Recent content by McNulty

Add a few ounces of Vienna malt for toffee-like nuttyness.

Also, WHEN you add the sugar affects the IBUs slightly.

It is my understanding that the longer it's in the boil the less fermentable and more flavorful the sugar will be, due to the Maillard reaction. It seems kettle caramelization melds sugars together over time with high heat to form more complex sugars that are not easily or as readily...

Sanitize some marbles and put them with the hops in the hop sock. Stainless screws, nuts and bolts also work. SINKEMLOW!

When pitching one single packet of, say, Nottingham yeast into 5 gallons of 1.070 beer, does a vigorous crazy ferment prove the yeast are overworked? I get these insane ferments with all my ales, any kind of yeast, really, and basement ambient temps range from 61F to 65F. I always pitch around...

3lbs huh... holy crap. I once used 1lb of smoked malt in a chocolate hazelnut smoked porter with a 12lb grain bill. It dominated the brew, tasting of bacon when young and mellowing out to ashtray when bottle aged. I'm not sure i ever want to use smoked malt again, at least not that much of it.

I am quilty as charqed when it comes to brewing obsession. Downtime = brewing time/homebrew DIY time/researching brewing stuff time. So no downtime. I'm a wreck and I love it.

Get into all grain cheaply and do as much as you can on your own, so you can see how much better your beers will be while not breaking the bank. I read some great advice here on HBT a while back: ask yourself, "will this item make my beer taste better?" Upgrade that stuff first, then go for...

If you're doing a 5 gallon batch, try decocting a gallon or two at about 45 minutes into your mash and bring it to a boil. Add it back to the mash and let it sit for 15 minutes before you do your batch sparges. I find this gives me the big malt profile I love.

Try StarSan on bottles n caps. Sounds like your chlorine based soak is causing it if not the warped seals from boiling, like shanecb says. Do you have any weakly carbed or flat beers? Band-aid flavors? How is your brewing water?

+1 on smoked malt...1/2lb in a 12lb grain bill can overpower with bacon flavor.

I am terrified of tannins and that length of total mash time worries me. I am not, however, a mash expert, but rather just a dude. I didn't know how bad tannins could pucker my face untill I dabbed my finger in the dough of my first AG batch to taste the supersweet leftover grainy wort that had...

It is my understanding that cold crashing drops a lot of yeast out of suspension. I am interested in less yeast in my bottles unless it's a hefeweizen. Thank you guys for your opinions on this matter, you've all been very helpful as always. :mug:

I have a 6.8 abv smoked porter that was 2 weeks in primary and now it's 1 day in the secondary. At week's end, better to cold crash 1 more week then bottle or better to bulk age 2 more weeks in secondary at the same 69F as it has been and then bottle? Looking for everyone's favorite approach in...

I do! I used to use buckets from Home Depot but I swindled the local water guy out of three "better bottle" style 5 gallon jugs. The 5gal carboy bung fits great over the top and I put a worm gear stainless band over that and tighten it down. I find the essence of the previous brew vanishes...