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I just poured a bottle of week 2 Wit down the drain having deemed it non-potable. 4 weeks primary followed by 2 in the bottle is not the least bit tasty, at least to me and SWMBO. I don't know if it's due to a narrow palate or if there's something actually wrong with it. We're going away for...

I've read various threads on this issue but I'm a little slow. When I brewed my extract Wit I had three opportunities to squeeze extra wort out of something: 1 - The specialty grains bag when removed at boil. 2 - The hops bag at the end of the boil. 3 - The paint-bucket strainer after...

I know there are compelling reasons to cool down to pitching temp as quickly as possible. Is this because of the time or the heat? Let's say I want to pitch at 65 deg and get to that temp but get called away for some reason. Would it hurt anything to leave the wort alone for 5 minutes to 2...

The odyssey of my first batch continues. Tasted my Belgian wit after 7 days to get a baseline read of how it would develop. I expected it to be flat but it actually had surprising carbonation. I would say it was lightly carbed but there was enough to have significant bubbles through the end of...

I got 2 ingredient packs with my brewing kit and one was a "Trippel XXX Belgian Ale" from Alternative Beverage. This was before I learned about the wide variety amongst tripels. If I make it and get something approximating Gouden Carolus I'll be ecstatic. Chimay Tripel is great too. If it's...

My next (2nd) brew will be a Belgian Tripel extract. The recipe calls for a 2 gallon boil which is at least 1 less than I did for my Wheat. With 20ish minutes steeping plus an hour boil it will lose a significant portion of the initial volume. Is this ok and means I'll be adding 3.5 gallons...

I've read a number of posts that discuss the necessity of priming yeast to assure carbonation. That makes sense by itself but I thought yeast was a major component of a Tripel. Wouldn't additional yeast just before bottling change the flavor profile, for good or for bad?

I just had to say that. Now 3 long weeks.... Gotta pick the next kit

So I've got everything set for my first bottling day only to discover that mice chewed through the sealed plastic bag of pre-measured corn sugar! Yeesh. How much table sugar should I substitute for a cup of corn sugar? I assume it will be ok and not worth a trip to the brew store to buy...

Was going to run my bottles thru the dishwasher, both to surface clean new ones and do a final rinse of oxyclean that I used to remove labels on half of them. Let cool, leave on rack, squirt each one with a shot of starsan from a turkey baster and bottle. Might it do any good or harm to add a...

My local brew supply store guy warned me against running bottles through the DW as it will lead to bottle bombs. Really?

ANY KIND OF YEAST THAT LIKES HEAT? [couldnt figure out how to edit the subject line or delete the whole thing and start again] My 1st batch is about to be bottled and I want to pick recipe #2. It's been really cool in NC and my primary has stayed at 65-67 without any effort on my part. All of...

I can't exactly describe it but it's just pretty dreadful. Rough enough around the edges that I'm not sure there are any edges there. My main fear (as expressed elsewhere) was that it had become contaminated and at least that did not come to pass. What I'm wondering now is how long to let...

Brewed my fist batch 2.5 weeks ago and plan to bottle at or just after 3 weeks provided fermentation has stopped. I had airlock activity for about 9 days. My sanitizing procedure was really pretty good but not perfect and before I go through the bottling process I want to make certain that...

You may recall that I posted a question about how much fermentation might smell. I'm now concerned with the opposite situation. My airlock is bubbling like crazy in a 67ish degree room but to get any aroma at all I have to snort straight from the source and I get barely a whiff of bread. It's...

Just finished my first boil! (Belgian Wheat extract) I took a turkey baster of wort for testing but didn't measure right away. An hour later I realized the test tube was waiting for me so I read the scale which showed a whopping 1.022! I was starting to freak when I realized the wort was...

Call me chicken but I'm really intimidated. I'm making a Belgian wheat extract pre-pack and the directions are a lot like the sticky so I probably won't screw up the series of steps too dramatically. I hope. I've got 3 questions: 1 the kit calls for adding the extract to the cold water while...

My plan is to boil outside and ferment in our laundry room which is 10 feet from the kitchen. Is it reasonable to expect the process to throw off the largest amount of fumes during the first 3-4 days of fermentation and fall off once it gets to the secondary? I could do the first week in a...

This spawns from my 1st thread - I didn't want to hijack myself I'm tempted to follow the advice of my learned friends here and postpone my first brew, a Tripel, until I have something under my belt that will allow more immediate gratification. What's the best way to store the recipe kit...

Hi - This is my first post though I've been reading for the last week or so in preparation for my first brew. I have to admit to being thoroughly overwhelmed by the variety and enormity of information here. You guys are very generous with your time and expertise and us NooBs appreciate it...