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So I can't figure out what would only affect one of the shoots like this, though it looks like either a nutrient deficiency or overabundance. The only fertilizer I've used is Espoma Plant-tone, which I sprinkled on the soil surface as directed about a month ago. It's possible that I sprinkled it...

So I have been an all-grain brewer for close to a decade, and I feel like I've never seen such a large quantity of weird looking seeds/grain in a bag of grain I bought as this one I recently picked up at a LHBS. Tonight I opened the bag and poured it into the bucket/tub I use for storing 2-row...

I'll start by saying I've never used wood in a homebrew, but I have become something of an avid experimenter. It's been awhile since I brewed a beer that didn't have something bizarre going on in it (wild yeast, sour bugs, unusual fermentables, spices, etc.). On a recent trip to Mexico I...

Many water modification additives need to be measured pretty precisely, so my digital kitchen scale (which I use for grain and hops) just isn't up to the task. It only measures to the nearest full gram or 1/8 ounce (depending on which setting I use). Does anyone have recommendations for...

I've wondered for awhile why most fermentation techniques discourage late infusions of sugar/wort. In other words, why can't I take a finished beer or mead, decide I want to bump up the alcohol a bit, and just add a half-gallon of high gravity wort? Is it because there's a risk of oxygenation...

My neighbor has a rose bush that leans over my driveway and snags me when I'm getting in and out of my car sometimes. Today, I noticed that there are some rose hips still on it from last year, and while they were a little dried out, they were actually remarkably well-preserved for having...

Until recently I'd never brewed with anything other than commercial Sacc strains, so I really have no idea what various yeast strains and bugs look like during various phases of fermentation. From what I gather, due to the blended nature of most lambic/sour brewing, it's difficult to determine...

I have a starter that smells wonderful, into which I had pitched some Cuvée René dregs about 2 weeks ago. Now, however, I'm trying to decide what would be the best next step for these bugs. I have three beers hanging out in carboys at the moment, finished with their primary fermentation and...

Here are a couple photos of a brew I put together, inspired by some people who mimicked ancient Sumerian beers. Mine used a combination of commercial yeast (Wyeast 1272) and the yeast and other bugs naturally occurring on dates. The main fermentation finished up a few weeks ago, and I noticed...

So, does anyone know if it's illegal to outsource your homebrewing allotment (200 gallons/household/year, I believe, or something like that)? I was sitting around with some friends the other day and it occurred to me that while I have next to no interest starting a brewery, it would be pretty...

So I brewed an experimental beverage that involved, among many steps, allowing a puree of dates and water to spontaneously ferment, and I decided to try to isolate some of the more promising microbes that were in that mixture. So, I streaked some agar plates, selected the colony that looked...

So I know very little about yeast biology, but my understanding is that yeast can undergo both asexual (budding) reproduction and sexual (spores combining) reproduction. My understanding is also that yeast in ordinary brewing is almost exclusively budding asexually, so if you blend more than...

I will soon get started with a spring and summer project of collecting yeast samples from wild berries, apple orchards, wild cherries, and other fruit. My process is fairly simple -- I'll be streaking some plates of sabouraud dextrose agar with whatever I find on the ripe or slightly overripe...