Recent content by MKBoitnott

If you think your problem is with your water and mash pH. Then I would strongly considering learning all about water and pH and the mash. Invest in the pH meter and all involved. I recently dragged my way through the Water book and learned a HELL of a lot.

As far as co2 goes, in the recent issue of BYO magazine (or maybe it was Zymurgy) there was an entire article about how much we take co2 for granted. It really seems like you got the bacteria under control. So I'm thinking it could be oxygen. The article I mentioned discussed co2 purity in...

You mention the set and forget, but does this apply to commercial beer?? I was under the impression that commercial beer is already carbed. The balancing thing is interesting, I looked it up. With a new kegerator, wouldn't it already be balanced? Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Hey everyone, Been brewing for a few years now, always bottled. I finally was able to acquire a kegerator from my dad. Extremely excited!!!! My dad got me a commercial beer to start (Devils Backbone Vienna Lager). We set up everything great, beer pours nicely. The big problem is there is no...

Hey everyone, Looking to brew for a party coming up in the end of September. My goal is to make a session version of Brooklyn Brown Ale. SWMBO beer, she really loves Brooklyn brown, but I am concerned about it being ready if its in the 1.060 range that Brooklyns website says... and Id rather...

I am really surprised that I have never heard this before. So simple, seems very logocal Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

You can search this topic in here, read books, listen to podcasts, ask breweries, and your LHBS, and the large majority will tell you rehydrating is better. Its easy to do and people have actually researched it. I would trust that information. It absolutely can't hurt. I'm also surprised no one...

Another possible issue is the effective mixing of priming sugar, a problem I have dealt with recently. You have make sure the sugar dissolves into the solution, or the first few bottle you filled would be bottle bombs. I noticed because it was 22 oz bottle that were doing it and I always fill...

AJ, You are not the first person that I have heard say this; Jamil said something to this extent during the Water podcasts, and Palmer, more or less, agreed. What I have not seen is more information on the subject. Would happen to have any references or resources that might give me more...

Martin and AJ, First off, thank you for contributing so much to the brewing community. I really enjoyed reading this post. I use Bru'n Water for my calculations. I am planning on brewing an Oatmeal Stout in the near future, and I am using a basic Oatmeal Stout recipe (Jamil's). Like Hop, I also...

So I had this crazy idea for a new recipe. One of my friends is moving to chile and he was telling me about the strong German influence in craft beer there. This got me intrigued so I decided to look at Chilean ingredients to make an interesting beer. I found this interesting spice Merken...

Wouldn't the champagne yeast also find the other sugar, and not just the priming?? Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

On second thought, the high ABV could kill the yeast, but I would guess that s05 would have no problem in the environment. Also could be wrong. Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

I could be wrong, but I thought carbonation was solely a result of the yeast eating the added sugar, filling the headspace with co2, and that co2 getting absorbed into solution. I'm not sure if the abv has a huge effect on the volumes of co2 possible. Yeah, I have heard it can affect the head...

Chris, if you are interested, the James River HomeBrewers club does water testing for $3 a test, which is an awesome deal. It just gives you the essential mineral counts and alkalinity. I highly recommend that you attend one of our meetings. They are every second Wednesday of the month...