Recent content by rcd

Right on... that's just about how I'd describe the taste. Cheers

Hello, this is the first recipe I've posted here. I brewed this one a few weeks ago. Tasted it this past weekend, it's great! Very "citrusy" with a nice dryness at the end. Fairly sweet, yet no caramel was added. Should make a very refreshing spring/summer ale. The Sam Adams White Ale was...

Okay, it's not quite as good as the Brickskeller, but check out Barley's Taproom if you're ever in Knoxville. Great place for beer lovers.

that happened to me the first time i brewed hehehe. was it whitelabs? the trick i learned is basically this: shake it crazy like youre supposed to. then, hold it upright and wait a while. watch the bubbles start to chill back out. maybe 20 seconds. then open the cap slowly, just enough to...

i have frequently experienced internal temperatures (inside the bucket--the liquid) of up to 6-8 degrees above what the stick-on thermometer on the side of the bucket says (and indeed, 6-8 degrees above room temp). ruined my first few batches due to excess ester production, etc. bigass igloo...

same problem here.

Hello, A week ago I brewed an amber beer. My apartment is pretty warm and I was having problems with banana flavors, etc, so I used a chiller thing to keep my temps down during this fermentation. I racked to secondary tonight and it tasted great, no phenols etc. I'm wondering...

I started using kegs a few months ago, and that's worked out fine, but I've noticed that when I force carbonate, the carbonation is super fine (the bubbles are super tiny, almost invisible unless you tilt the glass and see them for a moment). The other day, I opened a bottle of some beer I'd...

doug, do you recall about how long it needed to age before it was okay? thanks

I brewed a porter the other day and it got off to a really quick start with fermentation (WL irish yeast). I went to bed, and woke up and it was kicking ass hard... the stick on thermometer said 80F but I'm sure it was even higher than that inside. I'd left it at room temp to let fermentation...

yeah i think i was the guy who started the most recent thread on this. i was using them and quit after a couple of batches... they totally mess up your utilization. not worth it.

that looks cool! do you know if it'll fit a 6.5 gal carboy? i can't find the internal dimensions on it. looks like its maybe discontinued.

I've been having banana flavor problems, and originally thought it was my water, but after ruling that out, all I'm left with right now is temperature. I've thought about buying a fridge/freezer big enough to stick a fermenter in, but that seems like overkill just for lowering fermentation...

why is it easier to control temperature with glass?

hmm... i'm not using an enamel pot. I'm using a steel pot. It's a very old pot though (same one my uncle used for a very long time). There are lots of scratches, etc, on the inside. Could this have anything to do with it? Can steel cause problems if old enough or in poor enough condition?