ByTom
I figure that I’ve bottle at least a dozen batches of beer so far. Even though I use a keg, there are certain occasions that I need to bottle. Here are a few set-up tips that may help you on bottling day.
ByTom
During this past summer I switched up to an all-grain set-up which made me really think about getting a larger brew kettle than I already had. Truth be told, my ‘brew kettle’ was a 7 gallon turkey fry pot that served me well for the first 6 months of my brewing. Please note, the price…
ByTom
Today I started off the new year with a few things that, over the long haul. will make my homebrewing more cost-effective and more flexible. I bought some items in bulk. Buying in bulk will save money and also provide me with the chance to brew when I want to, since I’ll have a number…
ByTom
I’ve been wanting to create a “Grain To Glass” video for some time now. This was the first time I’ve truly built a recipe from scratch. I was inspired after tasting a cinnamon stout. The cinnamon flavor was ‘on the fence’ with that sweet taste and the hot taste of cinnamon. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSj0sYy8DV8] For some reason…
ByTom
Over the past two years I’ve tried a number of pumpkin ales and by far my personal favorite is Southern Tier’s Pumpking. Southern Tier’s brew has an 8.3% ABV, which is pretty high. As an all-grain homebrewer that means you’re looking at a grain bill (the amount of grain in the beer) of over 15lbs….
ByTom
If you’re looking in to making strong Belgian beers there’s a chance you’ve seen “Belgian Candi Sugar” in a recipe. You may ask yourself, “What the heck is that?” The quick answer is that it’s an inverted sugar that can raise your gravity and ABV. You can get away with dumping the same amount of…
ByTom
Here’s a video I made that explains my process to making a yeast starter: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yMVsCyqRLQ] Making a yeast starter is helpful for a number of reasons. Here’s two; It makes sure your yeast is viable for fermentation. It can save you money by creating more yeast cells for a bigger beer (as opposed to buying…
ByTom
Here’s a video I whipped up when I made my own wort chiller. Parts cost me about $42. Not bad considering that retail (before tax and/or shipping) runs about $60. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8xRGYnwEt8&feature=youtu.be]
ByTom
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnjrobEFA7k] If you haven’t read my post about cleaning bottles (and more importantly the ordeal) let me tell you, it’s an bug task. However I recently got tipped off to a great way to get off labels. Using Oxi-Clean! Here’s what I did: Add 7 scoops of Oxi-Clean (I used store brand stuff) to a 5-gallon…
ByTom
I’ve been deep frying turkeys for a number of years now. On my first extract brew I wanted to put all 5 gallons of water in the brew, without splitting it up. Since this is only a hobby (for now) I don’t want to spend a ton of money on a huge stainless steel pot….
