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Toss a whirlfloc in there and it really helps clear up the brew. BIAB brewing also introduces you to the wonderful world of watching your PH balance, brewing a hoppy beer you might want to start adjusting for PH.

Doesn't look bad at all. No need to worry about being new, every brewer starts somewhere! For me it was a Mr. Beer kit :) Unless I am completely off my mark, the recipe is read like this: First two hops are essentially the same. I believe he wrote it with the intention of adding hops...

Agreed to what Mer-man asks. I had mine sitting at probably about 64 or so, and moved it into a warmer room of about 72 to try and speed up the carbonation. Not sure if it was worth it or not....or is the rule of thumb just 3 weeks at an ambient temp?

I haven't made the push to kegging yet, rather like bottling and the ease I can move my bottles around to friends parties (that is, if I bottle a beer I would like to tout around and show off...) Issue: Past two brews I have bottled have not carbonated. I have one that has been sitting in...

Hah! Ok, not high like THAT...random drug tests and all... Starting BIAB batch #2 today. First one I xfered over to secondary after about 5-6 days at perfect FG, letting it condition for a couple weeks before bottling. The one today I'll try leaving in primary longer to clear up a little, and...

I was doing a kit, and used the kit-container of priming sugar, but it seemed like the 'normal' size priming sugar that usually comes with kits.

Very true. So I am nervous as to the conditioning step, as my last brew that I conditioned and then bottled appears to have lost all yeast. I cracked open a bottle last night, got a slight 'psh' when the top came off but the beer was pretty much flat. I only had it in bottle for two weeks, is...

After it seemed like fermantation had stopped, I transferred it to secondary yesterday. FG reading was 1.010. I tried a little bit of it, and while it didn't taste like the nice ice-cold Fat Tire I am used to, it had a decent taste, nice finish, and a nice little burn on the tongue. Calculating...

Minus the temp controls (which are still difficult in my neck of the woods) I switched to BIAB and loved it. It adds a little more time to brew day (about an hour to hour and a half, depending on your recipe). Yes, 10 pounds of grain soaked in water can be heavy to lift, but I didn't find it too...

Alright, so this may be too late (mostly asking as a reassurance to myself) but my last beer I made almost filled my carboy (which I have been using for primary and secondary) and I left it a little head space....but apparently not enough. I came back a couple days later and the krausen (more...

Once I realized I was too high I brought it down to the required 153F. Granted, it was 153 as monitored on my 'big daddy' thermometer, which I have since been told is as about as reliable as a weatherman (yes, I did buy a small scientific thermometer as I am too cheap for a digital one yet)...

Ack! So I started my batch today (currently brewing right now actually) but realized a problem. My recipe I have says to do the infusion at 153 F and sparge at 168. I figured I would have some temp loss form the grains, so I boiled high. I was a complete 'tard, and infused at 163, not 153. I...

As for the crush, they should be good. The little shop I found up here is actually a mecca for homebrewers; they have a nice selection of kits but carry over 140 types of grain for AG brewing, and have a decent mill. I'll double-check the bag, but it seemed like the kernels were well smashed...

Hah sorry, realized that my tiredness and ranting made me miss the meat and potatoes of it all. So big things: The recipe lists an infusion boil and sparge. My understainding: infusion is lower temp and I leave it in, sparge is a quick short steep at higher temp, and them I pour the two...

As the overly-long title says....I have been doing extract kits for the past 5-6 times and each time have walked away...well, disappointed to say the least. Each time I learned a little more as a beginner brewer (such as, do not use a large siphon and plastic tubing to transfer your hot wort to...

Alright, so for my next batch I am planning on using some store-bought bottled water....one question I have: I have heard using distilled water that I should add some minerals to the water, if I use the entire batch distilled. If I don't go with distilled, I am planning on just buying bottled...

We might not have taken the valve out once, but I know we took it apart most of the time. Primary was usually about 6-10 days, sometimes we left it in longer. Secondary would be about two weeks or so. Temps were usually around 68-72 (a little high, I know, but I didn't think that would cause it)...

I just transferred up here from Hawaii...spent five years there. The Kona brewery on Oahu was a frequent Sunday hangout spot!

Alright, found this site to help me answer a few questions for my homebrewing...the past few batches my friend and I make seem to have a tinny taste in them. We had a strong IPA that was very tiny, tossed the entire batch out because it tasted so bad. Irish stout turned out the same way. We have...

Howdy folks, figured I would throw out a greeting. I'm active Navy and currently up in Nothern Chicago. I will admit, I once had a Mr. Beer kit as well (I saw the entire thread dedicated to it!) but a buddy really got me started on homebrewing. Currently we do the 5-gallon plastic bucket setup...