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Wait... that explains why my first partial-mash was so bloody high. I did exactly what I'm describing here with less water and grain (2 gallon test batch) and got about 75% efficiency (instead of the planned 60%). I was convinced I had messed up big time, but it's good to know why I was so far...

+1 to the apple-cider vinegar thing. It works even better if you put a piece of banana or orange in the dish and just cover it with the vinegar. My old roomies were slobs and I had a carpet of flies covering almost the entire surface of the dish after 3 days. Totally eliminated the problem...

From what I understand, kpr121 is pretty much spot on. The major arguments are: 1. BPA can be leached from certain plastics if the liquid is acidic enough. #7 plastic, which a lot of water jugs are made of, is particularly bad for this. As it's a proven carcinogen, you need to avoid...

Hey all, As a birthday gift for my dad, I'm trying to put together a clone of his favorite lager that was discontinued a number of years ago. Sleeman's Silver Creek Lager was the first beer I tried that didn't make me gag (all those years ago), but ironically is something I'll avoid now that...

No no... that was my first partial mash. Haven't made this one yet. - Budista

Hey all, As a birthday gift for my dad, I'm trying to put together a clone of his favorite lager that was discontinued a number of years ago. Sleeman's Silver Creek Lager was the first beer I tried that didn't make me gag (all those years ago), but ironically is something I'll avoid now that...

Thanks for all the help. I have a question, though. Adding the 2.5L of additional (reboiled) wort, as planned, I noticed a really powerful and harsh odor. Strong enough to make my eyes water. I would say it's like a combination of vinegar and paint thinner. I'm really, really hoping I didn't...

I've done a bunch of research (not to mention the beginning of the starter) and have had about 1.5L of 1.038 starter ticking away for a couple days now. It's mostly flocced out, so I'm thinking it's about time to step it up. A few questions: When Mr. Malty says to make 3.5L of starter for...

I'm by no means an expert on the use of finings -or- cold crashing, but I've definitely tried it a few times. I've had equal success with 2 ways, both after leaving the beer in a secondary for at least a week beforehand. Way 1: Cold crash for 24+ hours to drop most of the bigger stuff out. Let...

Thanks, 944. I was under the understanding that you wanted a higher OG for a starter if it's going to be chewing on a bigger beer. If it's okay to do 1.040 for a stepped up starter for a few days, we'll do that. DME isn't cheap 'round these parts. If it sounds like I'm paranoid, it's because...

Hey all, Just a quick question regarding a starter. Brewing a 1.084 OG stout on next Wednesday and Mr. Malty tells me I need 3.5L of starter. Bit much, but I figured 3.5L of water (about a gallon) with 250g (about a half pound) each Light DME and Brown Sugar should both give me a starter...

Hey all, Just about to try making our first Extract/Speciality recipe from scratch. I've used the Recipator for all the calculations, but all the information is below. Units are in metric, but for all intents and purposes it's a 5 gallon batch (with about 0.5 gallons allowed for loss to...

We just brewed yesterday, and aside from a bit more break material getting into the primary than we would really have preferred, it went well. A question I have is that, since we ended up with an OG of about 1.083 (Which is right where we wanted it), I'm a bit concerned about the attenuation of...

We just brewed yesterday, and aside from a bit more break material getting into the primary than we would really have preferred, it went well. A question I have is that, since we ended up with an OG of about 1.083 (Which is right where we wanted it), I'm a bit concerned about the attenuation of...

Hey all; Just posted a topic in Recipes/Ingredients I'm not sure should be there. Since it's mostly questions about the recipe, I'll link it here before I ask about starters. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/high-gravity-baltic-porter-minor-variations-183996/ My question is about...

Hey all! Second batch is currently being consumed and is all kinds of delicious. A nice simple Traditional Brown Ale; our first attempt at extract brewing a resounding success. Thanks to all for the help! I'm posting because we're about to put batch 3 together this weekend. My two brewing...

Hey all, Thanks in no small part to the answers and help from this forum, we have our first batch bottled, conditioned and already drinkable. It's not bad at all; a simple lager from an all-wort kit that ended up a bit fruity. We all agree it's not going to win any awards, but it's nice to...

Lost a long post full of questions. That's always frustrating. Anyhow, with pantyhose do you just stretch it over the end of the tube that's in the bottling bucket? Do you leave some slack (like a filter pouch) so it doesn't back the siphon up with the accumulated solids? Is it necessary to...

That was exactly our concern, so thanks for saving us from taking a chance and messing things up. It's been one mistake after another and we seem to still have something drinkable, so I'd rather not take my chances. Thanks for the quick reply. - Budista

Hey all, One quick question before we bottle on Sunday. I'm noticing that, 5 days after adding gelatin for fining the beer, that there are still some noticeable chunks of krausen and what appear to be hops left floating on the surface of the beer. They're not anything that will likely be...