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Yesterday I compared an IPA (76 IBU) from Barrelhouse Brewing company to Tioga-Sequoia brewing company's IPA (62 IBU) and the latter was substantially more bitter. How can the beer with less IBU be more bitter? I'll go grab that "joy of homebrewing book" off the shelf and read up on IBUs, but...

I made a frigidaire kegerator. It works great. I'm trying to replace the light with a fan that blows cold air into the tower. But each time I connect the fan to the white and yellow wires that were once for the light I get a bunch of fireworks. What, in all hell, am I missing? Here are some pics...

I'm brewing a golden wheat strawberry ale. OG: 1.052 fermentation took off well. Left in Primary for 2 weeks. Took gravity reading: 1.018. I decided the ABV was too low. I added 1 pound of DME to boost the ABV (boiled and chilled to 70F, of course). I transferred the wort to...

I made this 2'x3.75' fermentation chamber with a small fridge and small heater. Fridge is attached with silicone (I'm positive there are no leaks there. I siliconed it up really good). The heater is inside. In the winter the heater is plugged in. In summer the fridge is plugged in (haven't used...

So I'm pretty much done with building my ferm chamber, but I have no idea how to check for leaks. I'm thinking about putting some newspapers in a can, let it smolder. And look for smoke from the outside. But my only concern there is odor after I'm done.

Wtf?! My mother in law is worse than a drill sergeant. She is always there...Always. So much so that when my wife gets home I can't get in the word hello before they go off on their female dialogue. What to do to send her away? I've tried direct commo but no help. She's making me suicidal. :)

Check out this pic. I'm trying to decide whether to install this sight window or not. It would be cool to have but may increase the probability of leakage and other potential problems.

So to cool down the wort we submerge the boil keggle in the pool and put a copper wort chiller in the wort. It works really well. It goes from 200+ to 70 degrees Farenheit in about 45 minutes. So after getting down to 70 degrees we tote it to a table and open the ball valve to let the liquid...

I wish there was a blanket to wrap the fermenting vessel to cool it from 80 degrees to 67 or 70 degrees. My closet in the summer time is at 80. I've been brainstorming on how to drop the temp. I've read about a tub of water and wrap it with a towel. The towel will wick water and drop the...

Finally got this keg to seal. Had to replace the gas-in post and clean the liquid-out. In the liquid-out post I found 2 pieces of a wire brush that was preventing the seal. The seller must have cleaned it and didn't bother to check for a seal. The first thing I did was turn it over face first...

I found one online for $6.00 plus s/h. I went to our LHBS and it was $10.00. Given shipping and handline the price is approximately the same, and I'd like to keep my money local to support our local economy. The guys at the LHBS (very moody, some days they're cool as can be and other days...

I have 2 ounces of Northern Brewer and 2 ounces of Chinook hops. Does anyone have any suggestions what I should brew with this? I'm thinking of an IPA or APA. I was thinking 1/2 an ounce of chinook to dry hop or I may boil it all and go buy another ounce of centennial hops. Any...

Very funny story that I have to share: I bought a 5 gallon keg the other day. The inlet valve is leaking so I took it to work with me this morning to return it after work. So as I drive in the parking lot a coworker is waiting for me to let her in (she forgot her security badge at home). I...

I had an ok 3 tier, gravity fed system going. Only problem is its along the fence line of my bible thumping neighbor. Last time I brewed she peaked her eye through the crack of the fence, asked what I was doing and after I answered her she said "what great memories your daughter will have."...

(Final-original gravity) x 131= ABV. Right? Well according to Charlie Papazians book "joy of home brewing" the multiplication figure is 105. Which is correct? Online calculators seem to be using the 131 figure.

From the vial the yeast was clumpy. And after 36 hours in the yeast starter it is still clumpy. Wtf? If the yeast is bad, can I pitch another to save this 5 gallon batch? White labs vial, CA ale yeast, WLP051.

Any info out there on brewing 10 gallon batches?

Going to brew an IPA for the first time. I have 2 packs of Northern Brewer, 2 packs of Chinook and 1 pack of cascade hops. What order do I brew them and at what times during the boil? For example, northern brewer at 30 minutes, chinook at 45 and cascade at the last 10? The only recipe I...

Can I store my beer at 80 degrees until i'm ready to start force carbonating in a 40 degree fridge? My plan is to have 2 servicable kegs and 1 or 2 on deck, but the only place to store it in the summer is my house that is at 80 degrees. (Gotta' keep the pipeline full).

I'm brewing a blonde ale. I followed the directions except at the last 10 minutes of the boil I added a cinnamon stick. the whole thing must have disintegrated because it disappeared. Anyway, it's been about 27 hours since pitching the yeast and I'm not getting any activity. Also, the O.G...