Recent content by eaglehoo

I have a 1.100 OG mead in the primary now for a month that I am about to rack over oak. I have American oak cubes, medium toast, and I was planning on using 2 oz. Any suggestions as how best to use the oak? I have seen several ways, and was leaning towards covering the 2 oz cubes in water...

I'm making a pecan brown ale today, and am currently roasting 12 oz of pecans to add them to my mash. Anyone know how small I need to crush them? Thanks!

I'm brewing a cider as we speak, and the hydrometer (in hot pasturizing cider) reads a SG of 1.033, which is impossible. Other than a defective hydrometer, which worked fine for my last brew and calibrated at 1.000 in water, any idea why the reading is so low? The recipe is: 6 gal apple juice...

I actually ice-chilled one today after posting this. When I popped it, what I got was a very tasty yet not-quite-properly-carbonated saison. IOW, nothing to complain about. And this would be the first time I have had good carbonation with a beer that aged 3+ weeks. In my earlier brewing days I...

Background: I bottled a Belgian saison last Monday, made using WLP670 yeast blend, FG 1.006 and stable for 3d, aged 1 week in primary and 2 weeks in secondary, primed with 4.75 oz table sugar for added dryness and carbonation level of around 2.7-2.8. When I age a beer longer than 2 weeks, I...

Afternoon, all. I was planning on making my blood orange summer ale again (it's popular--the batch I made in April is already history), but I've found that blood oranges are now gone until fall. All I can seem to find so far are navel oranges. In the opinion of fruit brewers out there, am I OK...

I rehydrated some safale 05 last night to prime by t'ej (Calagione's recipe) for bottling this weekend, but managed in my sleep-deprived state to forget to add it to the carboy and left it uncovered on the counter all night. The yeast solution looks and smells like nothing more than yeast. Since...

I've been reading that, but it doesn't give very specific amounts regarding the gesho. It does, however, state that most people prefer the stick (inchet) gesho to leaf/powder. At least I have that going for me. :) I can't find anything about the benefits of shredding, though...

How about a vegetable peeler?

I'm making the T'ej recipe from Calagione's "Extreme Brewing" book, my first attempt at mead or its cousins. The recipe calls for shredded gesho, but the only gesho I could find is the whole sticks. The recipe calls for 9.6 oz. Since shredded roots would have much more surface area than the...

Found it: The Nile Market, 7815 Georgia Ave NW, just north of the MD-DC border.

I'm hoping to brew the T'ej recipe from Calagione's Extreme Brewing. Anyone know where in the DC metro area I can find Gesho root? I haven't had much luck calling African grocery stores around here. Thanks!

I'm a partial mash brewer, and cannot for the life of me figure out why most of my brews finish darker than I plan. I just competed a Tripel and IPA, and both of their critiques labeled them too dark for the style (I can't argue). My Irish red is basically an Irish brown. I already add most of...

I was hoping for input on this recipe (partial mash): 6 1/2 lbs pilsen LME 2 lbs Belgian 2-row 1 lb Munich 8 oz Carapils 8 oz flaked oats 8 oz Belgian aromatic 6 oz crystal 60 4 oz caravienne Grains mashed at 153 deg for 90 min 5 gal batch, 6 gal boil 90 min boil for carmelization...

Maybe this is a silly question, but I'm relatively new to partial mashing. I have 2 young kids (2 months and 22 months), and the house is so crazy that the only way I can brew these days is when both are asleep. At night this doesn't happen until after 8, which means I'm up much later than I can...