Recent content by pktshc

Great, thanks to all. I have decided to keep stepping up my starter so I have time to let the malt hang out for a week. I will have to pick up the Daniel's book...sounds like a great resource. As always, I love the help that these forums provide. Happy Brewing. JAH

I am brewing an Southern English Brown this week and I have an issue. The two LHBS in my town do not carry brown malt. After some research I have determined that brown malt (like so many others) is simply pale malt that has been roasted at high temps for periods ranging from 15 minutes to 1...

Thanks, Yuri- Yeah, I decided to head back to the LHBS and, low and behold, they did have a more current vial of Oktoberfest yeast AND they had some Hefe yeast hiding as well. That will help a great deal. And to you question about lagering...I have a chest freezer that I have add a digital...

First- Thoughts on a vial of White Labs Oktoberfest Yeast that has a best if used by date of Feb 08? Can I use it? I was planning to make a starter, but is that an exercise in futility. If so, is there a dry yeast that may be a good substitute for a Oktoberfest? Second- My LHBS has...

Ya, ya'll are all right. I knew the answer to my question, but was just excited to introduce my family to my newest hobby. I have an ample supply of the the last three batches, but I brewed this one special for the reunion over the 4th. Oh well, I guess that I should have gotten started on it...

Greetings from Ohio- I am bottling a batch some time over the next 24 hours. The challenge is that I really need it to be ready to consume by July 3rd. Is there a way to encourage a faster carbonation in my bottles? Normally I find that three weeks is perfectly fine, but since I have...

Good advice all. While I would love to RDWHAHB, I don' think that my employer (The State of Ohio) would appreciate that quite this early. Back to the question at hand. I did let the yeast warm to room temp, but I do now see the error of my ways (not making a starter). For some reason I...

Greetings- I brewed a batch yesterday and all seemed to be going according to plan. I pitched the yeast (WLP001) at 74 degrees and expected fermentation to begin at somepoint over the night. This AM when I checked it, there was ZERO activity on the airlock. I then proceeded to open the...

I brewed a batch of this on March 9th and just opened and bottle last night. It is fantastic. I agree that it is a bit dark, but the flavor is fabulous and it is the PERFECT summer beer...if summer ever gets to Ohio. Thanks for the recipe. The only thing that I had to modify was the yeast...

I was going to purchase a Sanyo 4912, but a FREE GE mini fridge came into my life and I decided to try that first...since it was free and all. I have read many posts that it is "POSSIBLE" to bend the freezer tray backwards or to the side, but there is no instruction on how to do so. Does...

Greetings from Columbus- When I first started homebrewing I used to think that I would never grow tired of bottling. Well, guess what...I am tired of bottling and thinking about upgrading my hobby to a two-tap keg system using a mini-fridge. The keg side of the project is straightforward...

I like Sam Adam's bottles. Very easy to remove the labels. I HATE Bell's bottles. The labels are impossible to remove. Great Lakes bottles also use a glue that is easy to remove.

Thanks, everyone. I will try a little of everything. Perhaps a vinegar bath followed by a run through the dishwasher. Then, for the final touch, another soak (not as long) in the One-step. Thanks again! JAH

Greetings from Columbus, OH- I was sanitizing my bottles before bottling a batch of wheat beer when I was forced to abandon my bottles and tend to a homeownership emergency. Unfortunately, the bottles soaked in one-step for more than 24hours. When I was able to return to them I noticed that...

Sweet...that is what I thought, but I just wanted to check with the experts to find out for sure. Have a great one.