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Blue Mountain is growing enough Cascade and Centennial for all of their Full Nelson and a couple of their other beers. From what I understand, we've got a pretty darn good climate for most hops, so if you've got enough sun I'd say pick whatever you'd like to brew with. I'm going to try planting...

I'm currently doing a batch of Northern Brewer's Chocolate Milk Stout. It's been in primary for about two weeks, and I was hoping to rack to secondary and add the cacao, but I'm concerned the gravity is still pretty high. My OG was 1.051, just what the recipe specifies. After two weeks, I'm...

If the 5 gal has a spigot at the bottom, then it's definitely the bottling bucket. There's no real need to use a secondary fermenter unless you're doing a few slightly advanced things (adding fruit or whatnot for flavoring, trying really hard to clarify, etc), but there are some advantages to...

The only problem I have with Whole Foods' draft beer is that their growler pricing can be a little frustrating. They'll usually have some decent stuff for $10 a fill. I like breweries that offer $8, but I can spring for $10 if I like the stuff. Then they'll also price some at $15 or $20, which...

Fermentation stops because the yeast are running out of sugar to eat. You just gave them a load of strawberries full of sugar, so they're going to start eating that and making more alcohol.

You could see if anybody at Fifth Season over on Preston knows. I've never dealt with the club myself, but I know they've done a demo there once or twice, so those guys might know something.

Short answer: Maybe. Long answer: Bottle conditioning (in a much cooler place than you fermented in, hopefully) will definitely change some flavors. Whether the flavor you're picking up fades or not is impossible to guarantee. It's also worth noting that the fact that your water was...

One of the best ways to educate your palate is to visit a brewery or two. Even if they don't have a tour where they go into detail about their styles and methods, most will at least have a bar where you can get a sampler and compare half a dozen beers. If you don't have any near you right now...

Yes and no. I'd say seasonal brews (lighter, smoother during the summer and heavier, hoppier during the winter as a very rough sketch) are probably bigger than regional brews. You'll still hear things like "west-coast style IPA," but these days you can find plenty of eastern breweries doing...

Another thing to watch out for: Once you've actually got it boiling, try and turn the temperature down just enough to keep it going. Leaving it all the way on max is a good way to wind up with LME burned to the bottom of your pot.

I've been to several bars that have something right by the taps that sprays water upwards into the glasses. Basically a bottle washer but designed primarily for glasses. I think the best home route to go is to get one of these, then build it into a home bar with at least a couple taps.

Are you drinking directly from the can or pouring into a glass? Depending on your hotel you may or may not have any decent glasses, but in my experience even a cheap plastic cup tastes miles better than drinking from the can.

My issue with cans is that proponents always mention how they can go places other beer can't. Parks, the beach, backpacking, etc. But when I have to drink directly from the can (which I would in most of those situations), I absolutely abhor the way the can tastes. I know the beer tastes fine...

If you're close enough to Durham, Fullsteam is a young brewery that's doing some real nice stuff. Last I checked they're not bottling, but their growlers look fantastic. Mother Earth is from a little farther east and are putting out some nice stuff. Not incredible, but definitely not bad.

My first batch was a Brewer's Best American pale ale. After two weeks in the bottle, they were certainly drinkable but there was a little bit of an odd taste to the finish. Very hard to describe, and not strong or terrible, but it annoyed me a little. After a month in the bottle, this taste had...

I spent a few months working in Cheyenne, WY over the spring and summer. Every single weekend we'd head down to Fort Collins to fill our growlers and get some samples at New Belgium and Odell. Now that I'm back in Virginia I miss the place something fierce. Odell really is a fantastic brewery...

I use a similar strainer to the one in the picture (mine's slightly smaller and doesn't quite sit on the lip of the bucket unless I add an extra support - I may hit Target looking for this one). Metal mesh. It strains out a whole crapload of pellet hops. To the point where it clogs up and I have...

Stick the bucket in the closet with the water heater, which stays a couple degrees warmer than the rest of my apartment.

I wouldn't worry too much. Your yeast is producing CO2, which is heavier than straight Oxygen and will push all of that dangerous air out of the bucket. As long as you're not constantly moving your bucket around you shouldn't have much to worry about. Of course, if you live in an environment...

This is almost (if not more) absurd than the whole distillation argument. How can anyone consider BrewDog's ridiculously strong beers irresponsible? On the website they're charging £40.00 for a single 330 ml bottle. That's $65. Does Alcohol Focus Scotland really expect people to spend that...