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I'm doing my first sour mash beer, and was wondering if anyone knows of any additional corrections that should me made to a refractometer reading. I was targeting a pre-boil OG of 1.058, but the brix reading converts to 1.068. Either the sour mash made things hyper-efficient, or the lactic acid...

I feel like I already know what the answer is, but... I'm trying my second lager right now, with the following details: OG: 1050 Yeast: blend of White Labs 800 and 833 Temp: pitched at 44F, now at49F Time so far: 48 hours So the yeast is taken from my first lager batch, and it had a...

Is anyone using a Bayou Classic 1036/1136 (36qt stainless pot) with an induction cooker? Does it seem to work? I'm thinking about picking up an 1136, the Max Burton 6000 1800w induction cooktop, and going for a semi-BIAB. I'd do a 1.5qt/lb mash in the big pot, heat up sparge water on my...

After just over 3 years of homebrewing, I finally switched to kegging! Let's just say, my experience so far hasn't quite matched the picture on the tin. And since my wife (who is the best wife ever for finally caving!) doesn't want to hear about all the things that went wrong, I'm posting it all...

I'm heading home for the holidays, and wanted to brew some beer with my dad at a brew-on-premise place. Does anyone in the Mississauga/Toronto area have a recommendation? I've found a few places on Google, but information is very scarce. Minimum requirements are: 1) They let you do most of...

This might be my first stuck fermentation! Or, something else. Here's my situation. Grain Bill: Partial Mash Oatmeal Stout, based on Jamil's all-grain recipe. 6 lb Light LME (Morebeer) 1 lb 2-row 1 lb Flaked Oats (totally unprocessed by me) 0.75 lb Chocolate Malt 0.75 lb Victory Malt...

It was in the 90's today. I came home from work into a sweltering house, and have been sitting up sweating all evening. My oatmeal stout, however, is happily fermenting away at a cool 64 degrees. I'm going to feel pretty good when those lucky bastard yeast cells are killed in my tummy.

When I brewed my first batch two years ago, I tried a sip of wort and nearly spat it out. Today, I found myself downing the entire contents of my hydrometer sample jar. I was like, "That is some good wort!" And I'm a partial boiler, so this is really wort syrup (1.090+). I feel like I passed...

I thought I'd share my recent experience of trying out a 30-minute boil. I do a partial boil of 2.5-3 gallons and use extract for at least 80% of my fermentables (sometimes I partial mash with up to 2 lbs of grain). Since December, I've been doing 30-minute boils to try and save energy and...

I just wrapped up my first partial mash with actual process measurements! The bad news is that it looks like my mash efficiency is 58%. Here is my grain bill: 1 lb Golden Promise (est. 32 ppg) 0.5 lb Crystal 15 (est. 35 ppg) 0.5 lb Wheat (est. 38 ppg) Total: 2 lb at 34.25 ppg I mashed...

My thin beer problem is now a recurring one. I've done two batches: one a brown mild, the other a blonde ale. Both taste "thin" or watery, and both were extract-based (with steeping grains or partial mash). Both were also experimental 30-minute partial boils. Could the thinness be a lack of...

This is now the second time I've brewed something that's come out tasting thin, like there's malt and hop flavor but no "base". Both were extract and steeping grains. The first was a Morebeer Irish Red, and the second was Jamil's mild. Nothing else I've brewed has come out like this, from blonde...

I tried some of a friend's beer today, and since I wasn't asked for any feedback I will post it here semi-anonymously! Bottle 1: terrible medicine taste that stuck to my tongue and would not go away! Bottle 2: a gusher, really strong bubble gum flavour, lots of residual sweetness Bottle 3...

Ok, I know it's not a big deal and I should be RDWHAHBing, but... I have a helles-like ale fermenting in the garage. This is my first from scratch recipe, and I have really big hopes for how great it will come out. I don't enter competitions, but I would really like this to be my flagship...

I'm looking for some critique of my first hand-crafted recipe. I want to make a Helles similar to Maui Brewing Company's Bikini Blonde Lager (I like the mouthfeel and slight sweetness), with a little extra body and alcohol to make it through a California winter. And mine will be an ale -- WLP080...

I've made three batches of beer, and noticed a lot (more than I'd like) of variability from bottle to bottle within a single batch. Things like degree of carbonation, head retention and amount, and "stickiness" of sediment. The flavour is always very consistent, but it seems like the attributes...

Does anyone know where I can buy somewhat reasonably priced "dimple" pint glasses? These are the old beer mugs that used to hold an Imperial pint. The ones that my dad, and probably your dad, or maybe you yourself, used to drink from until the 90's. They look like this. I've been searching...

This sounds too ridiculous to be true, but I think I am using my hydrometer incorrectly. My first batch of beer measured out to about 3.5% ABV. I know that tasting alcohol is difficult and subjective, but pretty much everyone that tried it felt like it was more in the 4-5% range. I think the...

I'm using a plastic bucket with S-shaped airlock, and the gurgling is starting to drive me crazy! My house is small enough that you can hear it in every room, and it's been going non-stop for the last three days. Has anyone used a check valve or something else to keep air from coming in but...

I want to make a blueberry stout (as my second batch of beer), and Morebeer has a really good price on an all-extract Milk Stout. Could it be as simple as using that kit and adding some (4 lbs) of blueberries to the boil?