Recent content by LordHedgie

To be clear, neither OG nor FG are directly related to alcohol content. Rather, the difference between the two is related to alcohol content. If you want a low alcohol beer, you're going to need your FG and OG to be close to each other. As far as body and flavor, as a very general rule high...

The only LHBS within 100 miles ... an Ace Hardware that's decided to carry an aisle of homebrewing supplies. The selection has actually gotten very good over the last year, going from a few kits to about two dozen different whole grains, including five different grains available in 40# bags...

Well, that explains a lot. The pump in my LHS warns that it cannot pump hot wort. I should look into pumps from Internet sites.

I got a really nice plate chiller about a year ago, and I've fallen in love with it. I really couldn't imagine brewing all-grain without it. The only problem is I haven't been able to come up with a really good system for putting the wort in it, so I'm open to advice. When I got the...

Re-read my post and I may not have been clear. I don't think there's any way it could make a difference in conditioning time. Unless you're VERY careful in getting the O2 out of your bottles, the 22oz will expose your beer to less O2, and therefore make a better beer.

Takes longer to age whiskey in larger oak barrels, because the surface area to volume ratio goes down. Unless aging beer somehow involves the beer-glass interface, or the beer-air interface (in a good way), I don't see the size of the bottle making a difference. To take it to an extreme, if a...

I've used Montrachet with apfelwein without getting the flavors you describe. A good step would be to get a second opinion, since it's possible that either (1) something else is causing the flavors, or (2) you're particularly sensitive to something produced by this yeast.

So it's still working hard. Classic RDWHAHB. Beer is done when beer is done. Perhaps when I get my own brewery and carefully controlled temperatures and environment, I'll be able to predict when my beer is ready. But for now, I just wait about a week after all the bubbling stops then pull...

Are you using a pail or carboy? I only get airlock activity about a third of the time with pails; the seal just isn't good enough. Even with a carboy, you must remember that the seal isn't necessarily airtight, nor does it have to be. As long as outside air doesn't come in (bringing...

I'm not too familiar with Mr. Beer, but the magic question for aeration is do you add water after you're done boiling? If you add cold water to chill the wort before pitching yeast, I find aeration completely unnecessary since the new water will have dissolved O2. If you do a full-boil (all...

I think leaving a triple in primary for two weeks is a bare minimum. I'd consider leaving it in primary for three or four before moving it into secondary. Let the yeast do its clean-up job properly... I've never put sugar in a secondary, and I'm not certain what the desired effect would be...

Wyeast Irish Ale 1084 has an alcohol tolerance of 10%, so it will probably quit early and leave you with something sweet. Sounds about right.

Many high-alcohol brews get a second round of champagne yeast to boost ABV... The difference here is you're not pitching a stout yeast in the beginning, so you'll lose the flavors your yeast would normally have provided. I still figure it will come out fine. Maybe a little unusual, but I'd be...

Whoops, totally missed that. That's what I get for being a fan of the "unanswered threads" button. I can't help but think it would still come out fine, but I've can't say I've made a gluten-free California Common.

Sure, lots of folks have made them. Here's a simple extract recipe I used on my last one -- you can take out the smoked malt and reduce the ABV a bit if you want to be more true to style. Steampunk --------- Style: California Common Beer Batch: 5.00 galPartial Mash Characteristics...