You are here:
Beer/Questions Answered by Expert Chris Bushman
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Beer Stopped Fermenting? | 2/23/2011 |
| Q: Saturday night I started brewing my first batch ever. I'm using a Brown Ale kit from True Brew. When ... A: The neat thing about this hobby is you can learn as much or as little as you want. Lots of ... | |
| Beer Stopped Fermenting? | 2/22/2011 |
| Q: Saturday night I started brewing my first batch ever. I'm using a Brown Ale kit from True Brew. When ... A: Well Ken, the .020 drop in gravity overnight doesn't make sense unless one of the readings was ... | |
| Beer Stopped Fermenting? | 2/22/2011 |
| Q: Saturday night I started brewing my first batch ever. I'm using a Brown Ale kit from True Brew. When ... A: Doesn't sound right, Ken. How about the temperature? Since it's an ale, the ideal temp is ... | |
| Czech Republic | 2/20/2011 |
| Q: I notice in your bio that you never made a beer trip to the Czech Republic. I have a Czech friend ... A: Your Czech friend knows what he's talking about, Leonard. The Czech Republic has many incredible ... | |
| Fermentation & Bottling | 9/18/2010 |
| Q: I'm new to home brewing and started my 1st batch at the start of the month so has been fermenting ... A: Generally speaking, most normal beers should stop fermenting when the gravity is reduced by about ... | |
| Pitching the yeast | 9/5/2010 |
| Q: I'm very new to home brewing and made my very 1st batch just a couple of hours ago. There where no ... A: By the time you read this, your question will already have been answered. Chances are, your brew is ... | |
| beer | 6/15/2010 |
| Q: if fermentation takes longer time than the stipulated time, what could be the reasons and as a ... A: Slow fermentation can be caused by many things. These include, unhealthy yeast, lack of aeration at ... | |
| smelly brew | 12/13/2009 |
| Q: So I decided to put a small space heater into the closet where some of my brews were fermenting last ... A: Seems a little strange that the temp change would cause your problem. Could it be that the "nose ... | |
| Attenuation | 12/8/2009 |
| Q: My attenuation rates have been around 66% in general with OG's of 1.046 to 1.062. The one time I ... A: Crystal malts have no diastatic power to speak of. Belgian Aromatic malts do have some enzymes. If ... | |
| Attenuation | 12/8/2009 |
| Q: My attenuation rates have been around 66% in general with OG's of 1.046 to 1.062. The one time I ... A: Hmmm, sorry David, I should have asked that question. I once used an English DME that gave me the ... | |
| Attenuation | 12/7/2009 |
| Q: My attenuation rates have been around 66% in general with OG's of 1.046 to 1.062. The one time I ... A: Rousing yeast is certainly a good technique in a pinch, but it shouldn't be something you should ... | |
| herb beer | 11/12/2009 |
| Q: I'm a newbie when it comes to home brewing, but very eager to start with my new hobby. I very much ... A: Welcome to a fun hobby, Robert. When you're first starting out it's really best to stick to the ... | |
| keg | 11/2/2009 |
| Q: how long will an untapped keg of budweiser last if it sits outside A: Temperature is the key factor. Properly refrigerated, it's supposed to be best for 110 days from ... | |
| Beer allergies | 7/29/2009 |
| Q: I love beer. But some nights after drinking it i wake up with my nose and eyes streaming then i ... A: Sounds pretty strange, Jeff. Do you always drink the same beer? If so, I have no clue. If you ... | |
| dry malt extract | 7/21/2009 |
| Q: ..from davis i see.used to live nearby but now in alaska for 30 yrs.question....i've brewed with ... A: ...and speaking of near Davis, about 10 years ago I attended 4 days of homebrew fantasy camp in ... | |
| second fermintation | 7/15/2009 |
| Q: im brewing a batch of american lite beer im useing 2 5gallon buckets and i have transfered into the ... A: At this point Jody, breathing is not good. Before the yeast kicks in, oxygen is good for them since ... | |
| brewing | 4/16/2009 |
| Q: why do we do orginal gravity for wort from mash tank,lauter tun,wort kettle,whirlpool and ... A: A gravity from the pre-boil stages can tell you if you need to adjust the gravity during the boil by ... | |
| Force Carbonation vs. Bottle Conditioning | 3/12/2009 |
| Q: Hey, I'm a somewhat new homebrewer, but I'm getting pretty involved. We bought a kegerator and ... A: Good question, Dave. Bottles represent an extremely handy portable beer handling device. That alone ... | |
| misty lager | 3/9/2009 |
| Q: has been left in shed after fermenting for three weeks now but it still very cloudy is this ok A: Might be OK, Brett, probably too early to tell. Different yeasts take different amounts of time to ... | |
| carboys | 1/9/2009 |
| Q: I've just purchased my first beer brewing kit. It came with a five gallon glass carboy for ... A: Absolutely, Chris! Just make sure that you get one of those fermentation lock adapters that works ... | |
| alcohol content of beer | 8/17/2008 |
| Q: When starting our first batch of home brew beer, we were sold the wrong type of hygrometer (one for ... A: Well, Josh, you can estimate the alcohol content, but without an OG it's only a rough estimate. ... | |
| froth through airlock | 7/6/2008 |
| Q: I have been brewing for about 15 years and recently I've had a brew that frothed out through the air ... A: Well, Wayne, I think it all boils down to happy yeast and perhaps a little more protein than usual. ... | |
| Fermentation Question | 1/29/2008 |
| Q: I am new to home brewing and recently started two batches. One being a Pale ale that fermented like ... A: Well, Chris, you can make a guess at what the final gravity should be. If it is a normal Brown Ale ... | |
| froth in airlock | 1/15/2008 |
| Q: It's Tues. I brewed a Belgian with White Labs 530 Abbey Ale yeast on Sat night - there is yellow ... A: Well, Max, as long as nothing in the airlock gets back in the fermenter you should be fine. Also, ... | |
| brewing beer | 12/31/2007 |
| Q: Is there any thing you can substitute for the sugar when brewing beer. Would like to brew a low ... A: Well, Joseph, you can't really take the sugar out of beer and still have beer, but there are a ... | |
| yeast | 11/3/2007 |
| Q: Hey, Id love to brew more beer and wine but due to the area that I live in brewing yeast is not ... A: There are two major types of barley. One type has a head on which the grains are arranged in two ... | |
| yeast | 11/3/2007 |
| Q: Hey, Id love to brew more beer and wine but due to the area that I live in brewing yeast is not ... A: Glad to hear you located a local homebrew shop. I think you will find it very interesting to visit. ... | |
| yeast | 11/2/2007 |
| Q: Hey, Id love to brew more beer and wine but due to the area that I live in brewing yeast is not ... A: Sorry Josiah, bakers' yeast just won't do it. There are two major versions of brewers' yeast, ... | |
| Mead w/o alcohol? | 9/6/2007 |
| Q: I would like to brew my own mead and I would like to know if it is possible to make it without or to ... A: Yeah, Olivier, heating the mead up to above 174 degrees F (the boiling point of ethanol) would ... | |
| Mead w/o alcohol? | 9/6/2007 |
| Q: I would like to brew my own mead and I would like to know if it is possible to make it without or to ... A: Well Olivier, that is tough to do on a small scale. Since alcohol evaporates more quickly than ... | |
| Equipment and ingredients | 8/26/2007 |
| Q: What equipment is used in home brewing and how would i get this or would i have to make it myself? ... A: Well, Zach, luckily there are stores all over the country that specialize in home brewing. You can ... | |
| Homebrewing follow up Q | 2/6/2007 |
| Q: I've started to save my extra bottles...however most of them 'real' bottle caps and not the twistie. ... A: Most beer bottles are not designed for corks, and corks are MUCH more expensive than caps anyway. A ... | |
| Homebrewing books | 1/30/2007 |
| Q: Santa Clause was nice this year and I got a homebrewing kit; a brew store put it together for about ... A: Well good for you Adam, I think you're gonna have fun. The book that is probably included with more ... | |
| Mead | 12/17/2006 |
| Q: My dad just took up bee keeping and being 22 and idealistic I would like to take some of the honey ... A: What a great idea, Dustin! Luckily, there is a wealth of information on the Net. I have 3 starting ... | |
| Oak Chips | 11/29/2006 |
| Q: Someone who knows that I brew gave me a bag of oak chips from a beer supply store. How do I use ... A: Hey John, Oak chips are used to give that "aged in an oak barrel" flavor. You add them to the ... | |
| kegging with beer gas | 8/26/2006 |
| Q: I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me? I dont know if your familiar with ... A: Well, Tom, you picked a tough beer to clone! Of course I know of Boddingtons, it's been around for ... | |
| Beer Selection | 8/15/2006 |
| Q: Chris... Having a "cook out" with corn on the cob along with barbecued short ribs. Any ideas on ... A: Well, Tom, short ribs can stand up to a hearty beer. Don't know where you live so I'm not sure ... | |
| gypsum | 6/17/2006 |
| Q: Remind me again what exactly gypsum does for the brewing water? Some older recipes say to add ... A: Well John, you can use it to do several things. Gypsum is calcium sulfate. If your mash pH is too ... | |
| Ale Mead? | 7/16/2004 |
| Q: I just started homwebrewing after I tasted a mead a friend of a friend made, that tasted better then ... A: There are all kinds of special names for meads made with extra ingredients. A mead made from honey ... | |
| Non-alcoholic beer | 2/21/2003 |
| Q: I'm finding it hard to get information on brewing non-alcoholic (~1%) beer. Would you be able to ... A: I can see your problem, Mike. NA beers are not really "brewed", but created AFTER brewing. I've ... | |
| what's mead made of thanks ... | 2/16/2003 |
| Q: what's mead made of thanks A: Well, Bob, basically, mead is honey, water, and yeast. The first mead was created thousands of years ... | |
| Dry malt extract verus syrup; yeast | 6/14/2002 |
| Q: I am new to brewing, and I've started to analyse the ingredient choices out there. What are the ... A: Dry/liquid extract is pretty much a toss-up. Dry has longer shelf life and is usually a little ... | |
Beer
Answers by Expert:
Chris Bushman
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I've been homebrewing beer and mead for about 15 years. I've made beer trips to the Netherlands, the UK, France, Germany, and Belgium.
Experience
I've brewed a couple of hundred all-grain beers and a few dozen meads. I'm a member of the Maltose Falcon's Homebrew Society, the oldest homebrew club in the US. I've attended the Homebrewers Fantasy Camp at American Brewers Guild.
In real life I am Optical Effects Supervisor and Laboratory Supervisor for a large movie visual effects house in Hollywood. I've been a fireman, a teacher of English in Okinawa, a personal computer tutor.
Other hobbies include orchid culture, koi keeping, photography, sausage making, pickling, and ham radio.
BS Zoology, UC Davis
Member, Society of Motion Picture/Television Engineers http://www.smpte.org/ - Member, American Radio Relay League http://www.arrl.org/ - Member, Quarter Century Wireless Assn. http://www.lockport-ny.com/radio.htm - President, Zen Nippon Airinkai, So Cal Chapter http://home.earthlink.net/~filmlabrat/ - Member, Maltose Falcons Homebrewing Society http://www.westval.com/mfalcons/ - Alumni, American Brewers' Guild http://www.abgbrew.com/
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.