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No, not really from a saving money perspective, just from an experimental perspective. I suppose my point is that if Pumpkin beer is good, why not carrot beer, or squash beer? Maybe the instant potatoes are a stretch, but one can make vodka out of potatoes, so why not as an adjunct to up...

Mango sounds like a good idea to me. I have some pinapple/mango habanero salsa that is excellent. Maybe a Mango/chili pepper beer would mimic this sweet/spicy combination (although the sweet part will be fermented out unless some drastic measures are performed (camden tablets to kill the yeast...

I was wondering if it would be a good idea to use some cheaper starch sources in the mash as an adjunct. I'm thinking instant potatoe powder as an easy starch source. Also, has anyone ever tried to use CARROTS in the mash? Recently, I cooked some carrots in butter (saute), and the carrots...

Yeah, I'm thinking you are right on the test batch point. I suppose I can just take the easy way out and do a quick extract batch. I don't want to bother with doing a mash for such a small amount. I plan to do this next weekend, so I'll update this thread after I have more data.

Okay, so I know this sounds a bit crazy, but here's the idea: My son came home from school with a package of Black Garlic (from a science presentation for his class). If you are unfamiliar, here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_garlic_(food) I have not tasted the stuff yet...

BIAB works fine.. you just need to tune it up a bit. Here's what I do: 5gal kettle on the stove, up to about 6-7lb of grain max in a 5gal nylon bag (paint strainer). keep it on the stove while you mash, so you can add a little heat when needed. Get the water up to about 185F (usually...

+1 on getting the grain mill. They are pretty cheap ($50 at my LHBS), and you'll be so glad that you did it. Attach a screw-gun to the crank and you can chew through 10lb of grain in a matter of minutes... not to mention the fact that you can CONTROL how fine you crush the grain. I am never...

I've heard of this practice before. Since it takes 60 minutes to extract AAcids from the hops, the Aroma or Flavor additions (15m and 5m) still contain a substantial amount of AA. Reusing this trub will allow for AA extraction of the late hop additions. It's an old practice, and seems to be...

It would make sense that a longer steep time would extract more hoppy aroma goodness as opposed to instantly starting the chill. I think the loss of hop aroma is due to boil-off mostly, as the desired compounds are volatile and they will evaparate more quickly if the wort is still boiling...

Airation is probably not that important since you have such a massive colony of yeast already. One piece of advice: Don't use ALL of the yeast cake. I have used the entire yeast cake before and after the second beer, there is so much trub in the bottom that I lost a gallon of beer. Upon...

The strainer bag technique works pretty well, but it will still get clogged. Personally, I siphon off as much clear wort as possible and then when it gets down to the last gallon or so, I'll pour it into the strainer bag. I still have to work the bag around so the muck can make contact with...

That's wierd.. I wonder if it was "skunked" from light exposure... Think Heineken.. did it taste like that skunked crap? Does anyone know if the skunked-ness will go away with age?

It's funny for me, as I work as an organic chemist for my day job. This brewing beer hits all the same entertainment buttons in my brain that chemistry does. Chemists, as a breed, are infinitely entertained by bubbling, boiling, dripping, etc.. not to mention all the pretty colors. I can...

lol... I read this too quickly and thought you were dividing your time between family, work, band, and SCREWING. I thought.. HELL YEAH!

That bulging bucket with the clamps looks scary as hell! I wouldn't even want to go near that thing, personally, but I have an aversion to pressure bombs after my pnuematic potato gun exploded in my face and nearly killed me. Beer604: the airlock hole gets plugged with muck, and then the...

This is only true for heat-shock/ thermal change effects. Thicker glass will expand at different rates on the exposed side, thus breakage. Any glass will perform the same if it is allowed to heat/cool at a slower rate, not shocked like you describe. Pyrex can handle this kind of change...

That "frost" is probably due to some hard-water stains of some kind. It's INorganic, salts and what-not. Like lime-stains in the bathtub, they are hard to get rid of. Try a strong acid or base bath. that should do it. Sodium Hydroxide is sold as "drain opener". we clean glassware in the...

I've been toying with the idea of producing a really heavy beer, with the OG in the neighborhood of 1.090 - 1.100, and then diluting it down about 50% with boiled, cooled water. I have no real desire to DRINK anything above 6%ABV, but it would be nice to get 10 gallons out of a 5 gallon batch...

Heh... I was the same way. I'm only 35, but I never liked beer either. My dad drank the most disgusting swill.. usually the cheapest beer they sold. I thought "why in the world would anyone drink this stuff?!". I think my first "likable" beer was Killian's Irish Red. Now that I'm a...

Yeah, I got a bottle of it in my fridge.. waiting to open it for a special occasion. I would consider that Tej stuff to be a mead. It's only source of fermentables is from that raw honey. Sure it has some adjuncts in it, but it sounds mostly like mead to me. I thought that maybe they...