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I had stopped using a secondary on the majority of my brews when I found that there was not a huge amount of sediment being pulled out of the beer after racking. I had just started letting the beer stay in primary for several weeks, and then just moved it into the kegs. Some things I do use a...

So I decided to use a Whirlfloc tablet in my latest batch. This was the first time, so I was not sure what to expect with it. I must say I was very VERY surprised at how much material was separated out. Now here is the issue. I have a Blichmann boil kettle, and I find that the downspout for...

I have a bit of experience with liquor laws here in Texas (20 years or so) and there is good advice in the above posts, but what it boils down to is this. Is the beer free, or are you charging for it. While every state has it's own laws, here in Texas, if you are giving the product away...

I first drank Genny cream ale when I was 16 at my uncle's farm in Upstate NY. Could never find it here in Texas, until recently. Spec's now carries it, and the sell out of it all the damn time. Seems like every time I go in, they only have a few left - the beer dept. guy tells me that when they...

Welcome to the boards from a fellow Austinite! AHS is a great store, good prices and good people there too. I would recommend a trip there just to get a look around and talk to other brewers.

Wow, mutilated, I didn't even think about using them as top dressing for the lawn. I might have to try that myself - I have a spot in the lawn where a turkey frying incident occurred, and it could use some help. ;) I just read an article in Brew your own magazine about doing a container hop...

I am going to try and make a compost bin of some kind. I am about to have new patio put in the yard, and once it is in I am going to set up a hop garden in containers. Everything I have read says that hops do well with additions of compost, so I figure I can reuse the grains to help the hops...

In 2009? Umm, 10 gallons of Blonde, 5 gallons of cider, 5 gallons of mead, 5 gallons of braggot, 5 gallons of Saison, and a 5 gallon batch of Nut Brown. 35 gallons then. In 3 months - SWEET. 6645+35= 6680

Well, I will just fill the bath tub with water to get the carboys about 1/2 covered or so, and see what that does for me then. I am just trying to improve the quality and taste of the brews, and it seems that fermentation temp can be a part of doing that.

So I am thinking about using a water bath to try and cut down on temperature variations in my fermenters. It really wouldn't be that hard for me to do, since all of them sit in a bath tub in my unused downstairs bathroom. Now the thing is, I am not sure if it is something I should add ice...

Set Beersmith to 1.25 qts to lbs of grain, that will give you a better water ratio.

Why not try using a starter, pretty easy to do, and a minimal investment in equipment.

Man, that seems like a lot of water you are using. Why so much on the mash? With that grain bill you should only be using about 4.5 gallons on your mash, so that is the first thing that I would correct. Also, I would think about bringing the mash temp up to around 155, and if you feel you are...

I may have to try making some of that bread!

I would think so, I don't have a compost box or bin, so I have actually spread mine on my rose beds. But after several batches, I think I should lay off of that. I have raked the grains in with my mulch there, but there is an odor issue sometimes. I am just trying to figure out what else to...

Chuck em in the trash? Compost pile? Just wondering what everyone else does with the grains the use.

So I brewed a Blonde Ale back on the 10th, pitched a 1000ml starter into it, and the fermentation has been going strong from the start. Strange things is that the krauzen just wont seem to go away. It has diminished in size - several inches at least, but there is a very thick heavy layer on top...

Wow, thanks for the post Kaiser! Yet more info I need to try and wrap my head around.

Ok, this leads me to another question. Everything I have read when it comes to brewing talks about an hour boil. The reasons seem to be hop utilization and a hot break to clarify the beer. But I have read some posts here where brewers have gone with 90 minute boils. Are the hops not being...

Thanks! And just to be sure I have this set right, over sparging can lead to tannin extraction, which will give me flavors I don't want in my wort. And that normally will occur only after the pre boil gravity has gotten fairly low, under 1.010 or so correct? I figured that you had to get...