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You should never store yeast in RO water. It will weaken the yeast cell walls and possibly kill a lot of cells. It should be stored in the beer it was harvested from as it is used to that environment. When you are ready to re-pitch it, add some of the beer you are brewing and either put it on...

Just a reminder. The window is now open for nominations for three seats that will open up on the AHA Governing Committee in 2021. The window for nominations closes on November 30. If you are interested in running for a seat or want to nominate someone for one of these seats, please go to the...

Thre arealso calculators you can put on your smart phone , I use the "Brewzor Calculator". It is pretty intuitive and has all kinds of calculation and coversion factors.

Yes, there was a fire that completely destroyed his shop and equipment several years ago. I had contacted Jack about getting a new Malt Mill since mine was also pretty worn out after about 25 years of use by me and the homebrew shop I bought it from. I had it for at least 23 of those years...

+1 I only use my refractometer to get an idea of where I need to be and make any necessary adjustments. I always keel in mind, as Dave said, that it is not as accurate as a hydrometer and use the hydrometer for more precise readings post-boil and post fermentation.

Try it sometime. It is a great ingredient!. I use it in my rye porter

I want to add to this thread. I do not want to dis any of the LODO guys. They have a valid reason for what they are doing and I respect that. However, most commercial breweries use a spray ball mounted a couple feet above the grain bed to sparge with and it works fine for them. The brewery I...

I have accidently run mine dry more than once. They make a gawd-awful noise when they do. Had to take the pump apart once when the impeller stopped spinning and make sure everythingt was clean. Put it back together and it runs fine. Just keep an eye on your liquid level when cleaning with...

Here is my 0.02 on this thread. I fill my kegs with Saniclean (just like SarSan but it doesn't foam up like StarSan does) and push it out with CO2. When I fill the kegs with sanitizer, I syphon it out of the storage container (I only mix new sanitizer about once a month or more frequently if...

Just remember, when using an immersion chiller, to agitate the chiller around in the wort occasionally rather than letting it sit in one spot. You don't have to do this continually, but swish it around a bit in a circle, let it set for maybe 3-5 minutes, and repeat. You will chill the wort...

In order to determine if you need to do a diacetyl rest, you should first smell and taste the beer. If you get a movie popcorn or butterscotch aroma and/or flavor, then yes, by all measns do a d-rest. Different yeast strains produce different levels of diacetyl which is what jclark248 is...

Crystal malts are made by a procewss in which the the grain is "mashed" in the husk. It is then kilned to produce a very hard and glassy texture. They are fermentable and will add gravity points to the beer (extracr potential 1.020-1.030). Dextrine malts (like Carapils) have longer chain...

I too use both. I use the refractometer to measure pre-boil gravity so I do not have to cool the sample to get a hydrometer reading. I also measure several times with it during the boil to get a good estimate on how close I am going to be to my desired OG and make any adjustments necessary...

I have done both, using a barrel and with wood chips or spirals soaked in booze. The chips/spirals are a bit easier to work with for the homebrewer. Regarding oxygen ingress, you can purge the barrel (both small and large) with CO2 before filling. As far as rapid extraction of barrel...

I have barrel aged at room temperature with no issues. The one thing to keep in mind is that you don't want to go too long as it will become more boozy (if you are using something like a whiskey barrel) the longer it sits in the barrel. There was a barrel aging seminar at Homebrew Con some...

Here is a thought that might make your life a bit easier. About two years ago I bought calibrated hydrometers from a scientific supply house that measure in degrees Plato (the numbers are smaller and easier to work with, plus I was a pro brewer for about 6 years and we measured in degrees...

I want to weigh in on this thread about the dangers of glass carboys. If you get the smallest crack, throw it away, as others have said. I have a number of them here that I use from time to time as brite vessels (a.k.a secondary fermenters, although I do not like to refer to them that way) and...

Passedpawn is totally right. Pour small amounts of the calibration solutions into small vessels, like shot glasses, do your calibrations, then throw the solutions away. Do not reuse them or return them to the original bottles. With care the shelf life of the buffers is about one year. You...

10 gallons of my Saison. Transferred it to the brite yesterday and dry hopped it.

I tend to agree although, I do BIAB. Scorching of husks and/or squeezing the grain bag could definitely extract tannins from the husks. I would try just letting the bag drain the next time. There are also so many other things mentioned the could be the culprit, these two seem to be the obvious...