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So there's what are you drinking now, what came in the mail for you today, who's brewing this weekend, what did you do for beer today, etc. threads, but nothing for the day's beer scores? Well, we have to remedy this! Today I picked up some goodies at the local craft brew mecca, Sabitini's...

That's awesome. Getting your wife on board is half 99% of the battle! In actuality though, we use the bar for far more than just drinking. We'll have breakfast there, sit there for dinner sometimes, just hang out and play darts, etc. And it's a great place for gathering. Since I built the bar...

No offense, but everyone in the industry and the government agencies that regulate this stuff, all draw that distinction. Why do we care what your inclination on this is? After rereading this, it is not coming across as I intend. In other words, what are your qualifications that make you...

Oh yeah, I forgot about pH. Thanks for mentioning that. I don't have the data, but I'd imagine that efficiency would be better with hotter water, as not all of the sugars are in solution. Some is stuck in the crushed grain. I would guess if you sparged with 35 F water compared to 170 F water...

When I used to fly sparge, I would sparge for at least an hour. Now that I wisened up and batch sparge, the sparging process rarely takes more than 20 minutes.

You want the sparge water hot so that sugars are more readily dissolved. However, you don't want it so hot that astringent tannins are leached into your wort. Above 170 F and tannins are released, so that's why 170 is picked for sparging. So yes, generally all sparges are at 170 F.

I've started studying for the BJCP online exam, and I was wondering what those of you who are already certified used to study for the exams. I'm mostly interested in how you studied for the tasting exam. What resources did you use? Did you just buy a ton of commercial examples of the...

I checked the online water report, and they use chlorines, not chloramines, forunately. I'll be sending in a sample to Ward Labs, however, to get all the specifics. In the meantime, I think I'll be buying RO water and water salts. Thanks! I'll be checking that out. Thanks.

Yes there is. The CDC, EPA, the Department of Defense, most (all?) state health departments, most commercial manufacturers, and those in the cleaning industry all draw a distinction between disinfecting and sanitizing...

Many commercial breweries use acid-based sanitizers, among others, which is basically what Star San is. They also use separate cleaners as well (as should we). What they use is more concentrated though, I'm sure. I'm sure that hydrogen peroxide would work well, although you must be careful to...

I agree. I wouldn't risk it with the temperature swings. This will actually be good. You'll be forced to let your bottles wait, so when you get home, your beer will be ready for you to try. Though, now that I've typed this, if it were me, and I was itching to try my new brew, I'd probably...

First of all, Star San is a sanitizer, not a disinfectant. It isn't, nor was it ever, designed to disinfect a solution of cultured microbes poured directly into a Star San solution. It is designed as a surface sanitizer. The fact that the experimenters misread the amount of water needed, I...

No problem doing that. It's the same basic idea as pouring into a growler. However, a growler filler will lead to less foaming and oxygen issues. But, if you're drinking it that day, no problem at all.

Hahaha. No worries. I made a boneheaded similar mistake on about my 50th (75th?) batch a couple of years ago. I made a barleywine with like 30% crystal malt. I couldn't get the gravity below 1.038, and it was disgustingly sweet and simply undrinkable. It happens. Regardless, I'd still let it...

It's a good idea to start longer than you think you'll need. You can always cut a bit of line off until you get to a good flow rate. I have 10' lines, this is for 2.6 volumes of CO2 (12 psi @ 38 F). I think this is just about perfect. Not overly foamy, and it takes about 10 seconds to fill a...

I missed that your "base" malt was a crystal type of malt. This will leave a lot of unfermentable sugars in your beer, and I fear that your final product will be cloyingly sweet. I'm shocked that you were able to get 55% efficiency with such low diastatic power malts and without crushing. Is...

Something is definitely very wrong here. Is this for a 5 or 10 gallon batch? If you have an OG of 5 brix (1.020), you'll end up with a beer of roughly 2% ABV. Even with the target of 7 brix, you'll be lucky to hit 3% ABV. With an OG of 1.020, your brewhouse efficiency is 22% for a five gallon...

You need to troubleshoot your secondary regulator first. The two regulators may be off from one another. Screw your secondary regulator onto the CO2 tank and see if the reading is the same as your primary regulator.

This seems like a much better idea. It's smaller scale so that it won't scare away new brewers. I mean 3 bbls is 41 cases of beer. No new brewer is going to want to try brewing once and be left with over 40 cases of beer which may or may not taste good. Not many experienced brewers that wouldn't...

Last night was inauguration night for the tap system. I have five beers on Tap, and a root beer. The cooling system worked perfectly! No first pour foam, and the beers were cold! However, my beer kinda sucked. These are the first beers I've made since moving to my new house. I suspect the...