Recent content by Potamus

Quick update: It took about a week and a half, but now I'm seeing signs of fermentation. I just wanted to make sure the bugs weren't dead. Thanks for making me wait!

OK, thanks. I'll give it some more time.

I started a lambic in March 2014. As the primary fermentation winded down after about four days, I racked to a secondary and added Wyeast's Belgian lambic blend. It's been sitting in the same carboy since, forming a nice pellicle at a stable 65 degrees. On Saturday, I racked it onto some...

I think I had it in primary for about two weeks then bottled. It was decently carbed after a couple weeks, so you should be fine come Christmas.

I added the full package and didn't notice any bad aftertaste. The wife and her friends all love it, FWIW.

If you've got krausen on top you've got fermentation, regardless of what the airlock is doing. What looks like the loss of wort is probably the high point the krausen reached before falling back down. Leave it alone for another week or two and it will be fine.

If it gets infected, you will know by the taste. I agree it should be fine though.

I agree. Tasting it right after the boil won't tell you much because the flavor will change dramatically after fermentation. Once it's fermented out, there's not a whole lot you can do to fix it other than dry-hopping or adding spices. I just taste the sample that I pull for a hydrometer reading...

There is no way you could lose a gallon of liquid in a week or two due to evaporation through a tiny gap in the lid. Most lids on Ale Pails don't form a very good seal anyway, and I've never lost that much volume. I would check and see if the bucket itself is leaking.

I would recap them all rather than taking the time to test each bottle. Caps are cheap. If they've been sitting a few weeks already, you will need something to carbonate them again because the priming sugar will have already fermented out. If you dump them into a bucket to add more priming...

The yeast at the bottom of the bottle falls out of suspension after going through the priming sugar to carb up the beer. It is unavoidable when bottling beer. You just have to pour carefully and leave the last quarter inch or so in the bottle.

I agree that turning a spigot should not introduce enough oxygen to affect the flavor of an entire batch. Like RM-MN said, I would keep an eye on temperature control, and maybe try up a new style. Perhaps you don't like the yeast you've been using?

Absolutely do not top it off like you would with wine:D. I agree to leave it in primary the whole time. Secondary is mostly unnecessary unless you are adding fruit or are doing something long-term like a sour. I've left beers in the primary for two months with no ill effect.

I put my 6 gallon carboy in a large cooler filled with cold water and have been rotating 2-3 bottles of ice every 8-10 hours while I ferment a California common. Ambient temp is about 70 degrees and the water has stayed pretty steady around 60 without much trouble. It's a pretty cheap and easy...

Thanks for the quick replies!