Search results

If you added maltodextrine to the boil, you should be fine. You can always boil and add a bit more in a few months if you feel it isn't developing complex enough character. So much time is spent waiting for these sours to fully develop, that I really wish I had started another sooner. GLBC...

I would use a 5 gallon carboy to minimize head space. I think the extremely slow action of the Brettanomyces and bacteria will have a minimal kraeusen. You shoud be sure to have some food for these microorganisms to consume, residual unfermentables from primary fermentation. You might even...

I like unionrdr's advice. 1. You pasteurize the extract with the boiling water. 2. You avoid melting or deforming the fermentation vessel, especially if you use a Better Bottle carboy. 3. If you can cool this wort down before it goes into the fermentation vessel, your top off water...

The kit instructions call for 1 month "secondary." This certainly wouldn't hurt anything, but I think your plan to leave it in primary is better. If the OG was 1.062 as the kit says, then this will probably benefit from at least three weeks in primary. I find Belgians develop a better...

Some people use amylase or "Beano." The enzymes break the longer sugar molecules into simpler sugars that can be consumed by ale yeast. This will make the finished beer bone dry, and you cannot know how low the finished gravity will go. Amylase (alpha and beta) are the same enzymes present in...

The Roselare blend will have brettanomyces yeast as well as lactobacillus and pediococcus bacteria. The long aging of an Oud Bruin should probably be done in a glass carboy to inhibit oxygen intrusion that can allow acetobacter contamination and vinegary flavors to dominate. These wild bugs...

Personally, I love a classic gueuze. They tend to be very dry with a slight barnyard flavor and mouth puckering sourness. You may have to search, but there are a few available in the US. The most common is Lindemans Cuvée René, which is traditional, whereas the Lindemans fruit guezes tend to be...

If it fermented, you should see a yeast cake at the bottom of the growler about 1/2" thick. This should be a very light band at the bottom of the vessel.

I have read a few posts about beer in a bag, and it seems like they were sealed, sanitary packages. Probably no worries about bacteria if you kept things clean. I'm pretty surprised the yeast was still viable! Did you notice manufacture dates anywhere? If the malt extract staled due to age...

I have never heard of beer in a bag, but whatever ingredients were included have probably gone stale some time ago. I would be concerned that nothing was boiled, creating a great habitat for enteric bacteria. If the yeast survived and created alcohol, the low pH and alcohol content of the beer...

You mention that you strain your hop pellets. Do you have a plastic funnel or strainer? If so, these may have small scratches that harbor some bacteria. If you are straining cooled wort, this is a potential source of contamination. You could try using the muslin hop bags for boiling your...

Hi Robert, You're correct in that dissolving solids (sugars, in this case) will increase a solution's specific gravity over that of distilled water. Ethanol has a lower density than that of water, so as beer yeasts consume sugars and produce ethanol, the specific gravity of the solution...

Sorry, but I've been out of town. Here's a picture of the valves that were leaking. The leak was coming from the valve itself, under the handle. It's worthwhile checking these valves if you have a leak you can't find. New valves arrived, are installed, and appear to be okay. the new valves have...

I think the top three items need to be steeped at 150-165*F for 15-30 minutes. These are specialty grains. Do this in a separate pot while you're bringing your main pot to a boil. I usually steep in a grain bag, and remove the bag and squeeze (subject to debate) to remove as much steeping liquid...

They are leaking from the valve stem. I took off the handles and there is no packing nut underneath. I was tightening the nut that holds the handle on the stem and stripped the threads. Are these junk, or was I just being too rammy?

Diagnosing a CO2 leak on my 3 tap system, I found the manifold inlet and plug at the end both leaked. This was an easy fix with teflon tape and a wire wheel to remove the old tape. Then I noticed that two of my shutoff/check valves leaked from the side with the red rubber handle on it when in...

There is a thread on New England Apple pie Ale here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/apple-pie-ale-243674/ This isn't a stout, but there are some thoughts on the cider addition.

If you find yourself in this position again, you can add maltodextrine. It has very low to no fermentability. It will improve mouthfeel. Start low- one or two tablespoons in a 5 gallon batch. I know this is not a great analogy, but it will act like cornstarch in a Chinese food sauce. Too much...

togodoug, can you hold an empty bottle up to some light and observe the fill line? If there is a ring or some haze at that region of the neck, then your beer probably became infected in the bottle. If you have that ring, it can be hard to remove, but you must, or you will continue to contaminate...

If I understand correctly, saccharomyces fermentation depletes the wort of B vitamins and amino acids. Thus, the autolysis of these yeasts in the trub actually porvides nutrients for the brettanomyces and other microorganisms. Depending on when you rack, the active yeast still in suspension will...