Recent content by McCoy

Every time I pour a beer, clear or not, the condensation that clings to the side of the glass makes it appear hazy. This makes taking a photograph of a beer to show it's clarity rather tricky. I try wiping off the condensation and taking a photo quickly after, but this does not work very well...

Oxygen is necessary for reproduction, and it's true that yeast reproduction dominates while there is sufficient oxygen, but A) even if there is oxygen the yeast will produce alcohol* and B) it's hard to dissolve oxygen in wort and that's why you're supposed to shake the hell out of it before you...

The Wild Beer Co Sourdough tasted like a pretty normal Berliner Weisse to me. It was really good, but I didn't get any cider character. I emailed them awhile back asking how they determined a pitching rate. If you're deadly curious about the beer, I can bring back a bottle with me when I move...

You don't need an airtight seal. The positive pressure of the CO2 is pretty protective, and the beer pretty quickly becomes yeast dominated and hostile to most organisms. Foil will be fine. I've fermented several batches that way and all of my starters (which, if they got contaminated, would...

Foil will be fine. Open fermentations are even a good option so long as they are active.

There's a brewery in the UK called Wild Beer Co. that does a saison with cucumber that's pretty terrific. They've answered questions I've sent them before, so maybe write them an email?

I've also successfully fermented out a Berliner weisse that I'd soured with lacto incubated at 100 F (as best as I could) for a week using one rehydrated packet of US-05. I don't think I used yeast nutrient, but it's not a bad idea. Also, I'm of the opinion that rehydrating does make a big...

Biere de garde

Looks like normal yeast to me also. However, what's not normal is fermenting a Flanders Red with US-05. Are you going to introduce bugs in the barrel? Any reason you're not introducing bugs already? This is a batch I would want to be "infected."

I recant my comment. I read something that changed my mind about the correct unit the correct unit for potential extract is points per pound and then the unit for gravity (being a density, essentially) is points per gallon. Of course the natural consequence is you must multiply the potential of...

I recant my comment. I read something that changed my mind about the correct unit the correct unit for potential extract is points per pound and then the unit for gravity (being a density, essentially) is points per gallon. Of course the natural consequence is you must multiply the potential of...

Did my last brew until July just a couple days after Christmas with my brother-in-law as a gift to him: +5 g rye wit +3 g peanut porter +5 g honey saison +3 g pseudo rauchbier +3 g coffee porter +2.5 g amber ->61,499 gallons

Maybe I'm just nitpicky, but I've always had an issue with the phrasing of points per pound per gallon. If I mash a pound of malt and extract the sugars and dilute it with one gallon of water then I will have x number of points of sugar. Now, if I mash two pounds of malt, but still dilute with...

Maybe I'm just nitpicky, but I've always had an issue with the phrasing of points per pound per gallon. If I mash a pound of malt and extract the sugars and dilute it with one gallon of water then I will have x number of points of sugar. Now, if I mash two pounds of malt, but still dilute with...

How did you drill it? I am considering building something similar using an aluminum cake ring (for easier drilling), but I know very little about drilling metal and what bits or techniques to use. I'd rather not bust my drill or my cake ring by making a foolish error.