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1500 questions
12
votes
7 answers

Does suspended yeast contribute to high SG?

I've got a SMaSH beer (Baird Maris Otter and EKG) finishing in primary. It's been fermenting for just over a week. Starting Gravity was 1.046. I mashed at 154F for 60 minutes. Fermented with WY1335 British Ale II. I didn't make a starter, since the…
FishesCycle
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3 answers

Glutten for punishment? How can I make a Gluten-free beer?

A few friends of mine have Celiac Disease. They've all told me that the commercial gluten free beers they've tried have been terrible. Can I brew something at home that's tasty and something they can drink?
Ben
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7 answers

How much effect does light have on fermenting beer?

If I keep my fermenting beer in my living room, should I cover it with blankets or otherwise keep it out of the light? I've seen topics on brewing referencing this, but most just settle for "why take the chance?" I'm hoping for a little more…
Dmac the Destroyer
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12
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6 answers

Why is a carboy used for secondary fermentation?

It seems like you could a second bucket for the secondary fermentation. Is there any drawback to not using a carboy for this purpose?
pian0
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4 answers

How to improve efficiency of water usage..?

I have just put another beer in the fermentor and I seem to use huge amounts of water during the whole brewing process. I don't have an exact estimate of my water use, but taking into account the washing of equipment, brewing water, wort chiller…
Poshpaws
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12
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3 answers

How should I add mint to my beer?

I'm making a mint chocolate stout. I've made it before; I added 1.5 ounces of fresh spearmint to the last 10 or 15 minutes of the boil. It turned out alright, but it's not as strong as I'd like. The obvious answer would be to add more mint. But…
chrislarson
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12
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5 answers

How to get the carbonation right in bottled beer

I am really struggling to get the carbonation of my beers right. They either seem to turn out too flat or too carbonated. I take care in calculating the correct amount of bottling sugar for the beer style, but results always seem…
Poshpaws
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12
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5 answers

How Do You Sanitize Your Carboys?

When sanitizing your carboys, do you fill them all the way up (6+ gallons) with sanitizer or do you put in less and swirl it around? This may depend on what type of sanitizer is being used. I'm using StarSan, but I'm interested to hear the answer…
jstevej
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12
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5 answers

What is a good definition of beer?

My wife asked me what the definition of beer was, and my best response was my understanding of Reinheitsgebot definition (which may or may not be correct). Beer contains: Malted Barley Hops Water Yeast This definition however excludes many things…
Nathan Koop
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12
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5 answers

Homemade airlock

I recently moved to a place that doesn't allow brewing equipment to be imported (But it is legal to brew... don't ask me). I've built a lot of my stuff, but I have a question about airlocks. I've come up with two ideas. 1) Simply running some tubing…
Beaker
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3 answers

Is a donation jar (for homebrew supplies) legal in the United States?

If a brewer were to keep a donation jar near his kegs (i.e. tip jar), would this be strictly legal in the United States? Sales of homebrew are prohibited, and this website states that requiring a cover charge for a party where homebrew was served…
Dustin Rasener
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12
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4 answers

How long does StarSan last?

I keep StarSan in a spray bottle for easier sanitizing during brew day. How long does the StarSan last in that bottle? Is it good forever?
sgwill
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12
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6 answers

Bottles didn't carbonate, anything I can do?

Brewed an Oatmeal Stout and it has been in bottles for about 4 weeks now and still the bottles haven't carbonated. Tried the first bottle after 2 weeks and it was very flat. Now I just opened one after another 2 weeks and still no head at all but…
tomcocca
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12
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3 answers

Can I add some water before I bottle?

I'm in the final stages of my very first beer, which is a Belgian wit. Everything has gone great so far, and I will be bottling in just a few days. I have a pretty high alcohol content (around 8.2%, which I would like to bring down), and I think my…
smstanton
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1 answer

Home brew, acetylaldehydes and hangovers

Both me and my gf noticed that my home brews (even just 1 or 2 a night) cause a fairly noticeable headache in the morning compared to commercial brews. God forbid you get drunk on it, the next morning is hell. I did some research here and there are…
user697111
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