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I've read that Mandarina Bavaria is a great hop to use for an orange dreamsicle milkshake IPA. I'm curious to get your impressions after brewing this SMaSH beer.

Adding to the discussion. I don't even boil my starter anymore. In a 2L flask I just collect about 1200mL of water and add 200g of DME. You have to stir a little more to get it all to dissolve but still faster than boiling. Then I add my harvested yeast which puts me at about 1600 to 2000mL. I...

2 benefits that I've seen from using yeast starters the last couple years. 1. Save money on buying yeast 2. My initial fermentations are crazy active compared to just adding yeast packet to fermenter.

I never saved yeast from a starter to create a new starter for my next brew. I've always just harvested when transferring from fermenter to keg. Is the process any different harvesting from the starter? Do you just pour "most" of your starter into your fermenter and save what is left?

I brewed a summer ale, maybe sort of a shandy, and added honeydew in secondary. Really turned out kinda nasty. A little honeydew goes a LONG WAY and I used too much. I usually brew a chipotle pepper smoked porter in the winter. Chipotles add a nice warmth and even a little "vegetable" flavor...

I agree - $15-$20 for a better picnic tap. Doesn't have to be stainless, just something better than the cheapy plastic ones. I have a Keezer that holds 2 5gal corneys and a 3gal on the hump. I use a picnic tap and have no plans to expand beyond that.

With cider almost all the sugar is fermented out, which usually leaves you with a very dry cider that does not have much traditional "cider" flavor. The best way to add that flavor back is with some back sweetening. I personally add some brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla after fermentation and...

I usually brew some type of brown ale for the fall. Last year was a smoked brown ale - quite yummy. This year, just brewed a slightly hoppy red ale - still fermenting. Last few year's brewed a chipotle smoked porter - very popular at my homebrew club. But this year going with a coffee stout.

I agree. I'd decrease MO to 8-9 lbs, up Vienna by 1-2 lbs and up crystal to at least 8oz. Agree with another post that Citra at FWH is kind of a waste. Use another high alpha bittering hop and save Citra for late additions. Otherwise really solid, tasty looking recipe.

Cascade and Citra together are AMAZING! I use them together primarily for my NEIPAs.

I have a dumper and a saver storie. Had to dump most of a 5Gal BarleyWine that I brewed as part of my homebrew club's bourbon barrel project. Unfortunately mine had a super strong cidery smell and green apple flavor. Club wouldn't let me at it to the barrel - I don't blame them! My save was a...

I had a glass carboy crack and break last year, losing 4 gallons of cider. It was my fault. The fermentation kept getting stuck so I would put the carboy in the sink and run some hot water over it to get the yeast activated. WORD OF WARNING: Don't do that! Luckily it cracked while I was lifting...

I use 4lbs of smoked malt in a porter I brew every winter. I change up the type of smoke every year. Pretty smokey, but the darker malts help balance it out. My homebrew club enjoys it immensely.

I probably have 2-3 "best brews" but if I had to pick, it would be my chipotle smoked porter. Solid porter recipe based on Bell's Porter, but I add 4 lbs. of smoked malt for a 7Gal batch (3lbs for 5Gal). I've tried different smoked malts but rauchmalt is probably the best. I add 3 chipotle's in...

Thanks for detailed reply. Yeah, technically I'm not doing a whirlpool - I just wasn't sure what to call it. My question really boils (pun intended) down to: do I get any value (ie hop flavor and aroma) by adding hops as I'm stirring my water, DME and sugar, then pulling them before adding...

So you think add at whirlpool and leave them in during fermentation to get some interaction with the yeast? Pull them when fermentation dies down and then add new hops for dry hopping!

I've been itching to try this recipe. I have a question regarding whirlpooling hops, but going with the original recipe of NOT heating the water. Since there is no heat reaction with the hop pellets, will I still get some hop flavor and aroma from the whirlpooled hops? Planning on using a nylon...

So I get India Black Ale, I kinda get India Red Ale, but now I see India Brown Ale advertised. I'm no BJCP expert by any stretch, but aren't these really just hoppy versions of different styles of beer? What makes them an India ale?

My Irish Red Ale yeast died out for some reason and all my bottles were flat. I waited 3 extra weeks, after the initial 3, and every bottle I opened was flat. Opened each bottle, added just a few grains of yeast and recapped. 2 weeks later - carbonation.

Just a theoretical chemistry question. Is it possible to take an existing homebrew, or any beer for that matter, add sugar, then pitch yeast to increase alcohol content? Not that I'm planning on doing it ... just curious if possible. Basically you would be re-fermenting an alcoholic...