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I've used FermCapS for the past 10 years with no issues. 2 drops per gallon in the boil, and then additional drops in the fermenter to get to 2 drops per gallon total (I partial boil). It has worked great preventing boil-overs (4+ gallons in a 5 gallon pot) and minimizing blow-off (6.5 gallons...

#2: I boil 4.25 to 4.5 gallons in a 5 gallon kettle on my stove, and never had a boil-over, or even had one that I had to take action for in the past 10 years I've been using Fermcap. Works for me. I can get a healthy boil on my stove, but it takes time to get there, I am just about at the...

Using my calculator, if you had a 1.088 OG, and a refractometer reading of 9.0 Brix as the FG, the conversion will give you an FG of 1.004. Seems pretty low. Take a Hydrometer reading. I like to take hydrometer readings of fermented beer because the feedback is immediate (and not...

You collected 5 pints of slurry! I usually get about 2.5 pints from a 6.5 gallon brew. That's a lot of wasted beer. Also there is yeast in all layers of the sediment. Purists will tell you to calculate the required yeast cells for a beer and then make a starter.. I used to do that, but...

Looks almost like you have a mother in there. A collection of bacteria and yeast used for making acidic beverages like Kombucha, although they need oxygen to produce the acid. Can you take a sample from the spigot and see where the gravity is, and taste it? If you are over 5 days, you should...

Beer will be fine, but open the bottles over a sink. The hop articles can become nucleation points (aids gas coming out of solution - like the laser etched ring on the bottom of some beer glasses). I bag whole hops in the fermenter and hold the bag down with marbles (otherwise the bag would...

Belgians are pretty easy. A couple of important notes: - Use a Belgian yeast. Don't expect to use an English yeast to get a Belgian beer. - Allow it to get warm versus keeping regular yeasts below 70. No need to try and control the temperature. I usually start mine around the high 60s to...

It doesn't look like an infection, no indication of a pellicle. An infection would take a long time to convert any long chain sugars in an alcoholic environment, so it is not an infection which is causing the high carbonation. 268 grams is 9.5 ozs of sugar. That is a lot. I would use about...

What do you have the program settings set at? I've never done a 1 gallon batch, so there are probably things that I don't know about with brewing small batches, but with that grain bill I would expect to get somewhere around 1.075. 1.057 is only about 50% efficiency. I see no reason why...

Pics are very difficult to provide any real comment on what it is. You had fermentation, you made alcohol, so you should be OK. Per Papazian, there are no known Pathogens that can survive in beer - so whatever it is will not kill you, but infections can affect taste, and you will find that out...

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The plastic barrels/kegs/cubes are the lazy way out. If you will consume the beer within a week they will work fine and simulate the carbonation in a Real Ale keg. You may also have a seal problem if you are not getting the carbonation for very long. I have never used this method, but my...

I have a friend with the same issue. Can't drink beer or wine, but distilled products seem fine. For the home brew level I think you will need to make some investments. You will need to filter the beer through a 1 micron or finer filter to strip the yeast from the beer. This is what...

I don't think it is anything I would be worried about. Sours pretty much protect themselves. Probably just some Lacto or wild yeast. When it turns green is the time to get worried.

Use gelatin. About a teaspoon, I use it on every beer and works great. I use it at room temps. There are lots of different ways people prepare/use it. I let it bloom in about an ounce of water for about 20 minutes, Then heat about 4 to 6 ozs of water to boiling in the microwave, keep covered...

Set up looks good. Welcome back. I gave up for 7 years after having my kids. I think I got back into it in 2007. Been making about 13 batches a year since then. It doesn't take long to get back into the stride of things.

You can use it. Just remember that every pound of the mix contains roughly: 4 ozs Crystal 40 4 ozs Flaked Barley 3 ozs Carapils 2.5 ozs Flaked Corn 1.5 ozs Roast Barley ........... Yes, I know it is only 15 ozs. The real odd one in the mix is the Roast Barley, but if you only have 1.5 ozs in...

Yep, don't worry about it.

If they had been in a freezer and vacuum packed or in an inert gas, then I would say there were OK to use, just add extra to compensate for loss of oils. But in fridge temps in a ziplock bag ...... they are not going to be very good. Sure, use them if they seem OK, but add the regular hops...

If you are just using 3 lbs of grain in 5 gallons, then I assume you are also adding extract. I mash 8 lbs of grain in 2.5 gallons. Post a recipe. I suspect the response will be to steep the grains in whatever volume you boil, and add a portion of the extract and boil. Then add the rest of...