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I have been looking around for oak barrels to age a lambic. I am looking for a 5 gallon barrel, in particular. I see that Northern Brewer has them (http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/french-oak-barrel-5-gallon.html) but the issue would be the harshness of fresh oak on the delicate lambic...

I am planning on adding Wyeast 5526 Brettanomyces Lambicus to a beer that was at 1.048 and is now around 1.010. (A month or so in primary). Will this work? Should I add some type of sugar source for the Brett?

I need educated opinions on my brew from last weekend. I'll give the recipe used and then the issues I have with it. The recipe: Brewed 11/19 3 gallon batch 2lbs White Wheat 3lbs Pale Malt (6 row) 1lbs Pale Malt (2 row) 1lbs Steel Cut Oats 2lbs Chocolate Wheat .5 oz Cascade 60...

What are the top 5 EXPERIMENTAL US craft breweries? IMO (not in order): 1. Dogfish Head 2. Odell 3. Allagash 4. Cigar City 5. Goose Island?

So here is the deal: I need to have better control over the temperature of my yeast cultures. The ambient temperature of my room has been dropping as the fall quickly approaches. This is causing problems with the yeast streak plates I'm culturing out. I really need to come up with a good idea...

How can I realistically differentiate yeast strains? (i.e. The difference between champagne yeast and beer yeast). I am getting into culturing yeast (plate cultures) and I want to understand how to tell the yeasts I am working with apart from each other.

Can someone explain to me, in detail, how to make agar. I have the materials needed (agar, malt extract, etc). I am planning on streaking some yeast very soon and I just want to make sure that I do this right.

I have recently grown in interest in wine and the making of. I decided to make a very basic grape juice wine pitching champagne yeast. (Nothing special). I also decided to buy some apple juice and pitch a very old packet of safale s-33 (that I got for free due to its expiration during the...

I have been working on an experimental wild yeast cultivation and it has been roughly two weeks and smells really funky. I dont know how to describe it really. Vegetal maybe? Is this worth the two gallon jug space they are taking up? The SG has dropped from 1.045 to 1.020. To dump or not to dump?

I posted a thread already about cultivating wild yeast: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/wild-yeast-experiment-258190/ I made two starters and pitched them into two separate 1/2 gallons of step-up wort. The SG of each of them has dropped to around 1.015 (~4% alcohol) now a week after...

At what pH/ABV does beer become safe from any human pathogen?

WILD YEAST CULTURE EXPERIMENT [Ok before I even start I know that there are other threads on here about this and I have read most of them. I just wanted to start anther threat to discuss what I am doing and get some feedback.] My Motivation: I am a curious person by nature and after...

I am currently a senior and will graduate next spring (2012) with a B.S. in Human Nutrition. I'm trying to find a way into the brewing industry, more specifically, becuase I want to someday open a brewpub. I am a home brewer and have a decent understanding of the associated processes. My...

What are the opinions on mixing coffee and star anise into a stout? Would they go well together you think or are they better off separate from eachother? Just an idea.

I recently read "Brewing Up A Business" which left me wondering a few things. I have read different opinions on the stability of brewpubs vs. pure microbreweries. What would technically be considered the safer business venture, a brewpub or a microbrewery? Just looking for educated opinions I...

Why is Oak the accepted wood to age beer on? Typically only oak is used and I want to know why not maple, cherry, sycamore, etc?

What would the result be like if I used cherries that an imperial stout sat on in another batch of brew? The cherries still have flavor after a month in secondary and I hate to just throw them away. Its either use them in another brew somehow or make a (black forest-type) cake.

I was just thinking about it and I was wondering if the higher levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in tart cherries would help prevent oxidation in beer? What do you think? Are there high enough levels of the acid to make an impact?

I sanitized a carboy with bleach and it smells like bleach now after rinsing it out. I've rinsed with water but it still smells. Will this be enough chlorine to alter the taste of the beer?

I have a question that may show my inexperience. I have a stout sitting on cherries that were dried. I knew that the cherries would rehydrate and suck up some of the beer. I'm just wondering how much of the fruit will be fermented out? Will the yeast eat a significant portion of the fruit...