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Not sure if this is the best forum to post this, but thought this might be helpful to others. I usually use old beach towels to cover my carboys, but couldn't find one for a recent batch. When I have friends pick up orders from my LHBS they usually pack it in a grain sack. I was cleaning up...

I made a 3 liter starter of PacMan for a brew two weeks back. I used my newly constructed fermentation chamber to control temp for the starter. Unfortunately I botched the settings on the digital thermostat, setting the temp offset by 10c cold instead of setting the delay for the cool cycle at...

Thinking of doing a single hop Nelson Sauvin Wheat Wine Ale. I've never had opportunity to try a Wheat Wine so this is a one-off guess on a grain bill. I've also not used Nelson Sauvin, but hear that it can be a reasonable single hop and has interesting characteristics that might play nicely...

I recently brewed an extract batch after about a year of partial to all grain batches, averaging about one brew per month. This was supposed to be making an extract version of an all grain batch I had used to teach friends how to brew. We never managed to get around to brewing before they...

I'm making a blend of perry and cider, and decided to play with using heat to reduce and concentrate the batch. I simmered 5.5 gallons of a 50 50 blend for 2.5 hours and reduced it to just under 4 gallons. I am planning to add more per juice to bring the volume up to a full 5 gallons...

I'm in the midst of a brew session making an autumn-ish amber with yams, healthy bit of rye, maple syrup, cardamom, and lemon balm. I thought I'd share my mistakes in case anyone else is interested in using yams. I used the BBQ to cook the yams, wrapped in foil, indirect heat @400F for one...

We are planning to put in a winter cover crop on our garden and thinking about a winter barley for fun. Quick searches didn't yield any results. Anyone have a source for winter two row barley seed? Or experience small scale growing and harvest?

Hi- Ever have one of those brew sessions where everything goes sideways? Brewed an oatmeal stout last week. Digital thermometer died during mash. Backup thermometer was broken. Third thermometer broke during use. Mash temps (stepped) were definitely off. Keggle had damaged/leaky nipple...

Hi - File this under curious but not worried. I have a kolsch that has been in primary for 13 days at 64F. It had a very active fermentation the first two days, and despite slowing down has stayed consistent with a nice full krausen. I brewed a very similar one last year, but my notes show it...

So as the subject title indicates, I brewed a rhubarb Witbier recently. It is super complex with a bit of a sour note at the end, but also has a tiny bit of a skunky smell. I didn't even notice it at first but once SWMBO pointed it out It was all I could focus on. This beer, like all of...

Clearing to expand our garden we found an interesting old bottle with "Federal Law Prevents Sale or Re-Use of This Bottle" stamped on it. It is 4/5's of a quart and has a rose design on the upper part of the bottle. Does anyone know the history of the label preventing sale or reuse? Was...

I brewed my first braggot back in early November. I was amazed at the active fermentation that went on and on with over two weeks of regular activity in the airlock after blowing off close to a half gallon. It fermented out further than I had anticipated, ending at 9.8% whereas I'd anticipated...

I'm racking a fall/winter brewto secondary tonight that I used the Wyeast 2112. Planning to do a couple of batches of cider in the coming weeks and am wondering if this yeast might work well. Anyone have any experience using it or something comparable?

Hi- I have a CDA in primary that I using a partial mash recipe. This was the first time I had done a late extract and I wasn't aware that it has the characteristic of upping the bitterness. Originally I was shooting for around an IBU of around 75, but apparently the late extract ramped it...