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Thanks for the info on the acids! My OG was somewhere around, I think a little above, 1080. I wrote it down as 1080, anyway. Hm, clove and cinnamon... Not a bad idea. I think I'll give that a shot.

"Acid blend" is tartaric, citric and malic, right? I've got tartaric and citric but not malic. Will that be fine? Thanks a lot, by the way. Any spicing you'd recommend, or will it be good just plain?

Ah, okay. It's super easy to make though. Could you share a recipe that does not require too long aging?

Sweet Mead from Wyeast, smack pack. It's number... 4184 The 'must' tastes great, by the way, so I have pretty high hopes for it. Honey was locally produced (expensive as hell, 13 bucks á 500g, but awesome honey)

I made a very simple mead batch of 5 liters with some leftover mead yeast, 1.5 kg of honey (a bit much? I've been resuspending what ended up in the bottom even after a good 15 minute boil), and spiced with hops. It's coming to the end of its primary fermentation, and I'm wondering how long a...

Can't be worse than Staropramen Dark. No way.

I'm all about the glassware, and I usually like most styles but those are just... I don't know, there's something vase-esque over them. I'd probably have gotten them if I was 'merrkin though.

Thanks!

Once I figured out that I should take the wort sample from higher up, I found out that the specific gravity was very low. I don't remember exactly how low, but it was definitely below the 1.015 BeerSmith calculated. Maybe 1.010. Anyway, it hadn't moved a bit for a few days, and I even added...

Yep, it's good to know the taste of "green beer", too. I'll try another one in a week, I think.

I figured out that I was taking gravity readings of the bottom sludge, not the actual wort. Derp. I bottled it Sunday. I've got terrible patience so I opened one today. It's good! A bit flat, but good. Much hoppier than I expected, but that's good too. And I didn't even chill it.

Usually. The terms are interchangable and simply mean "Large [glass] vessel with a thin neck" They also have different exact meanings in different places. For example, in Swedish, damejeanne refers to any large glass jug.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carboy#Brewing "In brewing, a carboy is also known as a demijohn. "Demijohn" is an old word that formerly referred to any glass vessel with a large body and small neck, enclosed in wickerwork. According to The Oxford English Dictionary the word comes from the...

Was going to post the same thing. That's a really, really nice carboy.

Sounds like you have been keeping it too cold. "Vinegar smell" is the smell of acetate, which is produced at low temperatures. Germans like their sour dough this way, I hear.

Really? That obviously impairs accuracy, and from what I remember from chemistry class, is wholly non-standard. 100 ml measuring glasses for instance, are always calibrated to be read from the water surface base.

Ah. I've had different resources suggest different things. For example, the Swedish brewing wiki (which is mostly written by a few people, to be fair) suggests 30 minutes at 62C and 30 minutes at 72C. In the end I guess it depends on beer style.

It's really old and I'm a bit afraid that it'll break, but yes, it is nice. Maybe I should have one of the few carpenters I know clone it for me...

Isn't 72C (~162F) the very highest you'll ever want to go, in order to have Alpha-amylase convert some of the most stubborn starch?

Yeah, I was going to use existing batch yeast... but I was tired last night and rinsed my vessel after bottling. Well, mistakes are made.