Recent content by Leadster

I think I may have ruined a batch of beer during the bottling process. To make a long story short - while transferring the beer to the bottling bucket, I got bubbles in the wort - big bubbles. I've heard that if you drink the beer quickly you may not necessarily taste the effects of...

Thanks for the feedback - so there isn't a significant different using British vs. American crystal (assuming same Lovibond)?

I'm planning on making a Belgian Abbey Ale - the recipe calls for Belgian Clear Candi Sugar - I have a pack of "Light Candi Sugar" - doesn't say "Belgian". Is it the same thing? Are there any differences that could really impact the recipe? The recipe also calls for 1/2 lb US 60 L crystal...

An acquaintence from a local brewery is going to give me a fresh batch of ale yeast the day before my next brew. My first thought is (after being in the fridge overnight) to let it warm up to room temp for a few hours and then pitch straight into the wort. Q: Do I need to do any special prep...

Thanks - if lime juice itself works, I might just use that instead - one less detail to fret over. We have plenty of it around the house. With lime juice - how much would you suggest using? Is there an ideal time to add the sugar to the wort? I've read one source where they added it in...

I've heard of people using citric acid, lactic acid, or lemon juice - anyone have an idea as to which one works best?

I'm assuming this simply needs to inverted sugar which, based on your feedback, appears to be fairly straightforward. Thanks for the feedback.

I'm looking at a couple of strong scotch ale recipes that call for inverted sugar (actually Lyle's golden syrup) - found out this stuff is ridiculously expensive. Talked to an experienced home brewer who said regular table sugar can be substituted for inverted sugar - does this sound right...

I was planning to make a starter for my lager yeast last night (thursday) for brewing on Saturday. I activated the wyeast pack (it was an activator) thursday but had to cancel plans for the starter. I put the yeast back in the fridge (it had already swelled). Question: can I still use this...

Primary will be 6.5 gal and this will be a 5 gal batch.

I know that if you're brewing a high gravity ale, it's often good to use a blow off tube. Would the same be true for a high gravity lager? If lager fermentations are much slower than ale fernmentations, would the initial fermentation be intense enough to require it?

I'm planning to make a zywiec porter ("Beer Captured") clone soon. Don't have lager yeast but will be using ale yeast (Wyeast 1056) - recipe states this substitute will produce a good porter (albeit somewhat different from the original recipe). Questions I have: - Lager yeast recipe...

Thanks - so Weyermann caramunich 3 is considered a german dark crystal grain? (sorry if that sounds like a dumb question, just want to make sure I know what I'm doing) FYI - I actually have Simpsons 50-60L Crystal - would that work?

I'm preparing to do a recipe (clone) for Zywiec Porter. It calls for German 65L Dark Crystal (less than 25% of the specialty grains). Can't seem to find this particular grain - does anyone know of an acceptable substitute?

I've got a Belgian brown ale sitting in the secondary - it's been there for 3+ months - I'm using a Sam Caligione's recipe. There's still lots of bubbling activity on the surface. Don't see any sign of bacteria infection though I'm not counting out the possibility. I'm planning to bottle this...