Great information, thanks. That's my suspicion as well: with fresh soil and compost, it's not that the nutrients aren't there, it's that there's no uptake for some reason, probably pH related.
I have an RO filter for my brewing system, so I'll make some RO water for the next watering and see...
Hi all,
I'm container growing some hops in large, 20 gallon planters, and have run into a bit of a snag. I'm growing two different varieties: Willamette, and Sterling. This is their first year, started in mid-April from rhizomes. The planters were filled with a mix of about 50% potting soil...
I don't have my notes with me, but it would have been at room temperature, about 77F. I always check the temperature of the sample when I take a hydrometer reading, then record the temperature, indicated SG, and temperature-corrected SG in my notebook. 1.020 was my temperature-corrected specific...
I suspect there are all sorts of causes for what is commonly seen as the 1.020 curse. I suspected underpitching or just plain bad yeast, but in my case, I think there just weren't any fermentable sugars left.
Just for fun, I saved a half gallon or so from the primary, put it in a smaller...
Well, six weeks later, I'm more than halfway through my first batch. It carbed up quite nicely. No bottle bombs, no infections. It came out great!
Initially it was a little sharp, or twangy. That's nothing a little patience couldn't solve, however. Once I actually gave it a few weeks to mellow...
Just thought I'd update:
Went ahead and left it to sit for another six days. Initially there was some action from the airlock, probably just CO2 coming out of solution. Checked it again today, still reading 1.020, so I went ahead and primed and bottled. Now the really hard part begins --...
Thanks! It seems like it's probably finished, but I guess there's no harm in waiting a few days to see. I gathered pretty early on that the instructions were largely useless.
My concern in this case (maybe unjustified) is that it's just going to get hotter as summer sets in, and it may be a...
Hello,
Just wanted to start off by saying this is a great forum. I've been lurking for a while, learned a lot, and I'm grateful this resource exists.
Like the title says, I'm new to brewing, and I'd just like to see if anyone has some thoughts or input on how I'm doing.
I received a...