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Like in cooking, salt is sometimes added to help make flavors 'Pop', and it is not just Gose beers. Seems mostly to be flavored Porters and Stouts that get the treatment, but there are a few IPAs too. It was originally used in the Prohibition era because beers were tasteless. Don't add much...

Unless you know why you are using a secondary, you shouldn't be using one.

No and No. Everything is OK, you do not need to do anything.

I assumed that they were the same, so was confused by the different recommendations on each of them. So, what is he right does, 1 drop per 5 gallons or 2 drops per gallon?

Thanksgiving is one of the few days I don't drink beer. I will have some Port while I make Dinner. We have a couple of 20 year old St Emilion Gran Crus that we plan to have with the meal, and I have some Armagnac to round out the day. Small gathering, just my wife, 2 adult Daughters, and...

Same comment on the kink. I really don't think those small hoses really do the job, they too can become blocked. I use a 1.25 inch hose that fits in place of the bung. Did you remove the X from the bottom of the airlock? How much water (sanitizer) is in the jug? It only needs to be just...

For the orange, I would just add the zest of the orange. Either add it to the boil, or steep it in vodka for a few weeks (and add the vodka and zest to secondary). Guava, add the fruit, and I don't know anything about passion fruit. Why spend $200? Buy the fruit, blend in a blender (or just...

You can reuse yeast for as long as you like, so long as it doesn't get infected. It will change over time, due to your practices being selective of yeast cells with certain characteristics (higher/lower attenuation, flavors, etc). You should not see any real differences in the first 5 to 10...

You can sanitize for Brett, it is just a yeast, no reason to dedicate equipment providing you have good sanitizing practices. With alcohol present, Brett will not reproduce quickly, so will progress slowly (6 to 12+ months). Brett-B will produce barnyard flavors, so drink quick if you do not...

Don't worry about not having any bubbles in the airlock. If a seal leaks, you may not see any bubbles. 1.008 in 2 days is pretty quick. Pity you didn't take an OG sample (Original Gravity). Leave at least 2 weeks before bottling; not only does it allow fermentation to finish, but it also...

8 gazillion opinions is not enough for you, so you are here asking for more! Since you haven't brewed much, I would recommend brewing it per the instructions and not screwing with it. Learn to walk before trying to run. Sure, there are things that you can add; Oak, Bourbon, Rum, Vanilla...

Get into the habit of using a blow-off every brew. I use one very time; it is not much more effort than using an airlock. A blow-off event can be messy: Airlock and beer sprayed for several feet. I've had it on the ceiling before. Fortunately I ferment i the basement on a concrete floor, so...

I'm intrigued as to what was in the bottle since you quit brewing beer. I've had 3 bottles let go on me over the past 30 years. Fortunatly I was not present for any of them but had to clean up the mess and pick the glass out of the walls. Last one was a stout. It had a higher FG than I...

I've been using FermCap for the past 10 years and it has worked great. 1 drop per gallon in the kettle eliminates boil-overs, and 1 drop per gallon in the fermenter minimizes blow-off. Saved a lot of mess and lost beer over the years. My current bottle of FermCap is almost empty, but I do...

Grain or extract? If grain, I would start with Maris Otter (or use some US Pale Ale grain with a small amount of Biscuit as a poor man's substitute). If extract, use any Pale or Light extract, I think Muntons is English, but I would use any. Maybe steep a few ozs of Biscuit too.

You could potentially swirl O2 into solution. Even with an active fermentation there is some O2 in the headspace due to entropy, but if the temp dropped, then the fermenter will draw air back in. If you do 'swirl' O2 back into solution it will stay there as the yeast no longer have any use for...

I have a 6 foot piece of 1.25 diameter tubing that I use on every batch. Tube fits perfectly in my fermenters (your opening may be different - check before you buy tubing). I use it on every batch, and put the other end in about a half pint of sanitized water (don't use too much or it can suck...

Add it to secondary. There will be plenty of yeast, the re-fermentation will create CO2 in the fermenter, and you will not get as much fermentation activity to lose beer. A benefit; since the fermentation will be more subdued, you may retain more of the treacle flavor.

Do you use the same amount of grain, and water each time? Or the same ratio of water to grain? Do you mix the wort before taking the reading? Are you taking the wort off the top? A little more detail on your process including water volumes might help someone come up with something...

What is this extract that you speak of? Normally when someone refers to extract with respect to beer it is malt extract, which has a specific sugar content. If it is an alcohol based extract used for flavoring foods, you can probably use as much as you like; it has no sugars to affect priming...