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All of the above is good advice. If you are picking more than ~50 lbs, I would rent a crusher-destemmer to remove the stems and pop the grapes. I've never rinsed the grapes before pressing, not sure about this. I only wait one day to add the sulfites. Punch the cap down twice a day (crust...

I just finished building an 8'x12' cellar under my house in the crawl space, on the north side of the house. Entry is made through the closet floor. Unfortunately, it is only 2' tall, but It is all I have. At least it is pretty clean and dry. I used some insulating board, 2" thick and 4 feet...

Bokonon, thank you for the heads up. I was going to order them at Ice Harbor last year, but was a little late & missed the order. Looks like their prices are really good. Hopefully I'll get enough returners this year so I won't have to order replacements. Mebbe I'll see you down there...

I ordered mine from Fresh Hops last year. <http://www.freshops.com> Very satisfied with their service. (See order below). I live in Eastern Wa, which is hop growing country. For my first year, I had a good crop, about 1 lb yield dry (almost a paper box full), grown on one big trellis like...

This is my first go at it and I have a billion aphids, and many ladybugs and ladybug larvae doing their best, but alas, I don't think that they make any difference. Curiously, the yellowjackets enjoy the sticky plants as well. I agree with the_bird & Zymurgrafi in that bugs are inherent in...

I would think your pot adequate for 5-6 gallon AG batches. I use my 38 1/2 quart pot for 7.25 gallons to ferment and 6.75 gallon bottled. I fill it up to within an inch or two, and even have added a little extra wort in the early boiling stages. But, I do keep my mop bucket handy! BTW...

Sorry for the late post, but I have always had good luck dissolving Muntons Extra Light Unhopped Spray Malt Extract at a ration of 1/4 cup per gallon of beer, heating it in 2 cups of water to about 180 and then making sure to cool it down before adding and stirring.

I couldn't be happier with my Camp Chef 60,000 BTU jobby. It is perfect for my 9 gal ss pot. TCW

I have a 36.5 qt pot & fill it about 1.5-2 inches below the rim. It is a bit tight, but I just tend it like a mother hen when it starts to boil. Occasionally some will burp over the top, but I put up with this because I want to maximize my 7 gallon fermentor & carboy. Also, I usally have a...

I'm very happy with the assembled mill that I got from http://www.crankandstein.com/.

It probably isn't sanitation, as I now inspect all bottles before double sanitizing (a good practice, as you run into an occasional jelly fish). I like your capping theory, as my shoulder has been sore lately, and maybe I'm not putting enough oomph into it. Thanks for the advice. -t-

Chipes! Anybody ever have problems with 50% of your AG bottles carbonating, even after waiting a 3 week period after bottling?. I use 1/4 cup DME/Gallon to prime, 7 gallons/batch, and haven't had a problem with my first 7 AG batches. I think I stirred it well. I'm wondering if my...

I usually secondary for 7-10 days and then use 1/4 cup of DME per gallon(dry unhopped spray malt) dissolved in 2 cups water heated to near boil, then cooled & stirred into the bottling bucket. The beer is usually drinkable in 10 days to 2 weeks. My clarity has been pretty good. -t-

Most of my AG ferments have been about 3 days, same as extract. But my latest one took over a day to start, but burped for 9 days. I used White Labs California Ale yeast (WLP001), from a previous batch. I also got grain mill, and it was quite hard to turn compared to the home brew store's, and...

Thanks for the tips on crimping the outflow, I'll try that next brew day. -t-

J-K, Yes, the ss pot was a KA-chinger! But worth it. The UPS tracking tag says my Crankenstein grain mill will be on my door when I get home from work on Thursday. Now I can "save" even more money on my brews! Of course, I will need a plastic garbage can or two to keep the bulk grain...

Desert brew made a great point. You can stumble through it and still make beer. The big difference with me was the time it takes, 6-7 hours, and it always seems like I'm running into a deadline of some sort. I need to start in the am sometime. Paul's Brewing Page (as mentioned before) has a...

Actually, on this batch I put 2 oz of the Norther Brewer in the liquor cooler (if this is the right term), pre-boil. A brewer from a local microbrewery suggested this. I was wondering too, is the boil essentially for hop flavor & evaporation, or does it have another function?

Thank you all for the tips. Lost, I think you are exactly right on the efficiency of the sparging process. My output drains from the cooler quite quickly, garden hose like, even after recycling the first few quarts. I have added a few cups of rice hulls to try and slow things down, but I...

I really appreciate the welcome. I have a lot to learn, and I am very impressed with all the help and geniuine warmness of the site. Thanks! -t-