Tips & Tricks

Add LME (or DME) slowly...the syrup can be heavy and tends to sink to the bottom of the brew kettle quickly.  It can sit there and scorch, having a Maillard reaction.  This will likely produce a color and flavor that you weren't intending.

1 lb DME ~= 1.25 lb LME

1 oz ~= 28.3 g - when converting hops additions from 5 to 1 gal batches, an approx. equivalent to 1 oz is 7 g

Always keep sanitizer solution available.  You may need to transition your blow-off tube to an air lock, put clean sanitizer in the blow-off bottle, etc.

Gatorade bottles make great blow-off bottles.  You can find vinyl tubing at hardware stores (5/16 in inner dia., 7/16 in. outer dia.)

Minimize oxygen exposure during transfer to secondary by sanitizing a couple of small pieces of aluminum foil, and wrapping it around the top of both fermenters.

When preparing to rack to secondary, or bottle the beer, put it out in the area where you'll be working several hours ahead of time, and cover with a towel or sheet.  Moving the container can cause the trub to loosen up and float around the beer; give it a few hours to settle again before doing anything with it.

YouTube Video: Easy Partial Mash

Late Additions: Hops, malt

During the summer months, the downstairs bathroom (fermenter storage area) is cooler because the A/C runs and the cool air sinks.  However, the spare upstairs bathroom is generally warmer, which would be a good place to put a fermenter using a yeast that likes something a bit warmer, say 70 - 72 deg F.



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