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Can I re-purpose those 5 gallon secondary carboys into primaries? I'm wondering if using a blow-off hose for the first week or so will compensate for the loss of head room.

Ah! Cleaning a plate chiller. I've heard this can be a pain.

Depends on the kettle. If you don't have a valve/spiggot on your kettle, a plate chiller won't be of much use. Once you have your keggle set up and are brewing larger batches, a plate chiller would make sense. I'm thinking about making an immersion chiller for a 15 gallon kettle. I'd stick...

I've purchased frozen raspberries and used them. Thaw and puree them when you are ready. I poured the puree into the secondary and racked the beer on the puree. I just kegged that last night actually and it was pretty tasty even when it was new, flat, and warm. Should be really good in a...

You mentioned that this was your first batch? Did you happen to use a brand new copper immersion chiller or did you use an ice bath?

Why one hour? Because nobody wants to go back and change all the recipes that call for a one hour boil.

There's 3 hop additions at 1oz each. That's a lot of hops for an extract so you'll have some additional trub if you don't use a hop filter bag during the boil or strain the wort when you transfer it into your primary fermenter. You want to avoid dumping everything from the kettle into your...

My sister and I both have had the same issue with Blue Moon which is a Belgian White. I've tried other Belgian Whites and have actually had an allergic reaction. Hives, scratchy throat, etc. I'm wondering about the possibility of being allergic to certain strains of yeast? I'm pretty sure...

I've added a pound of honey into the secondary of a light ale. It was one of the better beers I've made. I'd go 2 lbs next time. You can warm the honey in a hot water bath to make it easier to poor into your secondary and it will mix more easily. Honey doesn't need to be pasteurized after you...

I usually take the whole thing apart and soak the parts in PBW for an hour or so. I also fill up the keg with a strong mix of PBW and HOT water and let that set over night. Rinse everything off really well and store it until I'm ready to keg. I think you absolutely must sanitize everything...

You could shop for immersion chillers online while you wait for the wort to cool down. :D

How's your supply of newspaper? It's a good insulator in a pinch but it's pretty much useless if it gets wet so you'd have to protect it with some type of vapor barrier. I like the idea of: Veneer - airspace with loosely wadded newspaper - veneer.

Buy this now! We'd hate to see you get fined for brewing without the beard.

I think you made a good choice with that glass kit. I wish I would have started with a glass carboy vs the plastic bucket. But now I have a plastic bucket to use for sanitizing gear. I just made that Cream Ale kit from NB. My primary was a bit warm for the first 24 hours. I managed to get...

The new store in south Minneapolis is really nice. I think they might be having a hop sale right now too. Right off of Hwy 62 (which is pretty much a straight shot from the airport) and Lyndale. Intro to brewing class going on today 11:00 to 2:00. Sit in for a bit and get 10% off your...

Yes you need help. You need to hydrate BEFORE you start working in the yard. If you start hydrating 3 hours after you start working, you'll likely be dehydrated the entire day. Bacon and beer ftw.

It's going to be 90°F+ here tomorrow. So I'm pretty sure I'll start brewing as early in the day as possible so the garage isn't 110°F by the time I'm done. I'm a morning person so it's easy for me. My brewing partner/wife may be up in time to put the air lock on the primary.

Racking a half batch of cream ale over some freshly picked raspberries. I'll puree the raspberries first. The other half will be just good ol cream ale. Sunday will be a "Speckled Heifer" partial mash from NB. It's going to be 90°F so I'll be sure to hydrate while I'm slaving away over...

Hello all! I've been lurking here long enough. Time to say hello! My wife and I have been brewing for about 6 months now. We picked up our first partial mash kit and we'll be brewing that this weekend. We have about 5 or 6 extract brews completed. Only wrecked one so far. I'll save that...