Recent content by Mash

Today was the Big Day! I popped the top on the first bottle of my IPA brew. Must say I was very trepidacious and didn't have high hopes.. But was pleasantly surprised! Good clear amber color, nice head, good full flavor, a little bitter with that lovely hoppy citrus note at the end! SUCCESS...

Try a local Staples store for C02 refills. Around here, they are the only place to get the larger tank size. So am I correct in assuming that if anything other than plain water is used to be carbonated, a huge mess is likely to be the result? Kind of like putting Mentos mints in soda?

Get some Scotch scrubbie and sponge combos. Make sure the scrubbie is the green one, not the blue one. When your knife gets discolored, give it a good scrub with the green scrubbie and it will clean it right up. Barkeeper's Friend (powder not liquid), also works well. That and a good knife...

I rather liked last year's better. Seemed to have more "bite" to it.

My wife got me a book by Snyder on Homebrewing along with the kit. Gave a decent overview, and is mostly recipes for brews, which is fine with me. But I will still look up Palmer's book. Being a geeky nerd kind of guy, I like the science behind it all, and am looking forward to experimenting...

Another newbie here, from New Albany, IN! First tried my hand brewing beer back in college in NC... which was like 1982! What a failure... the mash boiled over, and my puppy chewed the airlock on my fermenter to pieces. So, now, many years later, my wife got me a decent brew kit and an IPA...