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IMO you usually want to sparge for 30 mins, 45 MAX. Don't fall into the over efficiency crowd.

Rather than PH, did you use water that was too hot (above 180F) or over rinsing (longer than 30-45 mins)? That can bring out lots of tannins from the grain. I know everyone likes to boast efficiency on this forum, but anything over 80% means you are over rinsing your grain. (which works out...

Yeah, let us know how they turn out. One thing to know though, a while back a friend made a batch of pumpkin ale with lots of spices. When it was time to drink it it tasted pretty putrid and nothing like pumpkin. We later found out he put too many spices in it (he had somehow doubled the...

I've done some reading that Aluminum oxide is thought to be a leading link to Alzheimer disease, it has some controversy though. Regardless it's a known fact that aluminum oxide transfers to things it comes in contact with. Stainless steel doesn't. Not to mention I hate the scratching and...

It cost me $35 to swap out my 20 lb tank. Food grade, biologically produced CO2 (in a glass lined tank) from my LHBS. Don't get CO2 any other way. You don't want the petroleum derived CO2 or CO2 in a rust tainted steel tank. Make your beer food grade.

7 Beers on Tap (SS perlick faucets). I have it rigged with 7 CO2 dispensing manifolds @ 8psi, and 3 manifolds dispensing @ 15 psi for carbonating. The freezer fits 9 kegs, so I'll have 2 spares ready to go or carbonating. The Artwork in the background is a series of futuristic 1920's panels I...

I had the same thing happen with me and my blueberry wheat beer I made. I made it at the same time as a batch of blueberry wine which at that point was the same way. Here's what happened with me, and I'll let you derive if it is applicable to you or not. For the first 2 months the beer (and...

You need to let your beer condition in the fridge. There's more to carbonation than just the priming sugar. I'm force carbonating my beer, and it takes 10 days-2weeks to carbonate at 34 degrees. If it was at room temp during carbonation it would never carbonate to a desirable level. - hence no...

Yeah I've got my first two HG brews fermenting right now, and I'm going to secondary/age them in the keg. They both need to age for 6 months (after fermentation) before drinking, and can age as long as a year if I want. So be ready for that kind of a wait period. One of the advantages to...

I've never understood the priming in the keg deal. If you can't afford a system, why not just use the hand held charger or toss in a cube of dry ice? Just seems like a whole bunch of mess and clean up for nothing.

When you say "strong" do you mean High Gravity, like above 10% alcohol? Because it will need to be aged longer if it is. I don't think it matters, the only reason for a cork now-a-days is for show, especially in beer. And you're not making champagne, so no need for strong bottles, or high...

1) Usually age my beer 1 month after fermentation 2) Are you using a recipe? Most recipes (that are published or from brew stores) should tell you optimal instructions for aging. If not, you should invest in a book, they're not hard to find on amazon, and will be of great use if you don't have...

One thing no one has picked up on, make sure all your plastics are food safe. One of the big differences with AG versus extract brewing is how much plastic comes in contact with hot liquids. Most "food-safe" plastics are only food safe to 100 degrees F like vinyl or PVC. I did a test with...

Hey Guys, rant time. I just wanted to clear up the food grade argument, as no one has clearly addressed it. First and foremost, yes, a lot of people are correct, there is NO DIFFERENCE between the food/medical grade gas and the commercial/welding grade gas. They come from the same source. The...