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So I wanna fix this hot plate I have been using so that it can be used to make 1 gal batches again. Let it be known that I'm very new at tinkering with this stuff, but I'm interested in it. So this hot plate is a pretty basic $20 Oster model from Sears (pictures at the end of the post) and...

Hey guys, just wondering how long does dry yeast keep in the fridge for? Made a few 1-gal batches a couple months back, and I only used about half the packet, then taped off the opening so it's been (Hopefully) airtight. Wanting to make a couple more 1-gals but not sure if I can still use this...

So here's my situation: I really like brewing large gallons of beer using propane, but when my funds are limited and I can't afford all the ingredients for that I fall back to brewing single gallon batches. For this, instead of propane, I just use a hot plate outside. (Roommates don't like the...

So my roommate's aunt heard that I'm a home brewer and asked if I wanted some of her husbands old brewing supplies that he doesnt use anymore, and I said "yes!" I was a little disappointed when she handed me a Mr. Beer kit, but I thought what the hell, I can sub out some ingredients in this...

I've been doing a lot of 1 gallon batches lately and have been getting great results with the dry yeast I've been using. I've been pitching 1/2 a packet of it for every batch and the fermentation has been very vigorous. Last batch I pitched 1/3 of a pack and it worked just as well. Today, I...

I have a silly question about propane (this is only the second time I've ever used it!) more specifically about the creosote that is on the bottom of the kettle. Mostly its just annoying that it dirties up the sinks when I'm giving my wort an ice bath. I want to know- can I prevent it at all or...

I did my second 1 gallon SMaSH batch today, with mixed results. On the plus side, the brew day went WAY smoother- I knew what I needed to do and even had a bunch of time during mashing/boiling to get some other stuff done around the house. On the down side, my gravity is much lower than I...

I'm brewing a 1 gal SMaSH right now with 2lbs of Marris Otter malt- I calculated that I was going to get a gravity of 1.050 from the malt, but I just sparged and checked the gravity, and it is only at 1.025. My thermometer is a piece of **** so the mash was all over the place (I can barely...

I wanna brew a few 1 gallon batches of beer and I'm almost set up, I just have a couple questions about using yeast at this quantity: 1. According to the recipe, I'm supposed to add 1/2 pack of Wyeast or White Labs yeast. That's fine I can do that, but what is the best way to store the other...

I've really enjoyed this video: I learned a ton from it, but as always I must be missing something! I'm just a little confused about how he initiated the process- Is he fermenting his beer with a spigot on the bucket, or is he pouring the 4 mason jars into the remnants of the bottling...

Hey guys, my imagination was running wild again recently, this time through the fields of yeast starters, fermentation, and the combinations thereof. A few batches ago, I started using yeast starters because I was told it was a great way to improve your beer. That held true. With my most...

It's a nice chilly day outside (November in Wisconsin) like high 40's/low 50's- and I'm gonna take advantage and make a nice stout today. So the question I have is can anyone give me an educated guess as to how long I'd have to wait for my wort to cool to pitching temp if I just let it sit...

So I decided to make the Ginger Saison recipe out of the Extreme Brewing book, and everything was going rather smoothly. I brewed it, it looked like it was fermenting pretty well for about 3 weeks, and then come bottling day, I bottled the whole batch and didn't realize til I was done that I...

Hi, I've been trying to educate myself as much as I can about yeast culturing and I'm excited to start trying it soon. My favorite aspect that I've read is that you can save the yeast from the bottom of some home brews or even from certain commercial beers. I've read up on a few methods to...

I snagged Sam Calagione's Extreme Brewing from the library and I'm currently brewing my second (modified) recipe from his book. First, I did the Imperial Pale Ale recipe, and now I'm doing a weizen- my only question is about gravity calculation. In the imperial pale ale, he says to add brown...

Hey all, I want to make a few nice witbiers this summer, using extract and fresh fruit hopefully. My question is- would it be possible to brew a 5 gallon batch using a fairly straight forward wheat beer recipe, place it in a primary fermenter, but then split the batch into 5 separate 1 gallon...

I read in a later issue of Zymurgy that another method of hopping is to pour a bottle of beer into a french press and then pour some hops into it, let it sit for a while, and then press it and drink it. Seems like a good way to really get a good feel for different types of hops, and I was just...

My friend and I have a good thing going here at the Celtic Froth Home Brewery, but the main thing we can't get a definite answer on right now is the correct glue to use for the labels. I haven't made any attempts yet but I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction. I don't have...

I have a friend in Norway who knows I've started homebrewing on my own, and is curious about what I've made. Every Christmas we send eachother packages through the mail, and this year I want to surprise her and send her some microbrews from Wisconsin and some homebrews I've made myself- but I'm...

Brewed a tripel from a brew kit on 9/17. Its been bottled for about 4 weeks now, and i opened it up and it tastes very flat. It must be something I'm doing because all of my beers have been flatter than I like, but this one takes the cake! In 'Joy of Home Brewing' it says I may have had too...