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I'm making the high-gravity IPA I always make (O.G. 1.078, F.G. 1.018). Usually I leave it in the fermenter 3 weeks, and the end of which there's no evidence of further fermentation. This time, however, at the end of three weeks the gravity was still about 1.019-1.020 and on day 25 now that...

I like to add 3lb DME at the beginning of the boil and 6lb at the end, but am finding it difficult to dissolve the stuff. It turns into a big stiff lump that needs to be prodded and smashed and stirred, and it's quite a chore to get it to dissolve. Am I doing something wrong? Or am I...

I am making an ale using dry yeast for the first time, Safale US-05. I have been using two packages of either White Labs or Wyeast liquid yeast in my high-gravity 1.078 ale. (1) Are two packages of the dry yeast equivalent to two packages of liquid yeast? (2) The Safale envelope says to sprinkle...

I'm making a high-gravity beer (1.078) that calls for two packages of yeast. The Wyeast I bought came in "smack packs" where you're supposed to break open a packet of nutrient inside to give the yeast a head start. My packs were swollen with gas such that the smacking could not be accomplished...

After some newly-bought swing-top bottles didn't hold the carbonation and ruined half a batch of beer I made, I theorized on advice I got here that the silicone gaskets that came with the bottles were the culprit. Next batch, as an experiment I bought a couple of rubber gaskets from my brew...

I'm using Wyeast for the first time. Someone explain the smack pack concept to me. Is this a way of packaging less yeast and making up for it by having the yeast multiply with the smacking? My package was inflated, presumably with CO2, and couldn't be smacked. When I pitched it, the smack pod...

I still consider myself a novice brewer, but I've made 9 batches, now, all IPA's. Each batch gets better, and the last few have been excellent. Lately, I've simplified things greatly yet the beer continues to improve, and I find myself wondering if the things I've eliminated are more in the...

I've been using White Labs California Ale Yeast WLP001 for my IPA. I'm happy with it, but they've repackaged it in a plastic-ridden "Pure Pitch" pouch and doubled the price. Since I use two pouches for my recipe, the price increase is significant. The new pouch doesn't offer anything that I can...

I made a batch of ale and bottled it with two kinds of bottles--capped Sierra Nevada bottles, and Grolsch-style swing-cap bottles. The beer in the capped bottles is pale (I used pilsner malt), clear, and nicely carbonated, while the beer in the swing-cap bottles is darker, murky, and rather...