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I'm trying this again after trying this last year and having a catasrophic failure with my bucket lid developing a crack and letting in the gnats and who knows what else. This round I'm using a 1 gallon carboy with drilled stopper and airlock which should keep the nasties out. I prepared this...

Ok, I only have one brew behing me and I've never done a yeast starter. If you do the starter and slowly add the mixture to the starter to get it used to the acid, what keeps the original mixture from spoiling while working on the yeast? Is it because the acid level is so high in the must...

Bottled one week ago and decided to sample one. I put the bottle and a glass in the freezer for 45 mins or so. When I opened the bottle I heard a nice hiss and after pouring there was a decent head on it which did dissipate fairly quick. Upon tasting it had very nice carbonation and flavor...

I couldn't stand it so one week out I took a hydrometer sample from the bucket. The original reading was 1.045 and it's now reading 1.018 (if I'm looking at it correctly). I sanitized everything thoroughly before taking my sample including the test tube. I've placed a balloon over the end of...

Ok the airlock was alive with activity when I checked at 7am this morning and all day until now. It's currently only sending out a large bubble every 30 seconds or so. Is this normal to stop this quickly? Could it be an oxygen problem? I stirred and agitated the wort well or so I thought...

How do I know when to bottle? When the hydrometer reading is the same for 3 days or so? Is there any benefit/risks to leaving the beer in the fermenter once fermentation is done? Thanks!

Just brewed my first ever batch with my brother today. It's an Irish Pale Ale from Midwest. I think it went ok. The initial gravity when I pitched the yeast was 1.045. Does this sound ok? Also, we gave it a quick taste from the sample pulled for the hydrometer and it wasn't too bad. Hoping...

I am almost ready to brew my first batch and I've chosen the Irish Red Ale kit from Midwest Supplies. I have a quick question about adding honey to the wort. Am I correct that I would add about 1.5lbs or so while it is cooling after the boil but before I place the wort into the fermenter with...

Unfortunately they aren't offering any of those, just Irish Red Ale, Autumn Amber Ale, and Irish Stout. Would be nice if they would offer the cream ale for newbies.

I bought the Groupon for the Midwest Supplies beginner kit and need to decide which kit to order. The only beer I'm used to is domestics like Budweiser, Coors, etc. I'm fairly sure the Irish Stout isn't a good first choice. I'm leaning towards the Autumn Ale but I'm not sure enough about the...

Not judgmental at all. I guess 5 gal just seems like a lot all at once but split up it's not really all that much at all. I've been doing a lot if reading and know I want to start out very simple then try different flavors.

Thanks for all the info. More I read the more sense it's making to invest in a good kit. I primarily like lighter tasting beers (bud, Coors - please be kind). What recipes are good for this? Ultimately I want to build on this style with different flavors. Thanks!

Would it be feasible to buy a Mr. Beer kit to use as the primary fermented, use a 3 gal food grade bucket as a secondary, and then reuse the Mr. Beer for bottling? 5 gallons would be too much for me before spoiling. Would this work ok or am I way off. Also, are the kits from Mr. Beer good...

Hello, I wanted to say thank you for the great information on this site. I have been considering buying the Mr. Beer kit, but after doing some research I gather it may not be a good idea. Do most buy the kits for $50-70 or have a few of you built your own? I might be missing something but...