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Northern Brewer doesn't send to soldiers abroad. Any idea which companies do? I have relatives who want to brew but...

LAB thermometer off 5*F!!! Mashed in at 154-155 instead of target 149. Didn't figure it out for 45 minutes, thus killing off much of the beta-amylase enzymes. I understand that hitting the higher temps emphasizes alpha-amylase and this in turn produces higher TG/FG due to more unfermentable...

Ugh. Kicked-out of kitchen for almost a year. Got back in and thought I would try BIAB. Added 15% grist to offset expected lower gravity. Should have been 1.067. I got 1.050!!!!!!!!!!! Couldn't believe it. All three thermometers off. Was mashing probably around 154*F from mash-in on. So...

I have 4 dedicated beer fridges - all with top freezers. I just purchased a minibrew fermenter and it will not fit in any of them - 33" - they advertise 32". Anyway, if I remove the divider between the freezer and the fridge - to make extra room in one of them, does anyone know what effect...

George Fix, (Principles of Brewing Science or An Analysis of Brewing Techniques - I forget which) as well as Hardwick, and later Priest (Handbook of Brewing) mention using Lugol stain/solution to determine glycogen health in stored yeast. The normal approach is to stain cells on a microscope...

I frequently take a wort sample, just before pitching, put it in a test tube and put it in a warm, dark place for 2-4 days to check for obvious haze development. If any appears it is usually a sign of bacterial growth. Problem. Two days ago I did this and when I popped the lid off the tube it...

George Fix challenges this whole idea. Yes, you want to adjust your pH; yes, you may want to adjust your chloride to sulfate ratio. But, the idea that you want to match a given profile is full of holes. 1. The water profiles we see change radically depending on time of year. Part of the year...

I have very soft Oregon water, pH about 7 with negligible hardness. I use "5.2" in the mash. I'm told by the folks that make 5.2 to go ahead and add various mineral salts for flavoring - that these are not redundant because "5.2" is primarily comprised of phosphates, not salts. So, I want to...

I have many of the classic brewing science books and can't find validation of this temperature so commonly used in the beer forums. I do see: 1. Lager malt is kilned to 158F which is not high enough to destroy enough SMM that ultimately can become problem DMS in our lagers. 2. Briggs, et...

On the Podcast from thebrewingnetwork.com on Belgian Tripels (about 33 minute point), JZ talks about a trick to lower attenuation (in this case he wanted it around 86%. Trick: About 2/3 the way through acctive fermentation in primary, add 1/2 lb cane sugar (boiled/cooled) to fermenter. I did...

AG brewer. I see two phases of crud (pre-hop addition) developing on top of the boil. First is dark brown. I believe it is primarily polyphenols and protein coagulating. I probably scoop out 2 full cups of that. It seems a bit oily as well which I assume means I'm getting rid of excess...

I mistakenly put my finings (isinglass, PVPP and silica gel) into the primary intead of racking to secondary first. My plan was to use the slurry from the primary in another brew. Q: Can I use the slurry despite the fact it has the finings in it? I think not because of the nature of...

I'm trying something new for me. At late secondary I fine lagers with isinglass, PVPP and silica gel. Then transfer to priming bucket where I add (refermenting along the lines of many Belgian brews; cf. Belgian Ales, Rajotte, pp.102ff) priming sugar AND fresh yeast. Especially helpful on...

Periodically we underoxygenate our pitched yeast/wort. I came across two statements that seem like a great answer to this problem when the fermentation is stalling. Any thoughts, experience with this? 1. Brewing, 1999 (Ian Ornsey) "If an early fermentation becomes oxygen-starved for some...

I do a secondary with lagers (usually after 3 weeks or so in primary) in a plastic bucket. I use it to remove the beer from the trub, and to use finings. Obviously I've removed the CO2 cover and added oxygen on top of it in the process. Q: Any ideas on how to increase the CO2 within this...

I want to run the Ranco probe through a hole in a very old fridge, rather than run it through the gasket on the door. Is there any problem with this - like something I might run into that will wreck the fridge and cause my beer world to collapse?

Jamil and Doc recently mentioned that you can add hydrogen peroxide to beer to add carbonation. Doc said it would turn into CO2 and water and leave little, if any, taste. He suggested a capful, if memory serves? I can see a number of applications. E.g., after moving to secondary, could add...

Noonan says to bottle beer "at 50 degrees F or above for several days to allow fermentation to be established within the bottle before lowering the temperature" (p. 199, 2nd edition) Never thought of the idea that the remaining yeast (or fresh refermenting yeast added to priming bucket for...

I have tried three different cappers including a Colonna desk model, all with 26mm bells. I'm using standard recycled beer bottles from the big boy breweries. I'm using caps purchased from LBHS. T Ten percent of my caps can be twisted once they are put on. In some cases this majorly...

I want to step-up a starter (2 days on a stir plate with 1 liter of wort and a Wyeast smack pack); Now I want to step it up to 2 liters, adding a fresh liter of wort. Do you recommend a) decanting the existing wort before adding fresh wort or b) adding the new wort on top of the old...