Search results

Even though I'm really not into brewing clones, I thought I could learn a lot by buying BYO's special issue with 250 clone recipes. It's been very interesting to read, but I noticed something in the extract recipes that seems rather odd: even when there are no adjuncts that need mashing, they...

So I did a semi-split boil last night. I do PMs, so I only use a 5-gallon pot for my boil. This time my mash was pretty big, so I also used a 10-quart stock pot for the extra, figuring I'd be able to combine it into the main pot after some boil. I added a little DME and a smattering of the...

I've been using flaked rye in a couple of beers, and I usually mash with a half-pound of two-row per pound of flaked rye (measured before cooking). Based on my hydrometer measurements, this seems to work well. I use American two-row because available locally and is pretty cheap. If I want...

I've used Notty many times in the past with no odd smells. While I've pretty much switched to US-05, I had one packet of Notty left. I don't know if it's the batch that had troubles, but I never had any troubles with the packets I'd purchased before this. I decided to use it up just to get it...

I searched for the answer and didn't find it, but if it's already here just redirect me and I'd be glad to read it for myself. About a week ago I recultured the dregs from five bottles of Oberon. I poured it into about 1.5 pints of wort at around 1.055-1.060 (yes, I now know that was high)...

On Sunday I made a sort of bastardized American Rye ale/tripel and pitched some T-58 (one pack, rehydrated). Do most people who use this yeast ramp the temp like they do with a lot of Belgian yeasts, or do they leave it as-is? Ambient is about 68 F right now, and I pitched while the wort was...

I made a holiday beer a couple of weeks ago and was sort of running on memory. I used cinnamon, ginger, clove, and star anise. The amounts were fine, except that for a 5-gallon batch I used probably about 4-5 star anise. This was for the last 10 minutes of the boil, and now it has a pretty...

I'm thinking of making a strong barley wine to age in a used oak keg. The problem is that I'm looking for what I think is called a pin -- a roughly 4-5 gallon keg -- and I can't find any on the internet. Does anybody know where these might be available?

These sound very similar. I have and use Special B, but I'm curious about the Briess product. Has anybody here used it, and what's it like?

So I've read about people distilling hop oils, and I'm intrigued. The old Ballantine IPA achieved an incredible hop flavor and/or aroma through this method, according to everything I've read. However, once or twice I've come across information that the result is similar to dry-hopping. For those...

What do you think, guys? I'm planning to brew this later this winter and keep it for the next holiday season. Suggestions? 8 # Briess Pale LME .5 lb Crystal 120L .5 lb Victory 25L .33 lb Black Patent 1.2 lbs light honey 1 oz Columbus (12%) - 60 min 2 3-inch cinnamon sticks (10...

I've searched for the answer to this but can't find it (doing a search for "special b" only yields a search for special, the b being excluded!:( ). Anyway, I'm not necessarily looking for an exact substitute, just what you think the result would be.

I know what yeast nutrient is and what it does, and I know it's primarily used by vintners and mead makers. I also know it's used in high-gravity beers. My question is: when do I determine that I should use it? For instance, if my OG is above, say, 1.080, should I use it (maybe along with some...

About three weeks ago I bottled up a stout. Even though I knew it wouldn't really be ready, I had a couple last weekend and they were pretty good. They were fully carbed and had nice, dense heads. Last night I had two more...zip. There was a very slight hiss when I opened the bottles, but there...

Has anyone used Brewer's Gold for flavor and/or aroma? I have! I'd planned on making a Ballantine IPA clone, so I bought some Brewer's Gold hops. I never did get around to making it (though I still will), so they were just sitting in the fridge. I'd read that they were generally not well...

I'm going to brew a 3.5 gallon batch of strong old ale. I'll use my regular 6-gallon bucket for primary, which I figure shouldn't be a problem. However, if I use a 5 gallon carboy for secondary, will there be too much oxygen at the top? Should I just leave it in primary for a month?

I've noticed that a lot of liquor stores store their bottle-conditioned beers in the refrigerated units. Most of these beers are meant to be aged, and I know that refrigerating them won't help that along. Worse, though, is that I've heard the yeast can eventually die in these conditions, which...

I feel a little dumb even asking it, but I started wondering if I really needed to mill rye malt since it's hullless.

I'm coming up with a new IPA recipe. I'm thinking about using about .25 lbs wheat malt in my IPA recipe (7 lbs LME, 1 lb Crystal 80L). I've never used it but have read it should aid in head formation/retention, mouth feel, etc, just like CaraPils. I'm sure the flavor would be a bit different...

Yesterday I made my Northland IIPA recipe for the first time. Blender was kind enough to chime in with some very welcomed feedback (thanks, Blender!). One thing he mentioned was yeast: since I had such a dense brew, he suggested I use two packets of yeast. Well, I used s-04, and I only had one...