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Andrewskibrewski - Even inside a fridge I will still have temperature stratification just as if you had a fermenter in a well-ventilated basement at the apropriate temperature. Some kind of convection (stirring inside, or fluid motion outside, or both) is really what I am looking for, as...

I'm very interested in stirring to eliminate thermal stratification. My one concern is whether it would increase fermentation of proteins and other undesirables that have settled at the bottom of the vessel. I recall that John Palmer advises against leaving beer in primary for that reason. It...

I did this recipe except couldn't find cheap vanilla beans so I substituted a few ounces of vanilla bean extract. Turned out great so far (having a half pint only a few days after kegging it, couldn't help myself).

Very good, continues to improve.

This turned out great. It's a little mild because of my efficiency issues, but it is most excellent. SWMBO agrees, too. It's very smooth and would be acceptable to a wide range of audiences, I think. SWMBO predicts it will be a hit with the ladies in general.

Seemed very promising on its way to secondary (had to clear my primary bucket for the next batch). I bottled 6 1-liters and will keg the rest in a month or few I think. I have very high expectations for this batch now.

Haven't measured it yet, but last night one of my kegs went bubbly, so I think it may be time to transfer to a keg for some secondary resting time. I also need to do a few bottles for a friendly competition coming up in February. I'll let you know how the recipe fares for sure.

Recognizing that the yeast makes the beer more times than not, the LBHS was out of Burton and recommended English ale as a substitute that is similar but different. Otherwise, this is the recipe I used. I also used the stove-top without a proper MLT, teabag-in-sparge-water method...

I once was a sort of chemist, and my thoughts are as follows: A prolonged boil will drive off the flavors. However, placing the beans for a moment in boiling water and then quickly cooling it down should have minimal ill effect. One can further refine the process by placing a device on top of...

Your yeast are done producing CO2 at this point, to any significant extent. You should use whatever amount of sugar is recommended for a trippel based on the temperature and beer type; I would not worry about excess sugar after a month and a half of fermentation (I assume you are worried about...

I have another question - I have another bunch of vanilla beans, which I would like to use to make stout in the future, but those beans aren't getting any fresher I am sure. Should I store them in jars of high-alcohol rum (like 151), in preparation for later addition, or would I be better off...

I know one week is not long enough in the bottle, but I couldn't resist. Opened one 30 seconds ago and it is amazing. Ambrosia. Best thing ever. Made it with a kit stout and malt extract combined with maybe some fuggles hops and the 3 vanilla beans in the secondary. Morgan's I believe...

I bottled mine last night, after over a month of primary and secondary fermentation, and it already tasted amazing. Real vanilla beans will taste different, just from what I tasted last night. I have cooked with vanilla beans and vanilla extract, and the beans just take things to the next...

The important thing is to be sure that all the sugars are already processed into CO2. You're going to add some priming sugar, and if that amount is in addition to some unknown amount of sugar in the batch, you risk exploding bottles and serious glass shard injury. I wouldn't bottle until...

Thanks for the sympathies. I have to figure out some way to avoid this in the future... maybe switch to a sanitizer I would be comfortable not rinsing afterward with boiled water, or cool off the water before rinsing.

And, I just answered my question by finally reading a japanese language description of the bucket. I couldn't find this anywhere online in English: http://www.amy.hi-ho.ne.jp/brew/equipment.html#fermenter It says the bucket is DESIGNED to let gas out, so I don't need an airlock. Screams of...

I got 2nd degree burns last night on my upper leg / pelvis from boiling water I had "sealed" in my bucket, but the pressure was too much so the water leaked onto me, which really sucks and I have skin blisters, broken skin, etc. Based on this experience, I conclude that my bucket lid will...

OK, the stout is vanillaed (with rum) in the secondary and the pale ale is now pitched as of 2:40 AM. I added about double the amount of cascades as are in the recipe because you only live once, and I got tired of waiting for things to cool down so I added this product called "clean ice", which...

Short answer: no. http://www.essortment.com/home/gardenplantsgr_syjg.htm You need to make an artificial tropical environment, which an outdoor NY garden is not going to fit. I just launched my vanilla secondary using hawaiian dark rum. I hope the ~30 minutes in rum was enough to kill any...

In Indonesia you can get tons of them for basically nothing. So, I did. If you're ever in Bali or otherwise in the area, go to a market and you won't even want to barter they're so cheap.