BeerTools Discussion Forum

There are a few methods to creating a lager environment... a chest freezer with a temperature control unit is the most dependable. It's a set it and forget it system. New brewers should stick to ales until they master some brewing skills but above that... read. The information is out there to contro...

The digital comes with a electronic sensor. The manual one comes with a liquid filled bulb with a hollow tube to determine temperature. If the line gets kinked (as mine did) you have a useless piece of garbage. I ended up getting the digital.

There is comfort in proofing your liquid yeast. Making a starter the day before ensures that your yeast is viable. Your OG is low enough that there was plenty of yeast to do the job is they are ready to work. I have had enough batches that lagged or did start and had to supplement with dry that I do...

There are a lot of sites out there that explain the basic process. http://www.beersmith.com/kegging_basics.htm Each brewer adds their own twist to it and will try to tell you that it is the only way. So... my advice is to search the net and follow the basics first. You will be glad that you are not ...

That's the sure way to know that it's done fermenting. After you measure the gravity, taste the stuff. Yah, it's flat but it will tell you generally of something is not right. I have never used maple syrup in a beer but the books say that it is 65% fermentable comprised mostly of sucrose with some i...

My brother-in-law decided that he wanted to try his hand at brewing and after he ordered the kit, found out that he wasn't fond of ales. Two years later the kit is still sitting in his refrig. While I was visiting he gave it to me. I made a yeast started and wouldn't you know it, after two years the...

Did you not notice the red in the racking cane? Normally, beer will appear darker in the fermenter as there is a depth to it. I just went to the web site http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAM_S_FIRESIDE_ALE_P698.cfm There is no indication that this is a stout or that it is even dark. I have only br...

When I say "Day" it took four hours from start to finish bottling a five gallon batch with bottle prep and all. Now I have it in the keg in 30 minutes. I have all the stuff to bottle and have thought about bottling from time to time but I remember what a pain it was and that some of the bo...

The quantity of priming sugar (corn sugar) will have little to no impact on the flavor of the beer. There may be more sediment as result of the yeast activity. Some folks are concerned about using sugar and use DME to prime. I keg and use CO2 only as it keeps the process simple. Transfer to keg, ble...

I had a NB kit and forgot the pound of honey. I placed the container in a pan of water and brought it up to boiling temp for 15 minutes and poured it into the carboy. Like everyone has said, really didn't tast it in the final product.

I have made several wheat beers now and always plan on a very active fermentation. (Thumper tube required). Like you, I lost a little efficiency and should plan for that in the future batches. I use WLP300 as it always produces a great wiezen. Malted wheat ferments differently than barley. Even with...

It doesn't have an initial effect on the beer but don't hang on to it too long. I had the same thing that eventually formed a white ring at the neck area. I drank the whole batch (not in one sitting mind you) and never had any problems. I wouldn't sent this one to a competition though

Here's the link...
This board is very active and there are a lot of good discusions including yeast starters, hop growing, beer recipes... come join us.

http://clarksvillecarboys.com/phpBB/

My LHBS charges a small fortune because they are the only ones in town. With that said, I do a lot of on-line mail ordering. I am an All Grainer and have found places that have flat rate shipping or FREE shipping. You just have to know what is a fair price is for grains, hops and yeast. I also have ...

If you have krausen, you had/ have fermentation. The gas escaped somewhere other than your air lock. This is typical of buckets as I have read on numerous posts. Take a gravity reading to confirm but it sounds like it happened to me.