Recent content by Lucky137

For moderate gravity beers and smaller, you can get a away with a 5 gallon cooler for 5 gallon batches. If you think you will ever want to brew a bigger beer or more than 5 gallons at a time, you'll want a 10 gallon cooler (this is what I have and it works great as long as you bring the whole...

I wouldn't call myself a new brewer, but I have never run into this issue before. The porter I made yesterday blew the airlock out - not a first occurrence. I threw on a blow off tube, but it blew that out too - this has never happened to me before. I am now watching an almost constant stream of...

Woah woah woah, all these people saying your process is "OK" are crazy. You need to take that shot of Maker's before starting any of the brew day. I also didn't see anything about you drinking beers during the process - this is crucial for the success of your future beer. :)

Not exactly what you're asking for, but check this out: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/swamp-cooler-199965/

Step one: Hit your caps lock. I feel like you're yelling, and there's nothing to yell about! :) First of all, how are you washing your glasses? Not the ones that go on your face, but the ones you put your beer in? Many dishwasher detergents will leave a residue on dishes, that is thin enough...

I'd like to start experimenting with aging some of beers on oak, and had some questions: 1. Is there anything special that needs to be done to raw oak pieces before using? My dad is felling an old oak on our property, and it'd be neat to cut up some of it and use it. Do you roast them before...

Wow! Thank you so much! This is exactly what I was looking for. So I've been bulk aging my ciders for about a month in the past, with good results. I've been using Lalvin EC-1118 mostly, which flocculates beautifully and leaves me with a very consistent, crystal clear product. Is the 4+ month...

Howdy, I have 2 gallons of cider fermenting away at the moment, a la EdWort's recipe that we love so much. In the past, I've let it dry all the way out, then bottle condition with dextrose (about 4 oz for 5 gallons). Now, I have a SWMBO who absolutely loves cider, but doesn't enjoy the...

OH!!! I get it! This is very very good to know, thank you so much!

OK, I just want to make sure I understand all of this! (44 pts * 6 lb) + 3 pts + 5 pts + 3 pts = 275 total pts, and 275 pts / 5 gallon = 55 pts/gallon, or a SG of 1.055. Is that correct? Thanks for all of your help!

Really? So not an unusually high OG? My calculations, at 43 points per gallong for the DME, are giving me an estimated OG of 1.052... What am I doing wrong? Thanks for your reply. I'll be sure to test out my hydrometer ASAP.

Nope, full boil. Added 3 lb for 60 minutes and 3 lb with 15 minutes left, to reduce darkening, but I'm not sure this would have any affect... I'm beginning to think it may be a hydrometer issue? What's the best way to test this?

So NB says that the Wheat DME gives 43 points per gallon, so: (43 pts * 6 lbs)/5 gallons = 51.6, or ~ 1.052. So we're looking at 15 extra points. Is this correct? Does this help at all?

Came out to 4.75 gallons, but that last .25 was caught up in the hop sludge, so I don't think it's a contributing factor.

They were two 3 lb bags direct from NB. Maybe THEIR scales are off??