Recent content by EmmaC

Excellent news! Some beers just need a little time to think about what they've done and decide to behave themselves.

I've found that the best ways to get a really clear beer are to keep the wort at a vigorous boil all through the boil period and then cool it down as quickly as possible -- both of these things help the proteins (which cause haziness) to precipitate out. Irish moss at 15 also helps! I'm not...

I haven't tried brewing beers with honey (yet!), but from my mead-making, I know that honey takes longer to ferment -- when you think it's done, check the gravity over the course of a few weeks and make sure it's staying steady; bottling early could result in some bottle-bombs! Also, honey can...

I agree with Yooper: I think it was fine to transfer when you did and I think your beer is totally fine right now. You're not seeing a lot of activity in the beer now because it sounds like it's almost done fermenting. Beer usually has a really active fermentation in the first few days and then...

Yeah, I usually do 3-4 lbs fruit per gallon, but for something as subtle as star fruit, I could totally see doing 5 lbs. As you point out, you can always dilute later. I also usually do 1-3 lbs of sugar per gallon, depending on a) how boozy I want it and b) how much residual sugar I might want...

Hi, everyone! I'm all set with recipe testers for now. Thanks so much for the great response! In reply to some of the above: I've been developing these recipes myself over the past year + and have gotten feedback on how they taste. This round of testing is more to make sure that my recipe...

I'm all set with recipe testers now. Thanks for such an awesome response! BoomerCreek - you're totally right. I made cider from fresh-pressed apples from Sebastopol last fall, and it was AMAZING. MarkKF - Sorry not to reply sooner! You wouldn't need to press; for these recipes, store-bought...

I'm all set with recipe testers now. Thanks for such an awesome response!

P.S. I'm also looking for folks to test sake recipes, so let me know if you're interested in that!

Hi, everyone! I'm working on a book of homebrewing projects due out next spring and am looking for a few brave souls willing to test cider recipes. They're one-gallon batches, and actually run the gamut from ciders and perries to hard lemonade and ginger beer (it's a loosely defined section in...

Hi, everyone! I'm working on a book of homebrewing projects due out next spring and am looking for a few brave souls willing to test mead recipes. They're one-gallon batches, meads, melomels, and metheglins. The only special equipment you might need is a 2-gallon bucket for primary fermentation...

Hi, everyone! I'm working on a book of homebrewing projects due out next spring and am looking for a few brave souls willing to test wine recipes. They're one-gallon batches, all with fresh or frozen fruit. The only special equipment you might need is a 2-gallon bucket for primary fermentation...

I just started a one-gallon batch with fresh-squeezed lemons. The recipe is a mash-up of lots of others that I found online: 4 c. lemon juice (20-25 lemons) 3 quarts water 1 cup sugar (you could go more if you want higher ABV; I'm aiming for 5-6%) 1/4 cup maltodextrin to sweeten (might...