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I made a spiced honey ale last year that came out really good. Didnt really measure the spices, just shook some into secondary. Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and a little (very little) clove.

Give it some time. Kolsch is supposed to be cold stored (lagered) for 2 months or so to help settle the beer and bring the best flavors out

My LBHS makes their own kits, some have pre-hopped extract, some dont. Ive made a few of the pre-hopped kits and they came out fine. The best thing about unhopped kits or recipes is you can use the same basic malts and grains, but change the hop schedule around and come up with flavors you might...

After mine has carbonated I usually just try to keep it in a dark corner in my shop, as long as the ambient temps stay around 65 degrees. When it gets above that I make room in the shop fridge. Keep your beer in a dark place or keep covered or you run the risk of lightstruck (skunky) beer

Youre obsessed with playing poker?

When you guys look at turkey fryers, try to get one with a stainless pot. It will cost a bit more, but youll go thru several aluminum pots while using just one stainless. As for the electric stove, Ive heard of making a "trivet". Ive never used one, but maybe somebody here knows how. I think you...

You might try 7.5 lb DME, ditch the corn syrup, and use 1-3 lbs honey

Try some honey (about2-3 lb). Adds alcohol but does dry the cider out so you may have to backsweeten by adding table sugar. Be sure to add k sorbate first to inhibit yeast. Also try some spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice

Honey will add alcohol content as well as a dry finish. To boil or not to boil, that is the question. Some say boiling will take away from the flavor, Ive never boiled it myself. I usually dissolve in hot water then let it cool, and add to primary when I top off before pitching yeast

Oxygenation usually happens during transfer. If you used a racking hose and kept the flow at a slow rate you shouldnt have to worry. My last batch, a honey ale using 2 lb honey in addition to 7 1/2 lb DME, did continue to ferment through secondary and even into a second racking. Took almost a...

Lagers arent all that difficult. You can start fermentation at room temperature overnight to get the yeasties going good, then move to fridge. I have no argument for or against starters, Ive never used one and always had good luck even with my higher gravity (1.065-80) beers. I do use yeast...

My last ale was made with 2 lb honey. I didnt boil it at all, just mixed it with hot water to help dissolve. I then let it cool while boiling the wort, and added to the cold water in my fermenter. This batch took nearly a month to ferment. It takes a little longer to ferment using honey, mead...

All I can say is make some. I wondered about it myself for a couple years, then got a mead kit from my LHBS. I used fresh blackberries and raspberries for flavoring, loved it, and have made several batches since. They also have purees you can use if you cant get fresh fruit. www.homebrewery.com...

Im with Rhoobarb here. I pitch at about 70 degrees or close to it, let it get started (about 24 hours) then move to fridge to get to the correct lager fermentation temp, and have always had good results

Keep an eye on your specific gravity too.

Use a bag, but remove when temp is at or just below 170 degrees F. Dont squeeze the hot bag, it may burn your hand. I do heat about a quart of water to rinse after removing, but not really necessary. If over about 1 1/2 lb, I use 2 bags

I made a batch of Kolsch for my uncle for Christmas. Recently he emailed me, saying each bottle had a hole in it, causing all the beer to leak out and could I replace them for him, since the originals had this strange defect. He is going to send the "empty, defective" bottles back to me, in...

I use The Home Brewery in Ozark MO. Nice people, its close to home, about 25 miles, and they always have time to answer my questions. www.homebrewery.com

Thats a good question. The ales Ive made with dried yeast seemed to ferment a bit faster than with liquid, with a slightly drier finish. Last year I did a Christmas ale with 7 1/2 lbs DME and 3 lb honey, and it was pretty well done in a week, but took a while to smooth out (coulda been better...

Last year I did an amber honey ale with my usual hard cider spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Used 4 1/2 lb light DME, 3 lb amber DME, and 3 lb honey, with about 1 lb light crystal, 1/4 lb victory,and 1/4 lb carapils. I think I used Safale s 04 dry yeast, but cant remember offhand...