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Conversion of starch from dry common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to ethanol I was trying to find some information on HBT about mashing and fermenting beans (black, specifically), but found there wasn't much on the subject and the few people who tried it didn't report their results. Ever...

I started the brew day feeling great and enthusiastic, but now I feel like screaming. I've been brewing for about a year now, and throughout all of my progress, one aspect of brewing has continued to haunt me from day one. I cannot for the life of me finish the boil with a dependable volume...

I just started AG brewing a few months ago and had good results in the two batches I made, but I can't seem to keep it up because of the tediousness of cleaning. It's such an important step that it can't be skipped, but in a small apartment kitchen, I find it's just impossible to get a...

I'll be brewing up my first AG BIAB tomorrow. I'm making a two-gallon batch with 4.2 pounds of grain. Beer Smith suggests I use 6.56 qts of water for the mash then sparge with 1.37 qts (I may not sparge). I understand that boil-off will vary with temperature, climate, and altitude, but how much...

While I'm still figuring out my efficiency, I thought I'd concentrate on doing some lighter styles that wouldn't be overly adversely affected by a low conversion. I've also been wanting to mess around with some adjuncts, so I thought the Belgian Blonde would be a great starting place to play...

Really beginner question, but after several batches, I started wondering why beginner instructions like those from NB have you get your water to a boil before adding your extract (this is before restoring it to a boil and beginning your hop schedule). Why not just start mixing it in after the...

I've got a pack of liquid yeast that probably expired a little over a month ago. I'd still like to revive it, but not knowing how much viable yeast remain, I don't want to overwhelm them in a starter that's too large. I normally make about a liter. What do you think is an appropriate size for...

I'm reading that cane sugar is can produce too many off-flavors when used as an adjunct due to the way the yeast digest it, despite its characteristic of being highly fermentable. Most sources say it becomes a problem when too much is used, but how much is too much? I'm building a recipe to...

I'm about to get into AG, so I wanted to buy about 50 pounds of malt to start out with as a base for lots of recipes. I'll still use different specialty malts, of course. What is everyone's favorite for this purpose? Also, for bonus points: There aren't any LHBS stores within an hour of me, so...

I've been studying up for the switch to AG and think I'm about ready. The biggest hangup I'm having is committing to the extra equipment. Since I prefer to do small two-gallon batches, though, I think it might be easier than having to do 5-10 gal. So here's what I have and plan to acquire...

So my friend asked if I could make a "unique" beer for him. He's paying for the ingredients, so sure, why not? Anyway, he decided that since he likes to drink beer while chewing mint gum, he would like to have a beer that tastes like mint. I've read several threads about using mint on this site...

Hey guys, I got my starter kit with Better Bottles. Included in the equipment was a special blow-off rubber stopper with an extra wide hole for tubing. It's a bit smaller in diameter and shorter than a typical airlock stopper so that it locks down in the neck of the bottle. I hope. See, it...

Found one of these at my friend's house. I guess his father bought a variety pack of the Michelob faux-beer styles. Being a big fan of Bavarian wheats, I had to try it. The smell is almost there. I get the right notes in there except it is shrouded in some kind of misery. This does not seem...

I've only got a few batches under my belt, so I'm still a total n00b, so I assume that where I am now is not very indicative of where I can be once I've gained more experience. That said... It seems like a lot of people have had one or more acquisitions to their equipment that have really...

Hey guys, I'm looking to brew a small (2 gal) batch of an English nut brown ale soon for a friend of mine. He wants to try something that REALLY gets the nutty idea across. I started messing around in Beer Smith and put this together for the base recipe: 1 lb Amber DME 1 lb Light DME .15 lb...

Brewed a 5-gallon batch of IPA from a kit last night. The finale was a bit hectic with lots of distractions. I ended up doing a few things out of order that made taking a measurement difficult. Bottom line is: the beer calls for an OG of 1050. After bringing up to the five-gallon mark, I only...

First off, greetings everyone -- this is my first post here and this looks like a great community I'll come back to often. :mug: Now to my question: I'm preparing to brew a two-gallon batch of American pale ale with dried chili pepper added in the secondary with the dry-hopping. I'm trying...