Recent content by JimFowler

I'm doing my 3rd batch tonight, so I have no wealth of experience to draw on,but .... I can tell you that beer can be very forgiving. Good luck - let us know how it goes.

Great info - thanks ...... a lot more to this than just sticking them in the dirt and hoping for the best.

Ok, once you've cleaned your bottles (in my case, Oxiclean with a good hot rinse) and bottling times comes - what / how is the best way to do the actual sanitizing? I've got some "no rinse" sanitizer. Can you just mix that up in a bucket / container with your bottles and pull them out of the...

Thanks for the info ...

If you were trying 2 or 3 different varieties of hops, how close can they be planted to each other and still avoid "cross pollinating" each other? Or is that even a risk?

Thanks for the help, guys. I brewed last night and pitched that yeast starter you all advised me on. There was activity this morning and when I got home a little while ago, it's bubbling away.

Good deal - shaking it a bit every 2-3 hours as previously instructed. I'm pretty excited about this next batch. IPAs are my favorite and this will be my first one. Eventually want to do one from scratch (all grain, etc.), but I've got a LOOOOOOOOONG way to go as is obvious with my stupid...

How long will this typically take? I've got a bit of foam, but nothing too substantial ..... It's probably been about 16 hours now. Just not sure what I'm looking for. I ended up with a wide bodied jar, so the foam might seem less significant than if it were it a more narrow container. Tried my...

So my wife comes home and says "Hey, is that a vial in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?" ....... ok, that was lame anyway, I think this may work out ok. starter wort has cooled, yeast has warmed up. If this doesn't work, I'll order more yeast and go from there. Thanks for the...

Good call .... I'll do that. I hate to spazz over every little thing....especially when just a little bit more careful reading would have prevented this. I just hate to screw this up. I sure do appreciate the help.

I didn't even consider the yeast temp, so now I've got the liquid ready and my yeast is in the fridge.....liquid needs to cool anyway, is there any safe (non-damaging) way to speed up the yeast "warming" process, maybe in lukewarm water or something? It wouldn't matter, but I have business to...

Ok .... to make the starter, do I need to have the yeast out of the fridge (to room temperature) before I put it in the liquid? Directions on the vial indicated that you would just add the yeast to the fermenter (if you're not doing a starter) but to have it out of the fridge for 3 to 6 hours...

This is a "Hop Scare IPA" from Midwest Supplies. SG is 1.058-1.062. This kit came with both LME and DME. Is one better than the other? Also, is 1L enough water? Sorry to be such a *******, but I appreciate all the help.

Ok, I think I'm ready to try this this evening. A couple of last minute questions: I don't have a flask - will any sterilized container work? Maybe a mason jar or some other glass that will hold +/- 1 liter of liquid? I will heat this in a pot and pour into the container to cool (followed by the...

So for a liquid yeast starter, that needs to happen 2 days prior to the time it will be used? And whatever container I use needs to be at room temperature? Does it need to be protected from light or does that even matter?