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Ok. My first 3 batches of homebrew are pretty gross. All 3 are plagued with a similar off flavor that I can only describe as a mix of a band aid taste mixed with a solvent taste. It's also somewhat watery tasting. It's been a frustrating journey so far. I'm trying to pin down where I'm...

I have my pumpkin ale in my primary and it's been 3 weeks. How important is it to rack to a secondary? I was wondering if I could get by just bottling it up after another week but I know pumpkin ale has quite a bit of trub. Anyone skip the secondary for a pumpkin ale? Thanks!

Oh hell, I've had my first batch, an american pale ale in bottles for about 7 weeks now. After 3 weeks it had a strong water taste and the carbonation was weak. After 5 weeks, the water taste was still there but slightly improved and the carbonation was better. Now at 7 weeks, the beer is...

I just bottled an extract IPA batch that is supposed to be hoppy and the instructions said to make hop tea that gets slowly added to the bottling bucket along with the priming sugar while racking. The instructions said to boil 1 1/2 cups of water and steep the supplied dry hops in a hop bag...

I got an extract kit from AHBS that has LME in buckets. Just wondering how you are loosening up the LME in plastic buckets for easier handling when you add it to the wort. I had metal LME cans before and loosened up the LME by putting the cans in hot water for 15 minutes. Any tips?

Ok, another noob question here. I thought my kit came with DME but it turns out it's LME. Can I make a yeast starter with LME or should I just pour in the tube of white labs yeast as is and hope it kicks in after a while. :o

I was planning to make a yeast starter for an AHBS Pumpkin Ale extract kit this week using While Labs liquid yeast. Is it bad to use 1/2 cup of DME from the kit for the starter or is this generally a bad practice. I don't have any other DME around and wanted to brew this soon, maybe tomorrow...

I plan to brew AHBS Pumpkin Ale kit this week, the extract version and was wondering when you put the spice pack that came with it in. During the boil or in the primary during fermentation? Also, just curious when in the process you added the pumpkin if you used any. The kit says it's...

I picked up a Brewferm Abbey kit at my LHBS that will yield 9 liters and plan to brew it in a few days. At my LHBS recommendation, I'm using a pound of Amber DME to add to it. I read the Brewferm instructions and it doesn't say to boil. I guess my question is should I boil to add the DME...

I got my next 2 kits in the mail recently and the liquid yeast came with a melted ice bag which I've read plenty of threads on here so I was a little worried about and know I should make a starter to see if it takes off. I unfortunately don't have a proper yeast starting jug yet or a mason jar...

My first batch, an american pale ale has been in bottles for 3 weeks and I popped one open to try tonight. There was a little carbonation but not much and the beer, while it had decent flavor it had a watery taste. Should I chalk this up to still being green beer and give it a few more weeks...

After all was said and done with my first batch, I got about 46 bottles out of it. I topped up my primary at 5 gallons but I guess between taking the OG samples and FG samples and leaving a little in when I got down to the yeast cake, I lost a few bottles. I'm using extract kits for now. Just...

I've got my 2nd batch in my primary, it's a hoppy IPA. The instructions that came with my kit suggested racking to a Secondary as soon as the bubbles in the airlock showed signs of slowing down. After reading how a lot of folks here are keeping their brews in the primary for a longer period of...

While making my 2nd batch last night from an IPA Dry extract kit the instructions asked for a starter for the dry yeast package which I made and it looked healthy while I was brewing. The instructions said to to pitch around 72-75 degrees but it said to top of the bucket at 5 gallons with 3...

I brewed my 2nd batch last night, it was a hoppy IPA and my first batch using DME, 6 lbs. I added the DME slowly and worked it in but I was getting nervous becuase it was clumping up when added to the hot wort. With some patience I worked it all through and once all of the DME was in the wort...

I'm about to brew my 2nd batch after work tonight, a hoppy IPA and I was getting things in order this morning and noticed that a part of th grains in my kit have a powdery substance. Almost like the bottom of a cereal bag or dry cat food bag. I'm wondering if this is anything I should be...

I bought a couple of grain/hop bags with the draw string for my first 5 gallon batch. They seem slightly easier to work with. I had my grains in one and I used 2 others for my hops. Are these re-usable? I was under the impression they were but just wanted to make sure before I use them...

Does boiling tap water get rid of the chlorine in it? Just asking cos I was wondering if I should use filtered water for the 2 gallons I use for my wort boil or if tap water is fine. Thanks.

I plan to brew my 2nd extract kit over the weekend that will be a hoppy IPA and the kit uses dry malt extract. One of the steps in the directions calls for sparging and it has me a little confused. I looked it up and from what I gather this seems more of process used in all grain brewing so is...

Is it generally ok to use tap water for sanitization. I use the one step no rinse powder. I filter the water I use for brewing through a britta pitcher so I was wondering if I should do the same for the water I use for sanitizing. I ask cos the britta pitcher I own is small and it's a pain to...