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Hi guys, looking to jump to 15 gallon batches. Is a 20 gallon boil kettle big enough? Specifically this one from brewer's hardware: http://www.brewershardware.com/20-Gallon-TC-Fitted-Boil-Kettle-with-Tangential-Inlet-and-Temperature-Port.html I'd rather not jump to 30 gallons unless...

Hi all, I kegged a low-gravity blonde ale last night, about 5 weeks from brew day. It still had a bit of a green apple taste- will this go away with cold conditioning, or should I leave it out of the fridge for longer to keep the yeast active?

Hi guys, anyone ever had their carboy still bubbling well into the secondary? I had this beer two weeks in the primary beforehand, and it's going on 2 weeks in the carboy now. It bubbles every 45 seconds or so. It had a relatively modest starting gravity too, about 1.048. It was 1.011 when...

I recently purchased two used soda kegs from a homebrew store, and forgot to order replacement o-rings. Can you find these o-rings at Home Depot?

Do you guys ever find yourselves "double pouring" a bottled beer that's super carbonated? I've found that I enjoy the taste of relatively lightly carbed beer, and I've had a number of home brews turn out too carbonated. I've found that after the initial pour, if I just grab another glass, pour...

Hi guys, I've been doing some reading on partial boil vs. full boil, and it's my understanding that you place some rather severe limits on your hop utilization with a partial boil. My question is this- if doing say, 2.5 gal instead of 5 gal, with the full extract amount added at beginning...

Hi guys, I'm working on a brown ale that was in the primary for a little over a week, transferred to the secondary at around 1.016 SG. Transferred maybe a bit early, but I was going on vaca and wanted to get it moved. It's been in the secondary for just over 2 weeks now, and it's still...

Hi guys, I was wondering if you all typically let the primary fermentor sit at room temp until the yeast gets going before chilling it down to desired ferm temp in the swamp cooler (or whatever cooling method you use)? I just brewed a batch yesterday and decided to let it sit out for a bit to...

Hey guys, I've searched the forums for quite awhile and not found what I'm looking for. I know the instructions for Notty dried yeast say to immerse in water 10 times its weight, so by my calculations, an 11 gram packet of yeast equates roughly to only about .4 ounces of water. Does this sound...

Hi guys, I recently purchased an extract kit from Northern Brewer. My malt extract came in a half gallon container like a milk carton, so it's not prepackaged canned extract. If it's gonna be a few weeks before I use it, should I store it in the fridge for the time being?

I've searched these forums on this topic and didn't quite find what I was looking for. I've brewed 2 batches so far and they've gone great, but I feel like after bottle conditioning my beer is just a tad over carbonated- I'm using the recommended 5 oz. It's not a consistency problem either...

Hi guys, I brewed a batch with liquid yeast (wyeast activator) for the first time the other day, and so far it's not looking good. Here are a few bullet points: 1. Yeast activator pack did not seem to swell at all in the three hours it it sat on the counter before pitching. 2. It's now...

Does the fermentation of the bottling sugar add any considerable amount of alcohol content to the beer?

I have a simple question. It seems that, based on what I have read in books and on these forums, homebrewed beer has a much longer shelf life than commercially brewed beer you buy in the store- why is this, especially considering commercial beer is pasteurized? In the past, I've always...

Hey guys! I'm flying up north from FL to visit family, and naturally, I want to take a six pack of my first homebrew up for them to try. Have any of you guys ever done this? Should I expect any problems with the airline (or the homebrew for that matter) flying with 6 bottles of beer packed...

Just popped open my first brew and it's great! Wanted to thank everyone for all the wonderful help...you guys are awesome! Here's a pic: Can't wait till my next one is finished...

I just realized that I performed my "stir/wisk vigorously to aerate wort" step AFTER I added the yeast. I believe I was supposed to do this before, and sprinkle yeast on top without stirring. Is this bad?

Ah, I cooled my wort after boil all the way down to 58 degrees. Should I wait till it gets up to 65 or so before pitching? I'm doing an ale with Nottingham yeast.

For my second brew, I'm thinking about doing some sort of water bath fermentation. I would guess my first ale fermented around 72-75 degrees, which from what I gathered is a little on the high side. I was think of shooting for something around 65-68 degrees. How does this sound? My other...

Hi guys, I'm about to bottle my first batch. Questions: 1) Is it necessarily to let the bottles fully dry after sanitizing? I am using Star San. 2) Is it necessary to sanitize caps? If so, should I boil them, or just soak them in Star San? Thanks!