Recent content by melbow

This is the approach I took, but I grew all the yeast and bacteria from bottle dregs. So even though I had an idea of what each would contribute, I had no idea what the finished product would be. I don't have a microscope so I could only make assumptions based on how I treated each sample and...

I initially planned to fruit one of my recent brews "because I love peaches", but after pulling a sample, I am rethinking my approach. The beer tastes great and I think adding fruit will potentially detract by hiding some of the more subtle flavors I enjoy. I want to know why others decide to...

I bottled my Belgian dark strong ale three weeks ago and opened one tonight and it is not at all carbonated. I primed with plenty of sugar (shot for 3.3 volume of co2) so that is not the issue. My two questions are, 1) why did this happen?, and 2) what is the best way to solve this problem...

That's not the appropriate attitude for the 'Beginners Beer Brewing Forum'. I over carbonated my first batch and didn't want to repeat my mistakes so I was trying to be more precise.

Oh, perhaps I worded that poorly, I meant I want to use 2 of the approx. 5 gallons of saison with 12oz pineapple concentrate. I want fruity, sour, and some of that sweet delicious rye flavor. That's not a bad idea. That way I'll know much I have for calculating priming sugar. What...

Heyo, I'm currently fermenting about 5 gallons worth of rye saison with intent to secondary some of it with pineapple concentrate. My question is, if I'm stupid and forgot to put gallon markers on my carboy, how should I go about secondarying and bottling the batch? Should I first siphon out...

Sold. I'll give partial boils a try. I don't plan to brew an IPA any time soon, so the IBU cap of partial boils shouldn't be an issue. If it still takes too long still then I may temporarily invest in the water heater and eventually retire it to a heating element for my fermentation chamber...

Do you have experience using that? If so, how much would you say it lowered your boil time by? Is it durable enough to handle boiling temps without damaging the wiring? I like doing 5+ gallon boils rather than small boils because it really feels like I'm making something great and not taking...

I'm very new to brewing. I just racked my second batch and the brewing process went infinitely smoother than the first time, but it is still taking a very long time because I'm boiling 6+ gallons on an electric stove. It takes about an hour and a half to get to boiling. I live in an apartment...

I recently brewed my first beer too and have the same situation. I've read certain hops add a 'soapy' note (cascade and centennial) and it may just need time for the flavors to develop. I also suspect in my case that I did not pitch enough yeast. So I'm curious, did you make a starter or just...

Yeah, that's room temperature. I don't have a sticky thermometer nor do I have a mini fridge yet that I can use as a fermentation chamber. I've been looking on Craigslist but with no luck. Should I wrap it in a damp towel to keep the temperature more normal?

Ah! Thank you so much everyone. I was expecting the yeast to be swimming around going crazy at this point and was nervous because the liquid yeast I used said to take it out of the fridge 3-6 hours ahead of time, but I only realized it after taking it out about 30min ahead of time. The...

I just did my first homebrew and it has been 36 hours since starting fermentation and I am not seeing much action. There is a large mass on the top and it's hard to see, but it looks like some sediment on the bottom. Around 24 hours in I saw pretty sizable strands that stretched down into the...