Imagine that brew-day rolls around and you find yourself without an airlock for your carboy or bucket. What other things can you use in it's stead? Further imagine that you do not have the materials for a blow-off tube. Touch on infection risk and what to do if you also do not have a stopper. Inspiration for this question goes to WhatsBillDoing.
The health food store near me has a sale on dark Agave nectar such that 1 kg costs less than their average 1 kg of honey (usually it costs slightly more than honey). I noticed on the nutritional info on the label that it's got roughly the same sugar content as honey, so in theory, I could use agave nectar to make mead, using the same proportions! Before I attempt this though, I was wondering if anyone out there has …
I'd heard (3rd-hand information, don't know how reliable it is) that aspirin (Bayer's original brand) can be used as a suitable substitute for campden tablets. Does anyone know how well this works? I ask because I need some campden tablets and the brewing supply store near me is closed for renovations, and won't open for a while. Are there other easy-to-get alternatives to campden?
I'm planning to brew my first gruit ale. I was planning to use Myrica Gale, Yarrow and Rosemary. Sadly, I'm having serious difficulties with buying Myrica here in Europe. Could anyone tell me a good alternative to Myrica Gale?
I am planning on doing some veggie brews and would be interested to know what the gelatinisation temps are for potato, sweet potato, carrot, parsnip, beetroot, etc...
After some searching around, I've not been able to find butterscotch extract in any nearby stores. I suppose I could order online, but I've realized that there is quite a bit of butterscotch syrup floating around. If I get one with no fat could this cause any problems? I notice that this stuff tends to have some preservatives in it, but I've heard that that isn't always a problem. Can I put this stuff in during the boil and expect …
I'm in the inception phase of a Harry Potter inspired butterbeer recipe. Since it's not well explained in the books, I'm going for a a flavor profile in the range of spiced eggnog and root beer. I'm looking for a big, creamy head and (if possible) a color like hefeweizen. Spices will be nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and sassafras (also considering vanilla bean?). For malt I'm going for 40L caramel malt for steeping, and 50/50 Maillard Gold and Wheat extracts …
If you happen to be out of priming sugar, but really want to bottle your beer, what are the alternatives? Let's assume a 5 gallon batch that's fully fermented - call it 1.010-1.014.
MillerCoors used to sell Coors Light Home Draft and Miller Light Home Draft "kegs" at my local grocery store, but I have not seem them in a long time. The reason I ask is because these units are very similar to the Tap-A-Draft, which is designed for local brewery take-home as well as for home brewers. If you can find a way to get rid of the Miller or Coors beer, it's a much better deal to just buy the …
Brew in a bag. No chill. Olive Oil aeration substitute. Overnight mashing. Batch Sparging. The list continues. These types of techniques are great and frequent areas of discussion in the home brewing forums and the like. I also have no doubt that these techniques are making good drinkable beer. I am sure brewers who use these types of techniques really enjoy their beer. Otherwise, they wouldn't really make it to daylight discussions. But is anyone REALLY making world class beer? …