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1500 questions
17
votes
6 answers

All my all-grain batches produce a bitter/astringent, dark, almost burnt off flavor that ruins every batch, from light pilsner to dark belgians

I'm scratching my head trying to figure this one out. Here's the story: I started brewing extracts, and they all came out great. I wanted to get into all-grain so a last year I ordered myself the supplies and have been trying to make a single good…
Daniel
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17
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1 answer

How long can a yeast starter survive in the fridge?

I've made a 2L yeast starter (Wyeast 2633 Octoberfest) and placed in the fridge this morning. My original goal was to brew tonight but I may not be able to. Will the yeast colony still be good for a few days if it remains in fridge?
Bob Banks
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17
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5 answers

Performing a hop boil seperate from the wort boil.

I'm curious to try some single-hop style beers and would like to do several varieties in one brew day. My ideal situation would be to make a five gallon batch of an unhopped pale ale as the base and use that to make five, one gallon batches of…
awithrow
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17
votes
5 answers

How can I avoid a lot of foam in the first pint from the keg?

Whenever I go to get a pint from the keg, the first pint is always foamy. I have to fill the glass up about 1/3 of the way and dump it out, just to the pour actual beer. I usually carbonate by setting the keg to ~12 psi and letting it sit until its…
benr
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17
votes
7 answers

How do I keep yeast from a strain that I've bought?

I'd like to stop buying yeast all the time, especially when I use the same strain repeatedly. This is especially a problem when it comes to seasonal strains. I'd like to brew with WLP351 Bavarian Weizen Yeast whenever I'd like, but it's only…
chrislarson
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16
votes
9 answers

How do you cool a lager on a budget?

What techniques would you suggest for cooling a lager during the lagering phase? Further, how important is the stability of that temperature?
Fishtoaster
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16
votes
10 answers

Are there tools that can make the bottling process easier?

I found this to be the most difficult part during my first attempt at brewing. All I had was a tube and a racking cane. Is there anything else to simplify the process and prevent me from ending up with almost a full beer on my kitchen floor?
Adam
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16
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4 answers

How fast should I run water through my wort chiller?

My father-in-law got me a wort chiller for my birthday, one of those copper coil immersion jobs and I'm now putting it to the test. This is only my second batch of beer, so I'm pretty new at this. How fast should I be putting water through the…
Argyle
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16
votes
2 answers

What is wet hopping and how does it differ from dry?

Specifically what types of beer would you use wet hopping for and how does it affect the flavor/process differently than dry hopping a beer?
chrisst
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16
votes
5 answers

How do you cool wort?

More specifically, what methods exist to cool your wort after the boil, and what are there respective pros/cons?
Fishtoaster
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16
votes
4 answers

How can I maximize dry hops aroma?

I recently made an IPA. I put an ounce of Cascade pellets in the secondary (for a 23-litre [6-U.S.-gallon] batch), but there is hardly any hops aroma in the finished product. By the end of the two weeks, the hops had all sunk to the bottom, so I…
Nick
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16
votes
3 answers

Is it possible to make a beer worthy of a competition with malt extract?

I was wondering if it's possible to make a beer worthy of entering a competition that stands a chance of doing well. I'm still pretty new to brewing but wanted to know if I need to make the jump to all-grain before making a beer that's competition…
jamesaharvey
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16
votes
9 answers

What are some good online sources for recipes?

What are some good online sources for recipes? Please specify the type of recipes the site has (extract, all-grain, mead, cider, etc.).
Nicholas Trandem
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16
votes
8 answers

What malt should I use to get a red beer?

So, I want to make a red beer, what is the best malt to get this color?
loop0
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16
votes
12 answers

Is it important to weigh down a hop bag for dry-hopping?

If so, what kind of weight should I use? Should it be enough to sink the bag to the bottom of the carboy?
Joe Lencioni
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