Search results

Earlier this year I fermented out two batches of mead, one using raspberry honey and 71B-1122 which came out to 13.5% ABV, and another using orange blossom honey and D47 which came out to 11.2% ABV. The orange blossom mead D47 batch crapped out early at 1.036 and attempts to restart it have...

Picked up a 23 cubic foot chest freezer on craigslist for 100 bucks and it was on. Didn't intend to make one this big initially, but hey the opportunity knocked and I couldn't say no. lol It's a little dirty but works flawlessly and I love having the stout faucet. The imperial chocolate stout...

I've got a pale ale in primary at the moment that fermented at about 85 degrees. Due to the 104+ heat wave and my curiosity/laziness, I made no effort to cool this batch off to be within normal fermentation temps. Mostly because my brew fridge is full of kegs at the moment and I don't feel...

Bored today so I'm toying with the idea of brewing up something tomorrow. I have extra honey laying around from all the mead making so I figured I'd incorporate it into a beer. Haven't done a dark beer in a long time so I think it's time again. 7lb 2 row - 51.9% 2lb Flaked Oats - 14.8%...

Well it's the end of November and that means it's time to make some new batches of mead. I went down to Sacramento Beekeeping Supplies today with plans on purchasing 18 pounds or orange blossom honey for an experiment I've been wanting to try for a long time. When I got there, I saw that they...

I have a batch of mead that I made 11 months ago that I've been bulk aging, and I'm going to bottle on the 1 year mark. I'll be bottling in 750ml wine bottles with my floor corker but I've yet to decide on what corks to use. The majority of this mead will be consumed within the year most...

I emailed Vinnie over at Russian River and he sent me the pdf clone recipe for Pliny the Elder. I've searched a bit on here but I can't seem to find anyone that's actually used this recipe exactly. If anyone has made this, how did it turn out? How much grain in pounds did you wind up...

I've seen a lot of threads on tips and ways to maximise the efficiency of your wort from the mash, but I'm still a bit confused as to how you would come up with that percentage. I've been trying to find a topic that goes over how to do this, but I can't seem to find one. Is there a topic or...

How many of you have entered your meads into homebrew competitions? If you have, what kind/style did you enter and how well did it do?

I've seen a couple different measurements on how much mash water to use per pound of grain, but is there a good all around number to use per pound for a standard 5 gallon batch? Also, does this number change when doing step mashing of any kind, or using a protein rest?

I'm looking at purchasing a kegging system from midwest today or tomorrow, and I'm trying to get the best kit for my money, but I still do not want something lower quality that I will have to replace soon. I want a two keg system with a double gauge regulator, and I've found these two products...

This weekend I'm going to be brewing up a big trippel with an estimated OG of 1.090 (after some belgian candy sugar is added in the boil). I've seen from a few sources that the first runnings or wort out of the mash tun can be used for a big beer, and the second runnings can be used for a...

I have an old 15.5 gallon keg that I'd like to turn into a keggle but I have no access to welding equipment. Has anyone here taken a keg into a welding shop and had them cut out the top for them? Do you usually have them cut as close to the wall of the keg as possible? Also, for a job...

I have an orange blossom mead that has been sitting in primary for roughly two and a half months, that still seems to be actively fermenting and is still almost as cloudy as the day I pitched. I started out with an OG of 1.136 with plenty of aeration and 1 tsp of fermaid K. I pitched...

For those of you who have had Ranger IPA, the hops smell on that beer is incredible. I'd like to brew up an IPA that has that kind of punch you in the face hop smell to it, but I'm not sure if it would come from dry hopping, or adding a massive amount of aroma hops in the last minute of the...

So I sampled my bochet for the first time last night and it kind of reminded me somewhat of a port wine, with lots of alcohol and some residual sweetness. It got me thinking that I may want to age it with an oak spiral or something to impart some of that flavor. Has anyone done this with a...

I've looked everywhere online and I don't think I've ever seen any 750ml black glass wine bottles anywhere for sale. I know they exist since I see them at the store when certain wineries use them, but I can't find them anywhere. What I want to do is etch my labels in the glass using one of...

I know it sounds odd, but I was thinking of classic things that go well with honey and I saw a jar of honey mustard in the fridge and thought, what about a honey mustard mead? I blew off the idea at first since it's probably the last thing I'd think to put in a mead, but then I got to thinking...

Well in the last week and a half I've created my first two batches of mead. For my first batch I made a traditional mead with 17 pounds of orange blossom honey. I did not heat the honey at all. The starting gravity of this batch was 1.112. I added 1 teaspoon of Fermaid K and dropped in my...