Recent content by Gordolordo

I had my water tested recently and only have a very baseline understanding of water chemistry and what acceptable levels are for different minerals. I *think* my water is pretty good other than being relatively high in bicarbonates and low in calcium. Am I reading it wrong? pH...

Well if fermentation didn't happen, either there were: 1) No fermentables in the bottles 2) No live yeast 3) There were both, but conditions prevented the reaction. You said you put in the drops, so option 1 is ruled out. Option 2 is a possibility. How long was your batch...

If you wait until all the gunk on top drops to the bottom you'll end up with a clearer batch. As that stuff falls it will pick up other sediment in suspension. Now that you've done it though, it's no big deal. I usually wait for a little longer between bubbles before I rack to the...

What would you say is the most difficult style of beer to brew?

More than 2 lbs of steeping grains and about 7lbs of malts. 1 tsp gypsum, 1 tsp irish moss, irish ale yeast. 1/2 oz. Chinook hops at 45 minutes.

I just made a tasty stout (it's delicious actually), but the alcohol content seems a bit low. I had a few and wasn't even feeling it. Any reason why that might be? Thanks.

Yeah, this one was my first batch and it turned out very well. Booya! I've got a stout in the secondary right now. I think I'll bottle it this weekend (or buy a keg).

Sounds like maybe you just made barley whiskey :)

That was a lot more energetic of a response than I expected :P Ok, I'm sold. I guess I'll go buy a keg system for my next batch.

I know this topic has been done to death, but I'm considering investing in a keg system, but would like to know all the pros and cons of kegging and bottling. This is what I've gathered so far, maybe you can tell me if I'm missing anything: Kegging Easier. Faster. Convenient. Hard to...

Thanks...it seems to have worked pretty well and considering the amount of bubbling I'm still getting, I doubt there was any contamination since the outward CO2 flow mostly kept anything from getting in. I may just do that from now on with a batch so I can maximize my batch instead of leaving...

I had to rig a contraption to keep my airlock from backing up and messing up my ferment. I took the cap and bubble out of the airlock and connected hose to the inner stem and then the hose into a second, smaller bucket with iodophor solution in it. This seems to have worked. Anything...

Oh yeah, the reason I even wrote that was because it is my first batch ever. I'm tooting my own horn, thanks :)

I just finished a Pale Ale batch and tasted it flat. It was good...no tannin taste or astringents. I think if it tastes good flat is should be pretty good once it's bubbly.

Thanks for the information. I think I'll take your word for it.