Good to know.. Since it was a German recipe I attempted to stick to German grains. I hope to eventually brew some very authentic German lagers and am improving but still have a lot to learn on the process. My German guinea pigs tell me I'm getting close. My mistake was veering from the original reci...

Based on Home Brewer's Companion by Charlie Papazian the Enzymatic value for German Vienna is 95 (72% of grain bill), Carared has none (14.3 %), melanoidin is very low, and carafoam is 33 and acid malt is also very low. American Vienna has a greater Enzymatic of around 130 or so. I didn't use any Mu...

I thought I might relate my BIAB experience yesterday for other Newbie AG brewers out there. Yesterday I mashed a recipe (a Red/Blonde Märzen) including 2 decoctions with primarily Vienna malt and about 27 % other grains that just wouldn't complete conversion in the 1 hour planned for the mash. I ex...

Done again.

Thanks Russki I had read somewhere that you use either Sorbate or sulfites, but not both. Since some people are allergic to sulfites, I didn't want to use anything else. It kind of looks like the Sorbate will be overwhelmed by the amount of yeast. I will keep a check on PET's. I wanted to make a har...

Last night...
I put most of it in PET bottles and some in flip tops...
But I'm curious if you don't rack do you use more Sorbate...

I made a 2.5 Gal Hard Cider recipe using 100% Apple Juice, 1/2 lb. Brown sugar and 1 lb. table sugar. When fermentation completed I added 1/2 tsp. Potasium Sorbate per gal and to back sweeten I added 1 can frozen apple juice and 2 cups Apple Korn which has given me a pretty high alchahol level. My m...

Congratulation to you Jim. I met my wife in Germany also. A Mainzer Madel. It will be our 50th in two weeks. Her landlord introduced me to her and over the years she has often mumbled to herself, in German, that she would love to go and find that landlord and give him a big hug around the neck. My G...

Never done one before, but I've been thinking of making a hard cider myself. I have 2 1/2 Gal (5 64 oz bottles) of 100% Apple "Juice" containing just filtered water, apple juice concentrate and ascorbic acid (Vit C)... Would that be concentrated enough and satisfactory for making hard cide...

I like their Wheat beers also...... I've had their Brau-Weisse and was really happy with it. I tried to brew something close to it but used US-05 last time with the Bavarian Wheat 65/35 DME. Next time I think I will do an AG and use either the Whitelabs 300 or Wyeast 3638. Has anyone else tried to c...

My wife finally ran me out of the kitchen too. Didn't like the smell of the hops.. Probably a good thing as I couldn't get a decent boil on the glass top anyway. My first patio experience didn't go "quite" as well though. I bought a 185,000 BTU burner thinking I would shortly move up from ...

Styrofoam cooler in a closet with radiant barrier cover and ice bottles...
Could maintain hi-40's but generally ferment 50-52*F.
Luckily retired so I can change out ice bottles when needed.

Someone gave me an Arrogant Bastard a few months ago and got the first chance to try it last night. Also was hit with the overpowering bitterness. I think it would have been much better if they had cut back on that and let more of the malt flavor come forward. Hate to waste beer but couldn't finish ...

Since moving from extract to AG I have only done BIAB. The wort always is "much" cloudier than with the extracts. It also does not fully settle out during the cooling process, even with an extended wait time, and I do not strain it to the fermenter. I also do not use any clearing agent. It...

Are any of you using laser printers for your labels? I find I'm having a problem using an inkjet printer. The ink runs if it get damp or wet and stains the counter tops. That is a bad thing in my house....