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1,046 + 5g Schwarzbier 5g Doppelbock 1,051 Been a slow start to the year due to traveling a bunch for my mother’s heath issues but I’m gearing up for 3-4 batches soon for potential NHC entries.

I have a 25lb capacity tank and it costs about $60 to swap out in Jacksonville, FL at AirGas. I only make maybe 2-3 Nitro/CO2 beers a year so it lasts around 3 years. I think it was $45 ish to fill back in 2019. If you use DME or corn sugar solution to carbonate your keg, then just push w/...

IIRC, most yeast manufacturers recommend that starters should be fermented in the high 60's to low-70's, even with lager strains. I believe the rule of thumb is to minimize the difference between the yeast and wort temp as much as possible whether you're pitching into a starter or full sized...

Treating myself to a liter pour of my Helles brewed in late October. I kegged this after 7 days at 54*F and it was a few points north of FG. It then rested at 60* for a week before chilling for almost two months. No CO2 added other than a bit to keep the head pressure steady when pouring. Big...

Harvest is a great, non-fussy yeast for saving and reusing. Pitch the Helles slurry into a Pils, then that slurry into a dunkel or standard bock, then give it a grand send-off in a doppelbock. You can also split the original slurry two or three ways, then with a future starter, the sky is...

Welcome!

IO Harvest would be my first choice. WLP838/WY2308 a close second. For hops I like Spalt & Hersbrucker— the latter as a flameout addition. But any number or Noble combinations would work. 92/4/4 Pils/Vienna/Carafoam mashed for 30 mins at 148* and 60 mins at 160* with no mashout. You can...

For almost 20 years: *34/70 has been my go-to for Schwarzbier & Dunkel. Never had the clove etc issues noted above, but I generally discard after 3-4 generations. *IO Harvest & other Munich strains for Bock/Helles *WLP 802 for all things Czech *WLP 840 & 940 for Amercian & Mexican Lagers...

Yes. You can unscrew the liquid and gas posts with a wrench (either a crescent, socket, spark plug socket) and "pop" or push the poppets out from the top with a screwdriver. Sometimes they will fall out naturally. A word of caution: put the gas and liquid posts and poppets in separate...

Considering fermentation is at or near completion, it's best to avoid stirring the beer as it may cause some oxidation/staling of the beer. You can, however, pick up the fermenter and gently rotate it (think really slow hula hoop dance) to rouse the yeast and encourage more activity. Maybe a...

Do you have a hydrometer? If so, check the gravity. Without knowing the specs of the beer, the hydrometer reading should be at or below about 1.016 for this type of beer. If the reading is north of 1.014-1.106, there is a slight risk of bottle bombs. If you do not have a hydrometer, give it...

Style-wise, this one hits all the high points w/ specs, flavor and mouthfeel, but there's something about this ratio of Pils and 6-row that gives it a little more oomph. It's won a handful of awards in large comps over the past several years... that is, if the keg lasts long enough to fill...

FWIW I've made this recipe several times, and I started getting even more banana notes when I reduced the listed sparge volume by a gallon or so, making for a higher gravity wort for the initial pitch. IIRC higher wort density is mentioned as a driver of banana notes in the Bavarian article...

My Pre-Pro recipe and process are eerily similar to the OP's other than I use homegrown Cluster and Tettnanger. It's taken it's fair share of medals over the years. I've made it with WLP 840 (Schmidt), Wyeast 2105 (Coors) and Imperial Harvest (Augustiner) depending on what slurries I have...

I've used WY2206 a few times and M76 twice in a bock, helles and dunkel. They perform in a similar manner in terms of good floc, attenuation and low sulfur production-- much like my usual workhorse lager yeasts (Imperial-Harvest and WLP 838) that I mostly use in more malt-forward lagers. I...

Check out the AHA website for homebrew clubs in your area or do some Internet sleuthing of your own. Observing a few brew days with various homebrew rigs will give you a good idea of what might work in your home. It's also a good way to meet people.

I have found that using/saving 1.5 qt chilled wort from the brew day in a half gallon sanitized mason jar (kept in refrigerator until kegging) is about as effective as using 3-4 oz dextrose in just enough boiled water to dissolve it. The former is more 'traditional' and complies with German...

I've never used a spunding valve. You shouldn't need one as long as: 1) the beer is within the last 4 points or so of expected FG (as determined by a forced fermentation test or indicated by past experience) or 2) FG is reached and you use an appropriate amount of speise/dextrose/DME Worse...

On occasion, I've had to sulfur-scrub a lager. It's pretty easy. Slowly push CO2 down the liquid dip tube (5-7 PSI or so) while the keg lid's PRV is open. A 15-20 second "shot" on two consecutive days usually does the trick. It stirs up any settled yeast though.

friarsmith: Very interesting indeed. Did they talk about rehydration at all? Yes. IIRC they determined rehydration makes little difference in the fermentation process and finished product. One of the presenters, during the Q & A, went as far as to say "don't bother" with rehydration. In my...