Recent content by gleemonger

Thanks. Oh man, I hope I don't think of it as hell... but we'll see how I feel in a couple months. So you'd recommend a fridge? If it's just a matter of space and a fridge is a better choice all else equal, then it should be pretty easy for me to get a cheapo fridge on Craigslist I'd think...

I'm a new brewer who just relocated from a nice, cool environment in CA, where I didn't need a cooler all year, to Phoenix, AZ. So yes, it's going to get VERY hot pretty soon here. I'll be brewing in the garage, which is not temperature controlled, so I will definitely need some sort of...

Yeah, that definitely makes sense if you want to associate yourself with the tea at all. I was really mostly concerned with what happens if you DON'T want to make any mention of the tea... and just use it. I just didn't want to spend a year trying out batch after batch using different teas...

Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking/hoping. I mean, there are tons of products out there where people are using other products as raw ingredients and I think it's totally fine. I also brew beer and I'm pretty sure most people don't create their own yeast, but buy it instead. I guess this...

I'm sure I'm getting way too technical or paranoid here, but I can't seem to find one single mention of this anywhere online, and I've looked pretty hard. I really don't know if I'll ever brew kombucha commercially, but I like the thought of that being a possibility someday maybe. One thing...

Awesome, super glad I posted this one - lots of great stuff. Thanks for all the help!!

Ah, topping it off, yes - that's the other thing I had to do that I didn't expect. I did a full 6 gallon boil, but I guess since it was a 90 minute boil, I really lost a lot, because I had to add about a half a gallon to top it off. I didn't mix it after I added the purified water to top off...

So what would you say I did wrong here? I saw a couple comments about mixing the wort. I'm not aware of any step I left out other than maybe doing the whirlpool before transferring to primary to avoid some of the trub. I've seen plenty of people who say to not worry too much about getting the...

Mix what, the wort in the kettle, the bucket, or the sample cylinder? I did taste it, it tasted fine, but I was of course getting lots of hop particles in my mouth, which wasn't super pleasant...

So I'm still a newbie, and just brewed up my third batch yesterday. For now I'm trying to do something different each time (that is, that involves at least a couple new processes). My first was a super simple IPA with just LME and a few hop additions to the boil - no steeping, dry hopping or...

Okay well that sounds good. I should allow it to warm before transferring to the priming bucket, throwing in the sugar and bottling though, correct? Clarity would definitely be nice. Each time I've taken a reading it's been SUPER cloudy. But that could also be because I had to move the...

I used Wyeast 1272 (American Ale II) - which says 60-72F. The primary has been within that range the whole time so far...

My very first batch, an American IPA kit from Williams, is close to being ready to bottle. The estimated FG according to them is 1.022 and the last reading I took on Saturday night was 1.020, which was only a point lower than two days before. I'm guessing it'll probably still be 1.020 the next...

Yeah great video! I know it adds a whole new step to the process, but it looks pretty fun to me......

I've been looking into clubs in my area, but don't plan on going until I have at least a few brews done, so I'm not totally lost with nothing to offer. Sonoma Beerocrats does sound like a good one - I actually sampled some of the beers made by some of its members at a festival in Fairfax, and...