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I've got a barleywine going now, OG = 1.120, started with an average ale yeast. At 6 days, the kraeusen dropped, at 10 days. no airlock activity and just a few tiny bubbles in the wort. FG = 1.054. Added Nottingham yeast and getting good airlock activity again. I'll give 2-3 more weeks, and...

great looking crop ! post another photo in the spring when the heads set on.

I've done a partial No-Chill for the last several brews. because I wanted the extended hops benefit. I just set the boil pot aside for a hour with the lid on, for initial cooldown, then set 8 to10 1/2-gallon milk jugs of ice against the perimeter of the pot, covered/wrapped with blankets and a...

I have bottled 1/4 to 1/2 of my brews in 12oz PET bottles, for friends or to take for visits - don't need to worry about collecting glass bottles later. When filling, I squeeze the bottle a bit to expel last bit of air as I put the cap on, this leaves a dent in the PET bottle. Within a...

there is a whole section on the website on shredding, without the electric machines, there is no easy way. That's the down-side of grow-your-own or buy-whole-leaf. I use a hand crank pasta-maker, with the angelhair attachment. Takes me 2-3 days to process a year's crop. Most difficult part...

I roll non-filtered, with a thumb roller, because I like a fullflavor smoke. Usually takes me between 10-15 minutes to roll a pack. But since I'm watching TV as I roll, am not really concentrating on effecient use of time.

I grow my own tobacco, no additives, better smoking. Cost is about 35 cents a pack (and 20 cents of that is the rolling papers). check out http://fairtradetobacco.com/ best website ever Note: that web site will offers whole-leaf cured tobacco for sale, cheaper and higher quality than...

I use just standard mail-labels, using MS Word to print with. They come in whatever size you want, cheap, available at WalMart, Target, or any office supply. I list a number assigned from my brew recipe notebook, the brew style or name, (sometimes the malt & hops), date bottled, IBU's and ABV...

what wine yeast would be recommended to ferment maltose or maltotriose, as I'll be adding some sugars, but know the malts will not be fully digested.

brewersfriend recipe says FG = 1.027, but I don't think that the ale yeast will take me to it, assuming ABV too high at 12.6%. brewersfriend recipe says FG = 1.018, ABV = 13.7 if I used only WLP099. I just don't feel comfortable using the WLP099 or EC1118 for the full route. I've done a...

I'm doing a barleywine soon, not as heavy on the malts, mostly LME starting as a SMaSH, OG = 1.123, using Munton's Premium Gold ale yeast in the primary for a month.. Then, will cold-crash, transfer to secondary, and ferment again with Lavin's EC 1118 or WLP099 for a month, then 2nd secondary...

yeah, the plastic ones don't seal, airlocks useless. But I don't worry about it - can see the fermentation going on and know it's producing enough CO2 that I don't need to worry about O2. Just brew and don't sweat it.

got the 'Lacey' seed from http://sustainableseedco.com/malting-barley/ got the 'Robust' seed from http://www.fedcoseeds.com/ogs/search.php?item=8101&listname=Barley The Maris Otter seed - that's a different story - PM me for that !

I got a 1 oz packet of spring barley seed (about 680 seeds), planted this spring, was 40+ sq. ft.. Total crop output was about 16 oz. Am going to plant these next spring, should have enough to actually brew then. I don't know if this is representative of crop production or not, but the...

yeah, I will be starting a barleywine soon.... thinking of using 2 packets of Munton's Premium Gold yeast (because I have them already). Will just pitch them dry. Am also concerned about yeast for carbing, consensus seems to be to use champaigne yeast because of high ABV. My way of thinking...

Ole buddy of mine moved back east a few years ago, gave me all his brewing junk that he didn't want to pack. and it included a brew kit. Kit was 4 1/2 years old. I went ahead and brew it as it was. The kit included a dry yeast packet. I hydrated the yeast, foamed up nicely in 15-20 minutes...

encountered a great way to check carbonation after bottling. Bottle at least one brew in a PET plastic soda bottle. I use any Coke/Pepsi/etc 12 oz PET bottle. Fill it with your brew to within 3/4 to 1 inch of the top, gently squeeze the bottle to push the liquid level to the top and remove...

well....yes..... but it looks more like an 'lazy S', a 'S' laying on it's side. never tried an upside 'U', but that may work also. this late in the growing season, don't know if I'd worry about reaching the top end. I had to double-down late-May and early-July, and although I'm topped out...

my hops stand is only about 11 ft tall. when it reaches the top, I untie the twine at the top, drop it down to form a loop and tie off, then extend the twine back up to the top. usually two loops per season is all I need. the vines just keep growing upwards. works for me!

I want to do a simple Maris Otter LME SMaSH lager, with Vierka lager-beer yeast, but have no idea of what would be a good hops to use. Any Suggestions ?