Recent content by Chad

Of course it is. I never suggested otherwise. I did say, however, that the over-long lag phase was a sign of less than ideal fermentation conditions and would lead to beer that will most likely be less than what it could have been. That's still true. It is true no matter how much you pat...

Are you genuinely suggesting that Chris White -- of White Labs, one of the largest brewing yeast suppliers in the world -- is mistaken about yeast life cycles? Or that Greg Noonan and George Fix before him were also wrong? Perhaps you'd like to take on Kunze or Narziss as well? Your ego knows no...

I'm going to disagree here. If you don't have signs of fermentation after 36 hours, something is wrong. Yes, it can indeed take up to 72 hours for fermentation to begin. That is absolutely true. It is also considerably less than ideal. The yeast will make beer, but it probably won't be the best...

Hey, glad to have you here! There are a lot of NC brewers on HBT.

To answer the actual question: Yes, you'll be fine leaving the beer on the yeast that long, especially at lager temperatures. I doubt you'll need to filter at that point, especially if you've shortened the dip tube on the keg, but if you have the equipment it couldn't hurt.

If you have a 5 gallon round cooler, 4.5 gallons won't fit. Remember that your grain has absorbed 1.5 gallons of water, filling a lot more space in the mash tun than the dry grain did. About the most you'll be able to use in one sparge is 2.5 gallons, possibly 3 depending on your grain bill. If...

Nope. If you mash with 3.9 gallons and sparge with 3 gallons you'll end up with 5.4 gallons of wort in the kettle. Grain absorbs approximately .125 gallons of water per pound. For your 12.5 pounds of grain you can expect it to absorb about 1.5 gallons of your strike water. Personally I'd mash...

I usually ferment Nottingham in the low 60s and get very clean, crisp beers.

Not entirely true. You are right in that there is no starch conversion from steeping because there is no base grain providing diastatic power, but crystal/caramel malts are "pre-mashed" as it were, stewed and kilned to convert the starch and crystalize the sugar in the grain. So while you aren't...

Is it too bitter or too hoppy, i.e. too much hop flavor and aroma? If it is too bitter a little salt with smooth it out. Try a pinch of salt in a glass of the beer and see if that does any good. If the problem is too much hop flavor, only time or blending will do the trick. Brew a similar beer...

You can rack to a secondary and use gelatin or isinglass. I'm more familiar with gelatin, which usually clears the beer in a couple of days. Otherwise, lagering alone will do the trick in time. If you use gelatin, pull your carboy or bucket out of the fermentation chamber and let it rise to...

I don't know how many times we've suggested this, but if Charley Talley at Five Star doesn't start making "Don't Fear the Foam" t-shirts, I'm going to. It's too good an opportunity to pass up.

One thing to be aware of if you are using the type of vertical, hand cranked stuffer sold by The Sausage Maker, Grizzly (for considerably less money), Butcher & Packer, etc. (sometimes credited as an OMCAN stuffer), be careful when raising the piston back up. When it gets to the top, STOP. Do...

One thing to consider, are we talking about bottled beer or kegged? I like Newcastle but will only drink the canned version. The bottled version is invariably skunked. And whatever Miller's faults may be, the beer doesn't skunk due to their use of Tetrahop, a hop extract that doesn't react to...

Interesting. I was under the impression that Miller didn't actually use hop pellets or cones but instead used a a hop extract called Tetra Hop. Note the mention of increased head retention. From the article on Skunking, by Professor Beer