Recent content by mgoldey

Another problem w/ wine refrigerators is that they don't get below 55 degrees if they are meant for storage instead of chilling bottles. The small ones keep wine at fridge temperatures. The larger ones are meant for long-term storage. The bigger the unit, the less likely it's meant to keep...

I think that the results are here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=42752

I just float the yeast pack in the 1/2 gallon of iodine water that I keep back after emptying my primary, so I have a place to stick the airlock and maybe re-sanitize a spoon or something.

I think there's a worse risk of infection from adding 3+ gallons of cold water to the wort and winding up with something at 80 degrees that takes time (maybe hours) to cool down to 70 in a warm room, at which point it has to be opened to the air to add the yeast. I'd rather overshoot to 60...

Thanks for the advice. A little reading on my end suggests adding fruit to the primary after the primary's been going for a few days, so that any nasties on the fruit don't have a chance to get established. Another choice is to press the fruit and bring the juice to a quick boil just long...

Howdy, all. My parents grow blackberries each year and I'd like to make a blackberry wheat beer this fall. I need to freeze some blackberries now for the fall . . . but how much? I plan to call my local brewing supply house, which makes pre-packed grain + extract kits for 5 gallon...

This batch turned out OK. I'm surprised, but pleased. When it went into the bottle, the burnt/coffee tastes were very strong, but it mellowed quite a bit in 3 weeks of bottle conditioning. The carbonation is just fine. The bottles have a lot of sediment in them, compared to the usual, but...

I use stainless steel "scrub buds" which are meant for cleaning stoves and stainless-steel appliances. They're like a cross between steel wool and chain mail. The advantages are: the never rust or fall apart, they keep working for hundreds of bottles, they will cut through any lable and its...

I do a lot of home canning, so here are two tips for using mason jars to bottle beer (which I've never done): 1) Wipe off the top of the rim of the jar before putting the lid down. Dirty rims are the #1 cause of broken seals. 2) The reason mason jars seal so well is that the heat in the...

Thanks, all. I'll take that challenge! Actually, I have summer roof parties in mind, where I don't want to deal with opening a dozen beers and explaining to everyone how to pour it off the yeast . . . .

Thanks. I went a little easy on the priming malt. Only time will tell.

I can add two cents to this. I like to put one bottle of each batch in clear glass so I can see how it looks. I usually drink that one first, and it always tastes the same as the next one. Re: plastic bottles, I read a very interesting piece on how Miller developed plastic bottles for use...

I have a 64 oz growler that came from Davidson Brothers brewery in St. George NY (good IPA!) that has a screw down cap w/ an inner plastic liner that is labeled "Poly Seal 5". The inner liner is raised in the center, and is designed so that screwing it down to the glass will deform the plastic...

In case anyone's reading up, on February 23, the beer was still bubbling. I bottled it anyway. It tasted fine, although a little too heavy on the toasted and coffee flavors, as if too much sugar had been taken out. I'll write again when I taste the final product.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll give it a few more days and see what happens.