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Hi All- I am hoping to make a Maibock Ale. I know Maibocks are traditionally lagers, but that just isn't going to happen with my set up. So here is my idea and I'd appreciate some commentary about what I am proposing. I am also really new to the 'creating a beer' thing, so there are...

Hi All- I am hoping to make a Maibock Ale. I know Maibocks are traditionally lagers, but that just isn't going to happen with my set up. So here is my idea and I'd appreciate some commentary about what I am proposing. I am also really new to the 'creating a beer' thing, so there are probably...

Hi All- After reading Palmer's and Papazian's book, they both advocate that after a beer is done in primary fermentation(when the kreusen has fallen), you should rack it over to a secondary fermenter. I am coming to learn that this 'conventional' idea isn't always the case. Many people...

Blackforest - thanks for the note. All grain requires 4 things I do not have: money, space, time and equipment(also part of money). As much as I would like to do that someday or at least play with it, partial mashing seems more tenable for me at the moment. I do appreciate the comment though...

Thanks again guys. Maybe I missed something then. I thought that aging in the bottles tended to take care of most of the fusels? Am I wrong about that? Or is this situational? In addition, I thought it was pretty standard to rack out of a primary generally within 1 weeks or so after the...

Hi All- I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Steve and I live in Iowa. I am a fairly new brewer, but have really taken to the hobby. So far I have brewered mainly kits from Northern Brewer including their American Wheat, Hefeweizen, Winter Warmer, Victorian Pils and now a Scottish...

I also wanted to mention that I am planning on putting this beer into secondary, and have it age on some oak for a while. I could see that enhancing some of the complexity. It may not be in the strict guidelines of the style, but I wanted to experiment with using oak and this brew seems like a...

Hi All- Thank you all for the responses! Fermentation temperature was mid-upper 60s, but NOT greater than 70 degrees. I live in Iowa and the temperature has been a balmy 10 degrees outside lately, the fermenter is in my bedroom which is the coldest room. I did taste the beer and there were...

Hey All- I bought a Northern Brewer Scottish Wee Heavy Extract kit. I made a 40 or so ounce yeast starter, with 2 packs of dry Danistar Nottingham yeast. Yeast starter was strong. The Wee Heavy before pitching had a gravity of 1.090. Now the instructions for the Wee Heavy say that it is...

Hey All- I am not sure this in the correct forum, but I feel it is somewhat of a beginners question. I have a stomach virus or something that has been affecting me for the last few days. I thought I was better yesterday, but still had some problems. Anyway, I wanted to start a new brew...

Hey All- So I have used the 'swamp cooler' method before, generally just wrapping a wet towel around a carboy while fermentation is happening. Sometimes I blow a fan on it too. I typically used this method when my apartment got very warm > 70-75 degrees to cool the brew down. With winter...

Hey All- Again thanks for all of the comments. Yeah, this one may not be ready for homecoming in a couple of weeks, but our home schedule for football is STACKED! So I think I may have a good beer, ready to roll, for later games this season in 1-2 months. Hopefully by then it will have...

Hey All- Tonight I bottled a modified version of a papazian recipe, the Garden Grand Cru, on p 192 of his book. Instead of adding 2 lbs of honey, I added closer to 4lbs. I also added an extra lb or so of malt extract(total about 6 lbs of light dried extract). Fermentation went fine...

Hey All- I just wanted to say thank you all for sending these response, I appreciate them. I have done the swamp cooler in the past, and did try to do it with this brew as well. I will definitely do it again in the future if the temperature is at all high. I thought maybe doing some aging...

Hey All- New question for you all. On Sunday I started a new batch of beer, it is a Bavarian Hefe Extract kit I got from Northern Brewer. I used the Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan yeast from Activator and made a starter. Anyway, MANY of the reviews of the product suggested a fermentation...

Hey All- I am new to the forums! I just started brewing beer over the summer and have really been enjoying the experience. I am thinking about moving into winemaking as well. I would like to start with a wine kit, probably one of the Winexpert kits. My main goal for doing a kit is to learn...