Recent content by billingsbrew

I have used S-05 multiple times with great success. I had an English barley wine starting gravity 1.15 and it was down to 1.002 in 48 hours. However, I did use a yeast starter with over 1 trillion cell count in a 5 gallon batch. I imagine your beer has started to ferment by now even if only from...

Well I'll just leave it for another week and take another reading. I haven't added the peaches or ginger yet. I'm waiting to add them to the secondary. It's still showing activity in the airlock, around ten bubbles a minute. I've never had a yeast drop only five points in two weeks and was just...

Rehydrated three packs

I'm making a peach-Ginger melomel. OG 1.100, using QA23. After two weeks it's only down to 1.060. PH is at 3.6, plenty of aeration and nutrients. Started a pomegranate melomel one week earlier using 71B and it's done. (OG1.20/FG 1.10) I've never used the QA23 yeast before and I was wondering...

I usually finish somewhere between 1.015 and 1.008 depending on recipe and grains used. I always fly Sparge and have only had one gravity stop at 1.045 and that is because it was a large Barley wine. I use a refractometer to measure the output and the majority of the time it's below 1.010...

And this is why we should not drink and brew at the same time.

As much fun as I have had making Belgian Candi syrup or my version of it. You simply cannot make the same version at home as they do with the commercial candi syrup. Yes you can invert your own sugar and for some styles is a very good idea to do so. However making dark strong Belgians you would...

If anyone thinks that a decoction mash is simply for conversion purposes you should try one and see what you do to your grain. There is no way you can boil the mash and not have any change on the outcome of the flavor. It would be like steaming onions instead of caramelizing onions in a pan.

I'm not sure how to get a better OG then just to mix it complete. As far as fermentation I have had a 1.105 barley wine falls to 1.020 using S04 in just two days.

That's really good advice. That's how I realized it was much better to let it age. It's nice to put some of it in smaller bottles it makes it easier to sample.

Oh no it's fine I'm using and Orson Welles futuristic yeast. Ya...... It will do up to 36% alcohol by volume. Well yes in this batch I thought I would throw in the kitchen sink the liner in my pick-up and the lint from the dryer. It may not be a mellow mellow melomel however, I will try to...

I took a sample of this concoction to the local brew shop. I do belive if I were in prison or on the battle field in 325 BC it would be greatly appreciated. I don't know if I keep drinking it because I really like it or I just like the affect. I did add a little tannin and it helped with a...

Yeah 4.0 is just fine for pH. I used 1122 on my last batch. OG 1.141 and it finished at 1.036 (13.99 ABV) I've not used this yeast before but I know it will get real close to 14%. Has activity stopped? I have one batch with 1118 that has been going for two and a half months and there's still a...

Well it did exactly that, dropped 2 points to 1.018 (11.4 ABV) and that is what I wanted. Will cold crash it for 3 months and then bottle it.

Well it only got to 1.105 but did finish at 1.018. I guess I will let you all know if the candy syrup was a good addition, in about a year.