Recent content by DannyG

I have a birthday fast approaching, and I'm trying to decide what homebrewing goody to ask SWMBO for next. I figure I should turn to the pros for advice: you guys. Right now I've got the basic setup (two buckets, autosiphon, hydrometer, thermometer, etc) along with a homemade wort chiller. I'd...

Does anyone have any thoughts on extended primaries vs extended bottle conditioning? Will a few weeks in primary and then two months in a bottle give you a beer that's as good as a beer that's two months in primary, then a few weeks in bottle?

That's not entirely true. If the reaction is bad but not life-threatening, yeah, you might get Benadryl and monitoring. If it's really bad, though (and if its bad enough for someone to go to the ER, it's probably pretty damn bad) you'll be given Epinephrine - which, yes, is a form of adrenaline...

Was it regular splenda, 'splenda for baking', or from packets? Baking splenda and packets are mixed with dextrose, and thus are fermentable, so if it is you should probably pasteurize them. If it's normal splenda from the box/bag, you're fine.

What's the prevailing wisdom on how many times any one 12 oz bottle can be washed out, sanitized, and re-used before there's a risk of it weakening enough to cause bottle bombs? Is there any such limit?

So I was just wondering earlier - why is conventional wisdom not to make a starter when using dry yeast? What property of dry yeast makes it unnecessary to make a starter (/what property of liquid yeast makes it necessary to use a starter)? I remember reading somewhere once that liquid yeast has...

If you're looking for a great LHBS in NYC, I'm a big fan of Brooklyn Homebrew (http://www.brooklyn-homebrew.com/Brooklyn_Homebrew/Home.html). They've got a great selection of stuff, and they have really good (and cheap - usually about $30, though you need to buy yeast separately) kits for when...

The instructions with the kit gave the very unhelpful target FG of "as low as 1.003 or as high as 1.020". I'm not quite sure what to make of that. Is there any other way to find a target FG that doesn't involve buying software?

So I'm brewing a batch of witbier for a friend's shindig on the 19th of November. I brewed it the weekend before last, meaning it's now been in the primary for a week. Brew day went off without a hitch, fermentation is going normally, etc, etc. Basically, my question is this: I've got five weeks...

Hey guys, I was brewing in a car the other day, but after I pitched my yeast I realized that I had been speeding for half of my brew. Is my beer ruined?

So I was at my LHBS today, and was told that Danstar recently recalled all the store's Notty. This was the same store at which I had bought a sachet of Notty from this lot about a month ago (which worked just fine for me). Has anyone else heard about this?

I normally hate the Chuck Norris meme, but this time I'll bite: Chuck Norris's beer brews its own beer. And it's still better than yours.

Certain wild yeast infections are described as tasting medical plastic or Band-Aid-ey, and I've noticed a similar flavor in some of mine before. It sounds a lot like what you're experiencing. How was your sanitation?

I pitched five gallons of apple juice for a cider a few days ago with a pack from the bad batch (from Austria, same expiration date, everything) and it's working just fine. Bubbling started after about twelve hours, and was going strong (every few seconds) at 24. I rehydrated the yeast according...

So I just checked the gravity again and it's dropping, so I guess the yeast is still doing its thing. Still tastes kinda watery, but not undrinkably so, and it's not half bad cold. Thanks everyone!