Recent content by gauthierk

Hahaha. See, I needed to come back to save me from the terminology.

I typically keep about 4 culture active in my fridge. I use a 10ml syringe and pull 10 from the lager then ten from the ale. That goes into a sanitized shot glass. When they reach room temp, I pitch that into the mash. I've gotten pretty good at being able to freeze my cultures for longevity.

Are you doing a full extract, partial mash or full AG? Under pitching most of the time would lead to a slow primary fermentation but eventually the gravity would fall do the numbers you are shooting for.. I think your enzyme conversations might be stunted for some reason. It could be too hot...

I always use Star-san in my air locks.. I keep a ketchup bottle of it mixed up on standby just in case I have to clean something really quick or refill an airlock.. The problem I have found with vodka and other spirits is it doesn't really kill some of the bacteria and other wild yeast that...

The great thing about this hobby is that it's forgiving for the most part. With the sanitizing, it's always better to error on the side of clean.. Going a little heavy with the mixture of star-san won't hurt your a single bit... Going too light though could cause you to not have a good...

Thanks for the welcome back.. I'm looking forward to getting back into the game here.. BoBeer, I have found a great trick to clarity and Lagers.. I have been doing what I call a forced attenuated two stage fermentation.. I blend a lager yeast with a scottish ale yeast. I pitch it while...

What's up fellow brewers. It's been a while but I'm back in brewing business. Looking forward to spending lots of time on here going through the forums and trying to help out the noobs. I have an extensive background in microbiology and love to tamper and toy with yeast blends. Happy...

I tried to do a full boil on my stove and literally broke the burner with the weight of the pot, 6 gallons of water and extract... It did eventually boil but it took WAY too long to get there.. I use the sears kit for $50 here...

Brewers sugar is dextrose for the most part. I could be wrong though... You could try using it to prime but I would be careful where you put the bottles just in case they decide to make a mess.. hehehehe

I have had fermentations take off at about 8 hours and done within 48. If you get a good active strain of yeast it's possible. Sometimes you just hit that sweet spot and the little fermenting boys hit the ground running. You notice over time that different beers and yeast have different...

I use to live in an apartment and had the same trouble. I started doubleing the time of steeping and got alot better results from that... I also found that in some of the kits, they use extract that would make the beer a little bit on the wet side. I have always made it a point to add more...

I have found that temp's can never really be too low. Well, under 50 maby but I normally ferment around 65 to 70 degrees. I would leave the lid on and let it sit for a bit. My first batch I ever made took about 48 hours to kick off and start really fermenting. If you for any reason have to...

I have two meads in a row going and am about to do a third. I used a smack pack for the first batch... I racked to a secondary and then literally dropped must onto the cake in the primary.. I'm about to transfer into a secondary and drop more must onto the cake... My question is that I want...

I'll try to be simple with this one.. Due to the fact that I have enjoyed some of my mead tonight. My first mead was actually a braggot... It was a mead but with some hops and grains.. It's like a transistion between beer to mead... The biggest difference I have found from a beer brewing...

Almost every batch that I have bottled has had a little bit on the bottom... It's the yeast that remains in suspension that carbonates it. When it settles out, it means the sugars are gone and carbonation is complete... Or close anyway...