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I'm trying to understand starters. Because I brew mostly big beers, Stouts and RIS's, I've decided I need to study using a starter. I haven't up to now, I typically used multiple packs of yeast. I see references to one liter, two liter and up to five liter starters. My understanding is...

I'm spending the month in Rome, just arrived today and the only thing I felt like doing was scoring a decent beer. I went to this place which is less than 50 feet from the apartment I'm renting, http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187791-d6480293-Reviews-My_Ale-Rome_Lazio.html...

I've seen this mentioned before and the response is usually "it won't work" but I'm not going to let that stand in my way. If specific gravity is just a ratio of the weight of one volume of liquid compared to the same volume of water it seems it should be easy to calculate SG by weighing the...

I'm pretty stoked. I just finished building the controller for my cheese/fermenting cave. I can finally control temps and humidity and start making some tasty cheese. My first experiment will be Belper Knolle, found the following recipe... http://www.cheesemaking.com/BKnolle.html...

I know, it's considered a sure Fire way to get killed. But why? I'm lusting after a Kamado style grill and for many reasons, I want it in my kitchen. Assuming I have adequate heat shielding and vent hood, why is this any different than my wood burning fireplace? Don't gas stoves and ovens...

Just had this happen, 6 pm on a Saturday and a guy knocks on the door. He's wearing a uniform, has a nice looking vehicle fully wrapped, and gives me the "I was just delivering in the next housing development and have some product left over. Are you interested in some filet mignon?" Am I the...

I've had the system for a while but work and travel ate up all my time. Today I did my first non extract brew and my first brew with the system. I don't yet have a dedicated space for the setup, so it was a bit of a circus of me wrestling wires and hoses. It got 12 gallons of water to...

I'm just getting into all-grain. I got my water profile from Ward Labs and I'm wondering how much of an effect water chemistry actually plays. Here's my thought. I do a ten gallon batch with tap water, unmodified. I split the batch into two five gallon batches and add whatever to get the...

I’m a member or lurker on a bunch of forums and it’s always surprised me the lengths that we can go to find something to argue about. Regardless of the tameness of the topic, there always seems to be some issue that will polarize the participants. We've got our own here on this forum, but...

These look interesting, I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with them. I'd like to dry age some steaks and use them in charcuterie. I really don't have the space for a dedicated curing fridge.

I just read in the newspaper that a college in my town is going to offer a brewing course next year. They already have a very good chef's course and this would fit in nicely. Even though I stay on the simple extract brew side of things, I'm excited about this development. I'm looking forward...

I just read this. May have to make a trip up to Mass. Wen things warm up!

My other big hobby is sailing, but fortunately I don't live aboard. If you think it's hard to brew in a house or apartment, check out the link to some folks brewing on a small sailboat. http://svsarana.com/brewing/how-to-brew-beer-on-a-boat.php

I've got a nectarine tree in my yard that pumps out tons of fruit. I'd like to incorporate some into an extract recipe. I've done several recipes with citrus peel, but never one using the fruit's juice. I'll probably do a Belgian Wheat and my question is, how much juice would I add to a 5...

I thought it might be fun to do a small run of bottles using one of the screen printing kits available. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this. I'd just be doing one color, or maybe a color over a mask. Something like this is what I had in mnd... http://www.sunsilkscreens.com/

I didn't see anyone else had posted this, if so, then the mods can delete this. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/amsterdam-has-a-deal-for-alcoholics--work-paid-in-beer-164244203.html Amsterdam has a policy of paying unskilled workers in beer and rolling papers. Makes me consider being a...

I saw a news article with the above headline. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/could-cut-spending-1-000-145150037.html I don't normally say this, but... This is a first world problem. Does the writer have any knowledge about how much of the country's, and indeed, the world's...

I'm probably going to have to replace my electric stove before too long. I've got one of those with the coil elements and it's working ok for boiling my extract batches but it's getting tired. It seems most of the new ones are the flat sealed surface types and my experience with older ones is...

I had no idea where to post this one. The one luxury I allow myself is an annual trip to Europe. Typically Italy or France. I didn't make it this year because of some unexpected expenses. Next year, sometime around September, I'd like to incorporate a visit to some of the Belgian Abbeys in...

I've been happy with the stouts and Belgians I've been brewing up to now being a bit "chunky" but I'm thinking of brewing a few that would look nice being clear. A few things about my operation that I don't want to change right now: I brew extract kits I bottle I don't have a dedicated...