Recent content by binarybison

I got a used 5g balcones barrel. I know smaller barrels are subject to increased oxygen intake due to the higher surface-area-to-volume ratio. I've read some people will cover all or part of their barrel with paraffin wax to reduce the amount of oxygen that seeps in...

That must be it, it is sitting on concrete. I'll move it and see if that helps bring up the temp.

I don't have a predetermined plan per se, but I figured I'd let it ferment until it was done, and then either bottle or move to secondary. With the krausen around, I figured it just hadn't finished fermenting, but perhaps it has. I'll take a gravity reading this weekend and figure out what to do...

I don't have a predetermined plan per se, but I figured I'd let it ferment until it was done, and then either bottle or move to secondary. With the krausen around, I figured it just hadn't finished fermenting, but perhaps it has. I'll take a gravity reading this weekend and figure out what to do...

I've got a belgian trippel going right now with WLP500, OG approximately 1.080. It has been in primary for about a month now, but there is still some krausen or perhaps hop matter floating at the surface. There is also some stuff (hopefully yeast) that is hanging around in the top inch or so...

Alright, I'm gonna grab a new better bottle, make sure to carefully clean it, keep the temperature down, and try not to do anything stupid. Hopefully the next batch turns out better! Thanks for the help!

I'm new to brewing, I've done two batches, an amber and an IPA, both from brewers best. I've noticed similar off flavors in both batches, and I want to figure out what I need to do better for the next batch. The first batch was an amber, and it had a little bit of a weird aftertaste that is...