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The law quoted makes NO reference to freeze distillation. The author is simply making her own connection. The ATF itself has said that freeze-distillation is fine as long as the alchohol levels stay within what you would expect to get from yeast. There has been some specific rulings, such...

Actually, the ATF has said many times that freeze distillation is fine AS LONG AS THE final ABV does not exceed the maximum level you might expect to get from yeast. The ATF says that maximum level is 24% abv. What this means, specifically, is they do not care if you freeze-distilled hard...

Thats not the case at all. Beer sales, as a whole, have been on a slow decline for the last 20 years. The problem for BMC is that the majority of its customers drink because of the marketing, not flavor. Its generally the opposite where the typical drinker wants as little flavor as possible, so...

I do not see how its "just as likely". When I was starting out 20 or so years ago, I didn't even have a thermometer. But I wasnt that hard to figure out when the wort was a resonable temp. However, knowing the proper temp of the water for yeast hydrating is harder to get correctly in that...

The entire homebrew industry has been that way since the beginning. Things like the late extract method, to using bleach, to using aluminium, to topping off with tap, to pitchable yeast, to temp control, to plastics, to airlocks, etc. It was frustrating to no end when I started homebrewing...

You can do a search on "mini-mash" and "micro-mash".. Generally, those techniques are used when you want to extract-brew, but have grains that must be mashed, not steeped, like flaked barley, oats, etc. The quick version is: Steep like you normally do, but keep temp under 150-155, for twice as...

For the longest time, i would fill my bottling bucket 1/2 way with starsan. Dunk all the bottles (straw method), then empty (spin method), and placed on a sanitized dishwasher rack I bought at homedepot. Entire process only takes 10 minutes or so. Very simple, though it is a bit of a waste to...

I've wondered about this as well. Most books and websites (ie John Palmers) say you must hotbreak the extract wort. But having using the late-method for almost a year, I don't think I'll ever go back. I still get a "break" of sorts which seems to come solely from all the hops, and the small...

I did a similar recipe a year ago. Came out extremely dry. I tried another version, but added in 2 lbs of bakers Splenda. Turns out that bakers Splenda is 99.9% Maltodextrin, which is fermentable when using the Amylase Enzyme. Boosting the ABV, and ended up being too cloying, and still...

The big advantage to cold brewing is head retention. I used both hot and cold brewing, and more oils are extracted using the hot process and that kills any head on the brew. With cold, I have no problems at all. Another problem is the flavor seems to diminish greatly over time. With the...

Though, there is something that Chris White said, from White Labs during a Brewcast, that changed my opinion about yeast. He said that most homebrewers OVER pitch. To make good beer, you are supposed to have a certain lag time for flavors to develop. Pitching massive amounts of starters...

The pear juice has a very neutral taste. This is the reason why most of the "Fruit Punch" and grape cocktail, in the juice section of your grocery is pear juice. For people that do not like the tartness of Cider, adding a 50/50 mix of pear and apple juice GREATLY cuts down on that.

It was the owner of Starsan that said that adding a SMALL AMOUNT of vinegar and bleach seperatly to water adjusts its PH, and dramatically increases its sanitizing potential. So much that it would be possible to use such a dilluted batch as to not require rinsing. Thats a pretty big deal...

Belgian beers use table sugar, and they do not taste cidery. Cidery flavors happen when there is not enough nutrients from the malt to help the yeast eat the sugar. The general rule of thumb is you can have up to 30% sugar base without any off flavors. The problem with the kits is they often...

This video gives you a better idea. Very, very basic. http://www.youtube.com/v/JMHLqnWCNjE&hl=en

I did not notice when I switched hops for my stouts, which only use bitter hops. I'm sure it does make a SMALL, barely detectable difference. Generally the beta acids, and hop oils get denatured after 30 minutes or so, and you are only left with the isomerized alpha acids. But Guinness...

Commercial honey-beers are not brewed with honey. The honey is added after the yeast is filtered out, to add the flavor of honey. As mentioned above, the best bet would be to add the honey just after flame out. Most of the armatics will be intact, and the remaing heat can pastureize any bugs...

6-row also has a stronger flavor. The original reason that BMC used rice/corn was that those adjuncts mellowed the sharp 6-row flavor, and made the final product taste more like a light German 2-row lager. I'm sure that the fact that 6-row was cheaper, and the rice/corn was cheaper had no...

The twang is produced from maillard reactions during concentrated boils. Full boils, or late boils elliminate the twang. Some extracts taste "stronger" then others because some purpose mash at higher temps specifically to leave more non-fermentables, and other complex sugars, as well as rich...

I think all the sugar-alchohols have that property (ie maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol, etc). However, I don't think they are easily obtained at either your LHBS, or grocery. Seems like a speciality item. nick