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So after close to a year and several failed batches, I'm ready to declare myself the victim of a house lacto bug. My latest ruined batches were a pair of lagers. I used my autosiphon to take a sample one weekend, then again the following weekend, and the second weekend there was this awful...

Didn't see one for this year, so I figured I'd start one. Here's my 2nd year nugget bine, out of the ground for less than 2 weeks. Damn thing is growing a couple inches a day!

I've got 2 hop beds from last year. One died off early and both had mite problems. I cut back one when it died off, and I waited until a couple weeks ago to cut back the other. Not sure what effect that's going to have. Is now a good time to treat the beds and start watering? My understanding...

I don't get to brew as often as I'd like, so I'm looking to upgrade to a 10-gallon system from my 5-gallon setup. Of course, the key players are: The Boil Kettle/HLT The Mash Tun The Fermenter The BK is easy enough to upgrade - buy a bigger pot. I brew propane so heat's not an issue. I still...

To start, this is really just an "off-the-chest" post, dealing with the inevitable. My grandpa's been battling with melanoma, and we've seen this day coming for well over a year. Last fall they found that it had metastasized and spread to his brain and at the time they were giving him weeks...

So lately I've been reading up on Mexican Lager. To my surprise I learn that Mexican Lager is NOT (traditionally) Corona, but is actually a modified form of Vienna Lager. So I'm interested in a shopping list (whatever I can get around here) to get a good feel for the style, before jumping right...

http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2012/02/10/146645622/why-we-like-what-we-like?sc=fb&cc=fp From the article: The article then goes on to argue that since sexual satisfaction is largely based on appearance, that this must also hold true of our food and drink perception. My first impulse was to...

What the title says. Anyone have any recommendations for a standard 120V plug-in electric burner stand that can get 10 gallons to a boil from room temp relatively quickly? (Re-post from here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/suggestions-electric-burner-stand-300894/)

What the title says. Anyone have any recommendations for a standard 120V plug-in electric burner stand that can get 10 gallons to a boil from room temp relatively quickly?

Yesterday I put my spiced ale into the fermentation fridge in my garage. Chiller got it down to 60, I set the controller to 65, I took a reading today, and it's 52. Sooo... I guess it's too cold in my garage to warm up the inside of the fridge to fermentation temperature. I'm thinking I'll...

OK. I think the verdict is in. I can't keg any of my light beers because of an unpleasant bitter taste that my kegs are imparting. With darker/hoppier beers, the hops usually mask the flavor enough that you can't really tell unless you're looking for it. I just put my pale ale in the keg...

Finally sprang for it earlier this week. Came today. Turns out the temp controller on my lager fridge is a full 5 degrees high. Looking forward to some very relaxed brew days with this baby.

OK, it was a bit of a hit to my checking account and I was really nervous about putting a hole in my kettle, but in the end, totally worth it. Seriously, I've never seen wort this clear going from kettle to fermenter. No hop sludge, no hot break, just beautiful, crystal clear wort. Of course...

I've got 2 lagers on gas that are undrinkable. Both have been at ~32 degrees for 2 months now. The first one, I messed up when pitching the starter. It was a HUGE starter, but I forgot to decant it. As a result it has always tasted fruity. Now that some time has passed, however, it tastes...

After 6-7 lagers, I am determined to brew one that actually tastes "lagery" and doesn't take a dang week to get going. So, this time, I did it by the book, and for the first time I had a vigorous fermentation going, at target temp, in less than 48 hours. I may be jumping the gun on this, but I...

So it's about time to get a bock going for the winter. Pitched the yeast starter from last year's harvested cake and last week's extra wort, so all I need is a recipe. I've got more Vienna than I know what to do with, so yesterday I stopped by the LHBS and grabbed the other stuff. Should be...

I'm starting to get frustrated here. I've been doing lagers for about a year now, and all except one have come out tasting like friggin' Boone's Farm. Cold crashing and gelatin have helped, and friends really like my lagers, but from a technical perspective, it's still a flaw. I'd say the...

So I've been brewing for about 3 years now. Last month I'm sitting at my kitchen counter, studying a glass of my Oktoberfest with an intensity normally reserved for open heart surgery, taking occasional sips and furrowing my brow. My wife walks in and asks me what's up. I say, "I can't...

White dots all over the leaves, and they're turning yellow/brown.

OK, so last year I came up with a pale ale recipe out of C40, C80, Chinook and Amarillo. I had intended it to be my house pale ale. Overall it's a good beer and a hit with friends, but I find it lacking something. So I went back to the drawing board and came up with something new. This will...