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I pulled off the cap and sniffed it, and it smells okay. I've just never seen this before, so of course I shifted immediately to "panic" mode. Thanks for the reassurances! :mug:

Okay, I checked on the Wheat Ale that I have in the secondary, and there are little "things" floating in it. The best I can describe is that they look like little, tiny seeds floating in the beer. What the hell? I've never seen this before. Can anyone tell me what this is? Is it some kind...

Really? I didn't know this. I've just been using straight tap water to top off my batches! I guess I've just been lucky. Chicago water tends to be pretty clean, but sometimes has a slight chlorine smell to it. I should look into using campden tablets, I understand that they primarily are...

Is this the one you're talking about: Igloo Cooler at Target?

I'm thinking of joining, and I was curious about the "Thrist Fursday" tomorrow night. I've got a couple of brews that I'm iffy on, and wanted to get more experienced pallets to taste them and tell me what's wrong, and whether or not they think the flavors will balance with age, or if I should...

I've used the Northwestern a few times now, and it seems to get the job done. I've been using it because it's cheaper, but it's supposedly fresher that the other liquid extracts out there. (It doesn't have to travel as far, accounting for both the lower price and the freshness.) I say go for it!

There are several ways to try to keep things cool while it's fermenting. Many people suggest putting it in a tub with some cold water and maybe ice. I haven't gone this route yet, but I'm thinking of getting a small tub that the primary will fit into for this purpose. I usually keep the...

Yeah, I think I may have, but I thought just a little. I've done this before with no noticeable impact, I guess I just did it too much this time!

Well, I'm glad of that, but I still worry. Will it still mellow if it is tannins in the brew? (Sorry to persist, but I tend to worry too much!)

I have a stout that I've recently tried a few of (after 3 weeks in the bottle). It seems I over-sparged (or over steeped) the specialty grains (recipe below), because it definitely has a bitter, astringent flavor (noticeably from the roasted barley). It's not a devastatingly horrible flavor...

Try a little bit of regular bleach in water. Just fill it up and let it sit over night. Some guys use Oxy-Clean, but the bleach has worked for me to get that smell out (not to mention the staining).

I use the Universal Carboy Cap, like at the bottom of this page: http://www.homebrewery.com/beer/beer-airlocks-stoppers.shtml Don't have to worry about it coming out. (Although, I've read that they can be "loose" sometime, mine fits like perfectly.)

That's the thing, I can't really tell. I guess my pallet is not sophisticated enough yet to be able to judge these things. It could be a phenolic odor, but it could be the cloves (as homebrewer_99 suggested), I just don't know. Maybe I'll just let it sit for a while and taste it every couple...

Alright, I've got a spiced ale that's been in the bottles for nearly 5 weeks now. It tastes a little weird to me, but I don't know if it's bad, or if it just needs more time to age and mellow. My sanitation is good, and I haven't had an infected batch yet. The only batch I had to send down...

That wouldn't effect the "accuracy" of the reading of the hydrometer, it just means that the OG (and probably FG) would be a bit higher than what the recipe called for. Whatever the reading is, that's what it is.

Well, my luck has been hit and miss with trying to harvest. Since I don't think I'll be doing another wheat for a while, I may just skip it this time around. (I already have that 1338 that I harvested from the last batch.) I've actually only pitched with harvested yeast once, and that beer's...

I think that since the yeast is already done with the actual fermentation, there probably isn't anything to worry about. The higher temps will cause really bad flavors during the actual fermentation, but after that anything lower than 76 should be okay.

They didn't have the Safbrew at the LHBS, so I ended up going with the Wyeast 3056 Bavarian Wheat. That should work out okay, I would think. Thanks for the input!

I want to brew a Wheat Ale this weekend, and the recipe I'm working from calls for Fermentis SafBrew S-33 yeast. I want to keep costs for the batch down, so I'd rather use one of the yeasts I have on hand. I have a couple of packets of Danstar Nottingham and a vial of Wyeast 1338 European...

Thanks for all of the input, guys. I'm going to check it again tomorrow (and hopefully pick up a new hydrometer on my way home from work). I guess I just worry too much! I hope this one comes out okay, though, since it's the first Scotch Ale I've tried to do.