Recent content by HighGrav

Bingo!

All good advice above but I guess I will play devil's advocate here.... Keep in mind that a lot of beer styles have characteristics that were, in part, due to the water characteristics in the region from which the style originated. Having said that, your homebrew made with your tap water may...

Saturday, May 3, 2014 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM Old Bust Head Brewing Company is celebrating our first National Homebrew Day by hosting a brew event at our brewery in Vint Hill, VA on Saturday, May 3rd. Homebrewers and local brew clubs are invited to bring their brewing equipment and supplies to brew...

Agreed, just throw the two packs in and call it a day. Here is a good blog post on yeast starters. http://www.jaysbrewing.com/2013/01/23/19-steps-for-yeast-starter/

You have to drink those at sub-freezing temperatures. Were the mountains blue on the bottle?

I have a starter of WLP099 going now and it smells like eggs. It looks fine and I plan to pitch it tomorrow.

Sometimes when I dry hop in the keg using pellets, it makes the beer a bit more cloudy. I imagine if you rack the beer over the dry hops, it might reduce the cloudiness since it would be stirring up the pellets less. But other than that, I don't think there is a big difference.

I am sure someone out there might have a palate refined enough to detect 2oz of diluted iodophor in what I assume is a 5 gallon batch. But for the rest of us common folk, it really won't matter. I would venture to say the same for the impact on the color. And if it worries you too much, just...

It will be fine. Iodophor, once diluted to the proper ratio, is a non-rinse sanitizer. Some people do rinse but I don't bother.

Preservative free apple juice is ideal but any juice will work. It can be as simple as sprinkling some bread yeast in a gallon of apple juice and let it ferment at room temp for at least a week. Make sure to keep the cap loose so CO2 can escape or just cover the top with foil. You may also...

Go for it. Local political, religious, and money-seeking organizations visit my door throughout the year. A fellow brewer would be a nice change up. The 6 pack in hand is a good idea. If nothing else, you could just leave a friendly note with your contact info (and 6 pack of course).

+10 = 24,948 and counting

It depends on your level of self control. The nice thing about bottles is that you can chill just what you intend to drink whereas the keg is chilled all or nothing.

I have an IPA in the keg now that I did not dry hop and it is great. It is not necessary for an IPA but it has become a common practice. BTW, you can dry hop in the primary after fermentation is complete. You could also put the dry hops in a bag and put them in the keg. People usually do...

That's my St. Patty's day tradition.