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I stopped freezing my bottles some time ago. I find that a simple rinse in cold tap water is sufficient to cool the bottles and reduce foaming. I found that doing a case at a time on my own was a reasonable task. Any more than that and I would definitely want additional hands to make the...

Don't go in the basement... Don't go in the basement... Don't go in the basement... Don't go in the basement... "Yeah, Im a hotttie" Brewshop foot warmer

Using a 2x6 will give you that much more head space and not require any more labor to do it. I like the additional space because I store my garbage bag full of hops on top of the kegs without crowding the area. :mug:

I find that with my IPA's and IIPA's (or any late hop/dry hopped beers for that matter) perform much better is allowed to warm slightly before serving. I usually decant from my 37 degree kegerator into a growler if I intend to have an IPA session. I'll let the growler sit for about 15-20...

"Creamy" is a mouthfeel aspect and less reliant on the recipe than the serving carbonation. The creamiest beers will be served on nitrogen rather than CO2. For those who don't have a nitro set up, one way to cheat and get that creaminess is to: A) Let your beer (presumably in a bottle) warm...

The crud on your fermenter walls is a dead give away (and a good sign) that you had fermentation. Now put it back to sleep for another week or two and get on to your next batch. :mug:

Good choice. Definitely want to get a decent probe thermometer. I just grabbed an older one from the brewshop. This one has an alarm that goes off if the temp gets to high that I can hear from inside my kitchen where I'm probably rustling up some baked beans or german potato salad. :D

Ha ha. Been there, done that. Yeah, you have a nice blend between a stout and a porter. That much roasted barley will give a near coffee flavor. You could take it all the way to a coffee flavored porter by adding 2-3 ounces of ground vanilla coffee beans to the primary after the...

Warm vigorous initial fermentation can lend itself to some hot alcohol warmth in the beer, but this is usually limited to high gravity brews. Even so, the alcohol warmth will fade with some time. At worst you may have coaxed some floral, fruity esters out of the beer. :mug:

I'm still honing my process before I really get into this homebrewing thingy.

A few more pics of the unit at work last Fathers Day.

Inexpensive container to hold your fermenter (oil change bucket at Sears with the top cut out) Large t-shirt wrapped around the Carboy. Fille bucket with water and let water wick up the t-shirt. Place a small fan near by to cool the wet tshirt.

Here's the one I bought from Lowe's 4 years ago. Sits outside uncovered year round and has shown no signs of wear or rust. Uses very little propane. Ignitor still works great. Several vents that adjust to damp the fresh air and control the temperature. 4 adjustable racks. I've...

I think you'll be just fine.

They will work okay for 3.5 gallon fermentations, but trying to ferment a 5 gallon batch will be problematic. Most buckets are total capacity of about 7.5 gallons to allow for large krausen heads that are part of the fermentation. The carboy below is a 6.5 gallon and you can see the amount of...

Don't hate me cuz my keggle is beautiful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hYqVfPn6mA

I like the idea of a touch-of-rye. And I like a nice complex hop schedule as much as the next guy. I’m just not sure the two compliment each other so well. Rye malt gives as you said, a hint of flavor complexity. In particular rye lends a nice spice bite to a pale ale, but it is very subtle...

If I read you right, your low OG was simply that you had too much wort…too much water. You say you had 5.5 gallons go into the fermenter, but it is not because you boiled the 9 gallons down to 5.5 gallons (which would have concentrated the sugars and raised your gravity), but because you...

Welcome. Brew early, brew often.

I achieved a strong banan presence in a Wee Heavy using a standard Safale-04 dry yeast but slowly ramping up the fermentation temperature (after three days at normal fermentation temps) by using a space heater I moved progressively closer to the fermenter of 5-7 days. It ended up capping out in...