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I dropped something into the fermenter just after pitching on my first or second brew. I panicked, sprayed my arm down with StarSan, and went fishing. Some reading convinced me the brew wasn't going to be worth saving, so I poured most of it. I found a couple of stray bottles about 6...

joety, I've never heard of this before. Can you elaborate?

I keep a gallon of StarSan made with distilled water. Pour the gallon into bottling bucket and run some through the spigot. Cap and shake vigorously, and let sit for a few minutes. Repeat if you want to. Then just drain the solution back into its storage container. It lasts a long time if you...

Most of my thirty odd brews have been 'drinkable' with a handful as 'very good'. I got my come-uppance with a WCPA extract with steeping grains. It was kegged in two Tap A Draft bottles. I swear the first keg tasted within shouting distance of Sierra Nevada and I thought my brewing had finally...

I'm thinking maybe the bigger beers stand up to oxidation better than lighter ones--but not sure. The advice for a beer you think is aerated is to drink it up sooner rather than later. Tough medicine, right? :drunk: :tank:

The aging issue can be puzzling. I've had beers that peaked at about one month and went rapidly downhill after that--probably due to oxidation. However, I just finished up the last of a batch of Black Ale from Austin Homebrew that was most excellent at one year.

Hero, that sounds like good advice.:mug:

Maybe I'm thinking too much here. I'm wondering what might be going on between the time we aerate the wort prior to pitching and the onset of anaerobic fermentation. Is the wort being oxidized during the lag? Could this possibly be a good argument for large starters etc.?

I've had limited experience with Tap-A-Draft, and I like it. Probably not as good as a full kegging setup. But the TAD system generally gets good rap.

As mentioned in a previous thread, I'm back to brewing but my brewing area (read house) is going to be less sanitary than I would like. So I am trying to think through methods that will minimize contact with all the "stuff" I know is in the air of my house. About bottling techniques: -the...

You have an interesting experiment going there. The Montrachet yeast probably won't attenuate the DME all that well. But this may not be an altogether bad thing either. Good luck and keep us posted. :)

Right on--rehydrating and making starters are different processes. Dry yeast manufacturers no longer recommend adding fermentables like sugar (not the same thing as nutrients) to the water. Go Ferm is specially formulated to help the rehydrating yeast prepare for fermentation, whereas most...

Just wondering--did you sterilize the AE before adding? Just a thought. I have never used AE. 1.076 is a pretty big beer. I would be in favor of re-hydrating dry yeasts before pitching into wort that heavy.

I think the need for re-hydration sort of depends on specific gravity of the wort. If you want to get fancy, you can use a product called "Go Ferm" added to the re-hydration water. This supposedly infuses needed nutrients into the yeast to get them in fighting trim. I've used Go Ferm with...

A weird looking beer that tastes good beats a fine looking beer that doesn't. Maybe the gelatin glob could be removed with turkey baster before pouring?

Yeah, The beer is now at the mercy of whatever went into it. But it's a bit early to panic. Too much raw trub in your sample could account for weird tastes. Give it conditioning time and try not to worry. :mug:

Where there's beer brewing there is beer, and where's there's beer there is hope! :ban: The dark Belgian looks awesome. :rockin: We have a Cocker Spaniel who would be glad to whiz on one of my BetterBottles. :mug:

I'm itching to get back into home brewing after a lag due to health issues. Once the smell of boiling wort has you... :) But things in my brewing environment have changed. Without being too graphic, we now have too many beloved dogs and cats that do things where they should not. We do our...