Recent content by Sardoman

1.041 is a decent gravity for a dry stout. Let it ferment out and then at bottling time you can decide if it tastes too strong or too roasty; you can add some water then. You would only have to boil your priming sugar in whatever volume you want to dilute the batch down with. Adding a whole...

-Right, I didn't explain fully last time. I soak the whole thing and get a StarSan flow going through it. Then purge with the O2, insert into fermenter and oxygenate. Then I remove the wand, submerge it in water or StarSan, flowing some through so I don't get any sticky wort clogging the stone...

I use that wand and it works great for me. My batches are fermenting out drier than they did before using O2, and that is comparing the same recipe. Granted, I have not done a split batch to compare. Here's what I do: rinse and sanitize the wand thoroughly with StarSan. I mean pumping the...

I'd say 1.0 oz at 5 min before flameout is overdoing it for my taste. I made an attempt at an Ommegang Rare Vos clone (using dried sweet orange peel) and have been wishing I had used only about 0.5 oz because that would probably be around the flavor threshold for that particular brew. That...

I don't have any references on this. However, I have experiences. I never heat my bottles and I use mostly 12oz brown glass longnecks, almost all reclaimed from domestic craft brews that I purchased and drank. I have reused some of these 20+ times. I've never had a bottle bomb and never had a...

I'm going to make a suggestion here that isn't exactly what you are asking for, but it's food for thought. I make an awesome brown IPA that doesn't last long and gets a lot of praise and it is similar to what you are describing OG 1.066, 57 IBU. But mine is dry for a brown ale, as that is...

Another method that works really well (even if you are going to bottle) but that you don't see a lot of people use is: Ferment the base beer to around 1.020, or a couple of points above where you want your residual sweetness to be, then add champagne yeast. That will halt fermentation...

If you want a really informed opinion, I'm gonna have to have a peek at your grain bill.

The problem with yeast is that it's a living organism that is made up of countless different molecules, each with their own chemical formulae. There is no set of molecules that really define it any more than any set of molecules can define any living organism. I mean, the closest I can come up...

Cream ale and Irish Red are usually widely appreciated. Stick to lower ABV, low or no roast malts and lower IBUs to get a quick turnaround. Also, it helps to go light on the hop flavors and aromas if you're trying to please a wide audience.

Fermentation: Sugar used anaerobically to generate energy. CO2 and ethanol are the biproducts. Respiration: Sugar and O2 used to fuel the generation of lots more energy per sugar molecule than with fermentation. Yeasts used for fermentation, including beer, wine and baking yeasts prefer...

Use it to make a starter. If you are ever unsure about the quality or viability of your yeast then it's always better to confirm it than to waste a batch of perfectly good wort by pitching bad yeast.

How about a SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop)? If you want to do another 1 gallon beer, I'd suggest mashing 2-3 pounds of your malt and adding a quarter of an ounce of a hop at the beginning of the boil. Then throw in another quarter of an ounce of the same hop at flameout for aroma. This...

I sniffed some zythos in the LHBS and I'm convinced that the blend contains citra and/or galaxy. It has a that unistakable tropical fruit aroma. I didn't get much resin or pine notes from it, so I agree with the others that it wouldn't be a close replacement for Simcoe. I thought there was a...

Wow, scary! I could imagine that turning into a house fire. I wouldn't think it's safe to leave a bulb dangling or resting somewhere by gravity while in use. It needs to be secured in place. In this case I'd suggest screwing it to the side or top of the refrigerator compartment with a metal...