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I brewed a 2.5 gallon batch of this, left it in the primary for 3 weeks, and just opened the first one after 3 weeks in the bottle. While it's got pretty good flavor, I'm definitely not getting any of the caramel flavors coming through. I can smell a slight sweetness, and get just a touch of...

I'm curious if the batches have actually been sour, or if they've just been green. After thinking that my first few batches were off, I finally realized that the smell and taste prior to bottling was commonly very strong and sharp just because the beer was green. If you stick your nose into a...

Whether or not you even need a blow-off tube at all just depends on how much you're brewing in a given size container. Some recipes just don't have the volcanic activity of others either. The bottom line is it doesn't matter one bit. As long as fermentation is happening, who cares! Look at...

Just a few bubbles immediately when I moved the bucket. It's been sitting for about 10 minutes now, and I'd say there are 2 small bubbles every 10-15 seconds. I'm bottling, so I'm worried about getting some bombs.

I brewed an all grain caramel amber ale 3 weeks ago. It's been in the primary ever since at around 60-63 degrees. Unfortunately, I broke my hydrometer a few days ago and haven't been able to get another one yet. I was going to bottle today, since after 3 weeks I figured fermentation was over...

Yep, I boiled it and then let it cool. As far as I can tell I did everything right except possibly not mixing the sugar in well enough. I guess time will tell. Even if they end up being flat, the beer is still tasty! :p

The first one I tried was not in the fridge all that long. The flat one I tried was in the fridge for a few days. I'll just have to see how the rest turn out. If nothing else, I guess I've learned to mix the sugar in better just in case that was the issue.

I brewed a dead simple extract recipe as my first batch in late December. It's been in the bottles for 3 weeks now. I'm curious if what I'm seeing in my bottles is normal or if I did something wrong with my priming sugar. I used corn sugar, dissolved in water and poured in the bottom of my...

I did my second all grain batch today (BIAB). Everything went great, but I learned a little something about cheap hydrometers that come with kits! My hydrometer came in a light plastic tube with a cap on the bottom. It worked well up until today. I decided I would take a sample of the wort...

I understand the rationale behind taking hydrometer readings up to the point of getting the beer in the primary. What I'm curious about is what utility it provides after that fact if you tend to leave the beer in the primary for 2-3+ weeks (like many people suggest). Most fermentation finishes...

Never made a starter. :o How would I go about doing that? For now I've just put the unopened pack into the fridge, so it might be too late anyway I suppose. Still interested in what other options there are in the future. Total noob here.

Well, first all grain batch done (and my 2nd brew ever)! I did a small 2.5 gallon batch using the BIAB technique. I'm still trying to figure out how to take hydrometer readings correctly, but as best as I can tell, my efficiency was at 67%. Not great, but I'll take it for a first try. I...

Sweet! Thanks for the quick reply. A billion little lives saved. We deserve a beer and a medal. :tank:

Made a dumb mistake today - I just wasn't thinking and activated a smack pack of Wyeast Kolsch yeast instead of the other yeast I was intending to use. The pack is well on its way to swelling up. I have one more batch to brew using this yeast, but won't be able to get to it until next weekend...

So if I can't reuse the yeast, do I just use half of a pack since it's for a 2.5 gallon batch, or does it not hurt to still use the entire pack as though it's a 5 gallon batch?

I broke down and got enough grain and "stuff" to do a couple different half batches (wife wanted to try a few different recipes instead of having one big batch next - who am I to argue?). The down side to doing this is that the recipes called for different hops, yeasts, grains, etc. I didn't...

I haven't gone there in person to look yet, but here are the hops listed on my LHBS website: http://www.wineandhop.com/CatalogBeer/hops.shtml

Thanks for the info. I'm starting to get it figured out I think.:) A few more questions as I'm making my shopping list. From looking at their website, it looks like my LHBS may be out of the Chinook hops. Is there another hop I should look for that would work? And what's the importance...

So tomorrow is my first jump into brewing anything that did not come as a kit. Excited, but a little unsure at the same time! I'm not sure about the hop schedule for this recipe. I understand that the first hops go in for the full 60 minutes of the boil, but what about the hops that are...

At my wife's request, I am going to make a couple of smaller batches (2.5 gallons each) of my next few beers instead of full batches. She wants to be able to try a wider variety of beer without being "stuck" with 2 cases of a kind she ends up not liking. I would never call having beer around...