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I am making a Vanilla Milk Stout and I need to use some vanilla beans. I found a store nearby that sells Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla beans. Are these a good option to use? Or is there a particular type of vanilla bean that should be used instead?

I have learned that I enjoy heavy beers, particularly stouts, since I began brewing my own beer. Recently I have really begun exploring the various variety of stouts and I love to compare my creations to commercial varieties. What have you learn about beer, or your appreciation/view of it...

I would love your critiques and other comments! "Adam's Apple" is a batch of Apwelwein that I am brewing for my friends Adam and Ashley to celebrate Ashlee's pregnancy. I'm going to give it to them after she gives birth. I thought the name was appropriate.

I have to put a halt on brewing for a bit. I've been collecting unemployment for a while now, and I have finally run out of unemployment checks. I can file for a benefits extension but it will take a few weeks for it to process and I am a single guy who lives alone, so other than my part...

I just got an email from my mom this morning, a guy she works with is an awesome gardener and he decided to grow some hops. Since he doesn't brew at all, when my mom mentioned that I brew he offered to give me all of the hops that he is harvesting this fall, for free. However, he doesn't know...

I need to make a 2 liter starter, so I am going to use 200g of extra light DME for this. However I do not have a scale, so I am unsure how many cups that actually is. Can anyone tell me, or do I need to run to Walmart and grab a kitchen scale quick?

I was originally under the impression that when you put an ale in the refrigerator it stops the aging process and the flavors do not continue to change. Is this correct? I have read a few things that make me question this, and I have also recently tasted a few of my beers that have been in...

I have a family friend who's only goal in life has been to be a homemaker. She got married a few years ago and has tried for years to get pregnant, but to no avail. About 1 1/2 years ago she finally tested positive for being pregnant, but when she went for her first ultrasound they discovered...

I made a 5 gallon batch of Pumpkin Ale today from a kit I got from AHS. Everthing went perfect except my Original Gravity reading was only 1.037 (recipe appx 1.052), which worries me bc I don't want an incredibly weak beer. I did make some mistakes which will hopefully help you explain to me...

OK, so I'm spending all day today studying about yeast and so far I have learned a lot, but I am coming upon some unanswered questions you may be able to clear up for me: 1.) I have figured out how to calculate how many cells of yeast I need to pitch depending on what I am brewing. However...

When doing extract recipes I've noticed some recipes want me to boil 2 gallons of water for the wort while others call for boiling up to 4 gallons (all for 5 gal recipes). If I end up adding additional water at the end to equal 5 gallons, does it really matter if I boil 2 or 4 gallons (or...

In Charlie Papzian's book Joy of Home Brewing he has a recipe for a beer that he claims is "terrific" 2 weeks after brewing. Is this one of those things that is too good to be true? If not, I plan to brew this beer this week so I can increase my beer reserves a little faster. I have the...

Congrats AHS you will now be getting all my business. I am done trying to patronize my LHBS. Their prices are way too high, they aren't helpful enough and they give bad advice. I've been having a few concerns with them but I kept giving them second chances. However my experience last week was...

What is the theory behind the 1-2-3 method? (one week primary, two week secondary and three weeks in the bottle) More specifically, what is the theory behind the 2 weeks in the secondary? I understand it is mainly to serve to clear the beer. But does the beer require the whole two weeks to...

I washed my first batch of yeast a few days and I had to store it in salsa jars, because that was all I had available. The yeast in the jar looks fine, I don't see anything out of the ordinary in there. I washed the salsa jars multiple times, boiled them and used star san on them. However...

I've heard people talk about gargling with vodka to disinfect when they suck start a siphon. Would tequila work just as well? My auto siphon has been delayed a week and I want to rack my beer into a secondary. I plan to suck start it without my mouth actually touching the siphon (my mouth...

What a great feeling! I had such a good time brewing today. This was my second batch and the recipe I used was a little more complicated that my first one, but everything went off without a hitch! The first batch I brewed had a few mishaps and things I wish I did differently, but I learned...

OK, so tonight I was able to bottle my first batch of beer. I had a lot of fun doing it too! But I have a few concerns hopefully you guys can help me with. First issue: How important is the storage temperature of your bottled beers (before you can drink them)? The closet that I store them...

*Updated to include example of the neck's label.* I made a thread recently trying to showcase my labels but I wasn't able to post pictures, but it appears that my pictures will display now so I am going to try this again. As you may notice in the pics, I haven't decided on a font yet, so if...

I took the lid off my fermenter to take a specific gravity testing of my first batch of beer and I saw this gunk floating on the top. I assume it isn't mold or anything I should be concerned with because I tasted the sample I drew from for the test and it tasted fine (though flat of course). I...