Recent content by mattrettig

Duh...missed the thread someone else already started below with the same question. Never mind!

Welp, someone has to ask: would the sanitizers we commonly use for brewing (StarSan, Iodophor) be effective against Coronavirus, and at the usual dilutions? Their website says StarSan is effective against “viruses,” but do we know how specific that is? Everyone stay safe! Matt

Good info, thanks! Why does cell count (or yeast health?) not matter?

Don’t boil. All that nice alcohol from the bourbon will boil away. I’d say just let them soak for a few days before adding. The alcohol in the bourbon should be plenty to sanitize your spices, and anyway I think it’s that very same alcohol that actually helps extract the nice flavor & aroma...

Hello all. I’m splitting a Saison batch, half just normal Saison and the other half I’m gonna finish with 5526 Brett Lambicus yeast. Has anyone used this yeast before? Mine is kinda old, so I intend to make a starter. Would I make my starter the same as usual? Also, the Wyeast pack doesn’t seem...

Right on, thanks! ����

Ok cool...do I need to worry about it pollenating ("pool sitting?" Really, autocorrrect?!) itself or anything? The female cones that are there won't be off-flavored or unusable or anything like that? Bespoiled by those boy cones?!?! De-flowered, if you will? Far be it from me to keep the boy...

Hello HBTers! Question: what is this weird flowering stuff growing on my hop bines? Do I need to be concerned, and if so, what do I do about it? They're 6-year old Zeus vines that have been terrific growers and producers in years past. I was definitely a little lax this year with the pruning...

Hello all. Brewing a light Helles lager and finally got some control of my fermentation temperature with a cooling jacket around my carboy that runs cold water through it and has a temperature probe to regulate the temp. My first time using it, and all was working great until I left town on...

I'm in! Thanks Ss!

Ok so I did it. Mashed with three gallons of sap along with some regular well water. The sap pH was like 4.5, but my well water is a little alkaline at like 7, so I figure the mash pH was about optimal. Was a normal mash & brew, so I guess I'll see in a couple weeks what effect, if any, using...

That's why I figured I'd sparge with regular water, so as not to leave those sugars in the mash. I don't expect much of a "maple-y" flavor, I'm thinking the sugars will ferment out and boost the ABV a little. Thanks again to everyone for the thoughts! Matt

Thanks Beernut for the video. Since he was making an extract, that's kind of the same thing as pouring the sap straight into the boil. And thanks Riot...I don't really have the setup to do two test batches to compare the results. I think if no one can foresee any complications (other than pH)...

Did a search, but couldn't find a reference. I'm almost done tapping my maples (got a gallon and half of syrup!) but there's still some sap running. I'm wondering if I can use this (the sap, not the syrup) as strike water for the mash, as is. Obviously I'd use regular water to sparge, as I'm...

Doesn't "mittlefreuh" (as in hallertauer mittlefreuh) mean "mid-season"in German? Right there that tells me that the Germans believe that different varieties mature at different times even if all other factors were normalized, which they never are.