Search results

I made a Skeeter Pee from an apfelwein slurry. I should have known better because it produced some H2S in the apfelwein but I figured that with proper pitch rates, aeration and nutrient schedule, that it would not continue to produce H2S in the Skeeter Pee. I was wrong and it has a noticeable...

I wasn't sure where to post this but the collective HBT knowledge has got to cover this. Some time around the holiday season, a friend of mine brought back a quart or so of homemade maple syrup from their land in Minnesota. It was unbelievably good but that has nothing to do with the story...

Hey guys Just wondering if someone with a better grasp of yeast life cycles and whatnot can tell me if Mr. Malty's slurry viability calculations are pretty much correct? It seems like it drops to 10% pretty quickly. I think I harvested and stored it pretty well, although I believe it has...

I have a few meads in gallon jugs that I would really really like to bottle soon. I was planning on racking each onto a gallon of campden to prevent oxidation. When I went to do this last night, I found my autosiphon not up to the task. I can go and get another one relatively soon but it...

Quick background: I've made lots of batches of apfelwein and mead but this season I tried my hand at ciders for the first time. I wanted to make a draft-style cider, off-dry but with some carbonation. My plan was to ferment dry, rack onto apple juice concentrate and use Pappers' stovetop...

This might be a stupid question so bear with me please. My city has online a pretty thorough quality report with ppm of lots of different inorganics. The problem is that it lists the wells servicing my address and their relative usage. In some areas the ppm differ pretty widely. Is there any...

So I started a 1 gallon batch of draft cider (local, unpasteurized, semi-tart cider with about 1-2 grams of rehydrated S-04). SWMBO and I are both getting tired of dry ciders/wines and I planned to keep it semi-sweet using Papper's stovetop pasteurization method. But I don't want to find that...

Long story short: I used a new minifridge to cold crash a batch of BM's OktoberFAST and forgot about it during a busy weekend. I went to bottle it today and it was frozen nearly solid. Could have been that way for a full day or two. This is in a 3 gallon Better Bottle. Bottle seems fine...

I started doing AG batches fairly recently and so got myself a Taylor 1470 probe thermometer. It was great for my needs; basically an accurate reading, temperature alarms and a timer. But after using it for a few batches it reads something like 30-40 degrees higher than it should, from boiling...

I just finished my second BIAB last night. It definitely went a lot smoother than the first and I'm on my way to getting the procedure down so it doesn't take me forever. But I'm concerned about the temperatures. I have a Taylor probe thermometer and it gives me way different readings...

This is the first fall harvest I'm really in the swing of things and I'd like to do some ciders. As much as possible I'd like to use real, local cider. I just have no idea what I should be paying. At local grocery store, the craftsy, more local stuff is about 6.50 a gallon and so is the stuff...

Just found a box full of assorted test tubes, all about the same size. After a little research I believe them to be 10 mL, many Pyrex, and all look like relatively high quality, lab quality stuff (not like I'd really know I guess). I picked the box up because I thought it might be helpful in...

Just beginning to transition from extract to AG. Small batches for now, indoors. I got a 24 quart kettle and will be doing 2.5-3 gallon batches, likely BIAB for a while. Only thing is, it takes forever to bring the water to a boil (tested with ~4 gallons in it). Add in heating to strike...

Hi guys I've been brewing extract for a few months now and plan to move into BIAB. That means I'll need a bigger kettle. At the moment I'm doing 2.5-3 gallon batches, but I would like to start doing some of my better recipes in 5 gallons, especially if I'm going to be taking the time to do AG...

I'm hoping someone can help me out here. I'm about to move to a place with more space for brewing so I'm keeping an eye out for deals. One thing I need is a stirplate. So in the course of checking the university surplus auctions for one, I saw this orbital shaker. The site says: Orbit...

Hi guys I'm getting ready to bottle my first two mead attempts. I got a really helpful response here last time I posted so I figured I'd ask here even though I'm sure it gets asked a lot. I just want to make sure since I'm getting conflicting info from the LHBS guy. Short backdrop: I have a...

Hey all Apologies in advance for uninformed questions. I've been brewing beer for a little while and have a few simple meads/cysers under my belt but I'd like to get more into it. Last weekend I went to the local farmer's market and got 5 pounds of unpasteurized, very lightly (or un-)...