Recent content by RM-MN

I strongly recommend that you throw away the instructions from Brewers Best Kits. They were wrong when they were written and never corrected. It is a good idea to use the "secondary carboy" for a different batch but those carboys are usually 5 gallons. Your choices are making a smaller batch...

I must really like stale beer because a lot of mine sit at 68-74 from the time I bottle them until I finally get to drink them. I've drunk a stout that was 2 years in the bottle and it was better than the one I drank at 1 year. That chart might apply to lagers, especially the commercially...

We can solve that problem in seconds. I have a big hammer.... I also have multiple buckets to simply pour the wort into. No siphoning, no strainer, just pour. With as many brewers using buckets to brew in it seems to be proven that you don't need a carboy.

I chatted with another brewer a few years ago about leaving beer on the yeast too long. He said he had left a beer that way for 6 months and that wasn't too long. As your beer finished fermenting the yeast begin to clump up and settle to the bottom. When you rack the beer to secondary, those...

Your orange zest and coriander created nucleation sites for the CO2 to come out of solution and form the bubbles on the surface you see. At this point there is no indication of infection. However, moving the beer to secondary is not necessary and leaving that much head space above the beer...

It is simple. When you empty the beer from the fermenter you leave behind a trub which contains proteins and yeast. Leave a little beer on top of it, add a bit of water and swirl it up. Then capture it in (previously) sanitized jars, probably half pint size. There should be enough yeast in...

Just how cheap are you...

The yeast left over from fermenting a batch is about 4 times the necessary amount for good fermentation which reduces the lag period or eliminates it entirely leading to a fast fermentation. Another thought is to harvest a good bunch of that yeast for future batches and start this one with a...

Try it again in a week, it will probably change some more.

The word "Pilsen" in the title means it is malted and kilned very lightly to preserve the color. Otherwise it would just be listed as barley. Compare the grains listed on this page: https://cervejartesanal.com/produto-categoria/loja-cervejeira/materia-prima/malte/ to these listed at Northern...

Hops that are boiled add bitterness to your beer and most of the aromatic oils that we get the aroma from is boiled away. The less time boiled, the less bitterness and more aroma. For lots of aroma, don't boil them at all. Add them to the fermenter when the fermentation has slowed to nearly...

When only steeping, the temperature of the grains isn't critical so if your inside the grain bag is 10 degrees lower, it will still be fine. The temperature of the grains really matters when mashing where the enzymes needed to break the starches into sugars only operate within a narrow range...

I think you should start with a single grain of barley, raise it, replant, etc until you have enough barley to plant 20 acres, then save out a bushel that you will malt. Hops will need to be raised from seed too! Capture wild yeast and propagate and save the best until you finally have a...

Maybe. Life activities gave me the opportunity to make 3 batches in 3 days. That means I needed 3 fermenters. Buckets are pretty cheap compared to boil kettles. The also have lids that close tightly (if this dummy makes them) which is not usually the case with a kettle. When I left a beer...

I always take a reading after adding hops. It may not be necessary but it is good practice.