Recent content by J-Man

As long as the original gravities are the same, along with temperature and yeast pitching rate, I see no reason why a 1 gallon batch would ferment any faster than a 5 gallon. However, if you pitch the same amount of yeast that would go in a 5 gallon batch into your 1 gallon, I would think it...

I think orange zest might be better in a regular German Hefeweizen because the absence of dark malts might help the orange character come through more; but this is based only on speculation. I have not used orange zest in any of my beers yet. Currently I have a dunkelweizen in my fermenter...

As far as ingredients go, it's sounds like you've got a winner. I've never attempted to brew an experimental small batch before, but the quantities sound like they may work. One thing I would be careful of is overpitching the yeast. Since you are essentially pitching a quantity of yeast that...

Personally, I have never heard of "food grade glass", only food grade plastics. I think most glass receptacles that are well cleaned and sanitized should be adequate for fermenting beer. As for the sulfuric acid issue, diluting the glass with water and sanitizer should do the job, but to be on...

I always try to base it off of how carbonated I want the beer, since the longer that it stays at room temp., the more potential carbonation. After I reach my desired carbonation level (this information attained through drinking at least one beer per week), I try to keep the beer cold, so as...

-california common (5) -IPA (5) 1955+10 = 1965 gallons... and we're not even in March yet...:mug:

Thanks for the reply and reassurance. I tasted the beer on bottling day (1/15/09), and it seemed to be good. After researching a lot on this phenomenon, I have found many cases of others experiencing the gelatin-like floaties in their dry-hopped secondary fermenters. Most everyone reported...

In my secondary fermenter, I have a pale ale that has been dry hopped with about 1 oz of whole cascade hops. I transferred it into the secondary this last past monday (2/9) and just today I noticed that the most submerged hops have what I can only describe as a gelatin-like haze surrounding some...

In answer to your first question, the buckets can last for many batches, but, the one thing that can be problematic is if the buckets become scratched or damaged. Even the smallest scratches can be grounds for harboring bacteria, which is why you must be strict with your sanitation regimen...

I didn't see these 2 listed on the forum, so I thought I'd mention them. Buffalo Bill's is a nice little micro-brewery/restaurant in Hayward, CA. If you go there, I highly recommend "The Taz" and "Ricochet Red". Food is pretty good there too, but a little pricey for a brewpub- expect 8-14...

The lack of yeast cake may also be due to the fact that hefeweizen yeasts tend to be much less flocculent than others (such as White Labs WLP001). Thinking back to some of the hefes that I have brewed, they seemed to have less yeast and trub on the bottom of the primary than others as well. In...

Hi everyone, I'm Jason and live in Hayward, CA. Been brewing now for about 2 years and it finally occurred to me to join a homebrewing enthusiast website! I think it's great to bounce ideas back and forth with other homebrewers because you never know what you might learn. Currently, I...