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I'm an all grain brewer. I typically brew ales that are 10+ SRM. I filter my water slowly (about 1 gpm) through a KDF filter using a potable water hose from my sink and I add camden to my water to remove chloramines. I know my water chemistry and I use Kai's EZ Water spreadsheet to determine...

I brewed this beer for my wife for our 18th anniversary coming up on 6/16. She really likes amber ales like Bell's and Fat Tire and brown ales like Ellie's Brown and Moose Drool, so I was trying to come up with a beer that she would like, but I didn't want anything too big or heavy since I plan...

I took my first harvest 3 days ago and the hops are done drying today. These are first year cascade plants that did really well. I got 15.25oz wet which came out to 3.15oz dried. My drying method was a screen in the basement sitting on some boxes with a dehumidifier running next to them...

My tap water is treated with chloramine. To get around it I use campden tablets to treat my water when I do partial mashes or use distilled water when doing all extract. Before I did this my beers would all develop a plastic taste that was unmistakable. My question is, if I used my...

I just bottled a batch of hoppy wheat beer I made last week. It was a Cooper's Wheat beer kit that I doctored by adding some hop additions and some dried orange and lemon peel (the kind like they sell at the LHBS). I used US-05 as well since I wanted the yeast to be neutral. I never rack my...

I needed one of my buckets for another batch and didn't have time to bottle so I racked my wheat beer to a carboy on Friday. I noticed this morning that I could see brush marks where the yeast is clinging to the side of the carboy. I presume they're clinging to mineral deposits. I cleaned...

I just made a batch of Cooper's blonde ale on Friday night and it is infected. It smells like vinegar and has a definite vinegar taste, the same as my previous batch. I'm using a Cooper's fermenter for my primary. After I dumped the last batch I soaked the fermenter overnight in hot...

I just brewed an ESB on Saturday and pitched a fresh pack of rehydrated S-04. Temp at pitch was 64*F. I saw signs of fermentation within 18 hours and by 36 hours I had a huge (6-7") layer of foam on top of the beer. I kept the temps under 65*F (ferm temps, not ambient). The krausen started...

I'm wondering if I could use a pH stabilizer in my all extract batches even though I'm not doing a mash. If I were to add it to my water before boiling would that help avoid the mineral count from getting so high from what is already in the water combined with the mineral content in the...

I made a batch of beer on 1/7 and the krausen won't drop, but it is fully attenuated. OG was 1.052, I pitched a new packet of US-05 that I rehydrated, pitched at 64*F, temp went up to 67*F during active fermentation, now its holding at 62*F. I took a hydrometer sample and it is 1.011. The...

OK, before I get flamed for starting another infection thread, let me just clarify that I've never brewed a cider before, so I'm not sure what to expect it to look like. This kind of looks like the spiderweb pattern I've seen with lactobacillus. I know the bubbles are just CO2. This is...

Right now I don't have time to do kits that require boiling so I'm going to be doing some Cooper's kits. I returned my turkey fryer so I can get a heavier duty kettle, so I don't have a large volume container to keep my top-up water in. Normally I treat my water before I do anything by adding...

My step-dad has given me his brewing equipment. One of the things he brought over was "Phil's Lauter Tun" from Listermann. It looks to be in good shape and mostly complete. It needs a lid and new hoses, and the sparge arm looks like the inside of it has a buildup of something, calcium from...

I have a 32qt King Kooker aluminum pot that I picked up from Cabela's (measures 15x15x14.5). I want to add a ball valve so I can transfer the wort to my fermenter without having to lift the kettle. All of the recomendations I have found are for 40qt pots that are taller and more narrow than...

I went to my LHBS to pickup some new caps as the old ones are worn. They no longer have Cooper's caps but instead have LD Carlson white caps. They thought they'd fit but weren't sure. I'm comparing them to the Cooper's caps and there is an extra thread on the inside of the cap. I thought I'd...

I'm trying to cold crash my most recent batch of beer and it doesn't seem to be clearing up. I've had it in the fridge at about 34*F for 3 days. It fermented for about 6 days at 66*F and I let it sit for another 9 days before I put it in the fridge. I can see a lot of the hop trub has fallen...

I know some people (like John Palmer) recommend not using whirlfloc in extract brews, but I need a way to clear my beer without cold crashing or racking to secondary with gelatin, etc. I can't always cold crash until I get a dedicated fridge just for brewing. My question is, is there any...

I picked up a cheap kit from Midwest and it came with some no-name yeast (labeled RPB) like the packet mentioned in this post. It looks to be about a 6 or 7 gram packet. I'm just brewing a simple american light ale extract kit, but I've always been told to avoid no-name yeasts (I've never...

I've got about 1.5oz of Hallertauer Hersbrucker leaf hops (I think they're like 4% alpha) left over from a previous batch. I put them in a sealed bag and thought I'd thrown them into the freezer, but I found them in the fridge. They've been in there for 4 months. I'm assuming they're still...

I racked my Cream Ale into my Tap-a-Draft bottles a little over 5 weeks ago. I sampled it a few times since week 2 and it went from being hoppy, thin and watery to having a strong malt flavor with almost no hop flavor, and unfortunately an aftertaste of ham or hot dogs. My last batch of beer...