Recent content by Xanatos903

I'm going to second this. I'm polishing off the last of my double chocolate stout, and I'm kind of sad I didn't let the entire batch age this long. With S04 yeast, it's a fantastic beer.

There aren't really any outward signs of carbonation. Some people like to fill a soda bottle and use its firmness as a gauge of carbonation. I like to keep myself content by taking a couple of bottles out each week and trying them to see if the beer's ready. There isn't a problem with just...

+5gal Anti-seasonal porter. 16,803

The bird doesn't get much use because it bends the caps, but I keep it around for fun.

1. Yes. This is actually my preferred method for chilling whenever I'm not doing full boils. Take some water and put it in the fridge at the beginning of your brew, and it'll get your wort down to pitching temperatures in no time. If it doesn't get the wort down to below 70*, you can supplement...

Definitely not. I leave my beers in the primary for longer than 3 weeks all the time. As long as you don't have some curious kids, you'll be fine.

I've been drinking bottles off and on of a red ale I brewed using Midwest's Boston Red kit. It's been about two months since I bottled, and it seems like about 1/3 of the bottles have a strong clove flavor to them. I understand that a high fermentation temperature can lead to phenols, but I'm...

That does look a little suspect. How long has it been in the fermentor? I'd pull out a little sample and see how it tastes.

Once the vigorous fermentation seems to be over with, it's over with. You aren't going to have another round of krausen trying to escape the primary. So, reattaching the airlock was a safe decision.

5 gallons of chocolate stout+1 gallon black IPA. 5483 + 6 = 5489

Depends on a couple of factors, I think. Like Yooper said, sometimes you've got to wait for the heat to die down. But what I'm dealing with on my most recent batch are some very strong, bitter flavors from the orange peel that I put in my mead. It's been a month, so I cracked open a bottle last...

Daphne Brewery. My family is in possession of one of the last virgin prairies in Texas (Daphne Prairie), and I've spent a good deal of time out there hunting and working the land.

I'd sparge with more water the next time. But it sounds to me like the water wasn't in contact with all of the grains. Just bagging it up should work fine, but you've got to make sure they aren't too tight in there, or else the water won't reach all of the grains. Next time, poke it and stir...

Sounds to me like his pot is too wide. I had the same problem with my first partial mash, and solved it by splitting the grains into two bags. Even the "large" muslin bags don't stretch enough to cover the bottom of my pot, so I've got some still above the water line.

Not sure if you can get Real Ale up in Dallas, but I'd definitely give them a shot. Their Full Moon RyePA, and Rio Blanco Pale Ale very good beers. Independence Brewery also has some very good beers. I really like their Bootlegger Brown, and Austin Amber. Rahr and Sons Ugly Pug black lager is a...