Recent content by TrojanMan

My MIL gladly drinks my beer. Only problem is, she doesn't have much tolerance. Watching her get lazered on apfelwein was hilarious, though.:cross: As for why I brew? Because I must. I brew, therefore I am. If I simply consumed other people's beer, I'd just be a chain breaker...

Don't worry about sunlight. Radicalization only occurs in isomerized oils (i.e. post-brewing). Before you use the hops, sunlight won't hurt them a bit. Many old-world methods of drying used metal pans and grates to dry the hops with direct solar heat (similar to making raisins). The reason...

Did you guys really just drop a hydrometer inside a carboy? :facepalm: Everybody knows you have to tie a string to it first so that you can get it back out.

Green bits = infection. My condolences. But as stated, you might still be able to salvage it by racking beneath it when it's done. What yeast did you pitch and how did you do it? If it's 7 days later and there's no active fermentation then it sounds like you pitched a bunch of dead yeast.

Converted to the english units many of us are familiar with, that's 12 pounds of extract in 6 gallons (or 10lb per 5 gal batch equivalent). Rule of thumb is 37 points per lb of LME per gallon and 45 points per lb DME. OG target for 6 gallons is 1.080. Given 80% attenuation (which is very...

Two months later... (paint sample is just for reference) I got great head characteristics over the lagering period and it picked up quite a bit of a golden-frosty color from the oak. Note that it tastes absolutely nothing like tequila. It's the fruity yeast character of your classic...

Thoughts: * My wife is impatient with the foamsnake and she plays with it too much for it to grow to significant length * You have the same el cheapo Home Depot cabinets that I do * Somebody spilled their beer. That's so sad * I really need to upgrade to a bigger stainless kettle

Most people improve the quality of their beer as they learn. Most people also increase batch size, complexity (mass of equipment) and/or the volume of the boil as they learn as well. I'd say that most people will see an improvement when they move outside because they're changing other things...

Storing the beer a little too cold won't hurt a thing. Just drink how you normally would. When it hits the room temperature glass, it's going to rise a degree or two and depending upon ambient temp, it'll climb fairly quickly after that. I wouldn't worry too much. What you can do is to...

Oldest beer I've ever consumed was a Brooklyn Chocolate Stout '01 batch. Drank that at about 7.5 years old in '08. It was exquisite. I've had some Belgians I've aged for two years (ish) and one time I bought myself a case of Victory Storm King for my birthday. Drank one every two weeks for...

How come none of you guys add yeast nutrient? Go to GNC and pick up a jar of "brewer's yeast" (it's the same dried, centrifuged extract you pay $20/lb. for in homebrew catalogs) Just add 1.5 Tbsp and it's ready to drink inside 4 weeks! This whole waiting a year thing is bollocks, I say!

At least it looks like she has better taste in handguns than that P-22 travesty. But her... steins... are too small.

Only slightly related, but... When I made my first batch of beer, I went to a homebrew shop two states away in my parents' town because the local pickens were pretty sparse. I've been back a couple of times, but their prices are close to double what any major catalog/internet retailer...

4-5" of krausen head is normal. You did right, but sometimes if the temperature is a little high or if you have a lot of hops in the beer, etc. it can push to the airlock. You did the right thing. Sanitize your spare, swap it out and don't worry anymore. Good job. :mug: I use "Zelko"...

Fermentation gasses contain a lot of impurities that are being carried out of the beer. A dislikable odor during fermentation is not an indicator of a ruined batch. Case in point, many lager yeasts have a very sulfurous gym sock-y type odor when fermenting but it will clear up once...