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The wisdom seems to be (and I have begun doing this lately) to add a large portion of your extract late in the boil, to avoid caramelisation. The usual reason given for wanting to avoid this is to keep the beer as light in colour as possible. I was wondering though - if boiling extract for too...

We're through to the second round!! Oh, happiest of happy days! :ban::ban::ban: Oh, commiserations to the USA...although I did have money on Ghana!! :p

Well it finally happened; I have a brew that won't start fermenting. If I get home today and it still hasn't taken off, that will be over three days. It's really strange, because I made a starter the day before I brewed, and that was frothy and happy before I pitched it. Furthermore, there...

I have really only brewed ales in the past, so please bear that in mind... I'd like to have my first crack at a Pilsner while the weather is cool. The only problem is, I don't have the facilities to lager. I should be able to keep the temp. at about 15 degrees Celcius (about 60 Fahrenheit)...

I'm hoping to make a first attempt at brewing a generic "wheat beer" this weekend, and was wondering if there are any specific techniques/tips that I could benefit from? I do a poor excuse for a mini-mash (soak in plenty of water in grain bag, then roughly rinse), but only for flavour. My...

Before my most recent brew, I've always dry-hopped in the primary. By the time I was ready to rack to the secondary, virtually all the hops were sunk into the trub, or stuck up high on the side of the fermenter by the krausen. Either way, my beer in the secondary was nice and clear. Recently...

Here's the story: I always prime each of my bottles individually (this way I can bottle straight from the secondary; there are no concerns about mixing in the priming solution properly etc.). For my first handful of brews, I primed with ordinary table sugar. This always gave me an ideal level...

I know this doesn't matter to some people, but for those who do bother: What formula do you use for calculating the alcohol content of your brews? The basic intro. book I first got said (OG - FG)*14. Another source says (OG - FG)*13.4. Online calculators all seem to give different answers...

I thought I'd pass on some wisdom from my LHBS. I once inquired about plastic bottles, and they told me they had tested them as follows: They made a batch of brown ale, and bottled half in glass and half in plastic (the brown PET bottles that are sold with some kits). Apparently after a few...

What are the shortest lag times people have achieved? Mine used to be over a day (just sprinkling dry yeast on top of the wort in the fermenter), but last time, with a starter prepared the day before and good aeration, it was only seven hours. I was happy with that. :)

I've recently switched to priming with dextrose instead of crystal cane sugar. Problem is, I didn't think, and used the same volume to prime with. This is significantly less by weight... The outcome is that I have a lager here with minimal carbonation (possibly also my Fool's Gold Ale, but I...

It seems that plenty of people on here siphon their brew from a carboy into a bucket, and bottle from there. Why not siphon straight into the bottles? Surely that reduces the chance of aeration/infection etc. You can attach a bottling wand to my siphon (which I will use for the first time...

Last night I had a bottle of "Tanner's Jack" ale, imported from England. MAGNIFICENT! It's sort of a golden ale, but no fruity tones, just a nice smooth malt taste and perfect hopping (little bitterness, but lovely aroma and clean hop finish). I highly recommend it if you can ever find it.

I recently purchased a nice glass carboy to use as a secondary, so I can get my brews off the trub and leave them to age and clear for a while. So two days ago I transferred my pale ale to my new secondary, leaving the thick layer of sludge in my primary. But lo! after an hour or so, there...

I've noticed that people on here often mention brews with an OG of 1060 or more, and FG of 1010-1020. According to the little brewing book I've got, a rough estimate of alcohol content (%) is (OG-FG)x.14. Using this formula, and allowing for priming as well, some of the brews people are making...

I feel like I'm about to enter a new phase of my brewing career - one where I actually know what I'm doing :D Thanks to this site and howtobrew.com, I now understand things like hot and cold break etc. mean, and have a better idea how to plan and make a brew. This being the case, I...

I've become convinced that getting myself a secondary fermenter is a must. I have two options, and I was wondering what people thought: - A plastic fermenter (identical to my primary). Thirty litres, and I can bottle from a tap at the bottom (as I now do from my primary). - A glass carboy...

How long should an all-extract brew be boiled for? Is it different for a brew with some dextrose (corn sugar) in place of malt? The reason I ask is that my most recent brew (an all malt German style lager) is not clearing at all well (I ended up bottling it somewhat cloudy). I think the...

Is there any need to boil malted grain before mashing it, or can you just add it straight to ~70 deg. C water and mash away?

I've read in a few different places that bottled home brew can become dramatically better over time. A short brewing book I've got even suggests that if you make a brew that turns out pretty badly, bottle it anyway and store it for 6-12 months, and it can become quite a nice drop. Does this...