Search results

To be honest, there's no way we can answer your questions with any degree of certainty. Could it be a wild yeast infection? Possibly. Could it be a bad hydrometer? You already know it's not calibrated properly, so I'd just get a new one. Is it just very high attenuation? Again, possibly. A...

In my expereince darkened beer is def a sign of oxygenation. Not sure how old your keg lines are, but I clean mine after each keg. I also take apart the faucet and clean it as well ( I actually clean all my faucets weekly because they get sticky) . Closed transfers are a must for me when...

Okay, thanks for clearing that up. Two questions: 1) Are you checking that hydrometer with distilled/RO water, that could possibly effect the reading. 2) Have you calibrated the thermometer that you mash with? If it's off you could be mashing much lower than expected, possibly contributing...

For you last beer the IPA that you posted a pic of, did you taste a sample. The only reason I ask is because when ever I open my fermenters during or after fermenation (which is not often, only to dry hop and transfer), there is a pungent smell that knocks me back, not sure what it is, but it's...

I like the idea, and what others have said, but dependeing on how you are controlling fermentation temps, that small sample might not be the same temp as your larger fermenter, so they may not finish at the same pace. Just a thought.

If you're sure your sanitation and cleaning procedure is good, I would guess that it's oxidation, as others have mentioned. If you have a glass carboy you can easily do pressure transfers for cheap, and they will greatly improve the quality of your hoppy beers, if everthing else is right...

I'd call that 1.008 and check your hydrometer with distilled water and see if it reads 1.000, also look on the hydrometer and see what temp it's calibrated to. All my hydrometers say calibrated at 60 degrees F. When I put 60 degree F distilled water in them, they read 1.000. Does your...

I also use brewing water, starting with RO water every time. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy. I save a spread sheet for every recipe I brew, that way the additions are already calculated for next time. Bru'N Water is worth the time to learn, it's free, and it works really well, my...

Use a priming sugar calculator when you bottle, I find that 5oz in 5 gallons is generally to much for preference, they tend to get over carbonated on me. Next time you can add some carapils or something to help head retention.

You certainly can do a partial boil, then top up. A few things to keep in mind are that you may carmelize/darken the wort a little more depending on how much and when you put the extract in, and hop utilization may be different, so your IBU's may be off. If you have the ability to do a full...

^Not sure I really agree with that. Yeast selection, pitch rate, pitching temp, oxygenation, fermentation temp will all have a greater effect on flavor profile and any percieved off flavors than just liquid vs dry yeast. Like brewking mentioned, the main advantage of liquid yeast over dry yeast...

Your wort was way to concentrated, I'd be shocked if that little bit of yeast ate through that starter in 2 days. When I bottle culture I start with a weak wort of like 1.020, then build up to 1.040. It usually takes the yeast a few days to get moving on the initial step (1.020), then a few more...

Wow, I never even thought of that, I'll have to go check tonight and see if they shut the machine down. I brewed last weekend and it was still running. I don't mind paying a dollar a gallon for bottled (gallon jugs) of distilled if I have too.

The first time you go you can purchase the jugs... I think they are like $10 each but they are prefilled with 5 gallons of RO water. You spend $20 (I think, don't quote me) for 10 gallons of water and two containers up front. Moving forward you just bring those containers back and refill. It's...

Dry hopping creates some activity in there..whether it's yeast activity, residual Co2, or something else is hard to tell. If I'm not making a NEIPA, I try and make certain that it's hit terminal gravity before dry hopping, for many reasons, but for this conversation, so I can tell the difference...

Same here...ALWAYS.

^ This right here is why I use RO water. I buy Primo water from Walmart...which is suppossed to be RO water. Refills are $.39/gallon. I have two 5 gallon bottles that I carry in the store the night before I brew and purchase 10 gallons for $4...then build my water from that. I believe it's...

My stouts and other dark/malt forward beers, I Keg them, then leave them at room temp (basement 60ish F. ) for months, sometimes a year or longer before I chill and carbonate them. My IPA's I also keg, chill, and carbonate right away, then drink as fresh as possible.

Extract brewing is perfectly acceptable, and many people make some great beers with extract. Whether switching to all grain is "necessary" depends on your goals. My goals were to learn as much as possible about the brewing process and to brew the best beer possible. I wanted beers that would...

Beer that's slightly darkened is a sign of oxidized beer. If you are already kegging and using carboys it's pretty easy to do closed transfers, you can build a setup for it or buy one for less than $50. https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/ptrcarboypremium.htm I'd highly recommend just...