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I've been making 1/2 gallong batches of ginger beer using a ginger bug. Does anyone know if I must icrease the amount of "bug" to start a 3 gallong batch, or could I get away with using 1 or 2 cups of ginger bug?

FYI I finally bottled last week at 1.010. The beer is exactly as I wished for a Biere de Table: light but full flavored, fruity, herbal and farmy aromas (included a very citrus-like aroma!), lovely finish. I really wanted to follow up on this, because the fermentation temp dropped into the...

Right now, I'm considering bottling it in champagne bottles -- I think that they can handle the extra carbonation from 1.02 to 1.01 in case it ever happens!

I did taste it when I took the gravity reading -- it was slightly more sweet but the flavor is certainly "Saison" as I expect it. This one is actually a low gravity beer very similar to Dupont's "Biere de table." I usually brew it to grow the yeast culture for a bigger saison, but obviously I...

I started a Saison several weeks back (meant to brew it in late summer), and the temp in my cellar dropped drastically, to 62 F. Now, it did most of it's fermentation and has dropped to around 1.02. Has anyone here fermented a Saison at temps that are so far below specs? I'm considering...

Do you use liquid yeasts? I recommend Wyeast Abbey II (it's Belgian as the previous poster recommended). I made two beers with it at high temps this summer and both are delicious! -Andy

I've really enjoyed Randy Mosher's Radical Brewing. Lots of fun facts, tips on technique, and recipes for many beer styles, including historical brews.

I noticed a small (1 inch) scorch on the inside of our relatively new (3 brews) enamel pot -- is this going to effect future brews? -Andy

Hey Revvy, Can you share the recipe that you are planning to use? I'm currently fermenting a saison and hoegaarden-type wit was next on my list as well. Thanks, Andy

I would go to VT Homebrew in Winooski and ask Anne what she thinks. I think that it is pretty much an amber ale, and a lot of its appeal is that it is "unfiltered," which all homebrews are anyhow. I agree that it is a nice beer, but it is also pretty straightforward (as opposed to something...

I'd like to give this a try but am wondering about sanitation -- should the sugar first be boiled in some water, cooled down to 75 or so, then added? Or is the alcohol high enough after a few days of primary that it's safe to add sugar without extra precaution? -Andy

I tried this with a small (3 gal) batch of special bitter about 3 months ago and it turned out great -- today I brewed a 5 gal batch and got around 80% efficiency! -Andy

To my tastebuds, Blue Moon has always tasted buttery (from bottles). -Andy

Interesting recipe -- I imagine that the purpose of the tea is to get more tannins, and the lime gets tartness. I think that this is taken care of by selecting the source apples with greater care. The apples used in commercial apple juice tend to be very low tannin, and not particularly...

Thanks for the reply. As far as the acidity of the juice goes, I know that their are "old" varieties of apples that are grown locally (here in Vermont) -- they are specifically used for cider making and, in elaborate mixes with other apples, for baking what my family considers to be the best...

Earlier this week I had a bottle of Samuel Smith's Organic Cider and really enjoyed it. I'd like to make something similar -- sparkling and with an alcohol content around 5%. Here's my idea for a recipe: 3 gallons of cider (really, cloudy local apple juice) 1 packet of a yeast like...

Coincidentally, I did the opposite, and it actually worked great: put a Boh-Pils (fermenting with Saflager) in secondary and tossed the wort for a Vienna Lager directly onto the trub. Everything here has been kept at 48-50 degrees (my cellar temp in winter). The Vienna lager is definitely the...

I guess it depends on the capper. I used my capper in exactly the same manner as I have used it for over 250 bottles, and it crushed the top of the bottle. -Andy

Thanks, I'll check that out. As for the questions of a previous poster, the problem had to do with the shape of the PU bottles' necks, not the green color! Green bottles only result in a problem with skunking if you expose your stored beer to light. Most of my bottles are brown and I still...

I had a wrestling match with a Pilsner Urquell bottle while capping a batch of Vienna lager today. The final result was an explosion of green shards and 12 oz of wasted beer!!! Note to self: no more Pilsner Urquell bottles. -Andy