Recent content by The_Fif

I am making 5 gallons of a pistachio cream ale, and about to add pistachios to the secondary. Does anyone have experience with pistachios? The folks at my local homebrew store suggested crushing them, putting them in a grain bag, and putting it in the secondary. Thoughts? Thanks in advance

I added 6oz of ground coffee directly into the secondary. It made for some issues when I went to bottle (clogged the bottle filler), but it mellowed out nicely and tasted fine.

I figured there was a thread already, guess I should open my eyes. Thanks for the advice.

I started my second batch of beer yet on Saturday night, and I don't believe it has started fermenting yet. Am I in trouble? Thanks

So I had a few problems while I was making this batch. I dropped my thermometer in the wort (so I had no idea what temp it was at), it took over 30 minutes to chill, and then I forgot to put cold water in the carboy first. I was sure that I ruined it, but when I woke up this morning I was very...

Thanks for the tips everyone. Definitely going to invest in a wort chiller; my first batch was pretty frustrating. My sink sprung a leak, I dropped the thermometer in the wort, and it took almost 30 minutes for it to get cool enough.

I only have a 5 gallon kettle. Will I be able to get by using the kitchen sink when doing an ice bath, or should I use something else? Thanks a bunch for the tips, the brewing community seems pretty awesome.

I'm about to brew my first batch, and am trying to figure out some of the basics. Is a wort chiller a must, or can I get by with an ice bath? Any advice is greatly appreciated.