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I would agree with bleme. I have never used iodine before, however, I have a good friend that is a water engineer by trade and has always used iodine in his cleaning/sanitizing. /cheers

Looks like it's advertised to clean baby bottles, so it should be fine on brewing equipment. But, as mentioned earlier, you would want to stick with a cleanser without a perfume in it. Also make sure you rinse good after using it. /cheers

I've done dubbels in both bottle and keg. I prefer the bottle conditioning. I'm sure it has something to do with the creamier head that comes from bottle conditioning, bringing out all the nuances of the beer, vs the kegged version. As far as timing, I would leave it in the secondary for a...

I have been friends with several engineers over the years in my homebrew clubs. From my experience, they mostly got into it to put together elaborately wired brewing systems, lol. They talked more about their wiring diagrams and controllers, then the actual beer they were brewing. Whatever...

I wouldn't drink anything with a colony like that on it. As was mentioned earlier, I would dump and clean/disinfect everything. Good luck. /cheers

One thing I will say, because I learned it the hard way with some 3 gallon barrels that I have...1) prepare the barrel for use by swelling it. And 2) don't let the barrel sit empty and dry out after use, there is a solution that you can make up and fill the barrel up, so that it doesn't dry out...

Good ingredients in, good beer out...unless you screw something up. /cheers

Well, I would just use your favorite Bourbon. You wouldn't be making a Bourbon flavored beer if you didn't like Bourbon in the first place. Also, know that a little bourbon goes a long way, flavor-wise. You can also accent the bourbon flavor with some white oak cubes in the secondary. /cheers

No idea as to the cause, as there are so many variables. But I will say that these types of flavors tend to mature out of the beer as it sits. This is common in high alcohol beers, which have a "hot" taste to them when they are fresh, and then over time it goes away. The "whiskey" or "whisky"...

You guys are making it hard for this old dog who has been brewing basically the same way for the last 20 years to admit that maybe things can be done differently.;) Might have to give it a go. /cheers

Good info, thanks for following up. /cheers

It is more likely that your picnic taps, lines or faucets have the mold on it to. You may be getting the flavor from mold in the taps. I'd clean everything up and disinfect. Clean the taps really well or if you have picnic taps, just get new ones with hoses. Good luck. /cheers

Well, live and learn. That's what brewing is all about...sometimes things work, sometimes they don't. /cheers

I wish you the best, but sorry, I instantly cringed when I read that you dumped the "peanut butter soup" in your keg. I fear that the peanut butter will congeal at the bottom of your keg and clog the outtake straw. The beer will be cloudy with oil droplets in it, and as mentioned, will have no...

I'm in a status of flux right now, as far as brewing goes. At one point several years ago, I had hit your phase of being in the groove with my brewing system, then I upgraded to a SABCO. I had to completely relearn a new flow of brewing. While the basics of brewing were the same, it was done...

I bought one of the 4 gallon models recently. I haven't used it yet, but I have un-boxed, assembled and cleaned it. I can say that while it doesn't feel "heavy duty", it does feel well made. It appears to be a good alternative to glass, and has been mentioned before, is a little cheaper than...

Rehydrating will definitely help. But, put a starter kit on your list of things to get going forward. Having a larger yeast colony to pitch helps out in a more complete fermentation. If you underpitch yeast, they get stressed out and either die off too soon or cause off flavors. I wouldn't...

Sad to hear. The small shops are finding it hard to stay in business competing with the big national guys. The closest one to me just closed.

I've been brewing for 20 years and I've met lots of homebrewers. I've met people that started brewing before they even hit 21, and I've had friends that have been brewing and are long into retirement age. I am 47. But from my experience, the average would have to be probably late 30s.

I don't brew light bodied hoppy beers, which I feel would be the styles to benefit from fast brewing. I brew big, malty, delicious brews that you can drink and get full. I love em, my family loves em. I make this preamble, to answer your question. In 20+ years of brewing, my equipment has...