Recent content by Andrew J-Beer

A Helles I brewed from Love2brew- Came out quite good though far different from brewery bought like Other Half in Brooklyn or Boniface by Schilling Beer Co in NH. The goal is to get a indecipherable reproduction in my home brew to the excellent craft versions I come across in my travels. A...

That is awesome your beer or mead should I say won the 2nd prize- there are probably different divisions but a friend Paul locally who brews super beers got a first place ribbon in that same competition for a nice stout he made

thanks for this thread- I tried to follow a hybrid brew approach with Luv2brew Kolshc extract kit out of E. Brunswick NJ that had Lallemand Kolsch Style Ale Yeast- Koln while also reading about the "Its OK Kolsch" recipe in the Complete Joy of Homebrewing and trying to incorporate aspects of...

great information- and well written and presented. Glass Carb dangerous- that is why friends with better equipment have gifted me theirs- I am trying to respect the glass but am freaked by one that broke a while ago- need to upgrade the equipment myself- something to aim for

I always reclaim my bottles from purchases then tidy up and clean and sanitize for reuse. The only challenge is some breweries use decent glue that is not too hard to remove like Samuel Smiths while others like Maine Brewing Company use incredibly tenacious glue that is nearly impossible to...

I had a similar glass carbide mishap below. Those things can be challenging. Most of my brew friends have moved away from them entirely and that is why I have inherited their unused ones which is fortunate since I lost the one I had

When you sanitize a glass carbide under your hose outside and it is slippery and you sort of stumble on the paver sidewalk as you are making your way back inside and the carbide slips out of your hands like a hot potato, let me tell you that glass carbide makes a hell of racket when it lands on...

That is real helpful info on the Kolsch- I have a kit ready to brew Kolsch and seeing about possibilities- it is still real cold outside and most instructions seem to recommend while lagering is necessary on Kolsch, it may not need to not stay in primary all that long and can bottle (or Keg for...

Left some mediocre Mexican Brown Ale that I made as an all grain recipe out in the shed in bottles during the cold snap. I say mediocre when I really should say not too good result I ended up bottled. It was drinkable though had esters galore and probably I was outside my mash temperature range...