Recent content by Yoop

Does anyone have experience/recommendations/warnings brewing with maple sap?

The target og was 1.072 to 1.079, once I had it in the fermenter but before I added the starter I put a sanitized hydrometer in to see if it was in that range. It was on the high end of that range, possibly just over, but I don't know what it was exactly since I was just testing it in the...

I made a half gallon starter with 1/2 lb of DME and WLP001(California Ale) yeast. You'll have to let me know how yours turns out! I would love to get some feedback!

Today (3/6/12) was the first day that I opened a bottle. The first aromas that I could smell were the chocolate and then the bourbon. Upon tasting it was a little different than the smell. The first thing that I tasted was the chocolate, then a hint of cherry, and then a hint of the bourbon...

I used Four Roses, which is some excellent bourbon!

I took a couple of hydrometer readings about a week apart, it seemed to be riding steady at 1.018 so I bottled yesterday. I did a little bit of sampling with a sample at the end and the bourbon is more pronounced than the last time I sampled it. I'm very excited to see how this conditions, I...

Are you using dme or lme? You can add lme at flame out, and while I've heard of people adding dme at flame out I prefer to add it with 5-15 minutes remaining in the boil to ensure that it's all dissolved.

UPDATE: The cherries and stout have been in the secondary for 5 days. Today I grabbed a sample with a thief and took a hydrometer reading, it's still at 1.020, possibly 1.019. The sample that I took is looking good, when I held it up to the light it had a deep red color to it, and it tasted...

How did this turn out? I recently purchased the apple ale kit from midwest and I'm wondering how I could add real apples or cider to it.

It's been 70 in the house but the thermometer says it has been fermenting lower than that?

UPDATE: Yesterday I took the cherries out of the freezer to let them get up to room temp. Once they were up to temp I put them in the secondary and transferred the beer on top. Prior to transferring I checked the gravity again, it had dropped a little since the last time to 1.020. Getting the...

UPDATE: This brew has now been in the primary for 11 days, I opened it up and took the first hydrometer reading. 1.022, this is right at the top end of the finishing range of 1.010 - 1.022. I'll give it another day or two and then take another measurement when I put it on top of the cherries...

The paper in your hydrometer is probably where it needs to be. A quick way to check if it is in the right spot is to test fresh water, if it shows that fresh water is 1.000 then it's good to go.

I'm new to brewing as well so hopefully what I have to say is accurate... If anyone can correct me or add to it I would appreciate it. You should take your carboy away from the heater, it's good to have a warmer temp to help kick the yeast off (70-75), but after a day or so if you can keep...

You could also increase your boil volume and utilize the late extract addition method to maximize your hops utilization.