Search results

I've been doing 2.5 gal BIAB batches for a little over a year now and I've dialed my process in pretty consistently. LHBS double crushes my grains, mash for an hour (don't lose more than 1 degree during the hour), no mash out, squeeze the bag, no sparge, boil 60 minutes. Cool, aerate, pitch...

What are your favorite English yeast strains? I tried 1968 and was very disappointed. I've read that S-04 is not very reliable. I'm looking for a go to English strain that can handle my stouts, porters, and ESBs. I've got the Belgian and American thing down but not sure where to go on the English.

How long after washing yeast do you have to wait until you can use it? Do you have to let it settle out in the fridge for a few days? Or can you just pitch it right away?

I've brewed 3 beers this year with special B in them. They were a Belgian Quad (extract), a RIS (AG), and a Weizenbock (extract). Each had about 5-6% Special B as part of the malt bill. Obviously, these are beers that should age a bit, but they all have this distinct taste that I find very...

So I brewed my first all-grain batch yesterday. It was a 2.5 gal BIAB oatmeal stout based on the recipe in BCS. OG was 1.052 and it was 2.5 gal batch so I calculated that just the wyeast 1968 (London ESB) pack would be sufficient to get the job done. I smacked it and it inflated like you...

I was at the LHBS yesterday and saw a can of Muntons Maris Otter Extract. Didn't know they even made an extract from Maris Otter. Is this new? Has anyone used it? How did they like it? I made a small batch barleywine with NB's Maris Otter Extract, but I haven't tasted it yet so don't have a...

I've heard and read that a good way to make sure you get good attenuation for a high gravity beer that uses sugar (like a tripel) is to not add the sugar during the boil, but wait until fermentation is slowing down then add the sugar. When you do this do you boil the sugar in a small amount...

I've read a lot about people reusing a yeast cake from one batch to ferment a second batch (usually the first batch is low/moderate gravity and the second batch is high gravity). I get that you want the yeast strain to be appropriate for both beers. My question is more of a technical nature...

So I've brewed about 8 batches now and bottle conditioned all of them. Never had any problems until last night when two bottles blew up in my closet. They were a coffee and cream stout (Brewers Best milk stout kit with some extra DME and cold brewed coffee at bottling) that I bottled back in...

A while back I was challenged by a co-worker to make a Leinenkugel Summer Shandy clone. I did some searching on this site and found two threads that were helpful. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/extract-sheries-summer-shandy-289981/ and...

I am an extract brewer, but I like to steep specialty grains to give my beer some other flavors/colors. If I want to scale down a big recipe (say 10 gal to 5 gal) do I need to scale the specialty grains too? Or just the malt extract and hops?

What is the difference between a belgian quad and a belgian strong dark ale? I know that it can be tough to differentiate hard and fast distinct styles within belgian beers, but I am curious about this one.

I live in an apartment and have (unfortunately) limited space for my brewing operation. I've got 2 6-gal carboy fermenters, and I've got big beers in each (Belgian strong, OG=1.086 and Wee Heavy OG=1.082). They are both early in the primary fermentation process (2 weeks for belgian, 1 week for...

I've been reading a lot about how transferring to a secondary just isn't necessary with today's healthy yeast strains unless you want to dry hop, add fruit, or get a really clear beer. I've got two pretty big beers going right now. A belgian ale (Wyeast 1388, OG=1.084) and a wee heavy (Wyeast...

Has anyone ever made the Belgian Strong Golden Ale extract kit from Northern Brewer? I just got mine into the primary this past weekend (3/10). I did a 2L starter on the Wyeast 1388 the night before. I had really strong fermentation yesterday (needed the blow-off hose right away) which has...