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An interesting surprise: I noticed that today marks 5 years since I joined HBT. I think I made a wise move when I bought the 'Lifetime' membership. I've saved some money at this point. Woo hoo

Howdy, all. Years ago, in Dunkirk, NY, the Fred Koch Brewery made something called "Wutrzberger", and has been described as 'an old-fashioned German Beer'. Anybody know what this Wutrzberger is, or could be? It's my understanding that it was made pre-18th Amendment, but didn't return to...

Apparently, Newcastle has caramel color added to make it its distinctive brown color. But that'll soon be changing with the substitution of higher Lovibond malts. And if you can't trust the BBC, who can you trust?

Surely I'm not the only one who keeps a Lab notebook regarding my homebrew process. Am I? I know a number of brewers who treat their hobby like cooking: follow a recipe, use the ingredients as specified, boil for the required time, then do whatever else the recipe calls for during the...

The name of this story is The Legend of Charlie P. .... and the Stuck Sparge It's the story of a young, innocent man; just starting out in life, everything to live for: A pretty girl who loves him, a faithful dog, and golden prospects with his new job as an assistant candlemaker two...

So... Next weekend, I'll be bottling some apfelwein I've had fermenting since the juice was pressed last fall, and I'm wondering about the bottles. I don't own a corker, and I've always just crown-capped the wine in brown beer bottles. My question is: Do I need brown bottles, or can I use...

I have used motor oil, dead smoke-detectors, used car batteries, MAPP gas cylinders, and an un-usable rubbermaid garbage can. Guess which one I can't seem to get picked-up?

I've been unable to brew for a couple of weeks because I've had three yeast starters in a row fail to ... well, fail to 'start'. I've been storing the WL vials on the top shelf in the kitchen refrigerator, out of the way, in the back. I'm bringing them up to room temperature before pitching...

I re-upped my membership last week -- and I went whole-hog and did the lifetime membership. Or at least until 2038. Unless I die before then. I wasn't expecting to get two new HBT stickers in the mail, today. My guess is that whenever you buy a new membership, they send you two stickers...

Hey, all; Good, healthy yeast -- when it's done its thing, and flocculates out -- everybody knows that with a little work, it can be made into a starter for another batch of beer. I've been routinely adding Servomyces and a bit of WLN1000 to each time I brew -- they both serve different...

Howdy, all; While I'm aware there is a Balling scale when taking hydrometer readings -- I'm looking for a bit more of the background literature behind it. I'm assuming there's a Dr. Balling, PhD, somewhere, but I can't find much information on his work. For instance, in Palmer's "How to...

Howdy, all. I checked on my carboy this morning, and found the airlock full of white fluff. (it's a three-piece bubbler, not one of the S-curve ones). While I filled it with vodka when I first started the fermentation process, the initial fermentation was vigorous and blew it all out. I...

High School Science Fair preparation is starting this week. My daughter is investigating renewable energy, and is considering turning a slurry of pulped yard trimmings into fuel ethanol and water. We've checked into the laws, and yes, you can do this in an educational setting with underage...

So -- it's 2:30AM, and I've just spent the last 2+ hours mopping up the garage floor. My 5-gal bucket of Star-San leaked and drained its contents while we were out for the holiday. It is a standard food-grade 5-gallon bucket with spigot, and the leak seems to be at the seal around the...

Quick newbie question: In the mash tun -- after it's pre-heated, do you add the water to the malts or do you add the malts to the water? (Joe Summerjob, manning the cash register at the LHBS, didn't know / couldn't tell me.) [Answer from replies: "Add the Grains to the heated water"]

Equipment request -- I'm looking for some vendors for glassware: Flasks, Petri dishes, slant tubes (with screw-caps), pipettes, and the like. Maybe a few ancillary labware items as well. My LHBS carries a few flasks for making starters, but nothing beyond that for yeast cultivation. I'm...

Howdy, all; I've got a Belgian Dubbel still in primary, and it'll be two weeks, tomorrow. It's hit the expected final gravity, but that was a few days ago.... and there's still plenty of activity in the wort. Of course there's activity in the airlock, too, but everyone knows that is no...

Been brewing since November last year, and am preparing for a 5-6 month secondary on a high gravity Belgian Dubbel for December bottling this year to wonderfy the flavors. I haven't aged anything this long, before. What's the procedure for adding yeast when priming? Will I need to add...

I've been brewing for about six months, and am trying to get a better understanding of the science behind the art of homebrew. Suppose I take a hydrometer reading of a 3 gallon partial boil, and I want to know what the reading will be after I add another two gallons of water. If, for...

I've been brewing Ginger Ale and other soft drinks for years. Understanding Spouse announced two weeks ago that at 42, it's time for me to 'grow up' and brew something more substantial. I'm still getting used to the idea of fermentation in a bucket -- for alcohol content and flavor -- and...