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I recently made the leap after several years of extract brewing to all grain brewing. Several folks on this board said it would happen...they were right... Anyway, to make things easier, I bought all grain kits (unmilled) to start with. I was excited to find the OG of my Northern...

Got the Williams O2 system with the wand. Question- in between brews should I remove the regulator from the O2 cylinder, or leave it on the cylinder in the off postion??? Methinks I should take it off. Thnks! Pez.

So I built a hop spider using a paint strainer bag that will hang on the side of the pot. The ring is made of galvanized steel ductwork. The steel is several inches abover the water level so even a rolling boil won't touch it. Question - do I have to worry about steam condensing on the...

Yeah, I know I said I wasn't going full grain..... Anyway, I decided on Bobby M's "no mash out double batch sparge" method to start with. I will be utilizing a rectangular cooler and brewing mostly low to moderate gravity beers (under 1.065). Saw an Coleman extreme 36 quart with a...

Fess up. Do you have a beer you like that you hope no other beer nerds see you buy??? You know, one you drink in private? On hot Summer days here in Texas I sometimes buy a sixer of Bud in the bottles, stick em in the freezer till the necks start to freeze, and drink them during outdoor...

After reading numerous posts concerning blow offs, dirty ceilings, etc, etc, etc, I decided to post this PSA. ALWAYS, always, always use a blow off tube. You cannot predict when it will happen. It can happen with ANY beer. The prescription is not more cowbell, but a blow off...

O.K., was brewing Nbs Inkeeper, and it was my first kit from them that included the new Hop Union sealed bags. The kit came with EKG, Fuggle, and Styrian Golding. I always smell and taste my hop additions, mostly to train myself to recognize and appreciate different hops. I noticed...

As of now I do four to four and a half gallon boils on my electric cooktop, and can do it relatively quickly and keep it at a rolling boil, even with top-offs. Along with our kitchen counter upgrade we want to buy a gas cooktop. I found one with an 18,000 btu "boil station" high output...

Just bottled the above beer. This beer sat in primary exactly one month before I bottled. Active fermentation started quickly (I use a one liter starter) and lasted for quite a while. Fermentation temp was held to 68-70 degrees. The beer cleared very well (I use whirlfloc) and...

In my two years of extract with grains brewing I've only had three instances of blowoff. All of these were kits with Pilzen LME as the main fermentable. Yes, I use a blowoff setup with every brew.:) One blowoff was a cream ale with Wyeast Am ale yeast and another a belgian using...

I am an extract brewer who brews close to full volume worts. I wish to add a weldless kettle valve to my BK in order to make transfer to my carboy easier and safer. Question- Will a kettle valve used with a half-inch barb and transfer tubing clog up with pellet hop residue, or...

The Midwest Irish Stout (330) kit turned out great! I brew alot of Northern Brewer Kits, but I'll be making this one again. Kit is 6 lbs LME, crystal 40, roasted malt, chocolate malt, and flaked barley. 1.5 OZ hops, and I used Wyeast Irish Ale. Beer is very smooth, some...

Before long it will be time for me to brew up some dubbels and Abbey/Trappist style ales. I enjoy these in the fall. I had a thought to say a blessing at the start of brewing for my Abbey-style Belgians just to be a little more "authentic" to the style. Does anyone else do...

Am going to brew up a Northern Brewer Honey Weizen Kit for SWMBO as soon as my English Pale Ale hits secondary - and suddenly realized I have yet to brew a wheat beer! The kit is 6 pounds wheat LME, 1 pound clover honey, 1 oz. Tettnang (60 min) and Wyeast 1010 American Wheat. My...

I use whirlfloc tablets and have been blessed with respectably clear bottle-conditioned beers. I also noticed that my beer seemed a bit more clear after sitting in the fridge for 3-4 days. (as long as I could wait!) So I am wondering if cold crashing in secondary would give...

So far, I've only used Wyeast activiators, but would like to keep a packet or two of dry yeast on hand in case of a brewing emergency. What is a good all-around dry yeast? Was thinking Notty at first, but..... I brew mostly Ales with 0Gs of 1.05 or less. Pales Ales, Irish reds...

Am going to bottle my first homebrew tonight with the help of SWMBO. This is NB's Irish Red Ale. The kit says the OG is 1.040, so I didn't take a reading. Anyway my FG three days running is 1.012. Is this a reasonable figure considering the starting point? I've read you are good...

The only part of my deluxe brewing kit from Northern Brewer I don't like is the 3 piece plastic thief. It dribbles beer. So, what is the best thing out there? I saw a glass one that looks good, but with a glass carboy I'm just going to assume it will eventually break during sampling...

I will be ordering/brewing Northern Brewer's Honey Brown Ale soon. The recipe kit calls for Wyeast American Ale. I happen to have a fesh smack pack of American Ale II on hand. See any problems at all with this yeast? I am a new brewer, please go easy if this is a Duh!... type...

I have a Red Ale wort cooling at the moment. However, my Wyeast smack-pack (Am Ale II) hasn't inflated that I can tell 7 hours post smacking. The Yeast has a June date, but may have gotten hot during shipping. Should I : 1. Pitch it and hope for the best 2. Let the wort sit...