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Does that mean that air might be getting into my carboy? I don't think that's likely, the bung and airlock are making a very tight seal, and the position of the water in the airlock always indicates a seal. And it always continues to bubble. I do just let the beer keep flowing out of the...

That description "chlorine and cleaning soda" is all the label says - I get it from my local homebrew store, it comes as a sort of purple powder. Doesn't say anything about needing bleach. It does appear to work - I mix up the solution in my glass carboy and watch the caked-on yeast gunk vanish...

I fill the siphoning hose up with star-san, and use that to start the siphon. I am.

Thanks for the replies! No I don't actually use a bottling bucket, I just siphon from my carboy straight into the bottles, with no secondary fermentation either - I've tried to minimize my steps as much as possible to try and weed out the problem. I'm convinced that my problem is indeed one of...

Somehow or other, my beer always ends up getting infected. Can anyone spot where I'm going wrong? I mash and boil in a large aluminium pot which does have quite a lot of scratches and black-looking indentations in it, as is typical of old aluminium pots, although I figured this would be ok...

Everyone on this forum seems to swear by Oxyclean for cleaning, but it doesn't seem to be available here in little old New Zealand. Wikipedia tells me that the active ingredient of Oxyclean is sodium percarbonate. Should I simply get any old cleaner from my supermarket which is made of this...

It's come to my attention that using a plastic fermentation bucket for lagering isn't really recommended. Given that this is all the gear I currently possess, would it be worth the trouble or racking off the yeast and into a secondary fermenter (just the same as my primary one) to lager? Or...

Hey, thanks for your responses. I suppose I'm really trying to pinpoint the exact time when it's best to let my beer get cold. Should I be waiting until it becomes clear? (I don't use finings or gelatin.) My current batch of ale has been in the bottle 6 days. It tastes great and seems...

Hi, I live in a colder climate, so I have to manually create a warm place for my bottles to sit while carbing. I carb at roughtly 70F. Is it a good idea to remove the bottles from their warm spot as soon as the beer seems to be carbonated (determined by testing a bottle :D), and putting...

I just racked my lager to a secondary fermenter to lager it after doing a d-rest. SG is 1014. I gave it a taste - the first time I've tried tasting one of my brews along the way - and it was sour. Has it gone bad? I've had lots of brews get infected in the past, although I've been getting...

This may be a really silly question, but... I've just got my hands on some Star San for the first time. In all the posts I've read on here which talk about Star San, no one seems to be talking about using a cleaning solution first. So long as there's no visible dirt on my gear / bottles...

I was actually just wondering this - about storing Star San and other sanitizing products. So if I'm going to be keeping a lot of Star San solution for long periods of time, is there anything wrong with keeping some of my brewing gear floating in it - to be ready-sanitized when needed? Like...

This might be a silly question, but what would happen if I didn't lager my lager, and instead just bottled after doing a D-rest? Would anything bad happen other than it not tasting quite as good as it could? I'm quite keen to get mine bottled up and drinkable, to verify that my sanitation...

Thanks for all that info! I think I'll get a wine thief then.

Hi, Should I be transferring my wort into my fermenter as soon as I've finished boiling it in my pot? Or should I let it cool first? I can't decide because I imagine that leaving it in the metal pot with its loosely fitting lid too long might introduce bugs, but I'm also not sure about...

Thanks for your responses! Actually, we possibly don't call them turkey basters over here - I know the thing you mean though. So then is it normal to pull samples by suction - by way of siphoning, turkey basters etc.? Is this better than trying scoop a sample out with a glass measuring...

I'm fermenting some lager in a fermenter with no tap on the bottom (I was advised that taps introduce bugs). Should I be simply opening the lid and placing my (sanitized) hydrometer in the brew to take readings? Or should I be siphoning out a small sample to test? Or (possibly a silly...

Cool, I guess I'll get one of those then. Or, actually, would it work to use my current fermenter/bottling bucket, but just not have the tap on it, and instead screw in the plug which came with it which replaces the tap? Or is this, again, just asking for more trouble?

Ah, interesting, so fermenters with taps are a no-no? Out of curiosity, are these intended for some other purpose, or are they just a trap for noobs like myself? So I guess what I need is a carboy with just a small opening at the top. Would a "fermentation pail" with a wide, sealing...

Thanks for all the additional responses! For cleaning, I use a "Bottlewash compound" made of "chlorine and cleaning soda". For sterilization, Sodium Metabisulphite - which apparently releases a gas which sterilizes everything, and you're not supposed to rinse after you use it, since it all...