Recent content by havokczl

Hello! I just got 3 nice looking Winter Luxury variety pumpkins from a neighbors garden. I looked them up & they're great for cooking/baking. I don't want them to go to waste, but I'm unsure when I'll get to brew, and so forth. I'm leaning toward getting them cut/cleaned/roasted in the oven...

So, I'm about to attempt to step into the world of Lagers, and I have a question.....I know they require more yeast, I know they require a bit fermenting time(so, I've read).. so, as far as the primary ferment time goes... would 3 weeks primary(50-55 range) then 3 days diacetyl be good? Or...

I'm using Wyeast for my first time, and I have a situation. I must have gotten too exuberant in smacking the pack and ended up blowing out the side seam. I'm making a 1200ml starter for it, its not going to be a big beer(1.050ish) but the question remains....did I shoot myself in the foot or...

In parousing through "Beer Captured", and particularly Belgian Strong recipes, I'm wondering about the 2nd dose of the same yeast that's recommended. My question(s) is, couldn't you top crop off of primary & utilize that yeast? Would it be better to just make a larger yeast starter & pitch...

I know that for kegging soda pop, you want to have "dedicated" corny's. But for hard cider, can you use the same kegs for beer? Properly cleaned & sanitized of course. I've never kegged hard cider as of yet, and didn't know if there is cross contamination to beer & such.

I do BIAB, and I generally pitch my yeast at the end of the brew session like most do when the wort has cooled after 20 min of chilling, and I know that some brewers will let the wort sit overnight in a heavy duty plastic container & pitch the next day. On a previous brew session, I cooled...

Thanks so much everybody for your thoughts! It's answered my conundrum. I think I will go with the 1". I like what HopinJim said... "tight ain't always right."

Hello! I got a good Craigslist refrigerator that I intend to fully convert to kegerator. I already have my CO2 line hole drilled on the side & have made my first attempt at force carbonating. My plan is to have the taps thru the door, but I keep seeing differing instructions pertaining to...

Yeah, I've seen that done, and thats not really what I'm going for. I'd would prefer to use the shelves in the door for keeping bottles upright & storing washed yeast.

Hello! I was able to obtain a nice Craigslist fridge that I'm going to be converting to kegerator, once I get the remainder of the supplies. I'm wondering if anyone has drilled thru the extra thick bit where the butter compartment is on the door. I have space to drill next to it, but I...

I've got over 5 BIAB batches under my belt, & I double crush my grain at my LHS. If & when a recipe recommends doing a decoction mash, (1qt/1lb) would the crush of the grist play a factor? Or should I just increase the amount of grain & just single crush it? Any thoughts?

Hello! My last brew session went good & all, but at the time of clean-up I discovered something that I hadn't encountered in previous sessions. A scorch in the bottom of my keggle. Allow me to start from the top.... I decided to try something new in this session. A protein rest, although I...

Hey Thanks so much for the info. I'm going to try the non-concentrated stuff for the next batch.

Hello! I've got my first batch of cider in a primary for well over 3 weeks now. It's just a small batch of 2 gallons. I had gotten my juice from one of the big box stores, in the 1 gallon dual pack, and it was the stuff from concentrate. When I was at the store again, right next to the...

Hello! I am presently unable to do up effective yeast starters for the next batch. I have a Blonde ale on primary right now, with US-05, and I would like to utilize the yeast for my next batch. Could I harvest & wash this yeast, and then pitch within 24 hours, and still have a decent...