Recent content by Mandlbrot

I did a pumpkin 5 weeks ago. 45 OZ (3 cans) of pure pumpkin in boil. Before hand I spread the pumpkin on a cookie sheet, sprinkled some brown sugar and baked at 450 for roughly an hour to caramelize and bring out the sweetness. There are many recipes online suggesting this method as an option...

Yes It was only the foam :) Although a StarSan beer might taste better than my first attempt

I'm feeling pretty confident my mistake was mixing Starsan with chlorinated tapwater for sanitizing fermenter and then bottling bucket/bottles later. It seems like the taste I am experiencing fits all the description of phenols or Chlorophenols in the beer. I remember my brew buddy mentioning...

Yes Starsan...sorry :) I guess we'll have to make sure to use a boiled off or tablet in our sanitizer water to see if it makes the difference.

I was just about to post exactly the same problem as OP. Buddy and I recently brewed a SNPA clone (extract w/ steeped grains we got from LHBS) that has now been in the bottle 5 weeks. We washed and sanitized like fools. Used bottled drinking /spring water and boil went off perfect. Hot and...

Hey all... I've brewed 3 so far using bottle drinking water from local grocer. I would like to have some idea if I can saving going to tap water and found this report below. I'm a little unsure of my assessment of it... Could any you you give me your thoughts? Sulfates seems really low if...

Thanks again...and the spice tea - Genius. ;) makes complete since.

I brewed 5 gallons and used 1 oz of ginger, 1 oz of sweet orange peel (dried) and 1 cinnamon stick. Also wondering if this isn't enough - can additional spiced be added to primary? I'm not keen on moving to a secondary just for that purpose.

My buddy and I just boiled our third batch yesterday... First batch was a SNPA clone Second was a Pumpkin with typical spices. The aroma of the spice in this beer was immediately apparent in the wort. When bottling after 3 weeks in primary the spices still apparent and tasty. Not strong...

I live in FLA and built a copper chiller. I can get it to 70 in about 15 minutes. That's the temp I've been pitching. Is that ok? One thing I have not delved into is PH or worried about water much yet... water we use taste great. Sound like my next OCD research project. We've used...

Thanks for the feedback... I'm pretty OCD when it comes to researching stuff. Fermentation temps are in the 65-68 degree range. I've used the bucket/wet towel approach for the first brew and have modded an old fridge I'm using for pumpkin ale. I feel pretty good on cleaning/sanitation and...

Six weeks ago my buddy and I were having a beer...go figure...and I said "I'd like to try home brewing sometime". The next day we bought a basic kit from our local shop and a pre-made Sierra Nevada Clone kit (extract w/ steep grains). In that time, I've read un-godly amounts, made a lauter...