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So I ferment in 6.5Gal glass carboys with blowoff tubes. My Belgian Dark strong ale tasted great when sampling it, whoever I did notice that the crusty dry krausen at the neck of the carboy turned black resembling black mold. Has anyone seen this before? I do, from time to time, get band aid...

Hello!! After not brewing for a while my tap water PH dropped drastically to the point where my dark beers are coming out sour. I measured the uncarbonated stout I made and it came in about 3.8~ :mad:. I was wondering if adding some pickling lime or baking soda to a finished beer will correct...

So my first attempt at making a winter warmer ended up having harsh fusal alcohol using Wyeast 1056 and mashing at 148f. My original gravity is 1.072 and final 1.011. I did not oxgynate/aerate I just shook my carboy and fermented at 68f. I made a yeast starter with a sufficient amount of healthy...

I've always wondered how to achieve that rich maltiness in English brews. Ive made numerous batches with Maris Otter and cant seem to clone my favorite English Stout like Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout or Pale ales like Fullers ESB/London Pride. My most recent attempt was an Oatmeal stout...

Today I mashed my old ale at 4.9. Wow that's a record low for me. did this cause my low Efficiency of 78%(normally 85%) and why would it be so low? The recipe was a 6 gallon batch with 3.2oz pale chocolate malt some english dark/medium crystals and 1 pound of Amber malt and the base was MAris...

I brewed a weizenbock with an OG of 1.072(was supposed to be 1.082) I pitched a 3 liter starter which should have been enough for 1.082 so techinically I over pitched a tad. However, I heard a recommendation to under aerate to get more ester production from this yeast. So What I did was just...

I brewed a weizenbock with an OG of 1.072(was supposed to be 1.082) I pitched a 3 liter starter which should have been enough for 1.082 so techinically I over pitched a tad. However, I heard a recommendation to under aerate to get more ester production from this yeast. So What I did was just...

Riddle me this, Why does it take my ESB's over 3 months in the bottles to peak enough where it actually tastes just as good as commercial examples. After a month in the bottles they are carbonated but that Maris Otter base malt flavor is non existence until 3-4 months. If you ever had...

Ok, Ive been fighting this nasty bug ever since I moved into the new house. I'm pretty darn sure that it's some kind of contamination because it seems as though it happens to every other batch of beer. Once the beer is carbonated I get a strong presence of phenols. It smells and taste like a...

So I had my 3rd batch in a row with phenol off flavors/aromas. After the second batch I figured it was an infection and replaced all my plastics. It has now happened for a 3rd time. I did notice that at least 2 of these beers were taken out of the temp controlled fridge 10 days after...

I'm kinda basing this off an ESB style mixed with an Old ale perhaps. My Goal: I'm looking for a sweet & malty finish but balanced with the right amount of hops with fruity esters. 6 Gallon batch Sugars: 10lbs MO 1.25lbs Victory 12oz of Special B 8oz Aromatic 7oz of Molasses...

I'm wondering if I kegged this beer too soon or maybe my recipe needs tweaking? The flavor seems very 1-dimensional and muddy. There are no off flavors at all. Any suggestions on aging this perhaps for an addition month before I put it under pressure in the frdige? I kegged it about 2.5 weeks...

So I brewed a Brown Ale with wyeast 1056. I pitched enough yeast and had a constant fermentation temp of 68F. The beer tasted excellent up until it was carbed. I sampled my first bottle yesterday and I noticed a very strong phenolic flavor coming from the co2. I am wondering where I may have...

Ever since i've started to take Mash PH readings I always had trouble getting the PH correct. It seemed like no matter how much salts I added it hardly changed. Today, I did however realize that taking a sample from the top of the mash instead of the spigot has a major difference in PH. I took a...

Im looking to make an amber ale with magnum, chinook and simcoe hops. I'd like some advice on how much late additon hops i should use before it starts to over power the malt character like in IPA. I dont want that in your face hop aroma/flavor like in an Arrogant Bastard Ale nor do i want it...

Can someone recommend where to get quality Munich or Pilsner malt from? I dont want to get just any old generic munich/pilsner malt from the LHBS anymore. Any suggestions on specific maltsters? Thanks

Ive heard about people dumping wort right into a fermentor with yeast slurry on the bottom from a previous batch. My question is how long does that yeast last? I have it sitting in the garage at 40-55f for the past 5 days now. Is it still good? I have it covered with an airlock as well. Will it...

I'm still trying to figure this one out and i'm at a complete loss. I'm producing beers that taste very good without any flaws but each beer has hardly a difference in flavor. I pitch enough yeast and have excellent temp controls. It seems to me no matter what malts I use there is no difference...

Can someone tell me if there would be a difference in the maltiness of the beer if you mash at 150f with a low attenuating yeast opposed to mashing at 158 with a high attenuating yeast while achieving the same FG of 1.015. I keep hearing that if you mash lower(150f) you get a drier beer but...

Will a yeast starter that fermented too warm give some strange flavors to my ESB? I sampled my ESB while i was bottling it and it came out excellent with no detectable off flavors. After 3 weeks of bottle conditioning i noticed a strange flavor develope. It's almost like a crystal malt twang or...