Search results

No, but Guinness is a stout in it's own class. There is not other stout like it, so don't use it as your bench mark. There are lots of other great stouts on the market that are made without CO2 injection, or processed with widgets when canned, so I would aim for something that doesn't require an...

So I cracked my first all grain tonight, and I'm having some reservations. The real problem with all grain, is that I can't imagine that the beer on tap at my local is ever going to cut it again, and they have some decent beer to choose from. The thing is that I like having a few pints there to...

The yeast I used was Wyeasst 1214, which should have handled high alcohol beers. Unfortunately I did not use a starter, which may have been the reason that fermentation cut short. Regardless, do I understand correctly that even thou I didn't hit my desired gravity, that there should still be...

They are in the basement right now, but it isn't exactly 'cold' down there. I will move them upstairs to see if that makes a difference. I used a little less than 3/4 cup priming sugar.

I’m in the process of brewing a Belgian Strong Pale Ale, and it has been in the bottles for 2 weeks. It was in the primary for about 8 days, and the fermentation had pretty much stopped – one bubble per min or less, and the krausen fell a few days before that. It fermented vigorously for 6 days...

A quick question - what do you recomend a 5 gallon carboy cap and a 6.5 gallon carboy cap. I assume this is because you have two different sized carboys? I am new to brewing, but my guess is the smaller carboy is your secondary? I have two carboys that I believe are 6.5 gallon, so in this case I...

I’m contemplating doing a Bavarian Weizen, and have a few questions since I am tinkering with a recipe a bit so that I don’t have all kinds of leftovers – the ingredients are obviously not sized exactly for my batch. I’m using the Promash evaluation program to adjust as needed, and this will be...

No starter. Not quite sure how to do that yet, and equally newbe like, I aerate by shaking the hell out of it after I pitch. The aeration method will not likely change for the next few batches, but if someone could point me to the best way to do a starter that would be great. I plan on doing a...

I’ve only brewed two batches of beer, and this is the first time that I have transferred to a secondary. It was in the primary for about 8 days, and the fermentation had pretty much stopped – one bubble per min or less, and the krausen fell a few days back. It fermented vigorously for 6 days...

Can't disagree with that idea. I'm working on it... ;)

I got impatient, and popped my very first homebrew today at lunch. It has only been in the bottle for a week, but I couldn’t wait. Unfortunately it was so damn good that I can’t see how a store bought beer will ever cut it again. I can’t believe how good it was! The head was perfect, the colour...

Hello all, I'm about to rack my second brew to the secondary, and was wondering about timing. I know that a good guess as to when to do this is after the krausen has fallen, and the fermentation has almost stopped, but I was wondering how crucial it is to do this fast. Here is my situation...

Yeah, I cooked another batch up on the weekend, and I will definately pick up a bottling wand before I bottle that batch. But, I'm glad to hear that a little extra head space will not make a difference for this batch. Thanks for the tip. Rob

I bottled my first batch last night, and it went smoother than I thought. I don’t have a bottling wand or a dishwasher, so I had a bit more labour involved, but I sanitized, and rinsed and I’m sure that part went fine, but because I didn’t have a bottling wand, I had to clamp off the hose with...

Later this afternoon I will be bottling my first batch, and I have a few questions. First off, I do not have a bottling wand or a bottling bucket, but I do have one of the plastic fermenters without a spigot. I plan to rack the beer into the sterilized plastic bucket, after having boiled ¾ cup...

Thanks for setting all of that straight for me. I think I have a better understanding, and although I can see that the hydrometer should be used with a 'grain of salt', I feel more comfortable now knowing that the beer is sitting in a normal range around 5%. I didn't have a lot of action in the...

In the vein of Kevin K’s recent post, I wonder if someone could help me out with some calculations. I didn’t get a good reading of my OG, but here is the extract + steeped grain recipe I followed: 2 kg (4.4 pounds) Extra light DME 1.5 pounds of Medium Crystal steeped slowly until the...

The message header about sums it up. I'm preping to bottle my first homebrew and need to know if I can use the Dextrose on sale at my local health food store for bottle conditioning, or if corn sugar is something different. Thanks for the help. Rob

I started my first homebrew exactly a week ago today, and the fermentation lock has slowed to about 1 burp per minute already. Should I be concerned about this? I had not planned to rack to a secondary, but to simply let it go for two weeks in the primary, but if it is slowed to 1 bubble per...

Good day all. I’m new to this forum, and glad that I found it. Can’t wait to indulge in my new hobby. Two nights ago I attempted my first homebrew, and I had a few problems. Now I'm impatient and want to know if I ruined my batch. I was following the first brew recipe in Randy Mosher's...