Recent content by crisis

Thanks for the responses, we will consider those options ;)

A bit over a year ago my wife and I attempted a strawberry wine out of the book Wild Wines and Meads. It's been sitting in the carboy ever since, because it frankly just doesn't taste too good. There is nothing really wrong with it as far as contamination etc, it just tastes like high...

It was a Scottish Ale yeast. So you think a clean yeast like American Ale won't have any trouble with the high starting alcohol?

I have a beer I brewed for the holidays that has been aging in oak for about 6 months. It is about 9% ABV, and I'm assuming the yeast is dead by now? What would be a good yeast/process to use to bottle condition it? Should I make a yeast starter, and also make my normal priming...

I just moved a beer to the secondary and would like to use the yeast cake for another beer I am planning. The problem is it will probably be a week or two before I can brew it. I tossed an airlock on the carboy, will it be ok sitting there for a week or two to use for my next batch? Thanks!

I checked my records and the 2 ounces of fresh ginger was added for the last 15 minutes.

I'd re-iterate the careful use of ginger. My holiday ale last year has 2 ounces of fresh ground ginger and it overpowered the beer, making it barely drinkable. (Although I think it is finally starting to mellow a bit after 8 months or so) This year I used 1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder to...

Kind of cool, however open source beer recipes are a lot different then open source software. What makes a beer better is often a matter of opinion, where in open source software contributions often fix bugs or add features. It will be interesting to see what contributions are accepted and...

Portland, OR. Don't think there is a bigger beer town than Portland. Last I heard we had maybe 50-60 breweries total.

I've been doing this. I brewed a light fruit ale and a Witbier in late winter so they woudl be ready for spring, and I am going to be brewing a winter warmer this weekend that will age for 6 months and be ready for the holidays. Of course you can always brew what you are in the mood for, but...

Good point re: the amount of honey, I was mainly thinking about getting the gravity up but then forgot about what it might do to the flavor of the beer... I'll have to do some research on the yeast cake,s never done it that way. Normally I make a starter with a pint of water and some DME the...

One other thing, since I am going to age it in the secondary with oak chips for 6 months, should I then add some more yeast and sugar/DME before bottling? From the recent findings I've had, it seems the yeast will be long dead by then? Thanks!

I am doing extract. I was figuring that the gravity would be high enough that the alcohol level would eventually kill the yeast before all sugars were consumed. here's what I am working with so far: Ingredients Quantity Grain Use 7.00 lb Amber malt extract extract 5.00 lb Honey...

It's a bit different. That being said, the two things I'm mainly interested in feedback on are the amounts of honey, and a good yeast that can handle high ABV but also leave a suitable taste (i.e. no belgians etc) I was thinking of maybe a scottish ale yeast actually.. Any comments?

I'm planning on brewing my Winter Warner this weekend, and would like some advice. Here's what I'm thinking: I'm giving it 6 months, so I should have time for a big beer with spice to develop nicely. I'd like to age it with oak chips. I'll probably be using Amber Malt Extract, and...