Recent content by Graypayp

Congratulations, and welcome to the world of brewing! It's totally worth it to try some of it on bottling day. And if you thought it had great qualities on bottling day, you're bound to be even more pleased with it 3 or 4 weeks from now. Just remember that when it comes to certain fuller...

Good point, which is partially why RM-MN and Calder were so adamantly opposed to the idea of re-aerating and re-pitching, I think.

Obviously I'm not saying it's ideal. But I have re-aerated wort, even after having initially pitched the yeast (because I failed to aerate properly from the beginning as a novice brewer), and trust me - it turned out just fine; the sky didn't fall or anything. ;) So if you've got a stalled...

I apologize for my ignorance in case this isn't helpful; I'm speaking as a beer brewer trying to answer a wine brewing question. I've made beers that have used cinnamon sticks, nutmeg (ground) and whole cloves before, and what I've done in those cases is boiled the spices in 1 quart of water...

I second all of this - you don't even need to do a secondary fermentation for anything shorter than a month in the primary. The yeast only start to break-down and negatively affect the flavor after one month in the primary (and possibly not even by then). If things don't seem to be...

I've gone even longer. I once made an English Bitter where I let it sit for two whole days (corked in a glass carboy) before pitching the yeast, and that beer turned out completely normal and completely delicious.

Hmm... I tell you what - you may not need to be so hasty, even if it's plastic. Especially since what you're referring to as "water mold" may not even necessarily be mold of any kind as much as other kinds of discoloration or staining. Honestly, I've found that soaking plastic brewing...

Hmm... You know, I've never bothered to break-up my adding of malt extract (I've always added it all at the same time early on, and I've used both LME and DME), and I've always had "hot breaks" happen just fine. So I don't think it's necessary to break up your addition of the LME in the way...

Congratulations - I'm glad your first batch turned out so well! My first batch was... eh... okay. :o This is surely a sign of promising things to come! In answer to your question, yes, that's a pretty good ABV for a Belgian Wit. Mine have turned-out basically the same using White Labs WLP400...

This was the first thing that I thought to suggest (and ask about) too. Are you using the same yeast strain over and over again, perhaps for the sake of price (e.g. something like a cheaper Cooper's or Munton's dry ale yeast)? Charlie Papazian says in "The Joy of Home Brewing" that yeast is...

Well, I know you're technically looking for an all-grain recipe, and you're technically looking to make a wheat beer... but since it looks like you've basically got a spiced "holiday" ale on your mind, I'll at least share with you a recipe of mine that has probably been the biggest hit of...

How do any of these original recipes sound? I'm suggesting these because they're extract recipes, only some of which use steeping grains. I stand by all of them as quality beers, and I'm ordering them in terms of how challenging they were. I'll also be honest and rank them on a scale of 1 to...

Hello back from Walled Lake, Michigan (about 40 min. northeast of you), and welcome to the world of homebrewing! :) I'd be happy to share any of my recipes with you; almost all of mine are of my own creation. But what kind of beer do you like? I've made quite a variety over time, and...

Yes, you do want to roll it around and get that yeasty quality in the beer. In fact, I find that this can really enhance the flavor when you do it with Belgian Witbiers and other such beers where the yeast plays an important role in characterizing the flavor too.

I've used a variety of White Labs products (WLP001 - California Ale Yeast, WLP004 - Irish Ale Yeast, and WLP400 - Belgian Wit Ale Yeast), and not once have I needed to use a starter. In fact, I've never used a starter for anything I've brewed - dry or liquid yeast. But I can tell you that all...