Recent content by jan_b19

You're right they can't. But I'm pretty sure brett can produce acetic acid given enough time. But That would of course cause the beer to smell like vinegar and should be quite noticeable. But you're right, I shouldn't jump to conclusions. That's why we would need more information. Does it taste...

Anything between 68 and 75 will do. Fermenting at the lower end of this it won't add a lot to the beer, fermenting around 75 ... you might as well eat a banana. 70-72 seems like your best bet. You can let the temperature rise towards the end of the fermentation for some of those estery flavors...

If the ABV is that much higher something might have gotten in there. Might be a brett (a wild yeast) infection. They are able to survive harsher environments where other yeast strains would die. They're also able to "eat" larger sugars than other yeasts which is why you might have a higher ABV...

I ferment in everything i can find... buckets, carboys, old (and cleaned) coke bottles... anything will do (depending on the size of the brew).

If you want a clear BIAB beer you need to do exactly what the other post say. Use clearing agents like Irish moss, whirlpool, chill, racking, cold crashing, ... You can't rush a BIAB beer like you can an all grain. There's gonna be more solids in your fermenter than with an all grain you need to...

Some styles, call for certain mash profiles. Most of us use a single step mash, and why not, it works great. However certain styles (Belgian blond for example) use a step mash. And you can't step mash in 15 minutes, you need 15 minutes to reach your next temperature! Yes shorter mashes are great...

Yes, adding sugar will do exactly that. Yeast loves sugar so just let it ferment. Be careful tho Adding to much sugar will have a detrimental effect on the body of the beer. So if you feel like you need to add to much sugar it might be better to use DME.

The calculator you used is usually spot on. If you're unsure about the required amount of cells, step up the starter. Better to be a few billion over the recommended amount than to be under. If you are using the method described above, be careful because by using some of the liquid yeast you...

I started with 5 gallon batches. But had some efficiency issues at the start (also dialing in my system), so I decided to make 2.5 gallon batches instead. It allowed for more practice and allowed me to brew better beers in the end. I got myself a small 10 liter (2.5 gallon) fermenting keg and...

I think you could make a Marzen style beer with this. It's a malty German beer. Here's the link to beersmith so you can check it out for yourself. http://beersmith.com/blog/2009/11/01/brewing-marzen-and-oktoberfest-beer-recipes/ You might need to tweak the grain bill a bit to match the grain you...

Usually you can use AG recipes for BIAB. There might be a lower efficiency So you might need to adjust the grain bill a bit. Then again you need to adjust any recipe to your system no matter what method you use. As said before just make sure your grain is crushed fine enough.

Could a killer yeast be an option here? Never tried it with beer because well... they usually lack character but successfully solved a wine problem once!

Well at least you're not me! Switched to a electric kettle for boiling, forgot to calculate the new boil off rate (it was a lot less than my old setup), i ended up seriously undershooting my OG. I mean not a few point but by A LOT. Then discovered I had no DME at home so I did an experimental...

Keg it, I think the ABV is abuot as high as you would want from a saison anyways, extracts nearly always have a higher FG than intended. Personally I've had great succes when brewing saisons with WLP568, performs really well at higher temperatures.

I'm gonna give you a challenge. Try to brew the first brew again, same OG, FG, flavor, color, efficiency, ... Might sound boring but once you master that you can brew about anything.