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Fellow HBTer's, I'm planning to brew my first double IPA soon. I put together a recipe that I think will work well but I'm unsure on the hop schedule and the yeast strain. I haven't had good luck with IPAs in the past so I'm soliciting help with this recipe. Last IPA I made tasted like hop...

So I brewed a batch of Jamil's Hazelnut Chocolate Porter on Saturday. I'm fermenting it in a 7 gallon plastic bucket. I've never needed a blow off tube before unless I was pitching on a yeast cake. I was suprised to go downstairs tonight to check on it and find that the lid had blown off the...

I've done countless extract batches and 5 AG batches now. Every time I brew I learn something new. Usually it's some small but important detail about my equipment or the environment in which I brew. The common lesson overall seems to be that processes are more important in brewing a delicious...

I tried a bottle of my first all-grain IPA tonight and to my dismay it had a distinctive cheesy hop aroma and taste. NOt in a good way at all. Has anyone else ever experienced this? What can I do in the future to avoid? All the hops were vacuum sealed and frozen so I can't imagine it would...

I just tried my first successful all-grain batch. It's carbed up nicely. It's a delicious IPA -- the best by far that I've ever brewed. I'm really happy with it however I do notice a very slight fruity/estery taste that comes through in the middle. I'm thinking this is the result of esters...

So I bottled my second attempt at all-grain brewing last night. I tasted the beer and it was by far the best beer that I've ever brewed! I mean it was really really good! I brewed a West Coast IPA clone. It's too soon to do a comparison but as far the taste after 2 weeks in the primary, it...

So I brewed my second all-grain batch last night. The good news is that every time I brew I get better and learn from my mistakes. Over and over I've learned that it's best to do what others have done before and not try to assume I know a better way. As I progress in my brewing, it's amazing...

I'm kinda of a newbie. I just did my first all-grain batch and it turned out infected. After 2 weeks in the primary I racked to the secondary and about a week later I noticed a pellicle had formed on top of the beer. very frustrating. The thing is -- I always read on this forum people saying...

ok so I did the BIAB method. This was my first AG batch so I made a few mistakes. I filled my brewpot with the total preboil volume and then heated to 160F before adding the bag o grains. Well I wasn't paying close enough attention and I actually let the water temp rise to almost 180F!! I...

So I did my first all grain batch using the BIAB method. Everything went great and my preboil OG was dead on what BeerSmith said it would be. I did a small 2.5 gallon batch so for cooling I just poured the hot wort into an Ale pale and sat that in an ice bath to cool. The Ale Pale was...

Im about to brew a porter -- I made a nice .25 gal starter 3 days ago. The aroma from the airlock on the starter is like a strong banana/buttery smell. I know this can be caused by high temps. The yeast is White Labs Irish Ale. The room temp is 74 F. Should I use this starter? Will the...

I just pitched a high-gravity IPA onto a yeast cake from an existing batch and man holy cow this is awesome! I also added yeast energizer. I swear on my life I actually started seeing activity within 30 minutes! It's been 1 hour now and I'm seeing steady bubbles in the airlock. This is amazing...

I just brewed a high-gravity IPA and unfortunately had a massive boilover. I was cleaning some equipment and did not realize it was boiling over for probably about 4 seconds before I pulled it off. My question is -- how much fermentable malt did I lose in the boilover? My stovetop was...

I will have 2 versions of this label -- the one below I plan on handing out to my buddies and I will make a more benign version with a snow covered log cabin in the mountains or something safe like that. (girlfriend saw this one and freaked)

here is a pic I used of my Stars and Stripes Puffer -- he looks drunk in this picture -- perfect for this label!

Just tried a Kolcsh I brewed with my girlfriend for x-mas and the taste difference between 2 weeks and 3 weeks bottle conditioning is phenomenal! This is among the best beer I've ever had. I guess it'll only get better with time too -- This was my first batch in 4 years and I had forgotten the...

I shook up the White Labs California Ale yeast vial just before pitching and when I opened it it shot out of the top like it was carbonated. I spilled a little on the floor -- possibly 30% or more of the vial ended up on the floor. :mad: I just popped the top onto the primary as normal...

All, Im new at brewing. I just made an IPA using LME and decided to add some specialty grains for flavoring. I chose 1 lb choc malt and 1lb 6-row crystal malt. Thing is-- I boiled them awhile. I didn't realize this was the not what was meant by "steeping". I figured it was like making tea...