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Hi folks, I've made a few 1 gallon batches in the past, but recently decided to get more serious about making good mead. One of my new tools is an Oakton EcoTestr pH tester, recently calibrated. I just a semi-sweet, no-heat mead batch yesterday. 15 lbs Tulip Poplar honey 3.5 gal RO water 2...

I'm looking for some opinions on whether I should use this aluminum can as a fermenter. I've read the sticky on aluminum kettles, but it doesn't discuss fermentation and the existing threads on aluminum fermenters aren't very illuminating. A little history: I got the can from my...

New yeast washer here. I have a nicely striated yeast cake I just washed this morning, chilling in the fridge. I'm brewing this evening and I'll be pitching this yeast. I understand I want the yeast (the white layer) and nothing else, but what's the best to ensure that? Decant the...

I'm brewing a Flanders Brown, primarily to make a yeast cake for a bigger beer (a Belgian IPA I'll be brewing soon afterwards). I'd like to add Wyeast 5335 - Lactobacillus to give it some sour. Obviously I can't put the Lacto in the primary if I want to use that yeast cake on a non-sour...

I'm scheduled to bottle a beer in 30 minutes, and just found out the spigot to my bottling bucket has been damaged and is now junk. I'm planning on pitching on to the yeast cake of this beer, so I need to do something with it and would rather just bottle than move to another bucket and bottle at...

My town utility board has posted it's water quality report online, and it appears to contain a lot of useful information but I'm having a tough time deciphering what it means for brew water. These two pages contain most of the hard numbers: http://www.mub.org/rep_consumer3.htm...

I brewed an AG Kolsch a couple weeks ago. The fermentation temp has been a bit high (ambient temperature around 67 F), but otherwise nothing atypical. I'm fermenting with Wyeast 2656, which I understand is supposed to be finished in around 4-7 days. I checked on it after 4 days, and it had a...

I'm having a hard time justifying the purchase or a stir plate and Erlenmeyer flasks, but I'm still looking for ways to improve the cell count in my starters. I'm an 'Intermittent Shaker' to use the term from the Mr. Malty calculator. I was thinking about adding a widget to my starter vessel...

After labeling my first batch of bottles, I knew I needed a different solution. I saw this thread on hang tags and gave them a shot. They didn't work for me, but now the wheels were spinning and I hit on an idea that is working for me. Dog tags! They are simple, sturdy, and reusable. I...

I'm getting ready to brew an Oktoberfest beer, using White Labs 820 for the first time. While researching the yeast, I learned that it's a notorious slow starter and requires a fairly large starter size, involving at least one step up. I decided that instead of fooling with that, I'd take the...

Hey folks, tried my first batch of cider using the following instructions from this thread I used Giant Eagle AJ (from concentrate, no preservatives) and clover honey, but otherwise I followed the recipe. I had an OG of 1.060 and a final of 1.020. I cold crashed in my new freezer, but...

Hey folks, I just started brewing the last year. I've got some brewing buddies, and I've recently switched to all grain brewing. I like big, malty beers, tending toward Belgians and Scotch ales. When I'm not brewing I spend my time geocaching, messing with my pond or listening to music...