BeerTools Discussion Forum

Dogs can eat them as long as there is no hops in them. Many animals like the grains. Most livestock farmers will thank you for spent grains, so make a new friend. I tried a compost pile once (on a farm) and got more than I bargained for... bees, rats, flys, skunks, you get the picture. So, be forewa...

Bobby, If any pro brewer claims not 'losing' at least one batch of beer, they are lying! Mistakes are the chances to learn. During my apprenticeship I had two (maybe three) mishaps. I milled in 35 lbs. of extra pale malt and left the lower steam jacket of the kettle on after the boil (15 minutes ex...

I use packing tape to stick my non backed paper inkjet labels to the bottles then trim the tape with a razor blade. (I got way too much time on my hands huh?) 8) My feable attempt at labels is mostly a skull & crossbones with the warning/disclaimer "If I gave you this beer, drink it, if not...

Eff seems to be a bragging right to homebrewers. I'm not really caught up in eff but would like to acheive the best possible for my equipment & procedures. The last few times I checked my eff was around 78 but only compare with brewing notes now. I have read that a max eff under lab conditions a...

I regularly use Pilsen malts from Weyermann, Durst and Meussdoerffer (the major players from Germany) and all are highly modified. If you want to save time while increasing quality, mash 20 minutes @ 155~158 with a 1.33~1.45 quart per pound coarse grist @ 5.3~5.4 pH. Iodine test for conversion. If ...

I often use a dark garbage bag placed over my carboy to stop light. I had a few bad... (well, I drank 'em anyways) batches because I read somewhere that Oxi-Clean was a good cleaner (sodium percarbonate) and convincing ("I've been using it for years ") type testimonies but found it to be u...

I have hard water also. I run all of my brewing water thru a Brita Filter more for chlorine than the perm hardness but it helps. When I do 10 gallon batches I get a 5 gal jug of Culligan drinking water from my father-in-law & mix them. I don't like buying water to brew with so maybe a water filt...