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I don't know why I had it in my head that mash (edit) temps are supposed to be 170-178. I don't know why I didn't check my notes before making 4 batches. Cocky, overconfident, lazy, who knows. What I do know is that I have 8 cases that are going to be hard to unload. Don't get me wrong, it's...

After a 5 month break due to cold weather I just brewed a good batch of beer yesterday. My friends had thought I quit, my wife was upset thinking I'd wasted all that money, even I was giving doubts that I might brew again. But old man winter has scheduled a few day off here at the end of January...

I've been going to Annapolis for brewing supplies for about 6 months now. Tired of retailers in the lower Delaware area not having good selection, knowledgeable service, or friendly people. I found this place in Annapolis that has a wide selection and great people who aren't arrogant or...

I'm having trouble believing that I didn't mix the sugar well or had a bottle infection. I gave two cases of beer to a friend and he placed it in his car while he worked (a Belgian Pale and a Porter). The temps were high 80's today and high humidity. Inside the car could have been over 100. He...

Might answer my own question here but can a hydrometer just be defective out of the box? I check between 70-80 degrees figuring it might read 2 points low on that higher end. I always take my measurement when I have the full amount of water mixed in. This hydrometer consistently tells me I'm...

If I wanted to start a failed business I'd open up one of the hundreds of amateur microbreweries that pop up every year. Nothing against anyone with that dream but brewing is just a hobby for me. A dedicated hobby as I carefully tend to the now 30 gallons of fermenting/conditioning beer and wine...

I'm coming to my wits end here. My LHBS doesn't sell beer bottle and to buy them online would cost too much just to ship. So I went around to 5 bars and collected their bottles through the weekend. Like 90% were twist caps (damn Bud Lite). So I got 12 good bottles from that method and recycled...

I’m trying to create my own recipes and wanted to make sure things gelled before I went off and just tried it. How does the sound for a Cream Stout? My calculator says it will give me 9.22%/vol and IBU 50. Bavarian Wheat DME 6# Lactos 1.5# Crystal 20L 1.50# Flaked Maize 1# Weyer...

Does beer just ferment in my house faster than others? I've kept the room at a steady 67 degrees within my yeast's calculations and everything I've made has reached target gravity within my first check of 7 days. I expected at least two weeks especially on my high gravity stout but no, sure...

Hey all. I’m about 1.5 weeks away from having my second batch ready to drink. Which is good because out of my entire first 5 gal batch I drank exactly 500ML of it before my friends devoured the rest. I saved 2 12 oz to sit in the closet to see how much aging does. Anyway, I just wanted to say...

I’m debating on when it is a good time to transfer to secondary. Going to make soda in the bottling bucket then wine in the primary next weekend so I’d like to open up some space. I was going to transfer tomorrow (10 days) but I’m still getting good bubbles out of the airlock; about 2-3 every...

O today's bottling day. After throwing the sugar water in I start bottling. After 12 bottled I realize the store sold me 2 cases of wine bottles. I don't have any corks so I immediately sanitized the secondary (plastic bucket) and got everything back in there. I won't be able to get...

Hi all, This is my first post but this site has been instrumental in my first brew. The advice on these forms has taught me technique, etiquette, and has quelled a lot of my fears over the last couple of weeks. I have an initial question to ask though. I’ve been going to my local beer supply...