Recent content by Nosybear

If the beer's completely flat, open the bottles and drop a (large) carb tab in (the ones that suggest using 1 per 12 ounce bottle, there are smaller ones that suggest using up to 3). If the beer is not completely flat, you can still manage but it's more difficult. Dropping the carb tab into...

There's no debate: Oxyclean or percarbonate in general is not a sanitizer.

The clearer the wort, the less blurry the line. I filter my samples when the fermentation is going on to get as much gunk out as possible, sometimes it's still a guess, but more accurate than wondering how many points the CO2 bubbles are lifting my hydrometer....

My recipe for Ky. Common took BJCP silver this year. Yours looks good. A touch of molasses would be true to style. Get it as dry as you can, don't overdo the hops, this beer was "designed" to be consumed in large quantities on a hot Kentucky summer day by someone who has worked very hard all...

Wash all the residue out, boil some water in it (lid on for steam sanitization), then use as normal. No matter the source, it's just bacteria.

All true, and some easy math makes it easy to monitor your fermentation using drops of beer rather than the ounces a hydrometer requires.

"The truth shall make you free?" Sehr interesante Beobachtung.... I didn't have to pay for Brewer's Friend on my Android but then I have a lifetime subscription. I think all you have to do is download and sign in. The recipes shouldn't be lost, they should be stored in the cloud. I've never...

Start with the obligatory: Use a checklist you freakin' idiot. There, that's out of the way. Answer, likely no. Unless your water is very highly chlorinated, you may get a bit of an off-flavor but nothing fatal. Chlorophenols - the by-product you are talking about - taste like you'd imagine...

Brew a blonde, OG<1.050, IBU<20, no character malt. If you can get that right, you can brew anything.

Brix and Plato are the same to three decimal places. My hydrometer is difficult to read with that great an accuracy. I've cross-checked the corrected value from the refractometer with my finishing hydrometer and get the same result to three decimal places, or one gravity point. Close enough...

Coffee. After judging a homebrew competition last night in which none of the American Pale Ales scored over 28 points, I need it.

"I've found the added mallard flavors really helps the body of the starter." Quack.

Eye of newt, toe of dog, chilled with baboons' blood.... Hadn't thought of using virgin mothers' breast milk, maybe in my next milk stout....

Call the city water department. They have the data and will share it with you if you ask. I guess enough of us down here in Aurora have done so that the city publishes the ions of interest to brewers and aquarium enthusiasts.

Exactly! I've worked with and chatted with Jake at Brulosophy a few times and we end up at exactly the same point: It's one test. Without repeatabiity it isn't science. Still it's given me stuff to think about although as I said earlier, I'm not ready to throw out centuries of knowledge...