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I brewed for the first time in 9 months today. Making a brew with my Homegrown hops harvested last week. Normally I brew every month and have fresh yeast or fresh slurry to use. But because I had not brewed for a long time I didn't have any fresh yeast. I found several old packs of yeast in...

I have a beer coming up that needs lemon zest and coriander. Is there any problem with adding the juice from the lemons to the fermenter? I have heard there could be issues with adding citrus juice (lemon, orange, etc.).

I've been using FermCap for the past 10 years and it has worked great. 1 drop per gallon in the kettle eliminates boil-overs, and 1 drop per gallon in the fermenter minimizes blow-off. Saved a lot of mess and lost beer over the years. My current bottle of FermCap is almost empty, but I do...

I've used FermCapS for the past 10 years with no issues. 2 drops per gallon in the boil, and then additional drops in the fermenter to get to 2 drops per gallon total (I partial boil). It has worked great preventing boil-overs (4+ gallons in a 5 gallon pot) and minimizing blow-off (6.5 gallons...

I just woke up my oldest yeast (Trois - sacc, previously listed as Brett). Building up a starter, should be ready to pitch next weekend. I have not been brewing too much recently and am looking for suggestions as to what I should do with this yeast. Last several brews: - Centennial Pale Ale...

I grow a lot of hops, and usually end up tossing a lot of them because I have too many of a certain type and no freezer space to store them. So I thought ... Is there any way of extracting the valuable oils from the hops so that I didn't have to use up a lot of freezer space. How are hop oils...

Planning on brewing a Pale Ale this weekend and am wondering if my choice of Munich will be too much, and would I be better off using some more Pale Malt and a little Crystal instead. 75% Pale Malt 20% Munich 5% Flaked Wheat Yeast: Brett (from Bruery - fruity, strain unknown) Hops: Mix of...

I usually have some Pale and Pilsner malts as my main stays for most beers. I also have Munich. Vienna, and Ashbourne for more malty brews. My Pale Malt is running low (probably go 3 more brews), and needing to get more. I'll probably get the cheapest bag of Pale out there (Briess or Rahr...

I have heard that it is not advisable to use citrus juices in beer, so I never have. Does anyone know if there really is a problem, and what the issue is? I often use the zest of fruit in beers, and just eat the fruit. Not a big deal, but why not use the juice too? Next up is a Simcoe Pale...

Long brew days are stopping me from brewing as much as I would like. A couple of hours mash/sparge, then heat to boiling, and hour+ boil, then hop steep, cool, and transfer, all adds up to about 5+ hours. If I could mash in the evening, and then in the morning heat the wort up while getting...

My first attempt was a flop. I think it was because I did't appreciate the need to use starter liquid, and the batch got contaminated. The scoby came from a GT bottle and grew, and I just used some tea my Daughter had around the house, but I wasn't going to drink it with the mold growing on...

The acid conversion is an aerobic process, so during the ferment, the scoby needs to have access to oxygen to sour the brew. When it comes to bottling, is there any benefit to minimizing splashing and aeration, to minimize (or slow) the development of further acid. I could use a racking cane...

I've made a lot of beer and use Initial and Final gravity to measure amount of attenuation, residual sugars, and alcohol. In essence, determine if and when it is complete (and other information about the beer. Is there any way to similarly monitor a Kombucha fermentation to determine if most...

My first batch was 1 gallon. Went pretty well. I bottled in beer bottles and capped. Tastes great, but no carbonation. I did not add anything at bottling. The bottles were left at room temp for a couple of weeks, and have since been in the cold in the garage. What do I need to do to...

I have a basic Porter brewing: Partial Mash recipe (8.5 lbs grain): 3.5 lbs Pale Malt 1.25 lbs C75 1.25 lbs Chocolate Malt 1 lb Coffee Malt 1 lb Munich Malt 0.5 lbs Flaked Wheat 4 lbs Pale LME 0.75 lbs Pale LME to add at racking. Recipe is for 7.5 gallons to get OG of 1.058, and 45 IBUs...

I've never used wheat grains in a mash. I've only ever used Wheat extract. I'm now doing partial mashes, with 8+ lbs of grain. I get 85%+ efficiency, so don't add much extract/additional sugars to most brews. I'd like to experiment and add some wheat to some beers. There seems to be a...

I just read a thread about making an Eis-Beer, and wondered what makes a good one. Hoppy, Roasty, Belgian, ??????? Tis the season where we can put fermenters outside and get some freezing. Seriously thinking about taking maybe 2.5 gallons and reducing it by half over a couple of iterations...

Has anyone else had this problem? My plastic Big Mouth Bubbler has developed a number of bubbles/blisters on the inside walls. It seems the plastic is de-laminating. The blisters are oval shaped, about a quarter inch wide and a third inch long. I probably have about 20 of them of varying...

Anyone used both of these to compare? Anyone used 5-Star. I've used FermCap for years and have had good results. I use about 2 drops per gallon (try to be sightly less), and it works great to prevent boil-overs, and minimizes blow-offs (except for some Belgian yeasts that seem to ignore...

Thinking of getting some of this malt. Anyone used it. Sounds intriguing. "Distinguishes well balanced flavor and aroma profile. The typical dry biscuit combined with sweet malty and honey taste with a touch of chocolate." My only reservation is that I really hate Honey Malt. How...