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My first batch of dry mead was just bottled. I started it in summer 2012, so after almost two years of bulk aging it's now in bottles. I used organic Tupelo honey, D-47 yeast and the "no heat" method. Taste wise it's pretty good, still has nice aromatics and honey notes. Problem is that it's...

I just bought my first kegging setup from LHBS. Ball-lock with regulator and hoses and a set of new O-rings. I broke the keg down, replaced all the O-rings like it said to. Put a batch of beer in it, pressurized to 10psi. Tried to shake it a bit and noticed some liquid coming out of the IN...

Long story short -- I just relocated and the only space I have for brewing & fermentation is an outdoor shed/lean-to without any climate control. I'm in SoCal so the temperatures aren't too extreme, but we're still dealing with a typical winter low of 35-40 degrees and a high of 65 or so. I...

I have a batch of braggot which I'm aging and I was thinking about dry hopping. The problem is that I expect to age it for 4-6 months more before bottling, and then it will probably sit in my basement for another year or two before it's all consumed. So my question is, if I dry hop just...

I wanted to share my recipe for what I call summers Harvest Wine, using local summer fruits from the northeast. Ingredients (1 gallon): 1lb locally grown strawberries 11oz wild red and black raspberries (thought it was a full pound when I was picking them) 1qt organic concord grape juice. 2lb...

I did the Brewers Best RIS kit a few months back. Well I've decided I don't like it. It has some nice chocolate notes but otherwise it's thick and syrupy with a lot of residual sweetness. I feel like it would need a lot more alcohol to balance out that sweetness. Right now its around 7% I...

Has anybody tried using a fruit press to squeeze the bag doing BIAB? Right now I squeeze the crap out of it using a panini press (looks like a heavy steel trowel) but it's a pain. Anybody have a favorite press to recommend? The tabletop ones look too small--I think I'd probably need a 12 inch...

I brewed my first somewhat hoppy pale ale a few months ago (about 45 IBU). The first bottle I opened had a wonderful pungent grapefruit aroma to it. Now a few weeks later I feel like it doesn't have the same pungency as it did. It still tastes great, I just don't know if maybe I've gotten used...

Here's the recipe (1 gallon batch): 1/2 quart tart cherry juice concentrate (68 brix). After adding most of the water (about 3/4 full) it had a gravity of 1.045. 2 1/2 cups sugar 3/4 cup raisins 1/4 tsp fermaid K Added two packets of Red Star Montrachet yeast. OG is 1.096. It looks as black...

I have two LHBS's near me. The first one is close to my house but only sells pre-crushed grain at a flat $2.20/lb for all types. They also measure and bag it for you. They sell hops at a flat $3.75/oz for all types (pellets). The second is 25-30 min away but sells grain at around...

My girl really likes commercial cherry Kriek. Now I don't have the experience to actually brew a Lambic, but I want to make a nice malty cherry ale. She really likes the caramel flavors in some of my homebrew, so I want that to come out too. Here's my recipe so far (5 gallons): 8# Maris Otter...

What exactly is the difference (if any) between Fermaid K and yeast energizer and yeast nutrient? I skimped out making some mead and added 2 tsp of Fermaid K instead of 1 tsp nutrient, 1 tsp energizer. I think I may have stuck mead. What now?

So I did my first AG batch yesterday. BIAB-style with no new equipment (5 gallon kettle used as mashtun). Some observations: BIAB is super easy, there's almost no reason to use extract anymore! 5 gallon BK is small for a five gallon batch but it still works Sparging is basically...

I really love drinking port, especially nicely aged tawny port. Does anybody have any experience making it? My understanding is you make 'green' not-totally-fermented red wine, add brandy to kill off fermentation and then bulk age in barrels to mellow and oxidize. Clearly I can't make the...

I brewed by first braggot yesterday. When I tried to measure OG I was getting inconsistent readings. The sample seemed stratified and there was floating particles in it (either from the hops or the yeast energizer). The first sample read off the scale high on my refractometer (> 1.135). The...

I'm set to do my first braggot (based on the Hefty Braggot recipe in Compleat Meadmaker): 12 lbs star thistle raw honey 6 lbs amber DME 5 oz Cascade hops (3oz @ 60min, 1oz @ 30min, 1oz @ 2min) Lavin EC-1118 yeast Medium French oak cubes in the secondary Estimated OG (Beersmith): 1.135...

I've done 3 extract kits so far. At some point I will move to AG, but at this point I'm looking at new kits and it seems like they all have basically the same ingredients. The main differences seem to be steeping grains. If I wanted to make a 5 gallon batch of session ale, would it be a bad...

I brewed a strong RIS yesterday -- I started with the Brewer's Best RIS kit but added an extra 1.5 lbs of pale DME. OG was 1.092. I pitched it on top of the yeast cake from a batch of Caribou Slobber I bottled which uses Danstar Windsor ale yeast, basically because I didn't make a starter and I...