Search results

Really beginner question, but after several batches, I started wondering why beginner instructions like those from NB have you get your water to a boil before adding your extract (this is before restoring it to a boil and beginning your hop schedule). Why not just start mixing it in after the...

Starter is going now. Took a while to get going, but one more ought to be enough for a two-gallon batch!

Well, that calculator says I should have 0% viability, but I've heard success stories, so let's give it a shot anyway!

I've got a pack of liquid yeast that probably expired a little over a month ago. I'd still like to revive it, but not knowing how much viable yeast remain, I don't want to overwhelm them in a starter that's too large. I normally make about a liter. What do you think is an appropriate size for...

I think I'm getting a few quality beers from him, but as this will also be my first all-grain brew, I'm writing it off as a learning experience.

Thanks for the responses! Always learning so much here. :rockin: In this case, that's exactly what I'm going for. It's a horrendous beer in description -- light bar beer with candy mint flavor, but my friend is covering the costs of the whole operation.

I'm reading that cane sugar is can produce too many off-flavors when used as an adjunct due to the way the yeast digest it, despite its characteristic of being highly fermentable. Most sources say it becomes a problem when too much is used, but how much is too much? I'm building a recipe to...

Thanks so much! I feel I'm pretty ready for this now. You guys have been a tremendous help!

Thanks again for the responses. I feel pretty confident about this and will definitely be trying BIAB before I make any more purchases. The only question I have remaining is whether or not I can do step mashing with BIAB. If my thinking is correct, I would either just have to do all the...

Thanks for the replies to both queries! I had no idea about storing malt. Good to know! I'll check out those milling solutions. I'm not handy in the slightest and don't own a drill, so perhaps I'm better off buying small quantities of pre-crushed grain after all.

I'm about to get into AG, so I wanted to buy about 50 pounds of malt to start out with as a base for lots of recipes. I'll still use different specialty malts, of course. What is everyone's favorite for this purpose? Also, for bonus points: There aren't any LHBS stores within an hour of me, so...

Excellent news all around! For anyone who is wondering, I do 2-gallon batches, so a 3 gal carboy should be enough. TopherM (or anyone), I've heard a little about BIAB, but I'm not very familiar with the process. Would you care to link me to a particular thread relevant to my situation (I'll...

I've been studying up for the switch to AG and think I'm about ready. The biggest hangup I'm having is committing to the extra equipment. Since I prefer to do small two-gallon batches, though, I think it might be easier than having to do 5-10 gal. So here's what I have and plan to acquire...

That's a cool (pun intended I guess) idea to steep with mint. I never would have thought of that. I suppose there would be only a minimal risk of weird, vegetal tannin extraction as opposed to actually boiling the leaves? The only concern I have is that the flavor and aroma of the mint oils...

So my friend asked if I could make a "unique" beer for him. He's paying for the ingredients, so sure, why not? Anyway, he decided that since he likes to drink beer while chewing mint gum, he would like to have a beer that tastes like mint. I've read several threads about using mint on this site...

Hey guys, I got my starter kit with Better Bottles. Included in the equipment was a special blow-off rubber stopper with an extra wide hole for tubing. It's a bit smaller in diameter and shorter than a typical airlock stopper so that it locks down in the neck of the bottle. I hope. See, it...

Aren't Saisons supposed to be fermented at high temps (like ~80)? Or is it totally dependent on the yeast strain?

Aren't there enough "giant hop" logos? Yes, it makes sense, but bravo on doing something different.

Sadly, I find that to be true for nearly all of Stoudt's offerings.

Drinking SN Glissade and moving to Saranac Adirondac Lager.