Recent content by Randy Dykema

I was recently given some fresh Chinook and Glacier hops. Any advice on how to use them? I was thinking of doing an ale and using the glacier hops for bittering and using the chinooks later in the boil for sweetening/aroma... Any tips are appreciated.

I was watching the fermentation process closely. It never looked right. I took two gravity readings a week apart. It did get to 2.76 ABV but only after pitching yeast three times. I gave it a taste test. It was very yeasty to say the least. I tossed it and redid the recipe with no campden...

It was a brew in a bag all grain recipe; 5.5 lbs Belgian Pale Ale, .5 lb flaked wheat, .5 lb flaked oats, mashed for 90 minutes, Boiled for 60, .5 oz Saaz and .5 oz Hallertau pellet hops at 60 minutes, .5 oz sweet orange peel, .5 oz coriander with 10 minutes left in the boil. The boil started...

It tasted a little yeasty. I guess that's what pitching yeast three times will do to it. I am keeping an eye on it. I think I see a bit more activity than what I have been, so maybe the tablet gassed out and the yeast are acting up again. I'm also hoping that the flavor will mellow out after...

I put it in the water before the boil. Apparently its still effective after the boil. I took another hydrometer reading. After pitching yeast 3 times, I only have ABV of 2.76. A far cry from the 6.71 it should be.

I took an initial reading, haven't taken one since. But there is absolutely no sign of fermentation. No trub / bubbling... Nothing. It appeared as if it was trying after I pitched dry yeast. Nothing since. I think the campden tablet killed it.

So, if I agitate the wort, get some O2 in it and repitch a packet of yeast, it should work?

I recently read an article which stated that you could use a campden tablet in order to eliminate chlorine from you brewing water. So, I added 1 crushed tablet to four gallons of water and went about my normal brewing process for a four gallon batch. As it turns out, 1 tablet was enough for...

Thanks for the responses! I tried putting some cuttings in my garden but they failed. I'll try again next year...

A five gallon batch will require a lot of Honey. 10-12 1/2 lbs. Mix that with 2-3 gallons of water. Heat until warm and bubbly but NOT boiling. Pour the mix into your carboy. You can then either use raisins or fivs tsps of yeast nutrient. Raisins work really well and you'd need about 25 per...

Will different types of hops crossbreed if planted to close to each other?