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Most exciting time of year?

I've been given the opportunity to harvest a few hop vines and wonder if anyone has suggestions on how to proceed, as I'm coming at this quite loosely. First things first: I intend to use them fresh to dry-hop a (4% abv) table saison currently sitting in secondary. My plan is to pick them in...

To phrase it another way: what's your most recent upgrade or addition to your brewhouse, and what in what way specifically did it improve your product or process? The more details the better, for nerdery and knowledge :D

I'm attempting my batch using spelt this weekend and have very basic questions about the grain. First, some context -- I'm brewing a spelt saison loosely inspired by the Saison d'Epeautre recipe in Phil Markowski's Farmhouse ales (p. 142): It's Spelt Saison Yeast: WY3724 Belgian Saison...

Hey folks, I'm hoping for some insight into the fermentation and bottle conditioning schedule for a belgian-style dubbel. I brewed a 5.5 gallon batch on June 5th, racked it on July 3rd and have left it sitting in the shadows ever since. I know it needs extended time in the bottle, so by the...

I'm working on cloning a beer that lists pale, pilsner and carapils malts plus flaked wheat for the grain bill. My first attempt came out decidedly lighter than the original beer though, so I figured that obviously I need to increase the darker grain - problem is, they're all 1 or 2 SRM. Any...

Hey folks, I'm working on a recipe and would very much appreciate any comments regarding ingredients, timing, or technique. Edited 5/26: added a second version of the recipe based on discussion below. Without further ado: Belgian Dubbel with dried blueberries Version 1 (trying to get a...

Hey folks, I just received my local water report: Minerals Calcium (Ca+2): 5.20ppm Magnesium (Mg+2): 1.2ppm Bicarbonate (HCO3-1): 17.5ppm Sulfate (SO4-2): 1.61ppm Sodium (Na+1): 1.75ppm Chloride (Cl-1): 4.97ppm Disinfectants Chlorine, Total Residual: 1.25ppm Dichloramine...

Hey folks, For reasons of time and energy (or lack thereof) I seldom have opportunity to thief the sample required to conduct a gravity reading on my batches. I'm also loathe to spend the 250ml of beer it takes to get a sound reading. My brewing scheduling thus looks something like this...

I brewed a batch of BierMuncher's Black Pearl Porter on March 13th. I went according to recipe on everything except that I used 1/2 the prescribed lactose & maltodextrine to compare against my first batch of the same recipe which used the full prescribed amounts. The OG was 1.045 but with a...

Last weekend I began building up a starter from the dregs of two bottles of a wild IPA (which is a brett strain) to make an all-brett IPA tomorrow. Starting at 100ml, I've built it in stages to the current 1L. Having added the 1L of wort (made from DME; OG 1.030 ish) last night, she's got a...

Hey folks, I brewed a Belgian Saison (using WY3724) 2 weeks ago that I just racked to secondary. Current gravity is 1.010, so it's very close to finished. I noticed mild notes of (what I think is) diacetyl in the sample I took for a gravity reading. If that's the case, what's the most...

I'd love to try something with marmite -- probably a stout or porter. I wonder though if the yeast in the marmite would interfere with the fermentation process. Anyone ever tried it or have thoughts about it? Marmite lovers only pls :P

Hey all, I've been working on a recipe and thought I'd share it with the forum for share karma and to open it to critiques, suggestions, and discussion. This came out of a conversation in this forum about a Petite Farmhouse recipe in mid-october. Using thoughts from that thread and others I...

That is all.

So I bottled a bitter 8 days ago and have just noticed what seems to be a krausen in the only growler I filled that day. In the small air pocket between the beer and the lid is a foamy layer whose appearance I can explain in no other way, since the growler wasn't agitated at all. The bitter...

I brewed a batch of yeoman special bitter a few weeks back and have lately (read: tonight) been thinking about souring it up a bit, just to keep things interesting. Here are a few complicating thoughts in no particular order: - The batch has just finished in primary, ready for secondary...

Anyone have experience flying with homebrew in a grolsch bottle? I had a (thinner) 1L bottle blow its bottom out in my gf's closet a few weeks ago (it's ok - she's my brew partner, so no cajones were injured in the process), which makes me wonder if a Grolsch bottle can withstand the...

This is a somewhat aimless post that I hope can contribute something to the thread of discussions anyway -- I brewed my first 100% Brett (Lambicus) beer 8 days ago, and it's still bubbling away fiercely in primary, which is exciting to me. The pellicle in particular is distinctly beautiful...

I have a 7 gallon pot and have been wondering lately if it's possible to stretch out my 4 gallon batches into something larger -- my carboys look so sad sitting there half empty, and for all the effort I go to on brewday it would be nice to eek out a bit more bang for my buck. Obviously...