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I've been working on a single-hop citra IPA recipe, and something really strange happened with my latest iteration. I'm aiming for a lovely pale straw color, and my brewing software said that the SRM for this last batch should be 2. Somehow, it has come out much, much darker; between 8 and 9. My...

I started a Flanders red back in December (2017). After primary fermentation was done, I racked it to a bucket and added my additional yeast and bugs (Wyeast 3763 Roeselare Belgian sour blend). As of this week, there's what looks like the beginning of a pellicle; an oily sheen with some...

Hey everyone, I just hauled my fermenter out of the closet for bottling day, and there's something I've never seen before. Check out the black stuff in picture. It doesn't seem to be getting down into the beer, but I don't know what it is. Has anyone seen anything like this? Is it mold? Is it a...

I need to get the bottom one out of the top one. WD-40 hasn't worked so far. Any suggestions?

I just bottled an IPA that spent about four weeks in the secondary (dry hopping the last two). It was, by far, the clearest beer that I ever put into bottles. I'm trying to RDWHAHB, but I'm worried that the clarity means there isn't enough suspended yeast to carbonate the beer (I used my usual 4...

This past Sunday I started an IPA with an OG of 1.068. The wort temperature was 70 degrees and I pitched my yeast around 1:00 p.m. Three hours later I had about a 3/4-inch krausen, which was an extremely short lag time for me. The next morning I had krausen coming out of the airlock, so I...

We just had a massive storm move in, and I have some beer dry hopping in a secondary fermenter with very little head space. This morning I noticed some beer in the airlock, thanks to the air pressure drop. I'm tempted to just leave it, but is that a mistake? Everything is sanitized, and there...

I usually brew beers with a grain bill well over ten pounds, and I fly sparge. Because of this, I've never had a problem getting my target volume well before the gravity of the runnings hit 1.012. I'm about to brew a session IPA with a grain bill of eight pounds and a 90 minute boil, so I'm...

Hello everyone, I just ordered (and received!) the Flanders Red all-grain brewing kit from morebeer.com. It doesn't come with any recommendations for mash temperature, steps, etc. so I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for me. Here is the grain bill: 5 lbs Belgian Pilsner 5 lbs...

After chilling my wort, I've been aerating it using the simple method described by John Palmer in How to Brew: I pour it back and forth from the kettle to the bucket a couple of times before pouring it into the carboy. This does a nice job of aerating the wort, but it also produces a ton of...

Hello everyone, I sampled Dying Vines Hop Candi last week and loved it. I've been searching for a clone recipe, to no avail. Has anyone brewed anything like it? Feel like sharing? Thanks, Jesse

I just switched to StarSan from IO Star for my most recent batch. I love it, but since it's more expensive than StarSan, I'd like to mix up smaller batches, use a spray bottle, etc. I'm used to mixing up 5 gallon batches of sanitizer and submerging my tubing, autosiphon parts, and other smaller...

I've been reading all the threads on the Tap-A-Draft system (which I just bought) and I don't see an answer to my question. Probably because the answer is obvious and I'm just unfamiliar with my new equipment. Up to this point I've done regular bottling. I'm planning on priming my current brew...

I'm looking at the Stone Pale Ale clone from "The Craft of Stone Brewing Co." and their mash schedule calls for 20 minutes at 156 degrees F. I always thought that at least 30 minutes was required for conversion, with one hour being the safe bet. 20 minutes seems short to me. Has anyone brewed...

I have a 5-gallon mash tun/HLT set (converted Igloo coolers) that came with John Guest fittings, which are starting to bug me. The valves are really difficult to use. I'd like to trade everything out for metal fittings, but while I'm good at following instructions and putting things together, I...

I have a 5 gallon mash tun/HLT combo. I recently switched out the stainless steel coil that came with the mash tun for a false bottom, as I'd read that it's a more efficient method for lautering when fly sparging. Since I did that, I've had a really hard time getting to the clear wort during...

Okay, here we go; the ambient temperature in my kitchen is 70 Fahrenheit. I've calibrated my refractometer using filtered water, and I've been using it for the first time. Here are my numbers: OG: 1.061 SG, by hydrometer (I didn't have my refractometer when I started this brew) FG: By...

My refractometer arrived in the mail yesterday. I calibrated it, and then gave it a whirl today as I was racking my current batch to the secondary. My OG was 1.061, so when my refractometer gave a reading of 1.025 (after a week in the primary) without converting for the presence of alcohol, that...

When people say someone is "first generation American," they mean that person's parents are from the Old Country. So when I make a batch using a packet/smack pack/tube, is the yeast that I wash from that batch and then use to make a starter the first generation, or the second?

About a month ago I washed some Wyeast 1056 from an American pale ale. I've since done two batches with the washed yeast (one is finished, one is currently in the primary), and for both batches, the yeast were particularly clumpy. They seemed to do their job just fine, but I'm wondering if I...