Recent content by spark_plug

You can never go wrong with Amarillo, one of my most favorite hops ever. You could literally mash a turd, and boil it with Amarillo and have a great beer!

Yeah, if you pitch your yeast at a low temperature (65F) and allow the yeast to start working in cool wort and rise the temp on their own it will give the beer a cleaner taste. But as unionrdr had mentioned, check your capper, if you have one of those two handled red baron style, they are...

How warm is your wort when you pitch the yeast? That is one thing I learned when I first started brewing beer, if its to warm when you pitch it gives your beer a sour vinegar taste.

Usually your strike temp is 11-12 degrees higher than your mash temps. You should always pre heat you mash tun before hand with a gallon of hot water so heat loss isn't so bad. If you are shooting for 155F, make your strike 167 to make up for the heat loss when you add your grains. Everybody has...

No you should use a suitable ale yeast for your stout, not that some stouts may have a lager yeast depending on style. Home brewing is all about experimentation. Washing a packet of dry yeast might not be economical due to the costs of dry, but I do wash nearly all my liquid cultures for reuse...

2 weeks is nothing, I've left my lagers on the yeast cake for 3 months without any issues. However when I secondary my lagers I leave them for another few months usually. Best lagers are the ones that you do just that, lager it for extended amounts of time. I also however do diacytel rests on...

Absolutely, most brown ales are not over 40 IBU and typically more malty than hoppy. Cascade are more of a fruity hop, and Goldings have a bit of an earthy spicy taste. Depending on style of brown, it will be a great hop. Versatile for both American and English styles.

Sure will, won't be the same as cascade, but will still be a very good hop. US Goldings are a bit earthier than cascade.

Unless its got a sour smell, I'd say its just yeast.

+1 to freezing it, works perfectly.

I say do it anyway ya want, looks like a great beer. Hell Amarillo can make any beer good. One of my favorites hops!

I actually brewed an imperial based loosely off a recipe I found of this beer. Actually won a small competition with it for best in style. Mine was mega boozy tasting before it got a bit of age on it. I actually thought ten fidy itself was a real nice in your face kind of imperial.

With 3068, don't ferment it too warm, that yeast is very very very aggressive! If you can hold it at 68F you will get a nice combo of banana/clove. I made a mistake of fermenting that yeast to warm once, and I might as well put peppercorn in the beer. Took months for it to be drinkable. This...

All I can say here is, Nottingham is a very well attenuating yeast, I'd say its definitely done fermenting if you hit that low a gravity. You may even pushed it passed the projected attenuation that Danstar claims it will do. For example if Yooper got a cider to 1.004 with S04, and Fermentis...

Yes I bottle still, I have carbbed some as well and really enjoyed it. But when I hit the taps its always for beer.