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That Chaucers stuff is crap IMHO unless they've changed a lot. Sweet. Not real mead. YMMV.

Says right there...they're in 750ml bottles.

Oh, and remember to buy books via this site's Amazon link at the top of the page. I'm pretty sure the site gets a kickdown no matter what you buy if you go through that link. So, actually, go through that link no matter what you're buying at Amazon and you support the site. Especially if you're...

It's a really great, understandable, yet fairly technical book. Very cool if you want to get into the nitty gritty. All thumbs up! :D

Out in the beer shed in the summer, which can swing from 50s to 100s. Inside during the winter when it never gets warm outside. Maybe a 50 to 75 degree range inside in the winter. I have 40 gallons fermenting inside right now, 20 gallons of which is less than 2 weeks old and still going...

What Caplan said. There's nothing to making cider. We used to make it every year by pressing a bunch of apples and tossing in champagne yeast. That's it. There's no need for a kit. It's the simplest fermented beverage you can possibly make. The end quality is all about the quality of juice you...

I second the DME idea. DME is much more useful and produces better beer than LME. a - CO2 or Nitrogen won't protect the LME against infection...it may be too concentrated to get infected, but I'm not sure. In any event, CO2 and Nitrogen won't do it. b - There is no way to store LME such that...

Actually it's usually a good idea to add more hops to "hopped" extract, because that just isn't a very effective way to add hops to a brew. It's much better to avoid using "hopped" extract at all and use dry extract and the best fresh hops you can find. Hopped liquid extract is a shortcut that...

Personally, I wouldn't reduce the extract by that much, if at all. You're not going to get very efficient extraction without a proper sparge (ie if you're using a grain bag). The grain will still improve the flavor of your beer and add some fermentables, but I wouldn't reduce the extract by...

Yes. But the results won't be the same. To test this concept, next time you want to buy your girl some flowers, take them and smash them into plug-shaped masses and give them to her that way. Compare results versus giving her unsmashed roses. Cheers :D

The homebrew shops can't point you in the right direction?? There must be a bigger, better, badder homebrew shop you'e missing... Look for welding supply places in the yellow pages. They usually fill CO2 tanks. Or fie departments or places that fill fire extinguishers. Good luck :D

Man, I wish. We had a couple of nice weeks where it was in the 70s, but for the past week or so it's been really crappy again. Unbelievably, the snow level is supposed to drop to 300-500 feet tonight. It's only 40 degrees now at 11 AM. This is not the California weather I signed up for. I want...

Nah...it should be OK. I've pitched onto two week old yeast cakes many times and plan to do so this weekend. The issues with beer sitting on the yeast take longer to become problems. It wouldn't affect your new beer, anyway...if anything it would affect the old beer. The yeast cake will...

Hey Cheyco, where is that place you pictured? What sort of facility is that? I hope to be able to brew but the weather is looking pretty sheety. If I get to brew, it'll probably be a nice hoppy APA/IPA. I've been brewing a string of dark beers (huge stout, big porter) and weird beers (lambic...

He's not worthy... ;)

Yeah, but that basically never happens. Make a starter. Aerate your wort. Stuck ferments almost never happen except on high gravity beers. At least I never get them, and I brew dozens of batches every year. I never use a hydrometer, especially at racking time. You can tell it's fermenting just...

Well, my understanding is that a LOT more of them than in liquid yeast. Yeast drying works. Look at bread yeast. Works like a champ. Though I'm sure it is pretty harsh on them and may affect how cleanly they can ferment...maybe that explains the off-flavors dry yeast sometimes gives. But in an...

Well...not really. But what raspberry honey wheat beer are you talking about? It's not exactly a classic style and each version will be different. To reiterate...if you want sweetness, honey isn't going to give it to you.

Here we go ;) Don't bother taking readings during the fermentation. It's fermenting! Leave it alone. You REALLY shouldn't throw the hydrometer in the fermenter. If it breaks, that batch is toast. If you MUST take readings, then take out a sample. But in doing so you risk infection for no gain...

Well...I hope you learned your lesson ;) First idea is that maybe it'll continue to settle a bit. It's only been a week. Try this. Get one of those Chore Boy type scrubby pads. Secure it to the end of your racking cane with rubber bands or something. Sanitize the whole thing and rack. The...