Search results

(Lengthy but informative) When I first started brewing lagers, I bought a chest freezer with an external thermostat (dial). The probe 'hangs' in the middle of the freezer and is not in contact with anything but open air. I received a 'weather station' device as a gift, and decided it...

Just a quick question on yeast ... Is the flocculated yeast at the bottom of my fermenter actively fermenting my wert, or does the yeast still in suspension alone perform this job? Furthermore, does the floccuated yeast at the bottom have any role in the 'conditioning' phase of...

I have also been reading a lot about adding some yeast nutrient to the starter. Is this necessary?

Ok, so I received a stir plate as a gift and I want to know if I am using it properly... I am not too concerned with propogating yeast, but mostly worried about pitching a healthy batch of yeast (most of my beers are ~ 1.050). 1. Day ONE: Smack a pack of room-temperature Wyeast and let...

Not force carbed? You are using corn-syrup or some other form of sugar to carbonate this? If that is the case then make sure you only add enough to carb it to 1.0-1.5 volumes of CO2 - anymore will cause nothing but foam. Then after the yeast naturally carbonate the beer, attach your mixed...

Sounds like there is nothing wrong with your pressures. I also force-carb my stouts and use beer-gas at ~28-32PSI for serving. Sounds to me like the temperature of your keg is just too high. That alone has been the single most problematic issue I have whenever excessive foam is present - nitro...

I am planning a road-trip with a buddy to visit our friend in Boston during my vacation next week. I am anxious to bring some of my homebrew with us as my friend in Boston has yet to try it. Our trip takes us through Canada and I am concerned with the bringing a case of unlabeled homebrew...

I am relatively new to brewing so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I think that the only real danger in this method is that your risk of contanimation grows exponentially the longer you wait to pitch. From what I understand, the reason for chilling and pitching immediately after the...

I am 32 and just started brewing about 6 months ago. I must say this is one of my better hobbies, as I can share my concoctions with friends and family. Thus far I have brewed 3 nitro-stouts, 1 blue moon clone, 1 oktoberfest, and 1 nitrogenized reddish ale (no name yet). All have turned out...

I recently purchased the 'Barely Crusher with 15lb hopper' from Northern Brewer and used it on my fourth batch last Saturday. I was getting 80% efficiency with my local homebrew store crush, but I felt more comfortable being able to control the process myself - just another variable to conquer...

That is a great idea, and I think I will adopt this technique. For the record, I never open my MLT to check the temp during the mash - I just take another reading before I mash-out to see how much heat I lost during the mash. In my experience, between 0.75°F-1.5°F is lost during a 60 minute...

As far as I am concerned it is already useless. I let the brewpot naturally cool for some time, and when both the Thermapen and Brewmometer read 170°F, the floating thermometer read well over 180°F. When further cooled to room temperature, all three again read the same. I find this 'sliding...

+1 for the Thermapen. I did my first All-Grain batch in March, and just completed my fourth batch last Saturday. I bought the floating thermometer, and a weldless Brewmometer that I installed in my 7.5Gal brewpot. The floating thermometer is a JOKE. At room temperature it is accurate, but...

I am a big fan of dry yeast. I have been pitching dry - straight from the packet and never had any problems attenuating, but recently I have been considering rehydration prior to pitching. The instructions for these fermantis brands (WB-06 in particular) call for "boiled then chilled (sterle)...

Bah - I thought I actually had an original idea for once :( Thanx for the links!

Process: Using a Cornelius Keg as a primary (5 Gallon Batches) After the boil and cooling, transfer the wort into a cornelius keg, aerate, pitch the yeast, then SEAL via a small amount of CO2 (oxygen preferred). In 2-3 weeks, cold crash the keg, then rack the beer off of the trub and yeast...

Got home from work, wanted to pour one more glass to better and more closely observe exactly what was happening when this happened... Success!!! This video does not do the cascade justice, I did not have much lighting when I shot the video. I really can't think of anything specific to...

I appreciate your input and thank you for the reply. I have read over and over that Guinness carbs naturally at 1.2 (with leftover sweet wort) and that I should carb my nitro-beers between 1.2-1.5vols - but my common sense got the better of me. While I am in agreement with you that my beer is...

I purchased the necessary Nitrogen/CO2 blended gas and faucet several years ago to push Guinness and Murphy's Irish Stout out of my basement. The beer that pours is identical in every way to that of any Irish Pub around. I recently decided that instead of buying commercial stout, I would make...