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1500 questions
10
votes
6 answers
Dry malting - a crazy idea?
A lot of talk is about dry-hopping in order to bring out the aroma of hops lost during the boiling process. Could a similar approach be used for malt? That is, could the addition of crushed grains to the primary/secondary change the aroma profile of…
Poshpaws
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10
votes
1 answer
Hop burst technique & bitterness calculation
A friend asked me the other day what the "hop burst" technique was and how to calculate the amount of hops required in a recipe. I made some vague statements about late addition of hops and left it at that (since I don't know any more than…
Poshpaws
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10
votes
2 answers
How to dry harvested fresh hops?
This question is a direct consequence of the When to harvest wild hops? one. I have heard about various techniques to do it: sun-drying, warm rooms plus paper bags to capture their humidity, ovens etc. What's your suggestion? If you suggest an oven,…
tunnuz
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3 answers
How much hop bitterness dissipates with time?
I am planning to age a big Russian Imperial Stout for about a year. I understand that during this time, the bitterness imparted by the hops will dissipate. If I want to maintain a balance, I'll need to overshoot my bitterness somewhat.
How much…
Dustin Rasener
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10
votes
4 answers
Process for transfereing from boil kettle to fermenter
At the moment the most frustrating part of my brewday is getting the cold wort into the fermenter. Here is my process. I have a 20 litre saucepan that i use as a kettle that does not have a tap. At flame out I add my immerseion chiller that is…
mR_fr0g
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votes
3 answers
Priming Sugar Affect on Fermentation
I screwed up took a batch that had only been fermenting for 3 days and started to bottle it before I realized it was the wrong one. [link]
During this screw up I ended up added the priming sugar then putting it back to ferment.
How will this sugar…
corymathews
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10
votes
2 answers
How do I decide if the beer is ready? Is my fermentation complete?
This is my first time brewing and I've followed the instructions from a kit. It says to leave the beer in the key for two weeks and its ready when it stops being cloudy. Its now been a little over three weeks and the beer is still cloudy.
What do I…
CdMnky
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10
votes
5 answers
What material should I make my brew paddle with?
I've been using the cheap plastic spoon that you'll typically find at your local homebrew store. It's pretty terrible when it comes to agitating my mash tun. Heat + Resistance = Bent plastic spoon.
I've been thinking about making my own wood paddle.…
chrislarson
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10
votes
5 answers
Long cooling before pitching
Summer brewing means warmer tap water, which means that my immersion chiller can only cool the wort to about 75 degrees. I typically cool the wort to 68 degrees before pitching. I have a fermentation chiller that will cool the wort by about one…
Dustin Rasener
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10
votes
2 answers
Will it harm my wine to shake the container?
This is probably a really dumb question, but is it bad to shake or swirl the container my wine is in to encourage the release of CO2? I accidentally found out that jarring the container results in tons of air bubbles coming out of the airlock. Is…
kathryn
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10
votes
6 answers
What to look for in second-hand kegs?
In order to save some cash I'm thinking of buying some 2nd hand [19L/5G] kegs.
When visiting a seller, what kind of inspection should I do to ensure that the kegs will last? Are there any tell-tale signs that will show how far through its life it…
Mark McDonald
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10
votes
3 answers
Boiling with lid on or off?
In this answer it is mentioned that boiling with the lid on or off may make a difference in final gravity. Which do you recommend and why?
Joe Phillips
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10
votes
3 answers
How many times can I re-use oak cubes?
I'm about to add oak to my second beer, having thrown out the cubes from my first tasty experiment. This time I hope to pull them back out, store them in bourbon, and re-use them.
How much of the oak flavor is lost with each re-use?
Mlusby
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10
votes
9 answers
Is it possible to bottle condition without sediment?
I've recently been reading the labels a bit more on one of my favourite beers and have discovered that the brewers bottle condition their Pale Ale. Yet it's sold with no signs of any flocculated yeast in the purchased product.
How is this possible?…
Mark McDonald
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10
votes
4 answers
How many times can yeast be reused?
A good yeast sample can be retrieved, stored & reused regularly across brews. Is there a limit to the number of generations a sample can last?
I've heard that after so many generations a strain can mutate into something different, is there a rule…
Mark McDonald
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