Recent content by DonutMuncher

The last post by Tupperwolf pretty much sums it up. I can chill it faster in winter when the ground water is cooler, but the ground water is somewhat warm most of the year here in the desert of southern New Mexico. I know there's alternative methods including aquarium pumps with ice baths, but...

I am about to use my immersion chiller for the second time and have a question. The last time I used it, it took about 30 minutes to cool my wort to pitching temps. During that time, my kettle of wort was exposed to the elements of the outside air. I usually brew outside on my back patio. I had...

I think there are plenty of ways to avoid bottle-bombing your wife's closet besides dumping the beer. I would also never dump a batch if it can still be salvaged, and I think this one still can. Good to see you still putting up the good fight, Andy. The "unstirred priming sugar" batch might...

Definitely not. 7.9 gallon fermenter buckets are very common, and are generally used to make 5 or 6 gallon batches (I used the same bucket from Austin Homebrew for a while). The extra "headspace" just gets filled by CO2 during fermentation. Having that much space is fine.

I personally have not fermented an ale colder than about 18C. Each type of yeast has a preferred temperature range for fermentation. I think most Ale yeasts tend to be in the mid 60s to low 70s Fahrenheit depending on the yeast strain. I would suspect that most yeasts will still operate at...

Probably a good idea :) I think you may be able to salvage these beers for your May celebration. You might even be able to just slightly/gently open each cap a little to release pressure, and re-cap it again, without having to burn through new bottle caps. I have never tried that though. As far...

Don't let people tell you that your own beer would taste horrible. There are thousands of people out there brewing their own homebrew not only because they enjoy it, but because it tastes better than many name brands out there. Not to mention, it's fun being able to tinker with recipes, make...

Sorry to hear :( Getting them cold fast and drinking them soon is one way to avoid the bottle bombs. Unfortunately you won't get the advantages of bottle conditioning (clean tasting beer, even carbonation). I am no expert on this, but you might be able to open the bottles periodically to...

Definitely go with a beer kit. What you posted will probably produce alcohol but might induce vomiting when trying to drink it. A beer kit will package together what you need along with instructions that are extremely helpful when brewing your first beer. After you see what types of things go...

Are you saying you used 2.5 cups of table sugar per 6 gallon batch? I believe 1 cup of sugar is about 8 ounces (may have to check that), so 2.5 cups of table sugar would be approx. 20 ounces. If that's the case, that is bad news and most likely will result in bottle bombs. I think you would...

+ 5 gallons of AHS American IPA = 16,645.5 gallons :mug:

I'd recommend just leaving it in the primary fermenter for longer (2-3 weeks), make sure you hit your Final Gravity, then bottle. Some people like secondaries, especially to use when dry hopping, or adding flavors from things like fruit. I wouldn't worry about using one for now.

Did you already bottle the beers, or did you just rack to a secondary fermenter? If you bottled already, there's a chance the fermentation was not complete and you could risk having bottle bombs. If you just took it to a secondary, some fermentation can continue there and you should be fine...

About to start a partial mash. 3.75 lbs of grain, and 6 lbs of LME. I plan on mashing with ~ 5 quarts water (1.33 qt/lb ratio). I have read that many people sparge with about 0.5 gal water per pound of grain.. this would only be 2 gallons of water for me. Can I just sparge my 3.75 lbs...

Thanks all. I have tried swirling somewhat more aggressively but most of it remains caked to the bottom. I'll try decanting a bit and possibly add more water to try and break it up. I guess I can sanitize a skewer to stick down there too.. I just feel bad poking my yeasties before they go to battle!