Recent content by Reckoning

I've run a mead through a pot still and agree with the above comments that you lose most of the flavors typically associated with mead. If I were to do it again I might consider proofing the liquor down with undistilled mead instead of water to back sweeten it a little. Good honey is not cheap...

Woke up this morning to krausen. I guess it was just a slower start than I've grown accustomed to with ales.

So I'm making a maibock and my process was thus: 1 pack Wyeast Bavarian Lager yeast 1.5 liter starter on stir plate for 1.5 days Second 1.5 liter starter on stir plate for another day and a half Pitched into 1.070 wort @ 47 degrees F. I'm 24 hours out and no bubbles, no...

On a related note, then ... is there any style which is suited to 3711 other than saison? The Wyeast website lists the following styles: Styles: Belgian Blond Ale Belgian Dark Strong Ale Belgian Golden Strong Ale Belgian Specialty Ale Bière de Garde Saison I...

What do other people think of your beer? If everyone else loves it then maybe you're over-analyzing it. What are you doing with your water? Maybe the off flavors have something to do with mineralization. Perhaps just brew a batch with good old fashion tap water and see how it goes. You could...

I have a 2 faucet tower with those chalkboard handles. What I do is rotate them a little (as you're facing them left side clockwise, right side counterclockwise). Neither is facing forward, they each kind of face 45 degrees from the front of the fridge. You could probably do that with the...

The kind owner of my local brew shop gave my the 3725 gratis which was how it ended up in the batch. I was originally considering using the 3711 as I have a bunch of it in the fridge. I'm guessing that might be a little too dry and spicy, though?

I use the luggage tags you get at the airline check in desk. While I'm waiting in line I just stuff a couple handfuls in my bag. I consider it a small return on the $50 investment I'm making in my checked bag.

I don't bottle, so I'm not that sure if you would need more yeast or not. I'd think there should still be plenty of viable cells. If you're going to carb it like a typical triple, though, you're probably going to want to use the heavy duty Belgian style 750 ml bottles. A standard bottle could...

Thanks for the tips. Into the glass it goes. Those valves look interesting. I'm guessing you just stick it in the hole of a drilled rubber stopper like you would an airlock and it will only let air out? Would there be a reason not to use this type of thing instead of a normal airlock during...

I'm not sure if I posted this in the correct section of the forum, but I have a question regarding the "guarding" of a biere de garde. Specifically, what type of container should I use? I'm guessing that leaving the beer in a plastic carboy for the next 8-12 months would allow some oxidation...

I'd agree with starting out a little cooler (66F) and ramping up a degree or so a day until you get into the low 70s. As far as time, it depends a lot on the yeast you're using and how much you pitch. I've had some smaller Belgian beers finish in under a week. Other beers took closer to 2 weeks...

Power supply is AC. I didn't even think to look at that. Just pulled a power supply out of a box of old electronic parts, checked that it was 12 volt, and sallied forth. Everyone who systematically executed a family of computer fans for no reason raise your hand.:smack: Thanks for the help...

So I'm attempting to make a stir plate with a computer fan as per the post I found here … https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-stirplate-cheap-easy-build-86252/ I've tried it a couple times but I keep burning up fans. I have a 12 volt power supply which has two wires, one solid black and...

In addition to temperature differences, is there a chance he could have a leak in his airlock? Maybe he is fermenting and just not seeing it due to an air leak.