I just tried my Irish Red Ale last night and although I was very pleased with the flavors and balance, it is under-carbed. It's only been in the bottles for 14 days (the first 3 days it was at 50 °F [10 °C], then I moved in indoors where it's spent the last 11 days at 65 °F [18 °C]), so it will...

In thinking about how people brewed hundreds of years ago - without the benefit of modern technology - I wondered how one might get the mash temperature correct with having a thermometer. I spent some time puzzling over the issue, then came upon a solution. I thought I'd post it here as a...

Should I do this as soon as I shut off the fire, or wait until the trub settles a bit?

I've been fining with gelatin after the fermentation is complete by racking to a separate container, adding gelatin and waiting 48 hrs or so, then racking again for priming and bottling. I just read an article where they recommend putting the finings right into the secondary when you rack from...

I'm planning to brew my new London Porter (http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/424419/london-porter) this weekend, but I just discovered that LHBS is plumb out of MO! I need a substitution suggestion, quick! Looks like the Vienna is the base malt with the closed Lovibond... Would...

Next in my lineup will be a London Porter. My porter would be full and smooth, with caramel/toffee overtones and enough bitter for balance. Just a touch of sweet, with a light, herbal hop fragrance. London Porter Recipe Specs ---------------- Batch Size (G): 3.0 Total Grain (lb)...

I'm dreaming up a line of UK/British style beers for my imaginary pub. First intallment for your perusal and comment: I like a nice Guinness, but my dream stout would be richer and fuller with raisiny tones to complement the roastiness. Dark caramel for body and flavor, CaraPils for body and...

I'm not a big fan of modern IPAs (at least the American type) because the hops are just too strong and obtrusive for my taste. However, I've read that it's a traditional style that's been around for a couple hundred years. I'm curious if I would enjoy an IPA brewed to the original style. I...

I'm interested in trying a lager-type beer fermented at ale temperatures. A steam lager, I believe it's called. Any suggestions on the yeast I should use? My LHBS has a vast selection of White Labs but not a lot else, so something in their line would be best.

I'm looking for a good reference to help me understand the nature and usages of the myriad kinds of malt available at my LHBS: http://surfbrewery.com/homebrew-supplies Anybody know of a comprehensive source or site that can explain for instance what a caraXXX malt is and why, or the diff...

I brewed up my first Irish Red Ale today - recipe here: http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/419294/irish-red-ale-01 Aside from comments about my recipe, I would like some input re: mashing. I ended up 10 points shy on OG, and I'm not sure why. Could it be because of the short...

Before about 1400, beer was made without hops. I'm wondering if any of you have ever tried making a pure malt brew?

Try creating a recipe with only lactose. You should get a OG and FG that are the same, since lactose is totally unfermentable. This works for the Recipe Editor online, but in the BF Windows App, I get: 3 gallon batch, 3 pounds of lactose - OG = 1.041 FG = 0.998 (??) Just a head's up for...

I've made a couple of starters using DME and they've worked, but the reaction of the yeast was unimpressive. Then, once I pitch it into my fresh wort, it goes off like gangbusters! Seems like it enjoys my fresh mashed wort much better than that pre-bagged DME... Wouldn't it be better just to...

I've always heard that you need a glass carboy to ferment in, though the plastic one are far cheaper and easier to get. It occurs to me that a two stage fermenter like myself typically uses a plastic bucket type fermenter for the primary. That works fine, so why is it bad to use plastic for...

Just curious... I use a reclaimed pickle jar for my starters. What's so magic about a fancy-dancy flask?

The BF Strike Water Calculator wants to know the temperature of the grain. I set the bag of grain on the counter next to a glass of water overnight, then before mashing I measured the water temp and used that as the grain temp; since they had both had time to reach the normal ambient...

I've read that some use finings to clear the beer and remove yeast (particularly ale yeast) before bottling, then add lager yeast with the priming sugar to perform the carbing in bottle. Lager yeast is supposed to t work better because it all collects at the bottom. Do you guys ever do that...

I would like to replace the original spigot on my 5 gallon Igloo cooler mash tun with one that has a turn valve (so I don't have to hold the damned button for half an hour) and with a spout that I can attach a vinyl tube to. Anybody have suggestions where I can get such a thing? Is there a...

As an old school brewer, I'm working from my well-worn copy of Dave Line's Big Book of Brewing. Based on my water, my recipe and his book I should be using 1/4 tsp Sodium Chloride and 1/4 tsp Potassium Chloride to up the chlorides for my Porter. Problem is I can't find Potassium Chloride. To...