Recent content by Steigede

I'm more worried about harmful chemicals that could leak into the beer.

I don't think anyone has asked this yet, but is there any concern with using paint strainer bags? what are those made of? are they going to leech anything harmful into the beer?

I can't find that product on the website...

I've also added orange/lemon peel (for summer ale) or pumpkin pie spices (for a pumpkin ale) during the boil. Both have turned out fine.

That's what I would guess, o-ring/nut on the outside. I feel like it may leak though, with just the metal of the valve against the metal of the pot. Is that what the lock nut would help with?

What program is that??

I used: 1 t. cinnamon 1/2 t. allspice 1/2 t. ground ginger 1/4 t. nutmeg I added those to the last 5 minutes of the boil. I got that ratio from https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f76/samhain-pumpkin-ale-140674/ I didn't have the cloves so I just left those out. I read that the pumpkin gives a...

I added it to the boil, after steeping the grains.

Awesome! I tasted a bit before it went into the primary and it tasted great but had a sharp aftertaste. Guessing that was the hops. I added a 32 oz can of pumpkin and then I roasted and added 3 large yams. Used cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Getting really excited to...

No additives planned. I'll let it stay in there for the next two weeks then. Thanks!

So I decided to go ahead and just leave the beer in the primary for 4 weeks. It's been 2 weeks and it's not very clear. Should I put it in the secondary? will it clear up more? Not too worried about it but I thought it wouldn't be as cloudy. Also, there seems to be a translucent film on the top...

Sounds good! That'll be my plan as well! Thanks for the responses!

So after the 3-4 weeks in the primary can I just siphon the beer out, getting it away from all the sediment and the yeast cake on the bottom, and go straight to bottling from there? Then let it age in the bottle for a month?

Dang, really? Quite a long time. I better get on this batch soon so it's ready for the fall! So after the 3-4 weeks I just go straight to bottle? Would that be fine? I'm leaning towards boiling the spices in the last five minutes of the boil instead of the spice tea.

I'm modifying my Amber extract kit to turn it into a pumpkin brew. I'm planning on following all the directions completely except adding some baked pumpkin/sweet potatoes for the boil and then spices at the end of the boil. I believe it will come out fine. Can I just leave it in the primary...