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You are showing me a sediment filter. It will not take chlorine or chloramines out of your brewing water, only dirt and sand larger than 5 microns. The plastic taste may be from the filter, or it may be an unrelated infection. Replace it with a carbon filter, run water through the filter for...

If you are afraid of it, dump it. Nobody in this forum will advise you to drink something that may harm you.

Sounds like an infection to me.

Don't sweat the exposure to oxygen. It is overrated. Do worry about sanitation. If you must sample, use a sanitized "thief," available from your homebrew vendor. Your hydrometer will fit in it. When you are done taking the reading, taste the sample. And RDWHAHB.

Both Northern Brewer and Midwest Supply are great if you don't have a good local store. I used them extensively until my LHBS opened up about eight months ago.

Longer than a week is ok. In fact, two weeks is recommended, but I would need more info about the original gravity of your beer and the temperature at which you are keeping it before I could advise you on how long to keep it in secondary. I secondary my lagers at 40 degrees F for eight to...

I have pitched two packs. Fermentation starts faster, finishes sooner. Another option is to pitch one pack and save the other. Then you have a backup in case of a yeast failure. That has happened to me, also.

Six tablespoons of Oxiclean and hot tap water, leave it overnight and all the gunk just disappears. Drain it, rinse it, leave it inverted to drain. I do a final rinse with distilled water because my tap water is very hard and leaves spots. I use Sun Oxygen Cleaner because it is cheaper...

Two-hearted clone.

Oh heck, I thought this thread was about me. Oh well. All kidding aside, I can answer affirmatively to the question at the end of Recluse's original post. I even bought some amylase enzyme to make a light beer, and I just can't bring myself to do it. I like full-bodied beers. My friends...

The show with Calagione didn't last long. I think there was a Modern Marvels episode on The History Channel about breweries. I remember seeing train car loads of malt, and giant fermenters at the Budweiser factory. If you have time to read instead of just watching TV, get a copy of Travels...

I'm going to recommend the Sam Calagione book, Extreme Brewing. Lots of pictures, great starter book. After that, get How To Brew by John Palmer, which goes into the nuts and bolts and can take you into all-grain brewing and lagering.

Is this an extract brew or all-grain?

Use a blowoff tube with this ale. I have cleaned beer off my ceiling, so I know. Gunk gets up into the airlock, blocking the escape of carbon dioxide, and then you have a successful missile launch. (Don't tell the North Koreans.) I don't always use a blowoff tube, but I brew mostly...

This, for me, is what the homebrewing experience is about. Try stuff. Take notes. Learn. Thank you, grimzella.

I know exactly what you mean by that "home brew flavor." After almost four years of brewing I don't notice it anymore. Why? Some theories: 1. My beers have improved, along with my brewing techniques. 2. I have sampled many commercial beers that taste like my homebrew and some that weren't...

Since you mentioned Winchester, I'll give you one to avoid: Piccadilly's Public House in Winchester. They brew their own wretched beer on site, and the food isn't that great, either. I can recommend places that have great beer selections in Winchester, but that isn't what you are asking for.

An advantage to hydrating is that you can smell the hydrated yeast and tell if it is okay. I have gotten bad Notty in the past. After I hydrated it, it just didn't smell right, but I pitched it anyway and was not surprised when it didn't work.

You're on the right track.

I have a Marzen boiling right now, just waiting for the next hop addition.