Hop Drying Calculator 1.0 is finally here!

After plenty of development, testing and a few bugs along the way, I've finally released my first Android app on Google Play!

Built for home hop growers, it helps take the guesswork out of drying freshly harvested hops, making it easier to monitor moisture levels and track drying progress.

It's free to download, works offline, and I'd love to hear what you think!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.hopdrying.calculator

Apologies if this is something that has already been posted, but has anyone ever put together a kind of beer tour of commercial beers that one could buy to taste and understand exactly what a good example of that style should taste like? I'm looking to do just that as I brew various different styles and realize that I might not have the right benchmark mentally for what it should taste like.

Also looking for help putting labels in my brain, if that makes sense, for different flavors and taste. For example it took me a while to understand that some pilsners have a "crackery" taste because my brain just didn't map to that description.

Hey!

I'm trying to brew a festive / winterwarmer lager I had a planned abv of 8.5-9% so I used around 8.5 kilos of malt (can share the recipe if it helps) I added around a kilo of brown sugar after boil for the taste + alcohol bump also have added spices with hops to stop it from being too sweet

I ran a new heating system for the first time this brew, I basically made a diy fermentation controller/inkbird and upgraded my heating system this brew, I'm using 2 2 kilowatt submersible water heaters and a 2kw electric stove a total of 6kws of heating power, I very very underestimated this number and set my thermostat to 67c with a sensitivity of 0.5 degrees.

I ended up mashing at 80 degrees for the first 2-3 minutes and 65-75 degrees for the rest of the boil. I tried to mash for longer to try and fix it but even with a sparge I was way under my planned og, I was shooting for a 1070-1090 og, ended up with 1055 even with the added sugar.

After checking the hydrometer I gave it a taste and it's very very sweet, sweeter than the regular worth taste if that makes any sense.

Is there anything I can do? I have been thinking about doing a staggered feeding like you do with meads, wait for Krausen to form and slowly add around a kilo of sugar / brown sugar mixture

Would adding sugar like this ruin the mouthfeel? Do I need to add extra yeast? I originally bought 2 to help with the fermentation but only added one pack since 1055og.

I also have pure alcohol at home, 97%. I can add a bit of that?

So for context I recently got into home brewing and made a batch of mead that ( while overly sweet as I didn't have nutrient) was pretty good but after I added a campden tablet to make it last longer it's completely undrinkable now due to it causing severe stomach pain, I followed the instructions on the bottle to add one tablet to one gallon of homebrew but clearly something is horribly wrong, I'm wondering if I did it wrong or if I'm just allergic or overly sensitive to the tablets any help would be fantastic

Hi hello, beer beginner here. I don't have the space/money/time to make all grain, so currently I'm using those pre-made extract kits (Pour out the liquid malt extract, add 800g of dextrose + yeast, mix and brew).

I'd like to try making a sour gose beer next, and found the Philly Sour yeast available at a store near me. Can I replace the yeast the kits usually have with the Philly one (and add lemon zest extract + yuzu juice after it's finished brewing)? Or is there more to it? Thanks!

Is my red ale spoiled? Any expert that can diagnose my krausen? Thanks.

https://imgur.com/a/oUHdSWh

Efficiency was very low. Somewhere near 50%. I had to mash additional grain in order to reach target gravity of 1.070+

Now this may have been due to a malfunctioning thermometer, buy i noticed alot of organic sprig or sprouts in the mash. Some were longer than 1/4 inch.

I had the malted barley stored in a bucket and they did not seem moist during the crush. I bought from the supplier 2 monthes ago.

Now the last two falls were pretty wet, so im thinking the barley may have fallen in the field and sprouted before malting.

Im just unsure if this sprout presence is a storage issue, a grain quality issue, or what.

Was really disappointed with my grain efficiency and beed to get to the bottom of that.

Wheat malt was 30% of the grain bill.

Any thought? Questions?

Hello!

In 15 years of brewing this is a first- a brown/ reddish spot on the ring from fermentation. This was a Swedish Gotlandsdricka, og 1.057, pitched with Voss Kveik. Fermentation bubbled away after an hour, having pitched a packet at 80 degrees F. Placed in my basement, it slowed and dropped to about 70-72 degrees Fahrenheit, and I spunded the beer at about 1.015. Today, took the FG and saw it was 1.010. Beer tasted and smelled great.

My question- how worried should I be? If I saw this on yogurt I would dump it. I am inclined to let it ride, given that fermentation began immediately, and this yeast tends to drop PH more than most, to my understanding.

Any microbiologists screaming right now? Thanks!

Picture of the spot:

https://imgur.com/a/4aQ4EeM

So, I’ve got a query. I’ve just made my first batch and it is currently fermenting. I’ve got a magnet in the bucket ready to release the dry hops on day 7 and then plan to remove on day 10.

This is where I have my question. Do I take the lid off slightly and remove the bag and leave for another 2 days and take a gravity reading. Or shall I just take the gravity reading on day 10 and bottle ?

I know there is risks of over carbonation and also oxidising the brew. So I’m not sure what to do.

I’ve also had an idea to use the magnet to raise the bag above the brew but that is dependable on the bag and magnet position so probs won’t work.

Please help!

How long does it take to get an account approved at homebrewtalk.com ? It's been hours and no email or anything. Just the page header saying that "Your account is waiting for approval. You can read in the meantime."

Hello,

I am still beginner in brewing and recently switched to kegs. After the gravity is stable I do transfer to kegs and leave beer to carbonate cold. The beer becomes clearer and carbonates well in two weeks at about 4 C.

What I often read is that a lot of beers should be drank fresh. Basically, after a week of carbing or even days when rolling the keg etc.

Well, I had few beers in keg and they are (at least for my taste) not nearly finished after a week. Two weeks is better or even longer.

Is it dependend on type of beer? I do not brew strong beers, all of them are 4-6% ABV. Mostly around 5%.

How long do you mature beer and at which temperature? Does your beer really taste good after a week only?

Thanks.

How to know if the ingredients are still good?

Bit of context.

The ingredient packs where on date but the mout says store at <7c. (Why and means that the beer would taste off?. Im sure the seller had it just at room temp for months. The hop looked more brownish than the picture on the site that sells the kits (smelled as described) . And the yeast stands keep cool and dry. Why isn't there a temp. What is cool? 10c?

Im sure it has been at room temp for a long time.

A little new to homebrewing. Just been doing some Meads, Ciders, and Cysers. I wanted to explore Sake because its one of my favorites. I found reputable suppliers for the koji and rice variety (I think). The yeast is a different matter. I know i can just use wine yeast, but i wanted to try to use sake specific if I can. One of the few places I found that seems like a decent supplier is Propagate Labs. However, they dont have many reviews. Anyone use them to purchase yeast for brewing before?

Welcome to the Daily Q&A!

Are you a new Brewer? Please check out one of the following articles before posting your question:

• How do I check my gravity?
• I don't see any bubbles in the airlock OR the bubbling in the airlock has slowed. What does that mean?
• Does this look normal / is my batch infected?

Or if any of those answers don't help you please consider visiting the /r/Homebrewing Wiki for answers to a lot of your questions! Another option is searching the subreddit, someone may have asked the same question before!

However no question is too "noob" for this thread. No picture is too tomato to be evaluated for infection! Even though the Wiki exists, you can still post any question you want an answer to.

Also, be sure to vote on answers in this thread. Upvote a reply that you know works from experience and don't feel the need to throw out "thanks for answering!" upvotes. That will help distinguish community trusted advice from hearsay... at least somewhat!

I brew 10ga batches (usually about 12.5ga total wort). For the last few years my system has been to split the wort into two 7ga brew buckets, ferment, transfer to kegs, and finally carbonate.

I finally pulled the trigger and bought the 14ga unitank I've been telling myself is overkill for years. So now I can theoretically both ferment and carbonate in the unitank and transfer carbonated bright beer directly into the kegs.

Previously, whenever I've transferred carbonated beer directly to a new keg (because I'm taking it to an event and need to rack off the shmutz), I've had terrible issues with the beer foaming up and coming out the gas post. Does anyone transfer to kegs already carbonated, and do you have any tricks to avoid a foamy mess? Worst case I can just keep carbonating in the kegs, but I might as well get full utility out of the new toy

Hi all,

I'm currently trying the RAPT Pill and Inkbird ITC-308-WIFI in a brew for the first time. I can only access updated data whenever I'm connected to the home WiFi. I'm going away for a few days and would love to initiate the cold crash once the SG has stabilized.

Any suggestions on what I could do to access the data and steer the fermentation temperature remotely?

Have the next best recipe since Pliny the Elder, but want reddit to check everything over one last time? Maybe your house beer recipe needs that final tweak, and you want to discuss. Well, this thread is just for that! All discussion for style and recipe formulation is welcome, along with, but not limited to:

• Ingredient incorporation effects
  
• Hops flavor / aroma / bittering profiles
  
• Odd additive effects
  
• Fermentation / Yeast discussion
  

If it's about your recipe, and what you've got planned in your head - let's hear it!

Unsure if have to do this in one of the weekly threads but in case suitable, wanted to share info on our Brewminaries homebrew club's annual event, which is next month Sunday, November 8th at Strong Rope Brewery in Redhook Brooklynb.

This year is a beer and food event, anything fermented. "Beer and Ferm Festival", will be 1pm-5pm that day.

Tickets are on sale at a discount ahead of time, and we'd love to have people come and sample all the goods being served that day.

Also the club is always open to new members in case anyone is in the NYC area and not yet joined to a club.

I used to live in the boroughs and since then left to Fort Lee, NJ so I rarely make meetings but we have a great Slack community with constant activity and I do make sure to attend and serve at these annual events.

I'll bring my marzen and weissbiers to contribute to one of the tables.

Anyone interested check out the site (brewminaries.com) and we have a ticket link within the homepage.

Cheers!

Anyone else have this problem? Seems once my 5 gallon corny kegs get past the half way point of consumption I start getting alot more head(gigiddy) how would I fix this other than lowering the serving pressure ?

I have a 10 gallon Clawhammer Supply 240v system and looking to buy 120v heating element and controller. Does anyone know what benefits the 120v Clawhammer Supply controller offers that the inkbird IPB-16S lacks?

Thanks!

First post here I believe. I’ve been homebrewing since 15 (if I can’t buy it; make it, lol) after the years I actually really started to love the hobby and have tried many things. I don’t usually like backsweetened drinks but this one I kinda am antsy to try later.
I have a 1 gallon small batch of apple cider wine; it’s 13% ec1118 yeast and ld Carlson nutrient. Once fermentation finished I added two of these spice packs I got at an apple orchard. It was mulling spice but in a tea bag. Added two in. Let it clear up.
I was just going to do a pumpkin spice but I got the idea if I added some Carmelized turbinado sugar I had laying around I could do like a candy apple style wine.

Edit. It’s got potassium sorbate to prevent further fermentation. But also I just drank a 750 ml pretty damn good I’m feeling pretty good off this