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porkface
Dec 29, 2000

ifuckedjesus posted:

I'm no pro - but I used water mixed with starsan for my airlock at first, but it bubbled like crazy & it created these huge soap bubbles that were going everywhere out the top of my airlock.

That's a good thing. It indicates outward pressure and a strong barrier of sanitizer.

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porkface
Dec 29, 2000

Plastic Jesus posted:

So my first brew seems to feel it should have an FG of 1.02 (down from 1.08) so I'm going to let it have an FG of 1.02. However, I'm leaving for 10 days starting next Friday: if I bottle tonight will that give me enough time to discover any bottle bombs? I'd rather not have beer exploding in my empty apartment. If it's not enough time will it hurt anything to let the beer sit for another 2 weeks in the primary?
You can end up with bombs in 10 days, but if you bottle now and reach the carb you want before leaving you can stuff them all in the fridge and that will slow things down enough to prevent bombs.

As mentioned, malty or higher gravity beers tend to benefit from a few extra weeks in primary within reason. It's kind of up to whether or not you want to enjoy them when you get back or not.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

Retemnav posted:

Stove-top brewing: canning pot or stock pot?

I use a stock pot now, but it can't handle more than a gallon.

I did a test brew on the stove awhile back where I had all 4 burners going with 4 separate pots.

I found the enamel canning pot was the easiest to manage and boiled the most wort compared with some thicker stock pots.

The test batch was to see how low I could go on equipment costs to get my brother brewing. It went really well but I boiled off a ton of liquid.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

Instructions?

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

I used to have an IR thermometer (not sure how cheap) that I used on a fish tank that was a lot more accurate than that. Maybe +-1° F.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/joes-ancient-orange-mead-49106/

This the bread yeast recipe that has been posted here several times and I love it. Great flavor, and balance and very hard to screw up. I don't see any reason to pay more for yeast unless for the value of experimenting. I'm about to make a 5 gallon batch.

The one thing I would add to this from experience is that while you don't need to rack to secondary, it really cleans up nicely with 3-4 weeks off the yeast.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

Who Dat posted:

I will be brewing mead
I just pitched a batch of mead tonight and here's my input:
  • You got too much equipment, but that's better than too little. You can use the carboy as secondary, which I like to do with mead (not with beer).
  • I get honey from local farms, but for this batch I picked mine up from Costco at a pretty good price
  • Skip the yeast nutrient
  • After your first batch, switch to bread yeast using this recipe - http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/joes-ancient-orange-mead-49106/
  • Be careful with your hydrometer. Everyone breaks a few, although I'm still on my first.
  • Sell your stock pot for bottling equpiment/supplies. For mead I bottle in clear bottles with plastic topped tasting corks that can be inserted and removed by hand, similar to some liquor bottles. I sometimes have to press them back into the bottles after a few weeks of conditioning, but they're super convenient and generally stay put after a reset.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

Midorka posted:

Okay so stove isn't strong enough to boil ~2 gallons of water, lid off. Anyone have any ideas on what to do to get a 3.5 gallon boil going on at home? Am I going to be forced to go propane? If so does anyone have a recommendation for a cheap/strong burner.

Edit: I may just spend $50 to get the turkey fryer we use for 5 gallon batches, but that seems overkill for 3.5 gallon batches. Guess I'll save a lot of propane.

I once did 4 pots on 4 stove burners to put a batch together but I wouldn't recommend it if you can just buy a turkey fryer.

I had to periodically shift boiling wort to keep the volume somewhat even, and hop additions were a pain. Between that and several other disasters including a melted paint bag in my mash, I had to dump that batch.

It was manageable for a first batch or if you live in a small apartment in the arctic but otherwise just go gas until you can build an electric setup.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

Zakath posted:

I'm sure this has been answered previously in the thread, but what's the best way to back-sweeten a cider? I used white labs sweet mead for mine, but it still took it from 1.062 to 0.998. It's tasting pretty good but it's slightly dry. What should I do?
I dissolve brown sugar in apple juice concentrate, and then stop fermentation by refrigerating. Others use campden tabs to stop fermentation.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

fullroundaction posted:

This is going to sound incredibly dumb, but can someone explain to me how the false bottoms on the Rubbermade-style cylindrical mash tuns work?

I recently converted one using the braided stainless mesh snake thing, and it worked okay but it kept getting stuck and the flow was not great. Similar: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/data/1/7346-10_Braid_in_Cooler_r.jpg

I watched a couple videos online about installing one of the stainless false bottoms, and I get that there's a gap under the strainer where the wort drains, but not how it moves UP AND OUT of the bottom. Is it purely from a siphoning action or am I just missing something obvious?

I got a fat 1.5" - 2" diameter "bazooka tube" as they're called at my local shop and it has given me outstanding efficiency and flow. I was skeptical but cheap, and I now like it better than my buddy's false bottom setup.

Yours looks a lot more narrow. My local shop sells a lot of Rubbermaid conversions and was telling me the narrow tubes weren't very good.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

In the 10-gal igloo I have trouble doing full 10-gal high gravity batches without another tun.

In the converted keg it's no problem. I've found it helps to pre-heat with boiling water (a gallon or two, just swish it around long enough to warm everything up) and to have a good blanket and lid.

Are most square/rectangle coolers made of heat / food safe plastic? The big gatorade style Igloos are often marketed for hot beverages too but I never see that for traditional coolers. I poured boiling water into one of my Igloos and it warped quite a bit. Now it's my brother's mash tun.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

Raise your hand if you bought a huge box of Oxy from Costco and found out it wasn't the odor free kind when you got home and opened it.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

I saved Anchor bottles for a year and about 20% of them cracked on the lip either during bottling or when uncapping to drink. I lost so much cider, and ended up going with Sierra Nevada style after that and have had zero problems.

I bet a majority of us use cappers that come with starter kits. They're fine. I would find a few brands whose bottles don't break and stock up.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

Nanpa posted:

If they sit in there, will they bump up the hoppy side of things over time?

I doubt it.

Hop oils don't take that long to extract, and hop flavor tends to mellow over time.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

Cointelprofessional posted:

A barley wine, an imperial stout, and a sour.

mead, baltic porter

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

Who Dat posted:

So I put together my first mead last night. Straight orange blossom, no frills. Seems to be fermenting nicely already as of this morning. Just gotta get bottles, corks, and a corker.

Waiting 6-9 months after I rack it is going to be hard. :smith:

As much as they say you don't need secondary, I like doing it for a month or two as it provides a noticeably more clean/smooth taste and reduces the amount of yeast I have to deal with at the bottom of the bottle. It's a bit counter to the whole "you can't screw this up look how easy it is" mindset a lot of recipes use to get people started, but I enjoy the final product more.

For comparison, I don't mind yeast in most beers but in mead it's a lot more off-putting to me.

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

Think I can get away with making plum wine without the campden tabs for the first day or so before adding yeast?

porkface
Dec 29, 2000

I made a Pliny clone and seriously underpitched it. It sat for about 2 months before I kegged it, and it's a disgusting mess.

Is it too late to re-pitch from a largish starter?

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porkface
Dec 29, 2000

Old Ingredients: I was recently laid off and am planning to use some of my time to get back into brewing. I have large quantities of old whole grain (2 row, maris otter) and hops (leaf and pellet, frozen). The grain is about 4 years old, and the hops 2-3 years. I'm looking to save money and brew 10 gallon batches about every couple of weeks. I can propagate yeast and make starters, but propane will be expensive on my rig.

Is it worth trying to use these old ops and grain, or should I definitely scrap them and get new?

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