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It is a standard recommendation to drink hop-forward beers as fresh as possible. I'm guessing that most home brewers are already drinking fresher beer than folks buying commercial beer off the shelf. When using reasonable brewing techniques that minimize oxygen exposure (purged kegs, closed...

After filling a keg and connecting CO2 I put both keg and bottle (5#) in beer fridge. Sometimes I burst carb or set and forget. Drink beer. No problems. When I remove keg and CO2 bottle from fridge if I turn off gas at the tank and turn it back on to run pbw thru serving line the CO2 spews out...

I use an upright refrigerator for my kegs with the CO2 bottle inside.The frig is old and does not have a flat bottom. I would like to make room for a second keg and I was thinking about attaching a fire extinguisher mount to the inside of the frig to keep the CO2 bottle upright and out of the...

I have been using the closed transfer method to keg my beer from a Fermonster to a keg. Since the keg lid is closed what's the best method to know the keg is FULL but not too full? I could use markings on the fermenter but I've got dry hop bags in there which throws the measurement off. I've...

I'm gradually trying to up my game in reducing oxygen in my ipa/apa brews. I will be racking to keg tonight with a closed transfer method using a ss racking cane to a ball lock connection (out) on the purged keg pushing with CO2. I hope that makes sense. I've got two hop bags in the fermenter...

I recently brewed a saison with Wyeast 3724 (Dupont strain) that has a reputation for stalling. I had no problem with stalling but once it was finished I cold crashed with anticipation of bottling in a few days. Well, life and a week long fishing trip got in the way and the beer has been cold...

I've been brewing a number of years and recently abandoned the glass carboys for just some plastic brew buckets. I know the lids can leak but they seem to work well for me.. Thursday afternoon I brew a session rye pale ale (OG 1047). LHBS has been very busy and yeast inventory was down so I...

Any downside to this? It has been cleaned and dried. It should be filled in a few weeks.

First batch to use Imperial Yeast, brown ale using Darkness and I'm glad I had over a gallon of head space in my fermenter because my bucket lid was bulging and the blow off tube sounded like my diesel tractor exhaust in a bottle of Starsan. All within 8-10 hours. Temp control was good at 67F...

My first altbier (ale yeast, lager temps) is in the fermenter and by the time it's ready for bottling it will be in the mid 30's for over two weeks. I'm concerned about the yeasts ability to carbonate after being at this temp for an extended time. Should I rehydrate a little dry yeast to add to...

What is the difference in measured volume of boiling wort vs chilled (70 F) wort? Is it 4-5%? I hope I asked that correctly. If boiling wort is at the 7 gallon mark in my kettle, what will it measure when chilled to 70 F?

It's common to read that stirring your chilled wort vigorously will settle the trub into a cone. I've not had that experience. Does it really work? I stir like crazy and it's a virtual whirlpool tsunami in the kettle. I wait about 15-20 minutes after stirring before draining into a fermenter...

I'm looking for a recipe similar to Old Mecklenburg Copper? I really like that beer but distribution is very limited (only NC). I think the malt bill (pils, munich with something for color) and hops (noble) are basic but I'm wondering about yeast. Thanks

Does PBW/Oxyclean, hot water and sanitizer adequately take care of tubing used in brewing? I have a transfer tube from kettle to fermenter, blow off tubing and auto siphon tubing plus a short piece to connect bottle wand to bottling bucket. No infections but I've wondered if I should replace...

What is the shelf life of unmilled grain? Does it vary for base malts or specialty malts? I'm considering buying 50# bags of the grains I use the most just due to convenience and cost savings. I brew about every two to four weeks. I would be able to keep the bag in a cool dry location stored...

I used Whirlfloc for the first time this weekend. All-grain pale ale. It settled a bunch of break material in the bottom of my kettle and since I didn't anticipate this my pickup tube was not at a good angle and I had some go in my fermenter. About 8 hours into fermentation I've got a thick...

When homebrewers and recipes refer to "Whirlpool" hop additions does that imply they are actually using a pump to whirlpool the wort? Is the whirlpool itself important to the hop addition or is it just referring to the time (flameout, post boil) when the addition is made? I understand that...

I'm brewing a 2.5 gallon test batch My only available fermenter is a 6 gallon bucket. Is 3.5 gallons of headspace a problem? I'm thinking it's not a problem. I could probably borrow a 3 gallon carboy and deal with the blowoff but I'm going to be gone during some of the early fermentation...

How important is watching fermentation activity for you? When I first started brewing I used one gallon glass jugs then moved to some gifted 3 and 5 gallon glass carboys. I got used to seeing the development of the yeast tsunami and krausen development. My wife harasses me that I check on my...

What is the volume of the "conical" portion of the bottom of this fermenter? Do you ever have problems keeping dip tube above the trub when transferring? Thanks