Recent content by Tacohockey50

You should be fine As Papazian says, "relax don't worry, have a homebrew". Watch the beginner brewer videos from Northern Brewer on Youtube. They show 5 gallon batches but the process is virtually identical for smaller batches.

Dormant yeast in the primary giving your beer a subtle "off" flavor is the main reason to use a secondary. The difference is subtle and often not worth the effort. I've always used a secondary because that was how I learned 25 year ago. With an auto siphon and the proper length of hose you can...

I rehydrate US 05 with great success. 1) 15 minutes before the end of your 60 minute wort boil, microwave approx 4 oz water to boiling. 2) put a candy thermometer in the 4 oz, cover & let cool to 90 degrees f. 3) sprinkle yeast on top of water and let stand for 15 minutes. 4) stir with sanitized...

The only practical way to save money home brewing is drink less. Everything else is either more money in equipment or more time. But the most advantageous aspect of home brewing is self-sufficiency. Considering the way things are going in this world, the ability to make your own food...

Yea, I've been fighting the plastic labels on Breckenridge bottles. (peeling them off & cleaning the occasional residue with alcohol & a rag - PIA) I'm re-entering home brewing and have few bottles, so I'm doing whatever is necessary to build up an inventory of empties. Some plastic labels...

Glad you're having success with the Red Baron. Some people have success reusing twist off bottles, other people don't. I was wondering if the capper might be the difference. Or maybe the caps. Got to be some reason for the wide variance of success. User error might be the variable. I got...

THE LIFE CYCLE OF CRAFT BEERS: A few friends decide to brew their own beer. Soon, the beer is so good friends are requesting some. The requests increase until they decide to start a brewery. The beer is a success and grows. After the brand grows large, big breweries offer to buy it. The...

Thank you. Yea, some people have success with twist-off bottles. But as long as I'm using empties from beer I bought... might as well buy brands with pry-off caps. I wonder.... is success with twist-off necks a function of the quality of the bottle capper? The inexpensive bottle cappers that...

I saw a 24 pack of Stella Artois at Sams Club for $28. (only $6 more than a case of new EMPTY bottles.. hint, hint.) But Stella has a foil wrapper so you can't see the cap. Does Stella have Twist-off or Pry-off caps? AND...... what brands have bottles with pry-off caps? I don't want to buy...