Recent content by Easterbrook

That was my first equipment kit as well--the one that started it all. Great starter kit. Bought it back in November 2011. I chose that kit exactly because it was under $100 with free two-day shipping through Amazon Prime. Here's a link for those too lazy to search...

That was my first equipment kit as well--the one that started it all. Great starter kit. Bought it back in November 2011. I chose that kit exactly because it was under $100 with free two-day shipping through Amazon Prime. Here's a link for those too lazy to search...

I dry hop in the keg, but I can't say I've noticed a substantial difference in dry hopping in the keg vs. primary. My process is to use a hop bag to avoid the hop sediment issue and to let the keg sit with the hop bag in it for 7 days (or whatever the recipe calls for) at room temperature. I...

I just run my beer glasses through the dishwasher. I can't conceive of a reason to sanitize them.

AB InBev sponsors an employee home brewing club and annually provides free hops to home brewers who visit the St. Louis brewery (this was actually last weekend, as much as you could carry). The company seems far from anti-home brewing.

I agree. Doing quickly math and assuming the malt extract is liquid and that 1lb of lactose adds 0.008 gravity points to a 5 gallon batch, your original gravity should be about 1.058. Assuming 70% attenuation with S-04 would get you a FG of 1.023 (the lactose doesn't ferment). Right about...

Insert a stopper and shake the hell out of the carboy.

Have you read this thread? https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/attention-new-brewers-yes-your-original-gravity-reading-wrong-dont-panic-289735/

If you're looking for a decent cheap burner, try this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009JXYQ4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 I have both this and an expensive Blichmann burner, and don't notice a huge difference in heating times or propane use.

For extract, as long as the water tastes and smells good, it's fine to use. Someone may bring up the chance of infection, but in all the extract batches I did topping off with tap water, I never had an infection. I think you're fine.

I have this one. It's handmade, though not homemade-- maybe the pictures will give you some ideas. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C29HGSQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 It's made from hard maple and works great. As noted above, there are no sanitation issues as I use it to stir the...

That's really the only way to do it. Just like you taste yours grains, you need to be tasting your hops in order to know their flavor profile.

My bad, I computed this using 5g packs. Yeah, with 11.5g packs, ~1.5 packs is good.

I'd use Safale US-05 and ferment at 68 degrees. Edit: Pitch ~1.5 packets for a 5 gallon batch.

The 80 is Fahrenheit (aka, American). I'd use one smack pack of Wyesat 3068. If you're looking for the easiest beer recipe, you're probably not up for making starters. Damn zombie thread.