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Hi All, I'm a fly sparger. I was thinking of taking a portion of the first runnings and boiling it very vigorously on my stovetop while the sparge continues. This seems like it would be a simple and efficient way to simulate a decoction mash. Would this create the same flavors that...

Hi all, Brewed a 5 gal AG Doppelbock back on 12/31, mashed at 157*, OG was 1.082, and re-pitched about 16 oz of Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager that I had used a few weeks earlier to make a 1/2 batch of a Vienna Lager. Fermented at 50*. The yeast took off quickly, and after 6 days the gravity...

Why the hurry to use the remaining yeast right away? FWIW, I've stored half of a packet of Nottingham in the freezer for a month and didn't notice a difference when I used it.

That's interesting; I thought one of the major benefits of a FWH is that aroma and flavor are retained, as well as the bittering being smoother. Do you have any idea why the aroma/flavor aren't making it through in your case? How long are your hops steeping pre-boil?

FWIW, I've brewed a Tripel and a Strong Golden with this yeast. The Tripel was fermented in the low 60's and came out tasting good. The Strong fermented in the high 60's/low 70's and came out with strong banana flavors; thankfully it's faded over the last few months.

You probably want a way for CO2 to dissipate, either with an airlock, foil, or just loosely screwing the cap on. Otherwise you may end up with a mess, or a dangerous pressure build up. Something's growing in there, hard to guess based on what you know so far. Let it go for a while and see...

Does it literally smell like crap, or is it some other offensive odor? Here's a list of common off flavors and aromas: Troubleshooting – Off Flavors in Beer Take a look and see if one matches what you're experiencing.

An inexpensive way to add a secondary to your kit is to buy a 5 gallon jug of RO water from a grocery/hardware/mega store; just make sure the jug is made of PETE (recycling symbol with a 1 in the middle.) If you can find one, it's often a fraction of the price of glass or a Better Bottle, is...

Hi Islagi, There isn't a way to correlate water pH to color; you need to determine the Residual Alkalinity first. I would assume that using the 5.2 makes this moot, since it holds the pH (more or less) at 5.2 regardless of water profile or grain bill. Assuming you leave out the 5.2: Here's a...

I do plan to wrap the keg in blankets and leave it on the garage floor, which should pretty effectively dampen temperature fluctuations over the course of a single day. I'm more interested in how the beer is affected by daily/weekly temp fluctuations; say the average daily temp goes from 25 to...

Hi all, I live in NW Ohio, I'm getting ready to keg a Doppelbock, and I've got a couple of months of winter temps to take advantage of in my garage. How much will the day-to-day temperature fluctuations affect the lagering phase of my beer? How much would the finished product differ from...

One campden tablet treats 20 gallons of water; I prep 10 gallons of water for a 5 gallon batch with 1/2 tablet, crushed between two spoons and stirred into the water while it's heating.

If you can figure out how much your carboy weighs (maybe find someone with the same model to put theirs on a scale?) you could weigh it with the wort, subtract off the weight of the carboy itself and divide by 8 to get an estimate of the number of gallons. To get even closer, divide that number...

With the notch there really is just a tiny bit of pressure that builds up during fermentation, even when the lid's on tight. The plastic is pretty thin, so it's a good idea to keep it in a crate when moving it around, though. I've never seen a Mr. Beer, but I know some people will just use...

So here's my low cost 1/2 batch fermenter: Made of PETE (same as Better Bottles,) holds about 3 gal of beer, and can be had for the cost of 4 lbs of pretzels - or free if your office mates eat them. The lids have notches in the lip so they're not quite airtight - this works pretty...

You can use the yeast in the bottom of the blowoff container, but you need to prepare for it ahead of time. You should ensure your blowoff tube, container and water in the container are at least sanitized, and make sure that the container is suitably covered to prevent anything else from...

I have good luck pushing the tubing on a little further to break the seal, then sliding it off. Pushing the tubing on causes it to compress along its length and expand around the diameter, making it easier to break free of the wand/cane. Warming the tubing up with hot water also helps.

Thanks MM. I understand the point that doing it prior to fermentation finishing ensures that the yeast are active and will effectively clean up the diacetyl. But people report (like Revvy above) that doing the rest after hitting FG doesn't pose a problem, since warming the beer will activate...

Thanks for your reply; I see your point that there are really only two methods. So what's the difference between the two? I'm going to guess that doing an earlier rest poses the risk of picking up off flavors from the yeast, as they're fermenting a significant amount of sugars at high temps...

Thanks for the reply, Revvy. I've heard in other places that waiting until after fermentation is finished can be a problem, since the yeast won't be active enough to clean up all the diacetyl. But it makes sense that raising the temps will wake them up enough to do the trick. I suppose that...