Recent content by Zhaph

Nevermind, I realized I had posted pretty much the same thing a while back and I found all the info I needed via replies to that thread. Thanks! If someone could tell me how to remove this thread, I'd be much obliged. :)

Hey folks, I am a long-time beer brewer and I want to do a very simple batch of cider to try my hand at it this summer. I did some reading on making cider a while ago and even bought some yeast that's still good, so if it's the right kind I'd like to use that. I am usually a fan of dry ciders...

Hehe, sorry for the tuna typo.

I will often soak my bottles overnight in a cleaner if they are very dirty, then run them through the SaniRinse option on the dishwasher. If you have a dishwasher and it has one of these cycles, it has worked well and been the easiest way to sanitize in my experience. I have to reiterate a...

Huh, I never considered using a combo of BIAB and a cooler as a couple of you have suggested, that's an awesome idea. I think I am going to go the cooler route, because I guess I could add a pump and a plate chiller to some kind of modular system later and create a RIMS system. How...

I've been extract brewing for four years or so now and I want to make the move to AG brewing. I am familiar with the various methods, and to me batch sparging or using a RIMS/HERMS system seems like the best idea. I have seen plenty of cooler-oriented AG systems, but I have been doing...

It sounds like this barleywine is your second-ever batch, no? Before tackling the higher-ABV brews like that, I would strongly recommend doing some research/reading on yeast starters. You can search the forums here or even just do a Google search about them, but essentially it's the practice of...

I suppose you haven't tasted it yet, but wouldn't freezing it and just collecting the juices that thaw out cause you to have a lot of extra water in your juice? Have you made it before to your tastes with just three cups?

Hey folks, decided to try my hand at a simple watermelon wheat beer the other day and I have a question about how much watermelon to add. I used a really simple recipe since this is my first try at this style; I did a full-volume boil of 5 gallons using 1oz of Willamette pellet hops for 60min...

That's a good idea, and it's actually something that the Victory brewery in PA does as well. They had a whole series of beers with basically the same malt profile, but changed the hops in each one, and only used one variety per batch. It was a way to "educate" customers on the different hops'...

I think you should be just fine, especially since you followed the proper amounts for the starter. I've had success with several starters that I did the day beforehand and just shook up manually every few hours.

I'm sorry, I think I misunderstood what you were asking the first time. You should check out the pitching rate calculator at mrmalty.com that was suggested, but before doing so you might want to read this: http://www.mrmalty.com/starter_faq.htm, a list of 14 common questions about starters. Even...

You should be fine if you move your carboy to your basement; I've had a few beers hit the high mark on my stick-on thermometers by accident as well, but after moving them to a lower temperature they've always turned out well.

Don't make a starter with dry yeast; it's actually cheaper just to pitch another package of dry yeast. Definitely "wake up" the yeast in some water before pitching, though.

Now that active primary fermentation is over, you should move your carboy to a lower-temperature area (50-55 degrees) if possible; leaving it in an area in the upper 70s might create some undesirable off-flavors over the course of two weeks. Exactly how high were your "high temps," Wolf?