If I see a Black Mamba in Georgia, I'll need to move further north. The six foot Rattlesnakes are all I can handle. FYI - The wild hogs eating the Rattlesnakes that "rattle" has led to Rattlesnakes that do not rattle. Lots of hogs at the camp and I've never seen a snake there.

If you get by Tybee Island Georgia, drop into his place. He had the first sour I really liked. The food is not bad either. The sour was well balanced and did not take your breath away. Very typical of my experiences - if the beer is good, the food will be good, too.

I need to put some acid in mine, too. The pH strips aren't helping me sitting in the tube. Thanks for the pH levels to shoot for. Are these the pH levels just before pitching the yeast?

Always write down what I do. Usually update in the app, or at least put the notes in the brew binder.

I'm on the same aquifer and gave up on the water and buy distilled for everything but brown ale. Still, I cut the tap (well ) water with some distilled for the brown, too. I have an aerator and a sediment/carbon filter on my tap. pH 8.0 Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 291 Electrical...

My bride suggested pork. A friend does fig pizza with blue cheese. The figs seem to have liked the drought followed by the rains.

Letting the figs sit for 3-4 days at room temperature really increases the flavor and they "reduce down" by a full half of their original volume, if not more. I like the vodka suggestion for sanitizing.

Thank you for all the suggestions. My bride suggested I do pork with the figs, too. Meanwhile, the raccoons found the fig tree and had a time of it. The broken branches were a sure sign of their visit. I picked all I could and they are ripening quickly. The first ones picked have been...

As if I did not learn my lesson with pineapple, I'm going to try figs. It is a banner year for Turkey Figs, plump and sweet, and I have a pile of them. To keep it sterile, I plan on putting them in the boil. Anyone tried this? I'm thinking something like a brown ale might do well. Some...

I took gardening shears and nipped off the tip. Nothing fancy going on here and it kept the show moving forward. Didn't think to pull the grommet and shove in the hose. That would have been to easy.

Let me add that I put my ferment container in a plastic wash pan so I can add ice packs during the first few days when the brew is trying to heat up. I cover the top of the wash pan with a towel to hold in the cool and change out the ice packs every 12 hours. Usually the brew stays around 66-68...

I push the limits by putting 5.5 gallons in six gallon containers, but I usually use a blow-off tube when tempting fate of a major mess. Just remember to use a blow-off container large enough for water to cover the hose, and room for any overflow. A tapered pen body made a nice transition from...

Paper notepad works for me, too. OG, temperatures, pitch time, and a lot of other small stuff I keep for no particular reason. Its my hobby and I can geek as much as I like, thank you.

This should work, and if you watch the temperature it should not hurt the flavor. The alcohol will go well before the beer boils. I make root beer and don't worry about the small amount of alcohol. The rule in my house is if you drink beer under 18, you are in the house (or on the property) for...

Some rain but more of a steady drizzle. Fires are now 75% contained. The hunt camp is not threatened at this time. Smokey still, depending on the wind direction. Friends are just getting back and picking up what remains. A friend lost everything except a trailer, tractor, and the saw mill...