Recent content by brewczyk

I don't think it's DMS then. The smell is slightly sharp and registers as acidic. I'm thinking now it could be fusel alcohols caused by not oxyginating the work correctly. I think I'm going to invest in a Oxinator

I filter using a mesh strainer

Good catch. I half cover it in attempts to increase the boil. I figured all the nastys could still escape, but I could be wrong.

My stove isn't strong enough and I'm not mechanically inclined enough to make a "heat stick"

No, I am very careful to put the tube on the very bottom and avoid splashing at all costs

I bottle my beer

I am not diluting after boiling. Only full batch boils. I'm at sea level so 210 isn't exactly a boil. The wort slightly moves in waves and ripples, but it doesn't look like a rolling boil

Water profile is as follows (in PPM) Calcium: 34 Magnesium: 11.8 Sodium: 7 Chloride: 13.8 Sulfate: 28.1 Alkalinity: 108 Before adding the campden tablet, my PH is about .8 above what it needs to be

I've tried R/O water as well. No improvement. I've also shopped at 3 different brew supply stores. Most in Chicago have a very high turnover rate so product always seems to be freshy fresh.

Hello All, I've been brewing for about 2 years now and have made about 10 beers. Every beer I've made (wheather extract or all grain) have all had a consistent after taste that you don't find in craft beer. I wish I could describe it but I can't. To me it taste like "homebrew after taste."...

Hello All, I've been brewing for about 2 years now and have made about 10 beers. Every beer I've made (wheather extract or all grain) have all had a consistent after taste that you don't find in craft beer. I wish I could describe it but I can't. To me it taste like "homebrew after taste."...

Hello Friends, I'm making a pumpkin beer and plan on adding vanilla beans to secondary. Two weeks ago, I cut 2 vanilla beans in half and scraped out the goodies and seeds into 4 Oz of vodka. Should I add the vodka to secondary, or decant the vodka and just add the residue? I'm wondering...

Thanks for the advice. I did an experiment today where I split my boil into two seperate pots. even with each pot only holding 3.25 gallons, i still couldn't reach a good boil. I dreaded having to do this, but i'm going to have to make a heat stick. Making beer takes long enough, i would...

Yes, my OG has always been a bit lower then expected. I can attribute this to both your theory of not extracting enough sugar and also my theory about too much water being in the mix. I know for a fact that my post boil volume is higher than what the recipe calls for.

So my last 4 beers have come out watery which I've attributed to a weak boil. I'm never able to boil my wort down to the 5 gallon mark and am afraid to boil longer. With that said, I have a few boil questions: 1) Does the inability to reach my target boil volume effect the body of my beer...