Recent content by monsteroyd

OK, but you boiled ALL the extract in HALF the water and that probably meant that you did NOT get the AA utilization that you were after. Next time, if you are boiling 2.5 gallons add HALF the extract, do your hop boil, then at flame out add the other half and the needed water to make 5 gals...

uhh.. thats nottingham, so it may pull it down below 1.020. Any chance you rehydrated like the package shows? Aerated wort? For future reference, I also throw in 1 tsp/gal yeast energizer (food grade urea) And yes 2.5 lbs steeped is a lot. So long as all those bubble overs didn't introduce...

Take some water, say a quart, heat it to 155F, add 4 oz of honey malt, let it sit for 30 minutes. Add the 'tea' yuou get from that to your kit, replacing 1 qt of water with the tea. That is called 'steeping' grains. Honey malt should really be mashed, but you can get some honey flavor from it by...

Honey malt is also good for honey flavor. Just steep a bit to make some tea and use that too. Honey however has a TON of biologically active stuff in it. It needs to be pasteurized without driving off too much flavor like stated above. Monty

I like Lallemand Belle Saison yeast. It's a beast and really hard to mess up a Saison with it. It likes high temps, so I normally just put the fermenter on top of the fermentation chamber as it doesn't really need temp control. I've never done the 3711, but have heard it can be temperamental. I...

My rule is 3 weeks fermenter, 4 weeks bottled, then refrigerate and drink. Monty

No. I am just saying that I don't do a secondary, leave my beer on my yeast for 3 weeks, then bottle and give it 4 weeks to carb and condition before drinking. Just take the bottles out of the frig, let them warm top room temp and then let them sit for 2 more weeks then try it. It might make a...

Butter is diacetyl. I usually carb and condition for twice that long (4 weeks), of course I don't secondary, so my beer stays on my yeast to help clean up diacetyl. Put it back to condition for a couple of weeks more and then try it. Sour is lactic acid usually, a sign of infection. Good luck...

First off if you had read anything, you'd know that you can enter '2 oz' into a field in BS and it will convert it for you. I use BS all the time and the only way changing an amount of an ingredient would affect another recipe is if you are changing the ingredient list instead of editing the...

Yes, you need qbrew with screwybrewer's additional database. http://www.thescrewybrewer.com/2010/09/qbrew-homebrewers-recipe-calculator.html However, I use BS 2.2 and have an equipment profile set up for 2.25 gallon batches (2.11 bottled = 8 L) but that just allows me to do AG/Extract or PM...

Citra goes good with lemon or orange. I just made a saison and added a can of frozen orange juice at flameout with Citra. That worked well. I've also added the juice and zest from 3 oranges at flame out with good luck. I next want to try 'dry hopping' with some lemon zest too. Can't help you...

Noted, and I wasn't upset, just that I don't believe in the '1.020 curse', have never experienced it, and I think he should leave the stuff in to let the yeast clean up. Monty

Well I sure am glad I never did because I routinely get lower FGs that that. And I only do extract. It's nice to be too stupid to know it can't be done. I have never heard of the 1.020 extract curse, and I think maybe I have a bit more experience with extract brewing than you do. But maybe not...

I don't think that 1.012 is unusually low for extract, it depends on the yeast. I have had some extract batches come out around there, although I usually get lower, and if the gravity is the same after testing 48 hrs apart, then it is done fermenting, but it may not be done cleaning up the...

Another advantage of the Belle Saison yeast, is it will have a final gravity of 1.005-ish, with just about with any starting gravity. I have made 10-12% Saisons with that Danstar Belle Saison. It is a beast. My problem is trying to make 5% beer with it. :) Monty