Recent content by rich8932

I've been kegging my beer for a couple years now and my father has suggested carbing a wine. Can I simply keg carb to the desired level, fill my bottles and cork? Will a standard wine bottle with cork hold the carbonation without pushing corks or exploding bottles? I have no idea how many...

Doesn't carafoam also add carmel sweetness like crystal malt? Thanks!

Would adding 1lb of white wheat to an 11 gallon batch of CA Common add a noticeable wheat flavor? I'm trying to find a grain to help head retention but I don't want to affect the flavor. Any thoughts?

I have been washing yeast according to recommendations from this site for months now and it's been great. I have buddies who will save their yeast cake for me to wash and save for future brews. My question is how long after the beer has been transferred off the cake is too long to still be...

Doesn't it also include hot peppers? I don't see that in the recipe but have to think that gives it some of it's signature (fire) flavor.

I SHOULD buy a lot of stuff for brewing. Unfortunately I'm often reminded that my "beer gig" is getting out of control! That plus I have too many hobbies. Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty convinced that the excess of carbonation/primer sugar is the reason but I was hoping others could...

I realize that this topic gets debated endlessly, so I apologize for creating another. I've made two AG wheat ales in the last 6 months and both had a metallic taste. I've made several beers before, between and since that have NOT had this issue so I don't believe it's my equipment or...

So if I use these calculators correctly I should be using a 10 liter starter? That sounds crazy. I've read about the negatives of over-pitching, which I cannot be doing. If fermenation starts, which it always has (6x), is there a concern with under-pitching, other than the obvious?

I've been brewing for about two years, all-grain for 1. Sometimes when my buddy and I can agree on a style I'll do a double batch (11 gal.) which we then split into two carboys. We always use Wyeast but purchase one package, brew a starter, and then split the starter in half. Generally...

I never topped off because I was so close to 5 gallons after my boil so I don't see how my reading could be off. I guess I should clarify my question. What are the concerns with adding water now?

I realize this may seem like a strange question, but my OG was much higher than anticipated. I didn't even think about adding more top-off water last night;maybe it was all the homebrew I consumed while brewing. I was just so delighted that my OG wasn't low so I went ahead and pitched my...

I've also taken the transfer tube I use and stuffed it into the bung hole and put the bung back onto the carboy. Of course you'll still want that tube ending in sanitizer solution. What ever tube you end up using will likely only be used for a blowoff in the future because that foam will...

I tried to do something similar last year. The advice I was given is that the fruit should be added near the end of the boil or at least avoid adding peels and such as that could cause off flavors. If you add the fruit to the fermentation you'll get the fermented fruit juice taste. I also...

I have consistently used about 4-5 oz of primer sugar and never twist off bottles. It sounds like my problem might be the temps I'm keeping them at. I typically keep them in the high 40's or low 50's to carb. I'll try moving it up to room temp and see what happens. Thanks for all the great...

I've been having difficulty bottle carbing and I am quite sure that it's due to lack of yeast remaining when I get to bottling. I tend to prefer lagers and always transfer to secondary so I'm thinking that I'm not getting enough yeast into my bottles to carbonate. Is it possible that a 3 week...