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I just made the jump to all grain BIAB. Good results so far. I bought an 8 gallon pot and a gas burner because the pot that I had for extract brews was too small, and my electric stove can't handle boiling the larger amount of water.

My latest brew, a porter, failed to bottle condition. There is a tiny pffft when I open it, and I can detect very slight carbonation while drinking it, but it really is too flat for my taste. Also, though the flavor and body are just about where I wanted them, I want a bit more hops. So...

Update....the brew turned out just fine.

PADI OW last March and a total now of 12 dives. Can't wait for the trip to St. John in March and then cold water diving in New England next summer.

I have been hearing about people using plastic soda bottles for bottling beer and cider. Other than the fact that they are clear, how well do they do compared to bottles with crown caps? I'm thinking about using some for my cider to avoid bottle bombs, but might want to put some beer in a couple...

Four days in, Wyeast American Ale 1056, active fermentation had stopped.

I accidently left the brew belt on when I put the insulating blanket around my fermenting batch of ale. Temp got above 80 before turned off brew belt and took blanket off. So what is the worst that can happen? Is the batch definitely ruined, or just maybe ruined, or maybe not as good as it might...

I ended up making a jacket out of bubble insulation from Lowes that I bungee around the pot. I brought it indoors to mash (about 64 degrees ambient temp) and it lost about 4 degrees over 70 minutes. Since this is my first all grain brew, I don't know how much of a difference that will make.

I'm going to be moving my brewing operation outdoors, partly to keep spouse happy (she dislikes the smell) and partly because I'm going to use a propane burner. My plan is to do BIAB (5 1/2 gallons before boil) and wrap the pot with insulation while mashing. Will the mash stay at ~152 for the 60...

How much zest and vodka? When do you add it? Sounds like a good idea.

My daughter was going to give me a Big Mouth Bubbler for Christmas, but her local HB store discouraged her. I have now seen some talk about fragile glass ones, but are there any issues with the plastic big mouth bubblers?

I have just bought an Edelmetall Burner so that I didn't have to rely on my electric stove. My back porch, just off the kitchen, is covered, but open on two sides and I was planning on using the burner there. The directions warn against using it near wood surfaces, though, so I am a little...

I picked up two gallons of local preservative free cider at a farmers market and decided to make hard cider, pretty much on a whim. I bottled it in late February, so I figured it was about time to give it a try. It was a two gallon batch and I used three tablespoons of sugar to bottle...

I just did a batch using the marbles in a bag method. In another posting somebody suggested using dental floss tied to the bag to make it easier to pull the bag out, so I did that. I had no trouble getting the marbles and hops bag into my carboy, but pulling it out was next to impossible. I...

I have gotten stuck fermentation going in the past by swirling my fermenter, but I have not had a stuck fermentation since I began to make starters.

I think that if it is a matter of a few days you won't have a problem.

Well, I want a dry cider, and when I put it into the secondary it was a touch under 1.000, so I should be okay.

Bottle bombs seem to be a much bigger concern with cider than in beer brewing. Why is that? I am about ready to bottle my first one gallon batch of cider and I would like to get some carbonation. My plan was to add about three tablespoons of corn sugar and then bottle away. Just how worried...

Don't worry. Not getting the initial gravity reading shouldn't have any effect on your final outcome. Yeah, you won't know your exact ABV, but does that really matter? I have forgotten to take initial gravity readings a couple of times now since starting to home brew two years ago. You can...

I can never wait more than two weeks to try a new batch. That has always been good enough for complete carbonation, but a couple of my brews have benefited from some aging.