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I did the 'bleach bomb'. 1 tsp per gal of water. I soaked everything for a few hours. I then sanitized with one step. 10 batches later, I haven't had an issue. Thanks for the help!

I read the whole thing. I have a brew log that is a few years old now. I notice my notes have become considerably shorter after 50+ batches. Now I have a template and I cut and paste. Then I bought Beersmith software and notes are even shorter. My techniques are familiar to me, it's...

This looks good to me! One more thing on Mash temps. I noticed that when I mashed over 155 (as a recipe told me to) I ended up with a sweeter beer than I prefer. I now keep it between 150 - 152. That's strictly my preference, but you will notice a much sweeter product over 155.

I use oxyclean and hot water in a Cooler overnight. It removes all the labels (except Heinekin) and if there was any nasties in the bottles, those float out too. Now, I have a water softner. My neighbor does not. He did the same thing and his bottles came out coated in some kind of white...

I agree about the Crystal. My rule is to keep it at 1.5 lbs or less for a 5 gallon batch. .25 lbs of Carafoam is probably all you need for the head retention you're looking for. I get a rich color for an IPA with just 60 and maybe some 40. The hops point has been mentioned. Double what...

I made a big stout last year with Makers Mark. I still have a jealous few left. This beer was scary at first but at 6 months it was amazing. It was supposed to be a version of bourbon barrel stout. My friends drank a few with me and later named it, "Death Trap". I think it is now sublime...

I had a very similar issue. I brewed for a year 25 some batches. All was great and then... Film, bubbles, bottle bombs, off flavors. I was getting rings forming in the bottles after bottling even spider web looking things on the fermenters in secondary carboys. I opened a thread and...

I'm gonna bottle it and see what happens. I hate to give up on 8 months of waiting!

I hope so, but this was strong, like malted vinegar. I was gonna use it for fish n chips. I was thinking maybe there was a slight infect that the high alcohol killed off. just guessing.

I made a barley wine back in Jan. its been in secondary for seven months or so. So I forgot about it in the corner. I came to it last month with the airlock almost dry. I smelled Vinegar when I smelled the airlock. I assumed I had ruined it and went to dump it. I poured the first bit...

I'm new to BeerSmith and very frustrated trying to get the right numbers for my Partial Mash. I use 6 lbs @ 1.00 - 1.25 lbs/qt. I mash with about 6qts water. I fly sparge with 3 gallons. I end up with about 4 gallons of 1.054 wort. Beer smith tells me my measured mash eff is 0%. On...

And finally - to bottle or to dump.

I actually have 2 - 5 gallon secondary's that are full and fine. As you say, they are up to the neck with little headspace. Pictured is the 6.5 which I sometimes use for primary, but since it was empty, I used it for secondary - and come to think of it. It was the same one that had it last...

After 2 years and 34 great 5 gallon batches, I've fallen in a rut. I've had 4 beers with this same infection. I've always used star san and been very careful to soak and sanitize equip and surfaces. My process has always been the same: Boil and primary in bucket for 2 weeks, then...

Thanks, Based on that - I pitched the yeast and it's fermenting away!

This is my first attempt at Pineapple wine. I read online a bunch of recipes and ended up just doing my own thing. Call it an experiment. 1 gallon ingredients: I had a 108 oz, 6 lb can of Pineapple chunks in Juice. - Strained Juice from chunks I used about 3/4 of the total amount of...

Nice. So I wouldn't let your friends know the reason for your sudden generosity! Actually, in the few years I've been at this, I've only made one batch or so (beer) that had an off flavor. I think it was a little astringent in the aftertaste - I've gotten picky about taste since I started...

At four weeks, I took a sample and was surprised the tartness has really diminished. Its still there but I'm seeing that time is doing good things!

Thanks for the suggestions. I think then instead of messing with it, I wait for a month and taste again on the next transfer. Is there anything else I'll need to plan for? Is tannin a requirement? I see it in recipes as well. My plan is to age a month or two transferring twice more...

I'm just trying my first gallon of Grape Juice Wine. After 2 weeks of primary, I racked to secondary. Tasting it was like a sweet tart. ingredients: almost 1 gal Newman's Own 100% Grape Juice - Kirkland (purple) 2 cups of sugar, cup of water. Added till gravity was 1.09 Red star yeast -...