Recent content by Mechphisto

Oh, ok... you know, come to think of it, the one (and only one) good batch I'd made since moving to OR was an amber ale. The rest have been some kind of stout. Maybe I just can't make stouts right LOL! (Or I have infected equipment since that first batch) :(

Brand new bottles, run through the dishwasher (just high heat, no detergent) to sanitize. And bottled straight out of the washer.

My bottling bucket doesn't have a spigot, I use the autosiphon with the wand. No, I did taste it after primary, and it tasted fine! But I did not taste it before bottling. Should have. Definitely will start now. EDIT ADDED: Oh, the oxy-stuff... I forget what it's called. It's just a white...

Wow! Surprised about no one thinks it's one of the possible failure points I mentioned. OK, more info (and recipe at end). I used buckets when I lived in MO and never had a bad batch. I switched to carboys after moving to OR (and getting all new equipment) because the buckets I got here wasn't...

Oh no, very very definitely a spoiled sour taste! No doubt about it! But, good to know about the copper and sanitizer! Will be aware of that in the future. Sorry, misspoke again. Meant "purified" drinking water, not "sanitized." You know, the kind you get in gallon jugs at the grocery store.

It's immersion. And yeah, I do the same thing, put it in for the last 10-15 min of the boil. Then rinse and sanitize afterward.

I originally misspoke and corrected it: I use the oxyclean-like powder stuff for cleaning, StarSan for sanitizing. And yeah, I discovered that size issue when I discovered the pool of beer on the floor around the carboy. :) I plan on getting a 7 gal carboy for my primary for next time. (If I'm...

Sorry, "FV"? I can't think of what that refers to :( My autosiphon is plastic, my bottling wand, bottling bucket, secondary carboy is PET plastic (and never before used before this batch), uhm... stirring paddle is plastic. Primary carboy is glass, hydrometer is glass, wort chiller copper (with...

I've had ANOTHER batch completely ruined, now. Just opened the first bottle of this batch and it's horrifically sour! Nauseatingly sour. I am SO careful about cleaning and sanitation! Nothing comes near my beer unless it's been oxypowder-stuff cleaned and soaked or sprayed with StarSan sanitizer...

I just finished bottling my 5 gallon batch. I got 34 12oz bottles and 2 22oz bottles. I calculate that to be 3.3 gallons! When I put it in the primary fermenter (a 5gal glass carboy), I made sure to top it off to where it came up just below the bottom of the neck. Surely that's 5 full gallons...

We just tried this new recipe I came up with to clone Mother's Winter Grind, and it's really good! Everyone who's tried it has complimented it. I'm pleased. But the one problem, is it's kind of weak. The flavor profile is perfect, but, it's very light. I could use some advice on how to bring...

So I made up a recipe that I put into Brewer's Friend and BeerSmith 3 exactly identical. This is what they each calculated: Generic Style; BrewersFriend; BeerSmith; Actual Est. Original Gravity (OG): 1.049; 1.05; 1.06 1.049 Est. Final Gravity (FG): 1.014; 1.014...

Yeah, I initially wanted to go from bucket spigot to tube to the bottling wand, but the diameter of the wand and the spigot are different which is why I thought the way to go was siphon to wand. Looks like the right and best solution is to go back to the store and say hey! I need a spigot/2"...

So, when I bottle, I rack to a bottling bucket then put the bottling wandon the end of the tube with the siphon, start the siphon going, and bottle. But every time, I get a LOT of air and churning of the brew as it comes out the top of the siphon around the top bend of the tube. This is not...

At the bottom of this reply is the recipe. I did indeed add corn sugar to boost gravity. But I didn't think too much. I clean the goodness heck out of everything with the OxyClean-like powder I get from my brew store, both at the end of use and again before next use. And I soak and/or spray...