Recent content by Leithoa

On the face of it it's exactly as you outlined. Saturated is saturated, it doesn't matter if you put it in 1g at a time or just dump it in until it stops dissolving. Here's a website that has a quick recipe, basically 10g KCl in 100mL of pH 4 buffer. There's also a mold inhibitor, that in the...

This old growing manual says hops grow best around 35 degrees north. The actual requirements are 120 frost free days and 15 hours of sunlight. You can use this daylight calculator made by the navy to get a better idea of what to expect, but it will depend greatly on your specific lot. As an...

For $10-12 you can get a combo stone (100/300 grit) mentioned on page 1 and a piece of fine grained natural slate tile (~$1, +800 grit) and get a very good edge on your blades. Even if you factor in 2 hours learning how to use it you'll come out ahead (assuming your free time isn't worth more...

As others have pointed out, you've already answered your own question: They're cheap, raw or frozen. Why risk one mold spore making it through your pastuerization process? You've got 2-6 hours and $+20 in grain/extract/hops put into this. Even if you kill 100% of the spores, what about off...

Fill a PET pop bottle so you can check carbonation regularly. 3-4 days might be too long. I've only pasteurized once so my setup probably isn't optimized. I used a cooler to keep everything hot and it worked well enough. None of them turned into bottle bombs. Pappers put together a nice thread...

Small batch brewing is possible with any sized vessel. As to the minimum size worth it, that's a question only you can answer. Some people enjoy making 1 gallon batches others won't get out of bed for anything under 10 gallons. For rinsing grains use another 1.5-2 qts/lb. Or just don't rinse...

Many have had that experience. Swing-tops a bit finicky. Some common suggestions are: - Don't store them clamped shut - Wipe the bottle mouth and gasket prior to sanitizing to remove anything tha would interfere w/ the sea. - Don't store the gasket on the stopper - Flip the gasket over every...

I would treat it like you would a bottle of wine. It should be fine for a couple days but it will probably taste better when you first open it. Since it's onle 1/2 gallon it shouldn't be too hard for 2 people to finish it before it goes bad. You could try only filling one this time and see how...

My friend lived in Germany for a while an apparently some of his co-workers misheard these lyrics "Analisa brown, Lisa brown / and the sky is grey, sky is grey" and couldn't understand what the Momma's and the Pappa's were talking about. Or our favorite to yell at bars when Bon Jovi comes on...

My LHBS also stocks a few varieties of honey (though at IMO reasonable prices), as does our local farmers/health food market. If you are willing to post it, a state/Metro area might help get you some local specific responses.

Assuming you just overprimed the beer is fine. You'll probably get gushers out of the bottles that haven't blown yet so open them in a place where the mess will be contained. Throw them in the fridge (or outside) to cool down since gasses dissolve better in cold liquids. If you sanitize...

I haven't read your previous thread but it sounds like there's some gap in your sanitation protocol. Environmental contamination is possible, but even open fermentation has a record of success. Review what you did right for your successes, or what other people have done. I'd also recommend...

You can use your bottling bucket to hold ice/water and just get it higher than your BK. Run the IC inlet to your bottling bucket and the other end into a drain or other vessel. You could also use a siphon set up if you don't have a bottling bucket. My understanding of that method is you dip...

Sounds like the pectins separated out sort of like what happens in keeving. http://www.piltoncider.com/cider/keeving or http://cidersupply.com/Linked%20Images/Main-Keeve.jpg show keeved cider.

Just to clarify you want your starter to be 1.030-1.040 regardless* of the OG of the brew it's going into. Since you're trying to get more viable cells you want them to be nice and comfy. I couldn't tell if you were trying to have a 1.080 starter or just had the conversion from cups to quarts...