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I admit I haven't brewed much in the last year, but I have been brewing beers I can't get locally. Hard to believe, since I live in Beervana. However, try to find a Mild, a Brown, a real (not robust) porter or a low-gravity stout at your local. It's tough to impossible. Ditto, cream ales...

I'd chew a few grains of the pilsner, ditto the flaked oats and barley. Stale grains are easy to identify by taste. The roasted/toasted grains should be fine.

I had a barley wine in a keg for 5 1/2 years. I was about half way through it, when it developed a gusher infection. Up to that point, it just kept getting better. Good move not trying to carbonate, at this point the less you do to it, the better. Sounds like you have a winner.

Since it's a milk stout, it will just seem a bit sweeter. Not a problem. One thing I learned in an 'Off-taste' class, most people have great difficulty identify IBU levels.

Oxidation is a boogieman. First, because the yeast need oxygen to multiple, any in your wort before pitching will be used up; second, Unless you make an effort to put oxygen into your beer post-fermentation, there won't be enough to worry about.

Going to classes about 'winterizing your garden'.

I'd expect her helping with brewing will do a far better job of teaching her to deal with alcohol wisely than DARE. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/08/nancy-reagan-drugs-just-say-no-dare-program-opioid-epidemic

Slowly packing a second house worth of stuff into an already full house and picking blueberries.

"I don't think it's even possible he could have accidentally got male hop rhizomes when he got his rhizomes." When stressed, a female hop plant can turn male; not often, but it does happen. The aroma of hops is not due to the lupin, it's the oils in the flower petals. If poorly stored, the...

Do you live in an area where it freezes? Unless you plan on shutting down and draining the system for the winter, you'll need something keep the taps from freezing.

Western Oregon had its wettest winter on record, so most farms are nothing but mud. It's impossible to harvest rhizomes right now without damaging the plants.

Maple syrup is typically 65% fermentable sugars by weight. The first batch should be slightly under-carbonated. The batch with 1.75 cups of syrup are potential bombs, but if you keep them cold the yeast aren't going to do much. In the future, I'd recommend using an unfermentable sugar, like...

You will have to glue it and pvc glues are safe for use with potable water.

It wasn't intentional, but one beer I brewed with Cascade, Amaretto and Perle had a very pronounced grapefruit flavor. I mixed all three and portioned them out for each add.

Most of my ciders end up around 0.995. I like to use a K-series wine yeast without nutrient, but ciders are very forgiving. It's definitely easier to ferment out, kill the yeast and back-sweeten, than it is to try and stop the fermentation early.

Anyone contemplating setting up a brewery should look into used equipment. It's not unusual for a brewing system to serve a half-dozen startups over its lifetime. This is a good source if you are in the USA. http://discussions.probrewer.com/forumdisplay.php?26-ProBrewer-com-Classifieds

When I was first getting started, my friend had purchased the makings for a rye IPA; except he bought twice as much rye as the recipe called for. The resulting "mash muffin" was consigned to the compost heap. We were close enough the the brew store that we salvaged the day with a simple extract IPA.

Bottom line: yeast cannot ferment starches, it is the malting process that converts starches to fermentable sugars. Alpha and beta amylase enzymes are the primary drivers of conversion, so you can use them instead of malting.

I found out the hard way a major problem with collars; when the freezer dies, you may not be able to find another freezer that fits. My old one was 24x24, all the new ones are a little wider and not as deep. So, I'm rebuilding the system with a coffin.

Headed up to Richmond, BC for the Canadian Mensa gathering. I don't see any breweries near the hotel, but there's a dozen or so in the area. On the other hand, it is Canada and it's a large hotel, so I expect there will be a fine selection of local brews in the bar. Last weekend, I took the...