Recent content by stanzela

Sorry to bump an old post but this is something I would love to hear more opinions on. After a solid year of all-grain brewing I am still not getting the results I'd like. I am making some great-tasting wort, cleaning and sanitizing carefully and fermenting at relatively stable temperatures...

Thanks for the tip, Bob. I'm definitely with you re: the awesomeness of simple, SMASH beers. I just wasn't sure about Hall. with 2-row. As I don't have much experience with the hop, I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be making a big batch of pine-sol or something. Encouraging to hear...

Hey folks, I have a day off to brew and was thinking about working with what little ingredients I have around. For Christmas I got about 10oz of fresh, organic Hallertau buds and I was thinking about brewing up something to showcase their profile. My thoughts were either a SMASH, or to...

Well, I've been sipping away at this beer pretty regularly now. The molasses is coming through more and more, but I'm enjoying the flavour. Certainly not overpowering. I hope I can be strong and save some bottles for the 2 month stretch...

+5 Creemore Springs clone = 46867

yeah, i was working with the bottom of my 55lb bag and was sure i had at least 10lbs in there. I guess my eye isn't a very good measure. In any case, I cut back on the c-60. I'll go ahead with the rye as I can use the extra fermentables, and I'd like to try it. I might try to empty...

I caved and cracked a bottle tonight, one week after bottling. It is a really nice beer. Poured a crystal-clear, reddish brown and tasted sweet and malty. If anyone has tried Upper Canada Dark, it had an almost identical aroma with a coppery-metallic sort of nose, but the flavour was richer...

Hey gang, I've busted up the following for a brew day tomorrow - hoping for a nice IPA. 8lbs 2-row 1.2lbs Crystal 60 0.5lbs Crystal 20 I have some really nice flaked rye here and I was thinking about using 1-1.5lbs as my grain bill is currently a bit light (ran out) and I would like to...

If you love it, you'll do a fine job. It sounds like you're really into it and you've had some success and in my mind there is no reason to ever feel as though you have to start with extract-brewing or work your way up. The only way to learn is to do your homework and give it a shot. Brewing...

Hey man, it looks like you did most things correctly. You didn't get an infection and, in the end, you made some beer. Don't get too down on yourself just because it doesn't taste perfect. You'll definitely get there. It's probably a good idea to get your supplies and get brewing again as...

Yeah, sorry, Eastoak. I figured that's what you were getting at. Just wanted to make sure the point was clear for the original poster. I felt like a bit of an a$$ making the post, so I hope no offense was taken, as none was intended. As for the oranges, I would echo what others have said...

While I don't have much experience bottling with anything but dextrose, I would agree that you're probably best to go ahead and bottle. You can certainly try any of the many priming sugars (honey, caramel sugar, brown sugar), just be sure to look into how much you'll need for your batch size...

This is sort of a misleading comment. If the beer is already lacking in maltiness, then a dry-hop addition won't be adding any balance - it'll just add a flowery aroma to an already dry beer. Soulbrew, I am always of the opinion that you are your own best judge. You know what your tastes are...

+1 on honey being the culprit. It's fully fermentable so it'll come out dry when the yeast have done their business. The sugars you use for bottle conditioning are going to depend on your volume, the desired amount of carbonation (CO2 volumes), and, to a lesser extent, the temp. It'll be...

At what temperature did you ferment? Did you pitch just the vial of yeast, or had you prepared a starter? If a starter, what volume? Also, I'm assuming that when you topped up, this helped to bring the temp down below the 100* you cited - what was your pitching temp?