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You could, but it would be almost pointless. Crystal malts are for flavor, and you'd be adding them to something you aren't going to drink. Also, they're going to add little fermentable sugar, so they won't be helping the starter at all. I'd say put the crystal malts in a ziplock bag and save...

Yes, oxygenation is definitely worth it, but if you aren't making good starters yet, I would focus on that. Having an appropriate sized pitch of healthy, viable yeast is much more important than aeration when you're starting out. Temperature control as well.

Decoction is controversial enough that you won't get a straight answer here. I personally am in the camp that if you focus on a perfect fermentation, you'll make a great beer. For my Oktoberfest that I'm brewing next month, I'll be adding 1/4lb Melanoidin, but more to add complexity than...

It really depends on what rye whiskey you choose. Some ryes are much closer in flavor to bourbon than others. That said, I love using rye whiskey to oak my big beers (it works especially well in English barleywine IMO). The spiciness adds an extra level of complexity that I really enjoy. Get a...

I have a sour beer that is ready to be fruited, and I'd like to use sour cherries. Unfortunately, all I can find locally (so far) is bing or other sweet varieties. Does anybody in SoCal know here I can find some? If not, is there a reputable source on the internet that anybody has used?

As far as the sanitation issue goes, the problem is that every beer is going to have bacteria in it to one degree or another. If you have good sanitation practices, the amount of said bacteria remains below the flavor threshold, and its growth is stunted by the introduction of alcohol. If you...

Just de-labeled some champagne bottles for my Saison with the Oxyclean method. The Fantome labels literally slid right off, the Upright beers required some delicate peeling, but left little residue, and the Cantillon bottles........ well...... they were a bit more stubborn. But a scrubby and...

I have a Small Batch of berliner weisse that I used this yeast with going right now. I kept it in primary for about 6 weeks and it'll probably be in secondary for another 4 or so. I pitched the whole vial for 2.5 gallons, so it had no problem getting nice and tart. I went with a simple single...

I'm sending out my Imperial IPA (gonna be tough in San Diego!), Belgian Golden Strong and Hefeweizen.

Add a dash of a super low flocculating yeast like a Hefe or lager yeast. Unfortunately, everything falls out with time.

Perfectly normal. The more flocculant a yeast is, the more you'll get that clumping effect (that's actually what flocculation is - the act of the yeast clumping). That strain is Fullers' yeast, which is one of the most flocculant strains out there. Pitch it!

Your sparge makes ALL the difference! You haven't mentioned if you're fly or batch sparging. If batch sparging, your efficiency shouldn't change that much. If fly sparging, when you start using a new mash tun, I always suggest you run off as slowly as possible (generally speaking, the slower you...

I'd definitely make a starter, but you might want to step it up. I'd do 500ml @ 1.020 to revitalize the yeast, rebuild their glycogen reserves, etc, and then go to the standard 2000ml @ 1.040. The lower gravity first step puts less osmotic stress on the yeast, which aren't in very good shape...

I listen to Basic Brewing Radio, the Beersmith podcast and BrewStrong pretty consistently. The other brewing network shows can have some good info, but they also have a tendency do devolve into a bunch of drunk dudes being obnoxious. BBR is probably my favorite, because of the variety of topics...

I'd call anything 7% and above a "big" beer. My personal definition of a big beer is any I can't have more than two of if I want to drive (serving size being proportional to strength). It's been a good rule of thumb for me.

Yeah, adding the chilled yeast to 80* wort isn't a good idea. The thermal shock stalls the yeast and produces some off flavors, attenuation issues, etc. You might not have any issues, but buying the us-04 was a good idea.

Don't worry about it. Although oxidation is a concern, a bit of aeration isn't going to ruin the beer, make it undrinkable, etc. The yeast you bottle with actually absorbs some oxygen, so you have a bit of wiggle room. RDWHAHB dude!

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned serving temperature at all yet. I was taught that a proper pour comes from a combination of serving temp, serving pressure, and line length. I personally have 5' beer lines with my serving temp at 34F and serving pressure at 11.5 psi. Perfect pours every time.

The essential missing part of the equation here is the temperature your beer is at. 10psi is pretty low unless you're around 33F with 5 foot lines. Turn up your serving pressure. Btw, are people seriously using 8-10 foot beer lines? I've never heard of using more than 5 feet if you have the...

Anybody know where I can find green or brown cappable 375ml champagne bottles? I have some big sours I want to put into smaller format bottles and I like the aesthetics of the small Cantillon bottles (I already have the capper for the larger diameter caps, btw).