I have accidentally added >200 PPM of 5 Star Defoamer 105 to my wort. Is it ruined? The MSDS is not very helpful. Several websites indicate that these type of defoamer's settle out of solution.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

- rgweatherford

Hi,
I'm planning to do my first BIAB. It'll be 3 US gallons (11.356 liters). Also I've bought a stir-plate, which I'm itching to use. I'll be using a Wyeast Activator pack

My question is: is a starter for this smaller batch okay to do, or will I be pitching too much yeast into the wort?

Used a WLP041 Pacific Ale Yeast over the weekend. The bottle said to pitch in temps between 70-75F, but the white labs website lists an optimum temperature of 65-68. Then the recipe called for a fermentation temp of 65F, and the internet experts all tell stories of fermenting ales between 63-68F.

What am I supposed to be shooting for? Should I go by just the bottle directions alone and keep in the 70-75 range? Or is that temp used just until the fermentation has started, and then I need to...

Hi!
I have completed about 5 or 6 BIABs now, and currently I'm working on my ABV readings and calculations and I feel like I have been coming up short on the ABV readings. For example, here are the numbers from my last batch:

Target volume was to be 10.5 gallons into fermenter, but my boil loss calculations were off and I ended up with 9.25 gallons into fermenter. We decided not to add water and simply assumed everything was going to be more concentrated, which would make a greater ABV.
Target...

The recent threads on yeast starters, got me motivated to look in to washing yeast, something I have never done before. I watched a few youtube videos on it, and I have a basic plan. Any comments on it would be appreciated.

1. Pour about a half gallon of freshly boiled water on to yeast cake right after transferring beer from primary( maybe the secondary would be better, to get less trub and more pure yeast).

2. Swirl around the water and trub and pour into a bottling bucket.

3. From the...

So I got this 2 micron steel airstone, but I started thinking is it enough of a filter by itself? Bacteria can be down to 0.5 microns in size. My plan was to drive room air through it with an aquarium pump, but now I'm not sure. They also sell those 0.5 micron stones, but what are they for? Somewhere I read that o.5 microns is for pure oxygen, and 2 microns for normal air? Why is this so?

If someone asked me this question, I would have no idea how to answer it well.

I well remember a post made by a guy called Darren on an Aussie website years ago, saying for this beer you will need to make a 15 litre starter (it was not a typo). The batch size was only 23 litres and so I was left scratching my head, like I do on so many brewing forum posts.

Some commercial brewing software has a starter feature but I think it is a little gimmicky. For example, it might ask you to supply...

I am writing to ask for advice/opinions on using a temperature controlled fermentation chamber. I have an old upright freezer and a Johnson thermostat, that I use to control the temperature. I have noticed that the wort is pretty resistant to changing temp as compared to the air in the chamber. If say I am attempting to maintain 62 degrees F on the thermometer attached to the fermenter, and the beer is currently showing 64 degrees F; I would need to drop the temperature of the chamber to 30...

I've got a Pils fermenting from an AG recipe from BCS that seem to be falling way below where it's supposed to. Is this an actual problem, or is it just attenuating better/more than anticipated?

OG was 1056 (right on the money with the recipe after mashing at 152*F for 90 plus a mash out), I pitched three smack packs of Wyeast pils (two different yeasts, as the shop didn't have enough of either...recipe actually called for 4 packs, pitched at 65*F then cooled in the fermenter to 50*F). I've...

Hey Guys

For my next batch ive planned to do an Aussie Lager. Reasoning behind this, is I really want to push my skills and knowledge further, and I reckon this style is one to do it on as there is nothing to hide mistakes behind.

I've got the recipe nailed down, however I'm a little unsure on fermentation as ive never done a lager before. After the do's and dont's and any advice you can give me. Yeast i'll be using is S-189...have chosen this as it sounds like it will give me the clean...

I hope this belongs here.

I've been looking at those BB's for a while, they seem like the ideal option between glass carboys and plastic buckets. They come with all kinds of options for taps and airlocks and what not. My question is should I buy just the standard bottles or are the taps etc. worth the extra money?

EDIT: actually it dawned on me when I went and read a post about no-chilling cubes and plastic resin stamps, that I have available these 18.9 litre clear plastic bottle that are...

Hi everyone, firstly I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything about it.

I'm looking to buy a Cool Brewing bag so I can brew over summer:

Anyone know where I can get one in Australia?

All the stores I can find it are US based and the postage costs more than the product!

Or any other alternatives similar to it?

I'm aware of DIY swamp coolers etc, but I really like the look of this cooler, and it's got good reviews.

I have done 3 BIAB recipes and my FG has come in high on all of them. I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. For this recipe I did a fly sparge and my OG was at 1.054 when done. Its now been 1.5 weeks fermentation has stopped at 1.024 (same gravity reading for 2 days). Should add more yeast, amylase or just let it sit longer?

Measured gravity readings with refractometer and hydrometer

Recipe

Original Gravity (OG): 1.055
IBU's (Tinseth): 43
ABV%: 5.32

Efficiency into Kettle (EIK):...

I stumbled onto this link .

It might be old news to some but I found it very interesting. I still have to go back and read up on how to figure out pitching rates before I try a lager.

I have needed a fermentation chamber for the last two brews. I live in Houston and I am lucky to get my house to 75 in the summer. So I found a chest freezer and truned into a fermentation chamber

Freezer - $80
STC -$14 off ebay
Wiring and misc. $13
$107 total

I knew I did not want to use a ranco or jc because of the cost. Finally I found a video on you tube of a guy in Australia doing the same thing. Here's my attempt at it.

Aside from the dewlalt box I was pretty happy with it. I will...

Hi new brewer here, only 4 batches so far. I broke my second hydrometer so I waited for a new one to arrive before messing with my carboy. When I removed the blow off tube after a week, I found it blocked with 10 inches of crud. Is this really bad?

After primary fermentation is complete and the young ale is removed from the fermentation chamber where it was held at fermentatin temperature, what is the best temp to store the ale at? is is okay to let it warm up to normal room temperature or should it be kept at a cooler temperature? I have no way to really keep ales at a lower temp, I have a chest freezer set up with a STC-1000 controller but I maintain the temp in it at 34 deg. F

Ive been gone for a bit, but I wanted to throw out this interesting bit of hardware I stumbled across. Im sorry if it was posted before.

Its a Kickstarter Campaign to fund a chiller to keep your wort cool during fermentation. Very intriguing especially for those short on space. Im thinking of jumping in!

BrewJacket Immersion

Trout

It seems like every step in the brewing process has been analysed and formulated except the addition of oxygen. I hear statements such as Shake the carboy for 5 minutes (a lot of energy and danger tossing around 65 pounds), bubble air for 30 minutes or turn on pure oxygen for one minute .

With all due respect, this all seems very loosey goosey and not in line with the specifics I see for the other processes.

I am moving to the pressure fermentation system and hope to get a repeatable process...

This is a new thread based on a topic/question raised by Quinbrew in this thread Here

Case in point, I just bottled an English bitter my husband had requested I make. I did a taste-test and thought I caught a twinge of vomit in the aftertaste. As this was my third BIAB, I was very disappointed and started to review my processes in my head thinking what did I do wrong? (The previous batch smelled like vomit as well and I dumped that quickly.)

This is an interesting topic and may be worth...

Hey guys, I am brewing an Amber Ale, expected OG:1.060, FG: 1.016. Well, I got the OG, but the beer has been in the primary for 11 days and during the last 3 days, the FG is 1.032.
So, it is really different from the expected. This is my second brew that this happens, the last one was a Belgian Blond Ale, expected FG: 1.017, real FG: 1.028.
I don't start the dry yeast and I keep it at the refrigerator before using. I do 8 or 9 liters batch and use half of the dry yeast package. The ambient...

I just recently extended a bar fridge out to hold 2 fermenters (just in time my first bar fridge to die :sad: I was planning on having 3 going). Because the light switch is no longer controlled by the door the fridge light turns on when ever the stc1000 turns the fridge on. As its new I have no idea how long or how often it turns on.

I also have an pc fan inside with a blue LED to circulate air that is always on. Is this bad? Would either of these lights effects my ferms?

I know sunlight is...

Hello fellow Beer Nerds :geek:

Apologies if this question has come up before, but....

I am using the excellent WLP029 Kolsch yeast again, and will first be making a pale 'fruity' kolsch, then pouring new wort on the yeast cake to make a more malty, 'clean' Altbier.

I am keen to avoid the hassle and potential contamination of yeast washing. However, I was planning to drop the first Kolsch to a lager temp (~2℃) in my fermentation fridge, and would then like to dump 16℃ wort on top of the...

First, a preface as this is my first proper post. From reading these boards it seems this place is very up for challenging received wisdom and superstition when it comes to brewing. Hence I have posted this here rather than other forums as I am aware the thread title may come across as slightly inflammatory but I am trying to understand the parameters and real goal behind temperature control of fermentation as it relates to fermentation activity.

Most information I have seen is of the you must...

So I brewed an AG APA about 2.5-3 weeks ago. OG 1.052 and after the Kreuzen had disappeared I checked the gravity and it was at roughly 1.013. I checked it two days later and it was the same. I was unsure if I should bottle it or transfer it to secondary so I transferred it hoping to get rid of most of the yeast and avoid getting it in the bottles. I closed the lid tightly on the bucket, but not to the point of being air tight, I think. I opened the lid a day or so later with the plan to just...