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| Subject | Date Asked |
| Types of beer | 12/15/2011 |
| Q: My boyfriend is turning 21 soon and as part of his gift I would like to get him a few different ... A: gahhhh! Whitney, I wrote a long-ish response and then the browser crashed and nothing was saved. ... | |
| home brewing | 11/10/2011 |
| Q: I've had a beer kit from Mr. Beer for a few years now, and I've quite enjoyed it. However, I want ... A: Great news that you're ready to branch out and try moving forward in your brewing. I think the best ... | |
| brewing time | 3/10/2011 |
| Q: how can we decrease the brewing time? A: I'd like a few more specifics about what stage of the brewing/fermenting you'd like to decrease. ... | |
| Ageing beer | 10/22/2010 |
| Q: Is it ok to age a beer after it has been in the refrigerator? Unfortunately the store i buy my beer ... A: No, I was only kidding. In the fridge or at room temperature will be fine. Imperial stouts were ... | |
| Ageing beer | 10/21/2010 |
| Q: Is it ok to age a beer after it has been in the refrigerator? Unfortunately the store i buy my beer ... A: The answer is that it is just fine a age a beer at room temperature after it's been in the ... | |
| Beer | 8/27/2010 |
| Q: Samuel Adams, Guinness, or both? Which is best on a cool summer night? A: Totally personal preference and is not even the same answer for me one night to another. I'd go for ... | |
| beer | 8/14/2010 |
| Q: I made some beer (I thought it was anyway )a long time ago with just water , yeast and sugar. Is ... A: My apologies, I've been on vacation and only just got back yesterday. The answer is that you can ... | |
| Mr Beer | 12/5/2009 |
| Q: I brewed and bottled a batch of Mr. beer whispering wheat in Jan 2009. I found two 22 ounce bottles ... A: Yes, absolutely safe. Maybe not any good, but perfectly safe. It might still be good, occasionally ... | |
| sugar | 11/9/2009 |
| Q: how much sugar is in a can of beer. is there less sugar in lite beer A: The short answer is that no, beer does not contain sugar. In fact, that's what yeast does... it ... | |
| bottle aging beer | 10/31/2009 |
| Q: I have a few bottles of Roots Organic Brewing Epic Ale that are aging, as recommended, in the ... A: The beer might not be any good any more, but you can try it and find out. There are not generally ... | |
| Home brew not right | 9/1/2009 |
| Q: I have only ever made 2 batches of homebrew using a kit from Coopers (Australian-based). I used new ... A: Sure... head retention is a really desirable trait in a beer, and I can understand your wanting to ... | |
| budweiser | 8/30/2009 |
| Q: Matt My doctor says I might have sub clinical gluten intolerance. This may explain why I get so ... A: Okay, I am posting this followup at the top so you'll see it. Thanks to some friends of mine who ... | |
| Sedimet ring in secondary carboy | 5/14/2009 |
| Q: I had a bit of an issue (clearly). About a week ago one of my bottles exploded. They had only been ... A: If you truly re-sanitized well, and the yeast got going again in the "tertiary" fermentation then I ... | |
| Beer allergy? | 5/6/2009 |
| Q: I'm 55 years old and seem to be allergic to beer now (wasn't in the past)as if I drink one I will ... A: I have heard of it before, but I don't think there is a consensus on the cause. There also may be ... | |
| White-label beers | 4/6/2009 |
| Q: Matt, Hello, I'm a reporter with Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine in Washington, D.C. working ... A: I'm sorry it's taken me some time to get back to you. It is not uncommon in the brewing industry to ... | |
| old beer | 3/17/2009 |
| Q: I found a case of 3.2% Natural Light in the garage. Date on it was 2003. It taste like it has ... A: I wouldn't drink it. The alcohol content shouldn't have changed, but I think it may be low enough ... | |
| 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: You should have no difference in taste, for the most part. Assuming your ingredients, recipe, ... | |
| low sugar yield | 3/7/2009 |
| Q: I have been brewing for over 20 years. I recently bought a new 50 lb bag of 2 row pale malt. I ... A: The short answer is that I don't know why you would see this, other than you just having made a ... | |
| Non alcoholic beer | 12/19/2008 |
| Q: I am interested in non-alcoholic beers, but can't find any definitive info on how to make it at ... A: Hmm... good question, and I'm not at all sure I can answer it. Yeast will definitely impart some ... | |
| Cleaner spilled in Carboy! | 12/8/2008 |
| Q: I have just started brewing and with my first batch came my first screw-up. When i was securing the ... A: What is the sterilizer? I mean what is the chemical involved? And how long has the wort been ... | |
| bottle storage temperature | 12/1/2008 |
| Q: I share a house and have limited storage space and the space is on the warmer side (72-75°), so 2 ... A: Bob, How long was the beer bottled before it went into the garage? My guess is that it's about as ... | |
| different kinds of sugars used in beer | 10/17/2008 |
| Q: hey Matt, me and my friend are doing a chemistry experiment at school for our assignment, and we ... A: A good way to categorize different alcohols is by the sugars. When yeast eats sugar, it produces ... | |
| beer has wang and cloudy | 9/30/2008 |
| Q: beer has a wang.its tastes like yeast.no more bubbles coming out of air lock. but cloudy.what do I ... A: You can clarify your beer in a variety of ways, but I don't think you have to, there's nothing wrong ... | |
| brewmaster | 9/11/2008 |
| Q: I was wondering if you could point me and a direction on to were to start brewing at home if there ... A: Brandon, I think the best thing to do is find a home brewing supply store, go there and tell them ... | |
| finding ingredients | 9/4/2008 |
| Q: Where can i buy these ingrediants in BC or Canada, corn sugar, saaz hops, hallertauer hersbrucker ... A: Stacy, Where are you in BC? Here is a handy list I found of places you can call: Spagnol's ... | |
| beer | 8/11/2008 |
| Q: when making beer do you make it in a open crock or like wine with a air lock? A: You'll need an enclosed container with an air lock. You can have success in any air-tight ... | |
| Bitterness | 7/12/2008 |
| Q: I'm a kit brewer and an interesting thing is happening to my beer as it conditions and matures in ... A: I'm sorry it's been some time since I was able to get to your question. I don't know why your beer ... | |
| root beer | 6/23/2008 |
| Q: hy, i make my own wine, beer, and root beer (from concentrate) at home. when making beer or ... A: You've definitely run up against my ignorance--I just don't know enough about root beer to answer ... | |
| root beer | 6/23/2008 |
| Q: hy, i make my own wine, beer, and root beer (from concentrate) at home. when making beer or ... A: I have only ever kegged root beer when I've made it at home, so I'm not the best person to ask. The ... | |
| Accidentally added some iodine to beer | 5/7/2008 |
| Q: When transferring from my primary to secondary fermenter, I accidentally didn't clear out my siphon ... A: Mike, I would be very careful. While Iodine is critical for biological function, it is also toxic ... | |
| beer | 5/3/2008 |
| Q: what is pot still method of beer distilling? A: Well I think your question requires some clarification. A beer is not distilled, it's brewed. ... | |
| Infected batch? | 4/8/2008 |
| Q: How early can you tell if a batch is infected? I'm a new homebrewer and on my 3rd batch... so ... A: That's a good question. I'm unsure how early you could tell, but you're probably fine. How early ... | |
| Not enough water | 3/20/2008 |
| Q: I brewed a batch of beer several days ago. I now realize that I actually did not top off the wort ... A: Scott, Good question. I think you should let it go. You'll end up with a more concentrated ... | |
| One more Q | 3/10/2008 |
| Q: I'm new to this great craft and a huge aficionado for years. I'm brewing a brown ale and on my 7th ... A: Hmm... adding sugar at this stage will reinvigorate the heartier souls of what's left of your yeast. ... | |
| 1st homebrew, 7th day, have a Q. | 3/10/2008 |
| Q: I'm new to this great craft and a huge aficionado for years. I'm brewing a brown ale and on my 7th ... A: So no sweetness in a brown ale? That's a little surprising to me, but sometimes it's hard to tell ... | |
| allergy? | 2/9/2008 |
| Q: Matt Like most guys I love beer. I find,however,that when I have a few beers,the next day I often ... A: I have no knowledge beyond the public brewery tour they'll give anyone, but I would have a hard time ... | |
| acetaldehyde | 2/9/2008 |
| Q: Matt Which of the easily available beers (Coors,Bud,etc) contain the least or lesser amounts of ... A: I have no idea. I would think you could find this as easily as I could, assuming the information is ... | |
| allergy? | 2/9/2008 |
| Q: Matt Like most guys I love beer. I find,however,that when I have a few beers,the next day I often ... A: I have not heard of anything like this, but it's interesting to consider. So... maltier beers tend ... | |
| moonshine | 1/16/2008 |
| Q: ok why is moonshine illegal? does it have more to do with the process or is it just because it is ... A: There is a misconception buried in your question. Alcoholic drinks are broadly able to be broken up ... | |
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I have been a home brewing for about 20 years, been a member of the Chicago Beer Society, and designed a beer-tasting course and curriculum. I would love to encourage you along the road of beer appreciation as well as beer brewing.

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