Recent content by eddie

I don't see why not. Their's a lot of sediment mixed in with the yeast in trub (dead yeast, hops, protein break,) though. The krausen is mostly just yeast. Trub yeast tends to have been stressed more, as well.

That's normal. It's the krausen and will collapse within a few days. Pilsners are lagers (cold ferment) and don't usually produce a prominent krausen. Ales (warm ferment) almost always produce a thick, foamy, krausen in the ferment.

You're worrying yourself into failure, man. Just let it be.

The surest way to spoil your brew is sampling it too much while it's fermenting. Every time you open it up to sample it, you're allowing contaminants in. Just let it be.

Is it like a "banana" smell or flavor?

If you're carrying over trub from your secondary to the keg, you're not doing it properly. Are you trying to dispense from the primary?

Red ale is a good choice for a beginners kit, IMO. It's flavorful, but not too hoppy, with subtle complexity from the toasted malts. Is it a liquid extract kit or partial mash?

Just keep your equipment clean and keep your temps reasonably under control and you'll be fine. Resist the temptation to "sample" the wort for about a month so you don't risk infecting it. Keep things simple when you're starting out. You don't need a lot of fancy stuff to make great beer.

You're just plucking hairs for personal preference here, my friend. No need to complicate things.

Let your bottles rest in the back of the fridge for a couple days so the yeast settles down. Don't drink from the bottle if you bottle-carb. Always pour your beer along a straight-walled pint glass (also chilled.)

That sucks, man! Make sure to REALLY clean the fermentor, air lock, grommets etc. if you plan on using them again.

Is there a film of yeast on the bottom of the "finished" bottles?

I've always put additives in the boil. Not sure if it makes a difference.

You could always rack it off the yeast cake into a secondary. How does it look/smell?

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