Recent content by idkid

Thank you!

At this point, if it smells and tastes ok, is there a need to degas the mead, as I've heard others talk about? I assume after 25 months it is degassed naturally, but I could be completely wrong.

Hi Everyone, I made up a five gallon batch of mead with blueberry and vanilla about 25 months. That's right, 25 months! I racked it once off the sediment, and it has been sitting in my basement with a airlock for all this time. I have tried to add liquid to the airlock consistently, but it has...

No beer brewed but my friends and i had a great drinking game for the debates. We had to take a shot everytime we heard "maverick" or "hope." Man, you talk about getting drunk.:rockin:

As many will tell you, the only way sure way to know if the beer is done is via a hydrometer reading. It's best to test each day for 2-3 days. If the reading is consistent, then its finished and ready to transfer. However, I basically use the 1-2-3 rule every time and have had no problems; but...

I'm not sure if I'm thinking of the same type of bottles, as I don't have an IKEA very close, but I know that at a place called Jungle Jim's in Cincy, I've found a drink (French I think they say) that is sort of like a carbonated (sparkling) lemonade. I buy this stuff anytime I see it because it...

As many on here do, I have a small rubbermaid tub that I put my carboy in. I put a couple inches of water inside as well. Often, that is enough to keep the beer cool. If not, rotate in and out some frozen bottles of water that you stick in the water. This isn't as great as having a temperature...

I'm a pourer as well. I use one of the large white filters and so a lot of the hop stuff is filtered out that way. I don't worry much about trub. It settles out and I rack off of it after a week or so. Never noticed any problems with this.

Never had gin? It's flavored with juniper berries. It has a VERY STRONG pine taste in my opinion. Which is exactly why I didn't like it when I tried it. But I'm sure the taste your looking for is much more subtle, but you can definitely try it to see what it smells/tastes like. Imagine drinking...

I don't think I've ever ordered from Midwest. But since you are in Ohio, have you tried the Grape and Granary out of Akron. I have used them almost exclusively. I used to live in So. Ohio and if I ordered by noon, my order was on my doorstep the next day. The customer service has always been...

Congratulations! Welcome to the the addiction(s)! What part of Ohio are you from?

I'm just a couple of hours south of Chicago, in Indiana. I'm starting to have the same problem as well. However, the best method I found for this is what many have mentioned on here. Get a big storage bin from Walmart. Put your carboys/fermenters inside it with a few inches of water. This has...

I would imagine its because if the beer is stronger, you don't have to drink as much to get the same alcohol effect. But that's just someone's preference and my opinion on why that might be why they use them. I use everything but twistoffs. I would use them if I had the proper capper. I just...

As far as I know, brown sugar is just cane sugar plus molasses. I'm thinking that this would be 100 percent (or nearly) fermentable. In that case, I believe you would actually get the higher ABV, but lower mouthfeel. Mouthfeel often comes from residual sugars that the yeast cannot ferment. In...