Search results

Hey carrot, Some of the settings (mash efficiency, IBU calculation method, etc...) are currently only available if you sign up. As time goes on, I might pull some of these out and make them configurable for anonymous users, too. Good call on the ajax spinner. For now, the code attempts to...

Hey Folks, I'm a professional software developer that loves making beer and loves to tinker with software, too. Months ago, I started looking for available software to create, share, and manage my recipes. I tried out some of the popular solutions (Beersmith, BeerAlchemy, Hopville, etc...)...

It's interesting - I've seen more than one thread here that suggested Wyeast 4766 wasn't a great choice. Perhaps it's more pronounced in sweet ciders? I'd definitely use it again for dry ciders.

@FromZwolle See, I was skeptical about Wyeast 4766 as well, but my LHBS owner insisted, and, having tasted it earlier this evening, I'm *very* satisfied with the way it turned out.

Here I am four months later, and I thought I'd follow up. I've just bottled this, and the cloying sweetness has drastically dissolved and replaced itself with a fantastic dark raisin/fig flavor. I'm even more excited to open this up later this year after it's had a chance to carb up. Mmmmm...

Hey Cider Makers, After a bit of experience with beer making, I've decided to try my hand at cider. I don't have any kegging equipment (I bottle condition all of my beers, and actually prefer/enjoy it this way - unlike many, I find the bottling process very cathartic), and while I...

FWIW, I plan to leave this in secondary for a few more months in case I can get any additional fermentation and cleanup out of it, but it seems fermentation has pretty much wound down. I suppose I'll just wait until later this year to see if the sweetness has subsided.

Well, fermentation's pretty much complete - the yeast's just cleaning things up now. I've got it sitting in the freezer around 68dF, because my home tends to get pretty warm in the summertime.

@seabass - I did use a starter, and it fermented to 1.015, which is where I expected it to end up. @Reverse - I'm hoping age does tone it down a bit, and I'm sure carbonation will help some, too. I was just put off by how incredibly sweet it was when I took a taste, especially considering that...

Hello all, As a new-ish homebrewer (~ a year) with a handful of good, but safe, experiences under my belt, I recently embarked on an "exciting" brew - a belgian strong dark ale. I love St. Bernardus Prior 8, and found a "clone" of this from a reputable book/magazine. Brew day went well...

3-ish week status update: Moved the batch to secondary for a week or so before I bottle. Gravity's spot-on for the recipe. Gave it a taste. Wow. I can't say I've *ever* tried something direct from primary fermentation and felt like drinking a pint (this is saying a lot for warm, flat...

Yep - it's actually an old pillowcase w/ a hole in the top for the blowoff. The carboy's located in my home office, which is full of bright computer screens, so I wrap this around it to keep the light out of my beer. I've got it lifted in this photo so you all can see the krausen.

Woke up this morning to my fermenter bubbling away.

Yikes. I'll stick with the semi-reliable thermometers.

Yea, while vorlaufing, I dropped my pitcher and made the mistake of reaching into too quickly to yank it out. 170dF water and hands do not mix.

Fair enough (and reassuring). From my experience w/ partial boil extract brewing (when I cooled ~2.5 gallons in a sink over 30 minutes), I've just never experienced *so much* break material.

Agreed on all counts. I *also* have two ~$20 Taylor waterproof instant read thermometers. Neither give the same reading, and both seem only moderately reliable to me. Meh. I also do a lot of grilling/smoking, and have been considering a really nice thermometer for awhile. I'd also imagined...

First all grain today. Went great (I think :))! After a few months of slowly acquiring equipment, I've moved my brewing entirely outdoors, and have moved from extract and partial-grain to an all-grain batch. As far as I can tell, it went pretty well. I took careful notes throughout the...

Nuggethead, For your average 5 gallon boil, how long (on average) does it take your immersion chiller to cool the batch (with half of the coils out)? Do you pump pre-chilled water through the chiller, or just ground water?

After several successful extract brews in my kitchen, I'm in the midst of upgrading to all grain equipment so I can perform a full boil (and brew outside :)). I've converted a keg by removing the top and have installed a weldless ball valve and a stainless steel pickup tube...