Recent content by wendelgee2

+2 I just did an all-calypso rye session beer...bittered with calypso, finished with calypso, dry-hopped with calypso. It's just not all that tasty. Sort of funky. It tastes like an infected beer..sort of phenolic/plasticy but without the band-aid burps that usually follow. (It was a healthy...

That makes sense...I'm just surprised by the amount it differed. Clearly you're right, though. (Also, did calculations for a 5gal batch, not 5.5, which is why I missed by gravity so badly.)

Hey folks, Just brewed up an AG batch and had a weird experience. At the end of the boil I grabbed a little sample for an OG test with the itty-bitty turkey baster/pipette thing that came with my refractometer. I set the sample aside for a while until the wort was cool and on its way into the...

That's the goddamn spirit!!!

Me too. Give it a gentle stir and all will be well in future batches. :mug: On the batches that you have that are inconsistent...be careful. Some will be overcarbed just like others are undercarbed.

I'm really not trying to be a dick, but my first thought is: Find a better kit next time around. Stick to Northern Brewer, or Midwest Supplies, or Austin Homebrew. There're probably other reputable suppliers out there that I'm leaving out...morebeer. Anyway, between this ale/lager confusion and...

Wait...you're doing a LAGER? on your second brew?? How are you controlling the temperature?

Much better.

Wait wait wait. How long did it ferment for? Did you allow it to settle and condition for a week or more after fermentation had stopped? In general, you need to not fiddle with beer so much. Just pitch the yeast (at a lower temp) don't even look at it for 2 weeks, then maybe you can...

With gelatin and whirlfloc (or both) are you guys having carbonation problems? Or are you kegging so it's moot for you?

You have a serious yeast infection on your hands.

I'm sure milk crates work fine and dandy, but I'm a huge fan of my "brew hauler" http://www.midwestsupplies.com/the-brew-hauler.html It's one of those "why hell didn't I get this sooner" types of things.

I wish I could remember where I heard this, but I assume it was the BrewStrong podcast on mashing. They said that conversion happens darn near instantaneously, and the extra time is just to make sure that all of the stragglers get converted too. So...if it's "essentially done" well before 60...

It was awful. But, I think that's more the fault of the yeast strain than wine yeast in general. There's something really unappealing about Montrachet yeast when it's young...and even when it's matured a bit. It has this gnarly plasticy band-aidy character to it. I've noticed it in two straight...

I'm becoming more disturbed by these posts. I decided to try to "calibrate" this little guy. So, I put both this and my standard Polder probe kitchen thermometer in boiling water. While the Taylor took a touch longer to get to the proper temp, it rested at 212.2, while the Polder waffled...