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I like to use Kolsch yeast for a lot of different styles, and change my fermentation temperature to pull different characteristics. For example, I'm fermenting a Cream Ale right now at 68, but would like to reuse that yeast for an American Wheat and ferment that at 63. Can anyone tell me if...

I would like to use a Kolsch yeast for an American Wheat. Normally, when I use the Kolsch yeast to make...well, a Kolsch...my yeast pitch rate is based upon a hybrid style...more than an ale, less than a lager. If I'm using a Kolsch to make an American Wheat, is my cell count based upon a...

I bought a perforated stainless steel sheet from McMaster-Carr to build a false bottom for my brewing kettles. When I took it to my welder to cut it and weld a stand for it, he said it was mild steel and not good for food grade applications. Anyone know anything about "mild steel" and food...

Everyone - I am in need of some advice regarding reusing stainless steel drums, as I just don't know enough about SS. I am looking at acquiring some stainless steel drums that were previously used to store water-based ink. Does anyone have any idea if something like this could be cleaned and...

Last year I filled up a 5 gallon bucket with freshly picked hops, but I never thought of weighing them to see how much I ended up with. Anyone got a general estimate on how many ounces you'd get out of a 5 gallon bucket? Planning a wet-hopped brew when I pick them, but trying to figure out how...

I'm brewing a fresh hop beer. I know that I have to increase the amount of fresh hops (5 to 6 times that of pellet hops), but what about any adjustments to the amount of strike and sparge water? Will all of those fresh hops soak up a lot of the wort? I want to make sure I end up with 5.5...

I'd like to do Jamil's Weizenbock recipe and it calls for 10 pounds of dark wheat malt. Well, I have a 50# sack of regular Wheat malt sitting here, and I'd rather use that than spend the $20 on 10 pounds of dark wheat malt. Any ideas on how I might be able to adapt this grain bill for the use...

My plan is to do 10 gallons of Porter and split it - one with chocolate and one without. I use a Therminator chiller, so my plan is to run 5 gallons through the chiller and into a fermenter. Then, with 5 gallons left in my boil kettle and still at about 200 degrees, I was going to add my...

I'll be conditioning my Belgian Dark Strong in a keg for approximately 6 months, at which point I will use my bottling gun to bottle the batch. Is there any benefit to carbonating it as soon as I keg it or wait to carbonate until it is almost bottling time?

After doing plenty of research, it turns out I probably screwed up by brewing a Belgian Dubbel (1.071 OG) and pitching it onto a Belgian Dark Strong (1.086 OG) WLP530 yeast cake. Screwed up as in pitching a smaller beer onto a bigger beer's cake AND using a cake from a big beer to begin with...

I made an IPA that was dry-hopped. When I kegged it, I thought it had the hop presence I was looking for. After I tapped it, it just didn't quite have it. Does anyone see any issue with dry hopping (again) in the keg? I've dry hopped in the keg before...I put the hops in a sack and tie...

I'm brewing a Chocolate Stout and an IPA on Friday (both have an OG of 1.066). I have a vial of WLP001 and a packet of US-05. I'm looking for thoughts on which style I should use the WLP001 and which one the US-05. Is the WLP001 better off in the stout or the IPA?

I have two cornys full of Oktoberfest...but only room for one keg in my lagering fridge. Is there any issue with letting the second keg sit in my basement (around 65 degrees) for about a month and THEN lager it? Or do lagers need to lager immediately upon kegging/bottling?

I've got a barley wine that's been sitting in secondary for 9 months and is ready to be bottled. I have a Blichmann beer gun that I use for bottling from my kegs. My question - is there any advantage/disadvantage for bottling the barley wine using the beer gun (rack to keg....force...

I brewed a Classic Rauchbier that was very good, but I want MORE smoke! Here is my recipe: 5# Beechwood Smoked Malt 5# Pilsener 1.75# Munich .75# Caramunich .25# Melanoiden .13# Black Patent 1.5 oz Hallertau 60 .5 oz Hallertau 10 I've read that you can go 100% of your grist with...

This is just a silly question - but am curious to some of your thoughts. We all know that lager-style beers (Oktoberfest, Bocks, etc...) require cold-conditioning called "lagering" to clear the beer and make it more smooth. However, in looking at my process, don't my ales lager as well...

I've got a fermenter full of an IIPA and I'd like to wash and resuse the yeast (WLP001) for a porter I want to brew this weekend. I've never used washed yeast so soon after washing (normally it'll sit in mason jars for 3-4 weeks before making a starter with it and reusing). Considering that...

I've been using Fermcap to control my foaming/boilovers when I create starters and during my boil. I've read a few things online in regards to people using it to control the amount of krausen that forms during fermentation. Anyone using it specifically for this purpose? If I added Fermcap...

I just ran my grain through my mill and for the most part I got an excellent crush....but I saw quite a bit of unmilled grain. Is there any harm in me running it through the mill again?

I brewed an American Premium Lager with Wyeast 2007 Pilsen Lager yeast. My OG was 1.060 (which I overshot by 4 points) and the recipe indicated finishing at 1.010. It fermented steady at 50 degrees. 8 days ago I was at 1.027 and starting bringing the temperature up to mid 60s for a diacetyl...