Recent content by howardbeach

I did my first all grain with dry hopping. I forgot to put the hops in a muslin bag and now they are floating on the top of my secondary. I want to bottle today. Can they be filtered out with, lets say, nylon pantyhose on the end of the racking tube, into the bottling bucket? I don't want hops...

OK, so I know what the effects could be of pitching wort in overly warm wort. What are the possible side effects of over-cooling the wort and then pitching the yeast? Do the yeast go back to sleep? Do they wait for the wort to warm up before they start working? Just curious...

I'm using orange peel in the boil. Do I take them out before dumping wort into fermenter, or can I, or should I leave them in?

I have this big 'ol 6 gallon lobster pot. Its black and probably galvanized steel. Can I use it for the boil? I know stainless steel is usually recommended, so I'm wondering if using this pot could cause any problems.

Are there any advantages/disadvantages on doing two- 2 1/2 gallon boils? I can see cooling as being a challenge, other than that, it seems like it should work. Also, would there be a noticeable improvement in the finished product compared to a 3 gallon boil and adding 2 gallons of water. I'm...

I just finished bottling my first batch. Does the storage temperature still matter? I'd like to keep them in the garage (60 degrees )instead of the house (68 degrees.)

I'm brewing a batch of wit beer. The instructions call for adding .75 oz coriander and 1 Oz. orange peel during boil. Do I put these in a mesh bag and remove after boil or do I just dump them in the boil and leave them in during the 2 week primary fermentation?

If I put my dishwasher on high heat, will that be enough to sanitize the bottles?

what effect does pitching the yeast in too warm wort have on the beer? My thermometer was not working correctly and I pitched the yeast at about 80-90 degrees. The wort fermented completely within 24 hours. Everything looks and smells fine. The beer is in week 2 in the secondary. The beer is a...

I just racked my beer into secondary and came up short by about 1/2 gallon. Should I top it off with water or just leave it? If I top it off, can I use tap water or do I need to boil the water first? Also, what happens if yeast was pitched into wort that was still warm (problem with...

I did the mini-mash in the past. I never had to open a jar or a can. I guess it just seemed a more organic way to brew-using real grains. Thanks for the brewtalk link.

Why do some kits come with liquid malt extract and dry malt extract? Aren't these the same thing? Also, I used to brew with fresh grains in a grain bag which was steeped in the brewpot. My local brew stores only offer kits with liquid malt extract and of course dry malt extract. . It seems like...

Sorry for the double post. Anyway, I looked at my hydrometer and oops, I posted the balling number (whatever that is), not the SG number. My OG was 1.040. Does this sound more realistic?

brewed my first batch this week-end. Although I didn't see much bubbling through the airlock, the room smelled like baking bread when I came down in the morning so something must be happening. My O.G. was 1.110 before pitching the yeast. I'm brewing a belgian dark ale. When I check the specific...

I brewed my first batch this week-end. Although I didn't see much bubbling through the airlock, the room smelled like baking bread when I came down in the morning so something must be happening. My O.G. was 1.110 before pitching the yeast. I'm brewing a belgian dark ale. When I check the...