Recent content by hiphops

When after leaving your date's place after getting laid, you're most excited about the empty beer bottles you get to being home from her house.

I have both a refractometer and a hydrometer. I've given up on the refractometer for a number of reasons. First, it nearly impossible to read the measurements. The lines are so close together, making it nearly impossible to distinguish between say a reading of 1.080 and 1.085. Second, its...

I don't think so. I've had a similar thing happened and decided what the heck and used it, which produced a nice beer. I think you're ok b/c the alcohol that was created in the starter would have killed off the bacteria that could have infected the wort. Also, I've come to learn that...

When, after a night of brewing, you wake up and see and hear an active fermentation and think "victory!"

When you plan your vacations around your brewing schedule (and ensure all air locks are topped off before leaving)!

When all you have in your fridge are jars of harvested yeast, homebrew, hops and leftover dinner, space permitting.

My recipe (an imperial IPA) calls for 2 lbs corn sugar in the last five minutes. I want to substitute the corn sugar for table sugar. How much table sugar should I add? I was told 1 3/4 lbs table sugar works?

Has anyone ever done this? If so, when and how much?

I'm gonna make an Imperial IPA, which calls for 2 lbs. of corn sugar at the end of the boil (or somewhere near the end). Can I replace the 2 lbs. of corn sugar with 2 lbs. of table sugar?

I've been brewing all grain for a few years now and have never been able to settle on a good calculator that determines (1) the amount of water I need and (2) strike temps. I always seem to be a bit off. I use a standard 10 gallon Igloo cooler as my mash tun. Anyone using this cooler have...

I taste it before and it was pretty good. Something happened between the time I transferred to the secondary and the time I dry hopped it. It didn't taste very good yesterday when I sampled it just before dry hopping. I ferment in a glass carboy. The airlock was on tight. In fact, the only time...

"And the test won't be whether it tastes good but something much more objective, simple and painfully easy to gauge: whether she says "yes" to another date. Yeah, she loves SNCA and if my timing works out, they should be ready to drink around Valentine's Day. Remember, behind every seemingly...

Just made my first IPA with 1187. It tastes HORRIBLE! It tastes like a butter spread on a sheet of cardboard. I heard that this yeast can be quite finicky requiring a diacetyl rest, which I understood to mean to let it hang out in the secondary. This is what I did 1. 17 January 2013...

This isn't really responsive to your question but, if you are in the area, I would go to Brooklyn Homebrew instead (http://www.brooklyn-homebrew.com/). I used to get stuff from Brooklyn Brew Shop, until I discovered Brooklyn Homebrew. I haven't gone back since. (And, I haven't had gravity...

Has anyone ever made a good fruit beer? I've made a few before, in particular, blueberry wheat beers. I am going to give it another shot. Unlike last time, I am going to puree the blueberries, pitch it into the carboy and rack on top in the secondary. The last time I made it, I added it...