Recent content by rigglet

I came home from the gym this morning to find I had a bottle bomb from one of my milk stouts. These milk stouts have been bottled for nearly 7 months. I would have thought that if I overcarbed them I would have seen a bomb much sooner. I know that nobody can say for certain, but should I...

You can go as simple or as complex as you like. Many guys set up dual temperature controls with both a cooling and heating source. I went the simple route. I built a small box that fits in my fermentation chamber and rigged it up with a light bulb outlet. I then put a 40 watt bulb in the...

Just in case anyone was following/interested in this...the beers are finally carbonating. Took almost 5 weeks and a mild shake to each of them, but they are getting there. The lemonade flavor is a bit strong, but I know it will mellow out in time. So if you decide to use Crystal Light for...

There is always, and will always be, a simple Scottish ale available in my fridge. Love me some Scottish ale....

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I did prime with sugar. The Crystal Light was for flavor only. Well if that ingredient did in fact kill my yeast I will be very bummed. Aside from the no carbonation this is a very tasty brew.

I attempted a Leinenkugel Summer Shandy clone. I took a simple wheat recipe and added 3 packets of Crystal Light (the kind that make 2 quarts) at bottling. They have been in the bottle for just over two weeks so I know they are still a bit young. The taste is absolutely awesome. Still a...

Don't know if you've brewed this yet, but I did a strawberry rhubarb Belgian blonde. I used 4lbs of frozen strawberries and 2lbs of frozen rhubarb. Plenty of rhubarb flavor came through. This has been the favorite of my brews for my family and friends. I'll be interested to see how this...

I brewed a strawberry rhubarb blonde. I started with a basic Belgian blonde that I let sit in the primary for about a week. Then I racked it onto 4 lbs. of frozen strawberries and 2 lbs. of frozen rhubarb for two weeks. I then racked it off the fruit and let it clear for about another two...

It's has only been bottled about 4 weeks, but so far it is OK. The strawberry is not quite were I'd like it to be. The rhubarb came through fine, but the strawberry is a little weak. I'm going to give it another few weeks before I pass final judgment. It's definitely drinkable, but just not...

+1 on the bucket. I did 4 lbs of strawberry and 2 lbs of rhubarb in a Belgian blond and after seeing the mess in the bottom I was glad I used a bucket and not a carboy. I would not have wanted to try and get that mess out of a little hole in the top.

Quick update on this. I brewed a honey wheat this weekend using the method I described. My water amounts were slightly different. I used 3 gallons for the initial mash and 4.25 gallons for the sparge with 9.5 lbs. of grain. Everything went really well. Target OG per the recipe was...

I'm getting ready to brew this again weekend. I've done 6 extract w/specialty grain brews so far. All have turned out great. I was thinking about venturing into all grain this weekend by trying BIAB with a single sparge. I'm still putting my grain bill together and finalizing my recipe, but...

I just brewed a chocolate porter about 4 weeks ago. The recipe called for 24 Tbsp. of plain cocoa power added during the last 10 minutes of the boil. It's still conditioning in the bottles, but it was pretty tasty when I bottled it. Not too much chocolate...but not too little.

I'm no expert, but I'd say yes...too early. I did the same thing with an English pale ale and had the same results. Give it another couple of weeks. It'll be delicious!

I'm made five brews so far. Two (an English pale ale and a Scottish ale) are completely finished and are pretty tasty. I bottled a chocolate porter this weekend which is pretty good so far, but I'm sure it will be better after a few weeks of bottle conditioning. And I've got a...