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So, I designed and built a HERMS system recently. I have yet to use it for an actual brew but plan on trying it out this weekend. One thing I am confused about is the proper way to sparge. It seems that most people fly sparge with a HERMS setup but I only have one outlet from my mash tun so I...

It seems like every beer I brew these days has too much diacetyl. My experience so far: - The first time I noticed diacetyl was a Dogfish Head 90min IPA clone I brewed. This was a double IPA that I left in the secondary for 4 weeks. I believe the problem was that I only left it in the primary...

What causes hops to stop bittering when they are in the wort? When you stop the boil, the wort is still pretty hot so won't they still contribute to the bitterness of the wort even though it's no longer boiling? I just made an IPA recently that had a relatively low amount of bittering hops...

I've been working a pannepot clone. I'll probably brew it this weekend. Here is what I have so far (comments appreciated): De Struise Pannepot Clone OG: 1.100 (75% mash efficiency) FG: 1.025 ABV: 10.0% IBU: 27 EBC: 99 Malts: 13.5lb Belgian Pilsner 3.0lb CaraMunich 1.0lb Flaked...

Malts: 11.25lb Belgian Pilsner 1.0lb Flaked Wheat 1.5lb CaraVienne 1.5lb CaraMunich 0.25lb Belgian Debittered Black Sugars: 1.5lb Amber Belgian Candi Syrup (10min) 2.25lb D2 Belgian Candi Syrup (10min) Hops: 8 AAU Styrian Goldings (80min) 4 AAU Hallertauer Hersbrucker (10min)...

I often brew Belgian quads that typically have a OG of 1.088-1.096 or so and a FG of 1.010-1.018. Next weekend I want to try to clone my favorite quad, Pannepot Old Fisherman's Ale. I don't have a recipe but I know the OG is 1.100 and the FG is 1.025 making a 10% ABV beer. That is a bit high for...

I'm brewing "your father's mustache" pre-prohibition lager. The OG was 1.052 and the FG is supposed to be 1.016, but after fermenting for 11 days at 50 degrees, I'm already at 1.010. I think I might have mashed too cool which is why I got more attenuation than I had expected. Anyways, when...

I just tried an Imperial IPA I brewed, specifically a dogfish head 90min IPA clone. I used amarillo, warrior, and simcoe hops. The beer is a bit young (just a week in the bottle) so it's still a tad bit undercarbonated, but tastes pretty good. I fermented it for a week, and left it in the...

I'm planning on making another hefeweizen. The recipe will be something like this: 40% pilsner 60% light wheat Hallertauer hersbrucker hops Wyeast 3068 I plan on doing a decoction mash because I've heard thats what the Germans traditionally used. For the last hefeweizen I made, I did...

Do yeast starts for lagers need to be made at the same temperature the beer is going to be fermented at? I am planning on fermenting a lager at 50 for 2 weeks. The OG is 1.056 so I figure I need about a 1 gallon starter which I plan on making tonight so it's ready to brew on Saturday. Do I...

I don't have real mashing equipment or even a large enough pot to boil the quantities of water you get when doing AG (largest pot I have is 6 gallons), so I use brew-in-a-bag (BIAB) methods similar to ones described here on the beginner's forum. It might seem odd, but I do a decoction mash...

Here is a Rochefort 10 clone recipe that I've been working on. I'm planning on brewing it this weekend. It was made by compiling information from BLAM, the brewing network's radio show on Rochefort, and various other Rochefort clones on the net. 12lb Belgian Pilsner 1lb Flaked Wheat 1.125lb...

I'm working on a recipe for a Belgian quad. I have an idea of what grains I want to use but I'm not sure of the ratios yet. Here is what I have so far: 10lb belgian pilnser 3lb amber malt 1.5lb aromatic malt 0.25lb carafa III 3.0lb D2 belgian candi syrup Brewer's Gold hops (90 min)...

So when you do a decoction mash you need to remove some of the mash and boil it. I've read you can boil the mash anywhere from 0 minutes to an hour or more. I've been boiling the decocted mash for about 15-20 minutes but I'm not really sure what is typical. A more important question is when...

I went to take the temperature of my fermenter today and when I pulled the thermometer out I noticed the glass at the very bottom of the bulb was missing. It was a red liquid glass thermometer and I only noticed because the bulb was no longer red. It didn't break in the fermenter as I lower the...

So I've had a belgian dubbel in a secondary for about 4 weeks now. The flavor is not bad but it does not have the fruity esters that I was hoping for. A friend of mine suggested tossing some fruit in. I figured why not, so I split the batch up into two 3 gallon carboys and added dried currants...

I want to get into lagering and I'm looking for a mini-fridge that is just big enough to cold a 6.5 gallon glass carboy, or 6.5 gallon bucket. Preferably something cheap and no bigger than necessary. Does anyone have any suggestions? I can find a lot of fridges online but its unclear if they...

I've been doing AG and partial mash 5 gallon brews using a BIAB method. I'm looking into getting into real AG brewing but I'm not sure what is the easiest and cheapest way or if it is even possible given that I live in an apartment. Presently I can deal with 10lbs grain using BIAB but I tend to...

I'm planning on brewing a Westvleteren 12 clone and I'm working on figuring out how much yeast (Wyeast 3787) I should pitch. It's a high gravity beer (OG 1.092) so I want to make sure I pitch enough. At the same time I've heard that underpitching will cause the yeast to develop more esters...

I have a belgian dubbel thats been cold conditioning in a secondary for about three weeks now. It's not bad but its not quite what I wanted to be as its lacking the flavors I wanted. I was thinking as an experiment to rack some of the beer off to a smaller 3 gallon carboy and adding in some...