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This is, to be blunt, completely and utterly wrong. The history of malting is well known, well researched, and extensively written about. That malting methods have changed drastically over the past few centuries, with concordant improvements in malt quality, is an established fact. Those...

But it would be to reach a specific rest temperature; even if they didn't know exactly (in numerical terms) the that temperature was. For any particular brewery the boiling point of water would remain constant. Likewise, the thermal mass of water and grain also remains constant. So while they...

Should be fine, unless the buggers took a dip.

It is cheap & easy - and that's my blog, I've sent yeast to over 100 people, so I know: To receive: Tweezers and a lighter. Sterilize tweezers with the lighter, cool, then pull the paper pad out of the foil envelope. Drop into sanitized (boiled & cooled) wort, and throw it on your stirplate...

I am working on a beer in which raisins will constitute a good portion of the fermentables (5% or so). Because of that I'm trying to figure out how to enter them into beersmith to get a reasonable estimate of OG. I've been able to determine that your average raisin is ~60% sugar, and that the...

Not necessarily. Alcohol dehydrogenases can run "both ways"; i.e. they can make, or allow an organism to consume, alcohol. Most lactobacilli have multiple ADH genes; the majority of those are for the consumption/breakdown of alcohols. The heterofermentative strains have ADH's which make...

There are numerous reports of this occurring; indeed, for my yeast bank I've found myself purifying commercial lacto's right out of the tube/smackpack; i.e. the unopened "bacteria" tubes from the manufacturer had yeast contaminants. Lance took care of that in his experiment by plating the...

True, but I was intending that to be interpreted as the consumption of that many points worth of sugars; regardless of the actual gravity change. The values I gave are for unbuffered solutions, so real-world pH drops may be less dramatic given an equivalent consumption of sugars. B

Like Garth said, this is an interesting thread and a great example of confirmation bias. The concept of a 100% lacto fermentation reaching full (>70%) attenuation has always been somewhat of a joke. To be blunt, it is a biological impossibility. Let me repeat that, it is a biological...

Depends on what you're brewing. I usually don't even bother with a secondary except for when I brew beers I'm intending on laying down for over a year (I brew long-aging beers 1-2 times/year). For these beers, not being absolutely anal about oxygenation after primary fermentation is complete is...

RDWHAHB - yeast grow pretty good in wort, your starter will be fine. Nutrient gives you a little better yield, but that's about it. Adding it now would simply risk infection. B

The imperial system is a mystery to me - you could tell me that 42C is 1,270F and I'd only be modestly suspicious. However, not all lacto strains survive that hot of temperatures. Most of the ones used conventionally in brewing will, but if using alternate sources (yoghurt, etc), there are no...

Like Ed said, if you do want to go this route it would be best to use a flask/container to contain the dry ice, and to then pipe in the sublimated CO2 using sanitized tubing. Plus, as mentioned above, cold shock + glass carboy = problems.

Dry ice is generally not sterile, and can contain oils from the equipment used to make it. Its generally not recommended. Bryan

What are you trying to do with the lacto - co-ferment with yeast, sour mash/kettle, all-lacto beer? The answers to your question vary with each, and the style of beer you are looking to brew. A few general points: Lacto is hardy, and can be abused a fair bit without complaint. They are...

Shamless self-plug here, but I've done a blog series on this very topic. General rules to follow: Higher alcohol beers (8% or more), or sour beers, are required Use high beta-acid hops; alpha acids fade over time, leading to a loss in bitterness and some unpleasant off-flavours. Avoid...

Best - hot scotchies on brewday, plus lots of good beer Worst - lugging full fermenters/pots/etc around, and not having enough time in my life for as many brewdays as I need

It used to be common practice among many of us in the 1990's; its since fallen out of favour. I didn't notice any real difference* when I stopped doing it. Bryan *Not that I was looking real hard

Yeast struggle greatly below 3.2; at 2.2 they will be dead. Bryan