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Alcohol works pretty well, but I'd trust Star-San more.

In my opinion, this is preference. If you want to simulate a certain style, I guess you can follow certain guidelines, such as noble hops for German wheat beers, but when people experiment is when they make the best recipes. There are a few guidelines, such as crystal shouldn't be more than...

Experienced MrB brewers can go from can to brew keg in ~20 minutes! It takes me a little longer. :)

The process should be rapid if the directions are followed, but it's more like heating up a pizza than making one. The beer is also closer to a lager, i.e., not very malt-a-licious. Using twice as many cans (unhopped would be a good choice) will make better beer, but it's still a frozen pizza...

Usually the best choice is to primary a beer longer. A month should be fine, so long as the yeast you used were healthy. :)

I've heard it said that the carbonation carbon dioxide can remove some of the fruit flavor aromatics, the same way dry-cleaning works. That's what I've heard; I'm not an organic chemist so I'm not sure. ;)

The recipes from the MrB site are legit, I've heard. I've never done them myself. :)

I agree, don't experiment with your first batch. Just make it as awesome as you can with what you have. When in doubt, use less water. It works for Kool-Aid(tm) and it works for Mr Beer(tm)! ;) The other option than honey malt to get honey flavor is to brown your honey by stirring it over heat...

$15 for a refractometer? That's a steal! The downside to a refractometer is that, AFAIK, it isn't accurate for post-fermentation gravity. If you only have one or the other, you probably need the hydrometer so you can see when fermentation is done. I have both. And a spare hydrometer, b/c if...

+1 bulging. I have heard that several weeks in the 30-40 degree range can kill yeast permanently, and that some people do this to stabilize back-sweetened wine (no one seems to back-sweeten beer...), but I don't know if I would necessarily trust that. I'd think there would still be a few...

44/16 = 2.75 pts per ounce DME per gallon. 1/1.8 = 0.56 pts per ounce DME per FIVE gallons. I couldn't figure your math there for a minute. ;)

There are two very common mistakes with steeping grains: 1) not crushing the grains (or not crushing them enough) 2) letting them get loose and get into the boil Neither will (necessarily) ruin your beer. I haven't had the color issue come up before, but then again, I've never tried to make my...

No distillation is legal. Maybe the feds will get grumpy for any booze over 25%, but burden of proof is actually pretty strong. Unless they can demonstrate that you DID distill it, and that you DIDN'T freeze concentrate or fortify it (with legally distilled alcohol), then you will not have much...

This is, IMO, very sensible. Brew what makes sense for you! :ban:

Sealed? Not a good thing with fermentation. Airlocked =/= sealed. Sealed == bad. :( If you want to add fruit (peppers are technically a fruit) or dry hop or anything like that, then a secondary is a good option. You generally don't want to add flavoring type things to primary, because CO2...

As for a secondary... I've used those 4L wine jugs as a secondary before. There is a drilled bung size that fits them (can't remember ATM) and then that will hold an airlock. No need to buy the wine, though; your LHBS should sell glass secondaries in all volumes 1gal-6gal. It is key to keep...

In case they try to "sell" you on stuff, just remember: most recipes can be cut in half and brewed in a MrB fermenter. Just FYI. 5 gallons is way too much for me. I drink 3-5 beers a week, and only one of my friends that visits regularly drinks beer. 5 gallons = 50 beers, so 2.5 months'...

I think you'll like their recipes from their website much more. Also, cold-conditioning makes good beer great. Leave them in the fridge for an extra week and see if you don't agree with me. ;)

The true controversy is cost. No one says aluminum is better... just that it might be just as good. If money was not an object, everyone would use stainless, I believe. You can do this. Is it a good idea? I dunno. Pouring hot water can be messy and risky. At least it's only at mash temps...

It is sooooo good as is, I'd be afraid to experiment like that. If you really want to experiment, I'd pull off a gallon and ferment it separately. The secret to really good German wheat beers is, like every other beer, cool fermentation temps. I used to ferment wheats warm, but Jamil...