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I add my hops in a hops bag during the boil, and remove & squeeze the bag(s) immediately at the end of the boil (before starting the cooling). If I left the hops bags in during the cooling I'm sure I would get more hops character (bitterness and flavor) due to the longer exposure to the hot...

I live in Virginia's beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains at 2,600 feet elevation. As a result, water boils here at 207°F. Will this have any meaningful effect on hops utilization, i.e. should I be applying a factor to my IBU calculations? TomVA

Hi Folks, I have two readily available sources of water for brewing. The "Farm" water is untreated well water, clear and delicious. The "House" water (different location) had high iron and a low pH, so it is treated by passing through a bed of Calcite (calcium carbonate ) to raise the pH...

Having traveled many times to England over the past 35 years I fell in love with the quintessential draught Best Bitter and developed a recipe that nails it - in fact best I’ve ever had. The only problem is my eight gallon SS pot limits me to four gallon batches using my BIAB full strike water...

I brewed two 3.5 gal BIAB batches of stout with the same grain bill, hops bill, and yeast (11.5 gr of rehydrated S-04). The only significant differences were that batch #1 was mashed at 160°F (OG = 1.050) and was fermented at 63°F, while batch #2 was mashed at 156°F (OG = 1.055) and fermented...

I calculate that bottle carbonating a five gallon batch of beer to 2.4 volumes with corn sugar will increase the ABV by about 0.4%. Do you all add this to your ABV calculations from hydrometer readings when noting the ABV of your beers? TomVA

I store my freshly bottled beers in a closet at 75°F for two weeks. They are usually fully carbonated in a week at this warm temperature, but I give them two just to be sure. Then I move them to my garage, which can be quite cool, even cold at this time of year. I understand that big beers...

I brewed my first English Bitter eleven days ago, and just when I was about to take my OG reading my hydrometer broke (so what else is new!). So I saved the OG sample (pre pitching S-04) in a half-pint mason jar filled to the top, and stored it in the refrigerator for three days until I could...

As a scientist I am a multi-checker, so before priming my batch of stout I consulted three priming sugar calculators to determine how much corn sugar to add, and all three gave different results! For five gallons of beer at 70°F carbonated to 2.1 volumes of CO2, I found the following answers...

I recently brewed a few dark London style ales with Maris Otter base but used a very high percentage of crystals, like 22% total of such as crystals as 90L and Special B. Overall the ales taste good but there is a taste in them that I can't describe - best I can come up with is metallic fruit...

I will be using half a pound of rolled oats in my next AG BIAB batch of milk stout to see if I can feel the silky texture they impart. The oats I bought are Quaker Oats, Quick 1-Minute (does not say "Instant") and the ingredients are listed as just "Whole Grain Rolled Oats". Two questions...

I have made several brews using a cheap bag from my LHBS and had quite a bit of fines get through the bag. I just bought a Wilser bag and the mesh is considerably finer, so I expect much less fines getting through, but no bag will stop dust. To the extent such fines and dust get through to the...

I brew all grain in a bag with the full amount of water, then drain and squeeze the bag. I understand many mash with only a portion of the full water amount, holding back some fresh hot water for sparging the grains. It seems logical that flushing the grains with fresh hot water will remove...

In order to calculate my Brewhouse efficiency I sample my wort for a hydrometer reading just prior to up-heating to boil, usually at about 150°F. Since my hydrometer is calibrated at 60°F, I adjust by applying the ratio of the density of water at the measured temperature to the density of water...

Brewed two 2.5 gal batches of English brown ale the other day, both with an OG of 1.050. One is in a 3.5 gal. fermentation bucket and the other in a 5 gal. Now after 36 hours in a dark space at 65°F there is no activity in the air locks. Yes I understand that air lock activity is not a good...

Just a tip I have learned over the years. Candle & Lamp Oil (liquid paraffin) cuts right through most label glue residues that are resistant to other solvents. Just dampen a paper towel and rub it off. It leaves a slight oily film on the bottle exterior, but this comes right off with glass...

I have three cases of bottled stout and brown ale carbonating in my closet at 73°F. I will be leaving to Florida next week for three weeks "vacation" (visiting relatives!). Should I leave the beer in the warm closet until I return (total four weeks), or leave them in the closet for just one...

I read that a good method of pitching rehydrated dry yeast is to add the rehydrated yeast solution first to the bottom of the empty fermenting bucket and then vigorously pour in the wort to aerate. However, I sanitize my fermenting bucket with diluted Star San right before adding the wort, so...

My stout after almost three weeks in primary at 64°F still has a bit of haze. I plan to try some gelatin to fine it, but was wondering if fining would also remove active yeast, that is, would I need to add more yeast when bottling? TomVA

My first batch of beer was a stout, which is still fermenting. That recipe called for a strike water temperature of 163°F and a mashing temperature of 156°F. Since I had read to expect a temperature drop of 8-12°F when adding the grains, I heated my strike water to 165°F and it dropped to a...