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So I've had an IPA in the primary fermenter for the last 9 months, because I got lazy and ran out of time/money/effort to keep brewing last fall. I filled two bottles last week, added enough dextrose to get average carbonation, and let them sit for 8 days. Threw one in the freezer right now to...

It's a real popular topic around these parts this time of year, how to best add vanilla to a beer, so I decided to make a video tutorial (as simple as the process is) for my new homebrewing website. Check out the post for a bit more of a text description. usop_bKgxck Hope you guys enjoy it!

I tried searching around the sub and on Google for some info, but it seems like it's difficult to get much info about this strain. Have any of you had any experience with this blend? I've been dead-set for a couple months now on making WLP001 my house strain for American ales, but I saw...

I'm finally getting back into brewing after a couple years off and am pondering what my temperature schedule will be for my ales (I'm not setup for lagering quite yet). My three house yeasts are going to be WLP001, WLP005, and WLP300, which all have similar suggested temperature ranges. I've...

I know that there's a very similar thread on the first page of these section of the forum right now, but I didn't want to hijack it for a slightly different question. I'm planning on picking up some WLP300 tomorrow for my hefe brew this weekend and wanted to stretch it a bit farther than one...

So I stopped at Kroger on my way home from work tonight, planning on putting together a mix-six for $9.99. Instead I spent $2 more and walked out of the store with a variety 12-pack from Great Lakes, which includes their Gold Lager, Amber Lager, Pale Ale, and Porter. That's $5.50 off the...

I'm toasting some MO for a SMaSH brew in a couple weeks to give some color to the brew. First of all, I'm pretty sure it's best to toast grains whole, correct? That's the way I picked them up from the LHBS. More importantly, is there a typical way to store the grains for the few weeks after...

Just found out that it sold out in 13 hours on December 1st. I'm totally bummed out, I was hoping to plan a nice get away to Grand Rapids for my birthday with my wife. I could just picture a few days away from the kids and with boatloads of beer. Le sigh. Anyone else miss the sale? Can't...

Hey all, quick question, which I know will be a bit more difficult without tasting the beer. I'm looking to send my first brew I've made in a while into a competition just to get some judge feedback. The problem is I'm not too familiar with BJCP guidelines yet. The brew is a Gingerbread Brown...

This question mostly pertains to using different calculation tools, but also because I'm into keeping really detailed notes to help improve my beers down the road. So when do you guys typically measure what your "batch size" is? Post-boil in the kettle? What's poured into the fermenter (if...

First of all yes, I know that secondaries are evil (jk). I'm still relatively new to brewing, so I'm trying to branch out and slowly experience a variety of brewing techniques. I have a Two Hearted Ale clone I'm planning on dry hopping in the coming week, so I plan on seeing how one of my two...

Hello all. I'm planning a SMaSH ESB in the future with Maris Otter and Goldings, and based on a recipe I saw I want to toast a couple pounds of the MO to provide some color. Is there a general consensus on when to toast grains (in this case, 375 for about 14 minutes)- before the grains are...

Do any of you avoid brewing/racking/taking samples/bottling while sick, or does it not matter to you? I was planning on brewing an ESB this week, but I've come down with a nasty cold and I've postponed the brew for a few days, mostly because I feel like crap but also because I'm worried about...

Hello guys, I think I'm still pretty new around here so here's some background. I have my fourth batch in the fermenter right now (along with my fifth as well), and this is the first time I'm using a hydrometer, since the other three brews I did (about a year ago) were all extract and I was...

I'm working on a starter right now for my brew day on Saturday and had a couple questions. First of all, I'm using the dregs of three bottles of Bell's Pale Ale (making a 2 Hearted clone) and it's my first time trying to harvest commercial beer yeast. I basically followed Palmer's advice on...

I just picked up a Pumpkin Brown extract kit from my LHBS, and I had a few questions. I plan on brewing tomorrow. First, the bittering hops in the package (all put together by the LHBS) should have been pellets, but the plastic bag they came in is almost entirely powder. They hops still...

So I decided to pick up a 52 qt. Coleman Xtreme cooler to build my MLT (bonus, Kmart had it for $28). I decided I'd follow the directions from this page, and I've followed them exactly (except for using a 2" nipple, the 1-1/2" definitely wasn't working). However, when I fill the rig with just...

Disclaimer: This is my first post. I searched through the "did I ruin it" posts and did read a story on here about a brew left in the fermenter for 9 months, but I would love having as much information as possible before bottling this beer. So here's the story: last Christmas my wife gave...