Search results

Did my second all grain brew a couple days ago and had conversion at the 30 min. mark. I was really suprised by this and wanted to know if anyone else has had conversion at or around 30 min? I was actually going to show my buddy how the iodine would change the cooled wort a blue or purple...

I did a BIAB brew yesterday with a friend who's getting back into brewing and we got an extraction efficiency of around 55%. I was hoping we were going to be in the mid 70's. There were a few things my friend (I blame him) did that may have hurt the efficiency like: he didn't want to do a 10...

After 4+ years of extract brewing I finally took the step of all-grain and am glad I did. If there are any extract or mini-mash brewers out there who are sitting on the fence I'd like to say that BIAB made the transition to all-grain really simple, fun, and easy, I honestly felt like I was...

Going to do my first BIAB this weekend and wanted to know if anyone has tried using any natural fiber materials/bags like tight nit burlap, meslin, cotton, etc. for a grain/mashing bag. The recomended material for BIAB is nylon voile cloth but I'm trying to elimanted as much plastic from...

I'm a homebrewer who's been doing extract brewing for about 4 years and will be doing my first all-grain next weekend. I have all the equipment needed, keggle, worth chiller, mash tun/cooler, outdoor burner, etc. Would love to meet up with some laid back home brewers in the Orangevale...

Trying to figure out the best method to acquire 2-row base malt for AG brewing in the Sacramento area. The shipping on the large bags is the same price as the grain so a $32 sack of grain is roughly $60 with shipping from my local online store, More Beer. I think my LHBS said they weren't sure...

I was recently blessed with 5 Sankey kegs in great shape and would like to convert a couple into keggles and some into fermenters. Does anyone in Sacramento, California know of a good machine shop, welder, or gifted homebrewer who can do some work for a reasonable price or possible barter? The...

I just finished brewing a 5 gallon extract batch and I think I may have used too much black malt 500 L (aka black patent). I somehow thought black malt was similar to roasted barley and now realize that they aren't interchangeable. I used 12 oz. of black malt, 4 oz. of english crystal 55 L, 6...

Had an imperial stout called Abyss from Deschutes Brewing Company that had some molasses, licorice, and was aged in oak barrels. The beer was pretty damn good but I thought a lighter version of it would be great. I'm planning on making a sweet stout with 8 oz. of black patent grain, 8 oz. of...

I've been extract brewing for over a year now and wanted to do build a basic recipe myself. I'm a big fan of southern brown's and porters that are malty, sweet, and lightly hopped. Let me know if this one will work or if I should tweak it. Many thanks. Brown Porter? Extract brew 5 gal...

Just brewed a cream ale kit this past Saturday night using Saflager 23 lager yeast. By Sunday afternoon the brew was smelling like a dirty sock. This is my first time using a lager yeast for an ale and was wondering if the 70 F temp in my house is a bit too high for this yeast. The package...

I cut and pasted this from another thread because it was skipped over. I usually do extract brewing with ales and don't usually keep them for more than 3 or 4 weeks in the carboys. So my question is: Has anyone out there brewed the same beer twice with the exact same ingredients and...

Brewed a nut brown ale extract with a OG of 1048 and FG of 1016. The beer took a little while longer to begin fermentation but it definitely did the job. I activated the Wyeast smack pack a week before I brewed and think that may be the culprit? I let the brew stay in the primary for 4 weeks...

I bought a extract kit from Northern Brewer which included a Wyeast activator pack (smack pack) London 1028. I actually activated the package a week ago and had some things come up so I didn't actually use the yeast until last night. I didn't see any activity in my fermenter this morning so I...

I saw someone post a thread a few weeks ago that talked about using 5.5 gallons of water instead of the normal 5 gallons for a extract brew. I couldn't find the thread again so wanted to know if anyone sees a problem using a half gallon more water in the wort? I wanted to add the extra half...

I just started steeping some grains for a cream ale kit and I noticed that in the ingredient pack there was a package of lager yeast instead of the typical brewer/ale yeast. My girlfriend bought this beer kit at my local brewery store so I have no clue if this is the correct yeast or not. I've...

I just bottled my first batch of Nut Brown Ale last night and was wondering how long it takes to see the carbonatin taking place. I made a few mistakes on my first batch (added yeast to 100+ degree water) and want to make sure that there is enough yeast in the beer to covert the sugar to CO2...

Just started brewing yesterday and was given a 20q aluminum pot that I used for the first time yesterday. Is there a problem with using aluminum as far as it affecting the tast of the beer or any chemical reactions?? I used a plastic brewing spoon and do not plan on using any steel wool type...

I brewed my very first batch yesterday and somehow misread the directions and added some brewing gelatin with the Irish Moss about 10 minutes before the end of the final boil. After rereading the directions I was supposed to add the gelatin mixed into a pint of warm water after the beer...

I've been debating and talking with friends about home brewing for a few months now and finally decided to jump in to the mix. A friend of mine gave me an old brewing kit that was sitting in his garage for 2 years and after cleaning it up and making a trip to the local Brew Shop I started my...