer to a secondary fermentor? If not, just leave it be and the...

OG is Original Gravity. It's obtained by taking a specific gravity reading (I use a hydrometer) after you've cooled your wort, but before pitching the yeast. Aerating can be achieved by stirring the wort vigorously. Some people use compressed O2, but that's pretty advanced. I usually put the...

I'm interested to see these results. Good luck!

I have an Imperial IPA I will be transfering to secondary (and potentially dry hopping) in 2-3 days. I have about 1 oz. each of three different hop varieties. Two are in pellet form and the third is whole hops. I was planning on just tossing them in and leaving them until I decide to bottle (~1...

Thoughts on using a dry hopping schedule? I usually just add all the hops when I transfer to secondary and leave them in until bottling time. I've read about other people placing different amounts in over several weeks, but because it's not boiling I've never understood the reason behind...

Thanks for the explanation. I don't intend on reusing the yeast, so I'll keep that in mind for future brews.

The OG was 1.076. I was planning to transfer once the fermentation settles down and there's not much change in the gravity.