Surprised I couldn't find an answer to this so I'm posting the question. I brewed my first imperial stout. Fermentation was super happy, krausen went wild and my airlock blew out (from what I'm seeing online - surprise surprise). I installed a blowout tube and everything is going well - my question is what do I do with the extra wort/krausen that's building up in my blowout container? Do I just dump it down the drain or can I add …
Since I usually make small 2.5-gallon batches, I just put my brew kettle into an ice bath in my kitchen sink to chill. The notes that came with my extract kit say to cool the wort to 70 degrees "as fast as possible to prevent an infection." But how fast specifically should that be? Using the ice bath method and continually adding ice as the old ice melts still takes about 30 - 40 minutes to get from boiling to …
I have been experimenting with sugar wash fermentations. I've tried sucrose (cane sugar) as well as dextrose (corn sugar) and observed stalled fermentations in both, in spite of sufficient yeast nutrients, DO and yeast alcohol tolerance. I'm suspecting that the pH of the wash may be the culprit. As other already have noted (but something I had yet to learn when I started) the pH of a fermenting sugar wash can crash to 3 or even 2.5 or so. Unsurprisingly, …
I have my equipment in a town that is 2 hours from where I live, this last month is being hard to travel there too often so it is making very complicate the fermenting and bottling process. So I'm wondering if I can bring home the fermenter and continue the process here. Should I bring the wort without adding the Yeasts? Should I add the yeasts and then bring the fermenter?
I am an absolute beginner; I've merely helped my brother brew once. I purchased a beer brewing kit and want to get started. John Palmer's bible suggests that I should throw out the directions that come with any beer kit and follow the general guidelines he lays out. The back of the can (it is "Black Rock" from New Zealand, their Nut Brown Ale package) suggests to throw the malt extract with water and suger into the fermenter and have …
I was recently doing a batch of beer and for some reason the temp of the beer after I put it in the primary fermentation bucket wasn't low enough to pinch the yeast right away. I left the top off of the bucket a little bit to try and cool it faster but it was "exposed" for probably about an hour at least. My question is will this mess up the beer? or should it be ok.
According to BYO malt absorbs roughly 1.04L of water per kg malt. Knowing this makes calculating things like mash and sparge water quite a bit easier. Is there a rough absorption rate for hops? I've searched round the web but cannot seem to find anything. I guess it may vary according to the hop size and density, but some rough figures will help with calculations like topping up water and rackable post-fermentation volume. Is there a difference between adding hops …
I'd like to get 2 full boils from 1 mash. Can I keep the 2nd runnings overnight for boiling the following day? If so, what is the best way to store it. In general, how long can wort be kept after mashing before it's boiled?
What tools or tricks is everyone using to cool their wort down after the boil? How long does it take you to get down below 70 degrees? I am using an older copper wort chiller (hooks up to a garden hose) that a friend of mine made and has worked okay in the past but its getting kind of beat up and losing its nice coil shape so I was thinking of an upgrade. In the Michigan winter I am …
Just moved into a new apartment and I'm ready to start brewing. Except I have this unique faucet... it's the type that can switch between a solid stream and a spray and also is able to extend via a snake. Does anyone have any experience with this type of sink? I'll have to check to see if the entire thing comes off, but I'm worried I won't be able to chill my wort.
What are the benefits of completely seperating hot debris, hot break and cold break from the wort? Getting these things out of the wort and putting nothing but clean and clear wort in the fermentor has a rewarding feel to it, but achieving that nirvana can be somewhat challenging depending upon one's equipment (and patience). Does the resultant beer improve when there is no hop debris? Is the beer clearer after removing break material? Before someone considers taking this extra …
I forgot to pick up the hops from the homebrew store I was at and have the mashed wort ready to boil but no hops. Are there certain precautions or a certain way to store the unboiled wort until I pick them up tomorrow?
For reference: tamarind. I recently saw this fruit at the store today and thought it smelled interesting so I investigated. I've decided to brew my very first batch of beer as a tamarind saison as a result, because I think the sweet and sour qualities will work well in a saison with honey in it. After my friend recommended an amount based on previous experience in his childhood, I settled on 2 lbs of the stuff (and I think that's …
I will give two examples of yeast cell count. First one is 0.34 B cells/ml in 6 liters of wort starter with just a few amount of slurry cake. 2nd one is 1.46 B cells/ml in 1 liter of starter including Wort+Slurry. So when it comes to total number of yeast cell calculation,do i need to multiply yeast count with 6 liters of wort or a thin layer of slurry which is 300 ml ?? So total yeast count is …
Do you guys have best plan to store longer for sugar wort to propagate yeast ? I usually take wort after boiling step during brewing and stored at 5 C inside 20 liter container. Or Boil with DME for starter ?
How do you fix a stuck sparge? Are there any tricks too getting a sparge running again when it slows to a trick or even stops completely? (This is not intended to be a "how to prevent" the stuck sparge answer.)
I've done 2 one-gallon AG brews now, and both have hit approx. 50% efficiency. I thought I'd fixed what was obviously wrong between the two, but the second one still looks like it's going to come out at about 2% ABV... I wondered if anyone could tell me what I am likely to be doing wrong? Details: I'm aware this is a rather 'rustic' setup! If it's simply a case of needing better equipment then good to know: Heated 1 …