Recent content by Brother Dun

I have been thinking and thinking but can't decide what to brew next. I need some suggestions. The first beer that is mentioned twice is what I will brew. Thanks for the help! Cheers! :mug:

I'm brewing a pumpkin ale this weekend and was debating whether I should put the pumpkin in the mash or into the boil. What are some pros and cons of either method? Has anyone done both and gotten different results? Thanks! P.S. I plan on using 2 cans of organic pumpkin, no sugars or...

Good to know. I'll definitely go with the Simcoe then. I read that the aroma in the bottle will stay for around 4-6 months before it really goes down hill. Is that a good estimate?

I read somewhere that higher alpha acid hops aren't as good for dry hopping. I was planning on using simcoe hops with 12.2% AA for dry hopping an amber ale. Has anyone used Simcoe hops with success? Should I try some other type? Also, does the flavor and aroma from dry hopping degrade over...

I'm in a similar boat as you guys. Everyone always says "Oh, its good." But they always say it with a face of "It actually sucks, I'm just being nice." I don't really mind since I think it's pretty good, and each batch improves significantly! :mug:

I live in Mechanicsburg (right outside of Harrisburg, where Troegs is located) and Mad Elf is one fine winter beer. I'm also originally from outside of Easton, where Weyerbacher is located. Another excellent winter beer. Excellent choices!

It's been in the primary for a week. I was going to go with the 1-2-3 method, but it seems like I will just let it in the primary for 2 or so and then bottle. I'd rather not risk off flavors for some clarity.

O.G. was 1.057. F.G. should be around 1.015 I'm pretty new, so I'm unsure how gravity would effect whether or not you should rack into a secondary. Can someone explain?

I currently only have one glass carboy and an older plastic bucket that has seen it's fair share of brews. I brewed a stout and wanted to move it into a secondary. Would anyone suggest that I siphon into the old plastic, clean and sanitize the primary (the glass carboy) and re-siphon back in...

Awesome, thanks everyone.

I've been using one of those orange Gatorade coolers to mash with for the past few batches. I recently got a new brewpot and want to up my batch size. I normally used around 10 lbs. of grain for a 4 gallon batch (5 gallon boil). I'm hoping to use around 13 or possibly 14 lbs of grain. Does...

I just read that it is bad to chill your wort using ice. I normally add a little bit of water to get my AG batch to the right volume, but I thought ice would be a good idea instead, since it would cool the wort as well. Could someone tell me why I shouldn't use ice? Thanks!

I used an S-04 Yeast, the temp was around 75 to begin with but I think the temp is now around 79 or 80. Wouldn't that possibly slow down or stop fermentation? Also, I took a sample and the gravity went from 1.034 to 1.012, so I guess the fermentation may have stopped as well. Let me know...

During my second AG batch, the fermentation started normally. For the first day and a half the fermentation was non-stop according to the action in the fermentation lock. After two days though, fermentation seems to have slowed down considerably, there is only about 1 bubble every minute or so...

Sorry, if forgot to say that I am using fuggles which have around half the HBU.