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In my experience an overspiced beer is usually not very pleasant. IMO wait til it's carbed up then give it a taste test and adjust from there. It's a lot easier to add flavor than to take it back out. :)

I find drinking beer at too cold a temperature accentuates the bitterness and not much else. Do you let your bottles warm up a bit before you drink them? If not you should give that a try and see if that helps improve the flavor.

Maybe you're having a reverse lupulin shift? :D Your analogy to soda water makes me think of carbonic bite, but I would think most commercial breweries do not have overcarbing problems with their beer. Perhaps it's something temperature related?

As far as BJCP categories are concerned you're most certainly right, but based on that I'd be hesitant to call either of the beers I listed an amber ale, even if that's what they're labeled as.

Zoe and Red Rocket are two good examples that come to mind. Though I kind of feel like there's such a large cross-over between Amber ales and IPAs/PAs that the style is a bit redundant.

I do use some 22oz bottles when bottling, but it's nice having the option of cracking open a 12oz when I'm only in the mood for a single glass. That said, filling 22oz bottles still takes roughly the same amount of time as filling the equivalent amount of 12ozers. I think if the filling part...

Cleaning is a given, but since I don't own any kegs I'd probably go with bottling. Having a way to significantly cut down on bottling time would be great.

This is pretty much where I stand. Why take a chance in the first place. I do think there are some benefits to glass, so I won't berate anybody for using it, but one thing I'd certainly recommend for both glass and plastic users is to get a milk crate. It makes transporting the carboy so much...

Wow, and this is coming from a guy who drank his own p!ss? That stuff must be REALLY bad. :D When I was in Texas visiting a friend we went to his family's house, who were all tossing back clamatos. I had a few sips of one I was offered before surreptitiously dumping it in the bushes. I felt...

I've never seen them sold anywhere but NB, but I believe the old ones were produced by Fermentap. The new model looks pretty sweet but I'm also having a hard time pulling the trigger with that price tag. Will probably just go for a generic kettle instead.

I find I get better aromas from whole leaf, but the trade off is that even with cold crashing they tend to stay on top of the beer so you'll need to rack beneath that layer to avoid sucking up any hops. You could certainly use a mesh bag to remedy that problem, just make sure to pack the hops...

I noticed that too. What's funny is if you go to the beer ratings on FindTheBest only 2 or 3 of the ones listed appear within the first few pages. Most of them are now craft beer from breweries like RR/Founders/Sierra. I think that article may have struck a nerve with the craft beer crowd. :)

Many printers print in some form of thermoplastic, so assuming they could use something like PET you could create something food safe. Some printers are able to use metal alloys, though I don't know if that's something available on a small scale for home use. It would be cool to eventually be...

Vermont: Farmhouse Tap & Grill, Burlington Prohibition Pig - Waterbury For brewpubs, there's Vermont Pub & Brewery in Burlington. Not a huge selection to choose from but their brewery puts out some really interesting stuff. Great thread. I like the Google docs idea as well. :)

It helps to think of the alpha acid number as percentage by weight. So for every half-ounce of 10% AA (by weight) hops you use, you're essentially distributing the same amount into the beer during the boil as you would with a full ounce of 5% AA (by weight) hops.

I know people have added nuts to either their mash, boil, secondary, or some combination thereof with good results. You can also make a sort of nut "tea" by steeping crushed nuts in boiled water to extract the flavor, then freezing it and skimming off the fat before adding it to your beer. This...

I'm not a huge fan of sours but I really enjoyed Resurgam. I prefer tartness over funk so I think that's why I liked it. Maine Beer Company also puts out some great stuff. If you're ever back in VT Hill Farmstead is worth seeking out. I've only tried a handful of their beers but they're all...

Very true. People come to expect a sparkling bright commercial beer, so a hazy homebrew may definitely seem less appealing, even if there isn't a difference in taste. Clear beer is more visually appealing to my eyes, but like OP many of my favorite beers are pretty cloudy.

Lucky you didn't ruin your ring. I've never been able to do it either, but I've bent up a nice ring while trying. The lighter method, or a tightly folded-up dollar bill for the non-smokers, is the best I've found. Like bobeer said it's all about leverage. Lighter = lever, finger = fulcrum.

I just started Microbrewed Adventures, fun read and I'm looking forward to trying out some of the recipes in there. Also have been dabbling in Radical Brewing and am finishing up a not-so-fun King novel.