BeerTools Discussion Forum

Never boil your specialty grains! Just let them steep at about 150-160F (I usually do this for 30 minutes), then remove them before bringing the water to a boil for the extract additions. Boiling them will produce tanins, thereby off flavors.

...that 3/4 cup of corn sugar is not a strict rule, and that 1/2 cup can give perfectly fine carbonation appropriate for many styles of beer. It's a bit subjective. I also firmly believe you should measure your priming sugar by weight not volume. Why? Measure out a half cup of sugar and then shake i...

Since I also use specialty grains (although not nearly 5 pounds, more like 1 or 2 at the most) in my extract recipes, I'm curious what's considered over rinsing.

Tested a bottle one week after bottling. Carbonation is excellent--poured a smallish though firm head that left some nice lace and the fizz was gentle and soft. Doesn't taste too bad either. Crisp, clean, subtle German hop bitterness. Another week or two and carbonation should be just right.

I use this follow-down siphoning method also when I'm transfering the wort from the brew pot to the primary fermenter, then again when racking from primary fermenter to secondary. In every instance, you're going to end up leaving a pint or so at the bottom that you should try to leave behind. I've f...

I upgraded to two fermenters after my first batch came out yeasty tasting. It makes a huge difference, racking to seondary, because you leave much of the sediment behind in the first then. The beer clears even more in the secondary. The other thing I've learned to do is to siphon very carefully from...

Well, I was drinking just a sample I pulled for the hydrometer, a good half glass or so. It didn't taste flat like it did before fermentation, but this was before I added the priming sugar, so there was no bubbly carbonation. Still, it did foam a bit, and in fact, was prone to making foam as I fille...

I lagered my alt for about 3 weeks at around 40F. When I bottled it last night, it was incredibly clear. And it tastes great! I was excited about this at the time, but now I'm worrying there might not have been ENOUGH yeast left suspended for carbonation. Has anyone else run into this, and is it a c...

Zok, not knowing your recipes, it's hard to say. What malts did you use and how much? What kinds of hops and how much? Do you think it's a matter of balance, that is, proportion of malts to hops? Or some other reason it tastes too malty to you? I think I've heard that hops diminish in flavor and bit...

If I substituted syrup for the dried malt would I most likely get a lower FG?

And would this affect the OG? That is, would it affect the body of the beer, maybe thinner with syrup vice dried?

& in turn, would that decrease the ABV?

I can understand the appeal of kegging. But I really enjoy bottling for some reason. Just like the old world feel of it, I guess. Love to see those cases of beer waiting.

I was a little surprised by the fast fermentation; everything I read said bubbling in the airlock would continue for a good 5 to 10 days. And the FG threw me because if was higher than the recipe's number of around 1.014. I thought I must have screwed something up. But like I said, so far, everythin...

Transparent. Permanent. Conformable. Easy Unwind. So says the box. Easy stuff to work with. I do simple laser jet labels on sheets of standard paper or even better kinds of stationery paper. I just design them in word, print a page, copy, tape over each page with the Scotch book tape, cut out the la...

It's been 7 days since I bottled my pale ale and every day the bottles are looking clearer and clearer. This is my first batch ever. I experienced a problem that I notice crops up in this forum and other discussion forums I've visited: I had a fast-working fermentation (apparently over in about 24-3...