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I typically use hop pellets, but I'm now using my homegrown hops for brewing. This was only the second occasion I'd ever used whole hops and didn't like the way they clogged the siphon when racking from the brewpot the first time, so I bought a mesh hop back to boil them in. Everything seemed to...

Maybe this isn't the proper arena on how to repair a freezer chest, but everyone is generally very helpful around here. I purchased an 8' Sears/Kenmore Hotpoint freezer chest about 9 months ago. The thing was from the 70's or 80's but ran great and the price was right. I converted it to a...

I really hate bottling and have little time for it anymore, so I keg now, but I like to bottle a few to give out and I hate the setup process just to bottle a sixer or two. I know it can be done by lowering the keg pressure to 2 psi or so to prevent foaming, thus loss of carbonation and...

I did a Belgian Blonde with 8 lb pils and 1 lb dextrose and a starter of WLP500 basically to create a yeast cake to use for a Golden Strong on the next batch. I was in such a hurry, that when I racked off my hefeweizen and drained that yeast cake into a sanitized container, I didn't rinse...

Would there be a difference in color, but more importantly taste, between using 1 lb of Crystal 60L or 1/2 lb of Crystal 120L in any given recipe. Logic tells me the color would be the same. Any additional color provided by the 120L would cancel out being only that half as much is used. A...

If I start an Apfelwein today using Edwort's recipe, do you think I can have it kegged and force carbed by my 4th of July party that weekend? I just emptied a keg and I'd hate to leave a tap open for the party. I'm not going to have time to brew anything else, so I figured I'd give a shot at the...

For everyone out there with their own grain mill, how will un-cracked grain last if kept in a sealed container? My local shop has a 10% off sale coming up and I figure it's probably the best time to stock up on a Sam's Club type grain purchase of my favorites in 55# sacks. I don't even have...

I like to keep a carboy or bucket full of Iodophor solution, so I can just dip things in to sanitize. My question is, how long will this solution stay good for. An iodophor solution has that tint to it, but it fades after a week or so. Sometimes when I keep equipment in the bucket and they're in...

I've only done single infusion mashes to this point, and with pretty good success, I might add. Though, I believe I have a pretty good understanding of what a protein rest does at this point. I'm going to be doing a hef and a wit for my next two batches, both with grain bills that are about...

I've heard a few times of using beano to get rid of those last few gravity points that won't go away once fermentation has finished. From my understanding, beano contains enzymes that will break down carbs into simple sugars for the remaining yeast to get at. This basically does what the mash...

I've tried the frozen yeast technique by mixing with the glycerine solution. It was more of a casual experiment and I didn't really plan on using it until I was sure it worked. When I made the starter from the thawed yeast, it didn't do very well. There was some activity, but very, very little...

Does anyone have a list of which commercial brewers use their actual fermenting yeast to bottle condition their beers? Knowing that the yeast from bottle conditioned beers can be harvested, I've read that some brewers basically just use a plain ale yeast to carbonate their beer instead of their...

I wanted to try out a few off the wall recipes without dedicating too much effort (in case they suck). I want to make 1 gallon batches from extract. My question is, is it as simple as just dividing a typical 5 gallon recipe by 5? What about yeast pitching? Typically, I use a White Labs...

My keezer collar is almost complete. All I need to do is drill the holes for the faucets. The only problem is that Fedex keeps delaying my shipment of shanks and I'm getting impatient. I want to get it done this weekend, so I'd just like to know what size I should drill the tap holes. It's a 4...

I've gotten sick of not having clear beers on my first few all-grains, so I went all out and used irish moss at the end of the boil, used gelatin finings in the secondary and cold crashed for a few days before bottling (doing all within recommended dosages). My beer is clear as can be at this...

I'm only in my first year of growing hops and I'm not sure what happens at this point. Am I to cut my vines down during the winter and allow new ones to grow? Or will the existing vines continue to grow once it warms up? Thanks.

I have a little under 5 gallons of a Wee Heavy Scotch Ale that I wanted to add some French Oak chips to the secondary. I have a four oz. bag. How much and how long? I want a noticeable presence, but not an overwhelming one. Also, the bag says to soak in water for 12 hours before adding? Why...

What's the advantage to having a longer boil time? I typically don't boil any longer than 60 minutes, though I regularly see 90 minute boils in some recipes. I actually saw someone had a recipe calling for a 6 hour boil! Besides getting a higher gravity through evaporation, what benefit is there?

To use pure oxygen to aerate, would it make sense to use an oxygen tank from a hardware store? The same O2 that would be mixed with MAPP gas to weld? Pure O2 is pure O2, right? Just something about gas and welding that makes the idea sound bad.

I'm at a rolling boil and I've just realized I don't have any hallertau hops for my german hef. I used them all on my last batch. I'm over an hours drive from the nearest supply shop. These are my options: - 1 oz of whole leaf hallertau that I bought from an out of the way wine store about 4...