Topic: Mr Wizard
Troubleshooting Chart
FREEKey: “X”: For beers made with malt extract, “AG”: For all-grain beers Problem Causes Fermentation does not start Inadequate amount of yeast pitched Wort too hot (yeast stunned/killed) Wort too cold (yeast
Converting starches
FREEOne of the most important aspects of measuring anything is to understand what is being measured and how the measuring device works. The iodine test indicates the interaction between iodine and the
How long to secondary ferment
FREEMany beers, especially big beers such as imperial stouts, mellow with extended aging in the secondary fermenter. It is usually best to place the secondary in a cool place for extended
Bottling Temperature
Digital and Plus Members OnlyIf this beer was properly fermented, it should have been completely fermented before you chilled it. The most reliable method to know whether a fermentation is done is to compare the specific gravity of your batch to that of a forced fermentation on the same wort. A forced fermentation is basically performed by taking a
Brewing Pale Ales
Digital and Plus Members OnlyUnfortunately I don’t have much information to digest from your question. All I know is that you have no luck brewing pale ales and I seem to be your last resort. The name of my column may imply that I am sort of psychic, but to be honest I am just an ordinary person
Higher Alcohols
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBefore you dump your mead down the drain, please read my answer! The aroma you describe is the distinctive scent of ethyl acetate. This nail-polish smelling compound is the most common acetate ester found in beer for one very simple reason; ethyl acetate is formed during fermentation when ethanol is enzymatically coupled with the acetate
Bottle Bombs
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThis question has a rather short, but important answer. Most breweries in the United States use “one-way” glass bottles for packaging. These bottles are lighter in weight compared to returnable bottles and are not intended to be used more than one time. Since the bottle filling and capping process can stress glass bottles, especially these lighter weight types, one-way
Bottle Conditioning Lagers
Digital and Plus Members OnlySince you are new to brewing lagers, I would focus 100% of my attention to primary fermentation and how the yeast behaves when fermented at cooler temperatures. Ale brewers are accustomed to having aggressive behavior during primary fermentation and the aroma coming from the fermenter is usually quite nice. Lagers are a different creature all
Outdoor refrigeration
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThe refrigeration cycle is pretty nifty and its development began in the late 1700s. The earliest use of commercial refrigeration occurred sometime in the mid 1800s by, you guessed it, breweries. The refrigeration cycle is pretty, well, um, cool, and has four main parts to the cycle. The cycle begins by compressing a refrigerant gas,
Ramping Up to a Boil
Digital and Plus Members Onlyn a very general sense the time required to bring wort to a boil can cause problems when the time is too long. Holding hot wort for extended time periods leads to heat-related chemical changes, generally termed “thermal stress”. But in a more practical sense this is not normally associated with waiting for the kettle
Adding Extract to Make Big Beers
FREEI love this idea for a number of reasons. The first reason is that many malt extracts seem to be less fermentable than the preference of my palate. If you open a
Mash pH Importance
Digital and Plus Members OnlyMash pH is extremely important. Enzyme activity is a function of pH and all enzymes are only active in a relatively narrow range around their optimum pH. In the case of mashing, there are two enzymes of particular importance; alpha and beta amylase. The optimal range for alpha amylase is pH 5.6–5.8 and the optimal