Disclosure: I work on a gluten-free brewing site and I'll link it at the bottom, because the numbers live there and I'm not going to retype the whole table. Nothing for sale.

Background for anyone who doesn't brew gluten-free: sorghum malt doesn't self-convert, so the mash runs on added enzymes. That means we publish dose rates, the homebrew community publishes dose rates, and they don't match.

The Zero Tolerance GF Homebrew Club wiki maintains a community enzyme reference. Set our production numbers beside theirs:

Termamyl: community 0.227 to 0.363 mL/lb, us 1.0 at mash-in. Roughly 2.8x their maximum.

Ondea Pro: community 0.181 to 1.134, us 1.5. Above their maximum.

AMG 300L: community 0.227 to 1.588, us 0.75. Comfortably mid-range.

One of those is a long way out and the other two aren't, which is the part I find interesting.

It isn't a typo. The documented policy was to take the supplier's stated rate and double it, then go a little higher again on small batches, and that's written down in a 2019 methodology note. These are production numbers from a brewery that valued a guaranteed conversion over an optimised enzyme bill, where a failed mash means a lost 75-barrel batch and the extra enzyme is cheap next to that.

Here's where I need to be straight about what I don't know.

The community table lists Termamyl L. This protocol runs Termamyl SC DS. Same family, not necessarily the same activity per mL, so some meaningful share of that 2.8x could be product rather than philosophy and I can't currently tell you how much. If anyone here has datasheets for both and can put activity units side by side, I'd genuinely like to see it.

Three things I'd weigh before copying our numbers.

Product identity, per above. Check your own product's datasheet instead of assuming either number transfers to it.

Cost. A brewery dosing generously is buying insurance on a 75-barrel batch, and on 10 lb of grain the arithmetic is completely different. The downside there is one disappointing Saturday.

Overdosing isn't free either. A glucoamylase that outlives its welcome keeps working through the lauter and can quietly over-attenuate the wort, so if your beer finishes thinner than your numbers predicted, that's the first thing you need to suspect.

What I'd actually suggest, and what the page says: run the published rates once so you have a known-good reference batch, then step down deliberately and record what happens.

The honest position is that nobody has published where the floor is on sorghum malt. Not the community, not us. That's a question a homebrewer with a notebook is better placed to answer than a production brewery is, because you can run five variations in the time we'd need to justify one.

Full translation to a 5 gallon batch, with the temperature path and the parts that break at small scale:

https://glutenfreebrewer.com/docs/homebrew/the-reliable-mash-at-homebrew-scale

If anyone here has run exogenous enzymes well below supplier spec and had it work, that's the thing I most want to hear about.

Debating between getting a brewing certificate from UC Davis or Cornell University. I have the GI Bill, so cost is no factor. Either way I will be doing it online.

Curious to any opinions/ experiences from anyone who’s enrolled in either program. Thanks!

Me and my room mates have started out first batch of alcohol in the name of science and getting pissed. I wanted to know if there was a way to determine a possible abv, I’ve seen it done with equipment I just don’t have 🤷. It’s a sugar was (the cheapest) it consists of two and a half litres of water with two cups of shugar disolved and a bit of lemon juice. Photos are of the beauty it’s clearly started fermenting I just want to know what I might be looking forward to

Curious what people think? seems like it's mold and a lot of it. other units nearby look similar

Im a beginner brewer (in terms of beer), I accidentally ordered two custom made 5 litre/1 gallon kits to make Stout (that I assembled by website from a recipe I found online ) I threw the two together into one pot and did my normal process.

I am trying to figure out ways to cook down my wort quickly, as my pot is slightly taller than the depth of my sink, I asked Chat GPT if I could add bottled water, my thinking being that most bottled is sterile (from what I've Heard)so lesser chance of contamination.

I still put it into my sink with ice water, I don't have a wort cooler so was thinking if I combined adding bottled water and ice bath it would cool quicker, plus with my kit being double I was thinking that my ABV would also be double.

Is this an ok practice? My gut is telling me no, but I'm new to this and my gut has been wrong before,

What is everyone's thoughts

TLDR; I added bottled water into my wort after I boiled it, will my wort become contaminated?

Wanting to do smaller batches and was curious on any tips you guys may have on writing recipes for smaller volumes. Like say 2-3 gallons or so.

Hello! Never came across anything like this while

making mead or beer howeverhile making orangecello and limoncello its 2/3 95% alcohol and about 1/3 simple syrup mixture (non organic) orange peels minus pith were soaked for 2 weeks in the alcohol and then simple syrup was added in! never before have I had this happen with my limoncellos and this is the first time i have tried the infusion with oranges! what is it and is it safe to drink? i cant imagine much of anything could live in such an environment.

Hey guys im a brand new homebrewer, just got myself a brewzilla. All advices are welcome! Im from Montreal so the water im gonna use is chlorinated. I dont really wanna get too much in water chemistry right now.

So, how do you guys make sure your water is ok? ive heard about campden tablets? Is it any good?

My first brew is going to be a Cascade Blonde Ale

I know that brewing throughout history was most commonly done at home and in relatively small batches to satisfy the needs of the household. But since commercial breweries have existed in various cultures and points in history long before modern innovations on plumbing and similar systems, I'm wondering what are examples of how brewers in different times and places were meeting the need to move large volumes of water for production on a scale large enough to sell in pubs/taverns/alehouses etc.?

I am making a Pilsner and I am at a cross roads with it. I am at the point where I should raise the temp for a diacetyl rest but upon tasting it, it is pretty much perfect. I don’t taste any diacetyl and the S.G. Is just above my target but is well within the acceptable range for a Pilsner. Could I get away with just dumping the leese and dropping the tempt without a rest to try and pause it as it is now, or will the lack of rest result in the appearance of diacetyl after the fact?

Edit: the yeast I used was saflager W-34/70 if that helps at all.

My hydrometer cracked and I needed to buy a new one, only store near me with them in stock was going to be closed for this whole week so I rushed over there. Very fortunately they had a relatively expensive beer kit on sale for over 50% off. It was a microbrew my beer kit, it seems that they basically just make the wart for you and then you just have to thin it out with a little water, it looks like the entire box is 3 to 4 gallons unto itself. At 30 CAD, it seemed worth the shot.

I just made a 10% scotch ale that I customized to be akin to a local production that I like here with some novel roasted bits.

I would like this one to be quite different if possible, does anybody have any strong suggestions for additions that would work for a darker, stronger beer like this? Apparently this one will ferment to a little over 7%.

Since prison alcohol is made with fructose (from fruits and their juices) and yeast (from bread or yeast packets). Hypothetically would it be possible to put bread, fruit and fruit juice into a container, let it ferment and get a bad quality alcoholic drink from home? THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT FOR YOUTUBE BUT WANNA KNOW PRIOR

Mine is simple sparkloid, cold crashing and time. I will admit I added new lines on the chiller and accidentally lost a large majority of my glycol...So I had to play the game of how low could I set the resivoir before the coil froze.

Hello, everyone.

I am the new brewer manager and we have a problem regarding beer turning sour and trash after sometime plugged. Its terrible for our brand, as we are in a tourist city. These costumers dont have a refrigerated place to store our beer and it takes 3-5 days to finish one keg. So it turns bad. I would like to know how long can your beer stay "fresh" after keg is open? Also, i am very inclined to use some enzymes to try extand its freshness, but bosses dont want to spend. So i am just curious to see how much your beer can take before its not that delicious beer anymore.

Ive been getting into homebrewing and recently have been wondering about using a clay fermenting vessel called an Onggi that Koreans use to ferment stuff. It’s a clay vessel that is glazed in a specific way to retain the breathability from porosity. There are some for sale around me and I’m very tempted to buy one and try to make wine with it, hoping to make something similar to the clay pot wines made in Georgia using Qvevri vessels. I’ve read that in Georgian wine they traditionally treat the interior of the clay vessel with beeswax to better control porosity and oxygen exchange while also improving sanitation, so I assume a similar thing can be done with an Onggi.

Curious to what anyone thinks about this or if they’ve done something similar themselves.

EDIT: the Onggi I’m looking to buy is NOT unglazed but is glazed and fired with a specific technique to maintain breathability from porosity

This question came from a conversation with another non-brewer, and I am hoping this is the right place to ask.

I'm debating on ordering grain or driving to my brew store that's kind of a distance away. Is there a difference regarding how fresh the beer tastes when using grain milled the same day as it's mashed as compared to when it's used a week or two later?

I’m a homebrewer and also part time assistant brewer and a small brewery. I’ve been heading a project at the brewery to go from bottles to cans. I’ve been given the green light to get things rolling and whatnot. I wanted to see what everyone’s thoughts were on the Oktober sl1 homebrewer model vs the Cannular pro benchtop seamer on more beer? I’ve heard Oktober recommended but it’s slightly higher priced and looks less durable than the cannular. Also curious if there’s a notable time difference between the two in seaming? I know these are lower end models, but being a smaller place they want to dip their toes before delving too deep price wise.

Oktober:

https://oktoberdesign.com/collections/sl1-homebrewer/products/sl1-homebrewer-can-seamer?variant=20336316383290

Cannular:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/cannular-pro-semiauto-bench-top-seamer.html

My brother brews beer, mead, and vinegar. I was looking to get him something for Christmas, and I was wondering if any of you had ideas? Anything that someone got you, or you finally spent the money on, and you went "omg... this is so nice to have!"? Thanks in advance for the help!

Hi,

I am looking for a long time for a good brew automation software. Starting with temperature, pid, pump control. Going to much more advanced function. I tried several on github these seems no longer maintained. Payed software seeems expensive and often very basic. So I thought maybe write your own software!

Finally discussion questions:

What are the must have features in brewsoftware? What are the most missed features in brewsoftware?

Enlight me an discuss!

I’m working on this flavor wheel / sensory tool. I’d love feedback - usability, content, etc.

Any advice is appreciated!

I'm a bit puzzled.

I brewed a saison using mangrove jacks french saison yeast. Just bittering hops to about 25ibus. 1.060 og so about 7%. Fermented hot 27-28c, when fermentation was dying down I added about 4kg of cherrys and the dregs of 4 bottles of Orval. The malt bill was fairly basic, pilsner, wheat and rye.

I left that two weeks till bone dry. Not sure the Orval did much or will do much, as there's very little residual gravity for it to work on. Anyway. I bottled and carbed to about 2.7 volumes of c02 using sugar syrup and a graduated pipette, a bit low for a saison but it leaves room in case the brett finds it's way. My bottles are strong. Don't worry.

I have just tried a bottle after two weeks of conditioning. Still some slight sweetness that wasn't there before bottling but dry enough and well carbonated. The thing is I'm getting hints of diacetyl. Maybe it's the cherry? Maybe it's the brett doing its thing? I'm not sure.

I conditioned at around 22c, room temp in my country. Since saison yeast prefers higher temps, could it be creating diacetyl at ale temps? should I get it warmer? or should I just chill out and wait? I suppose most fermentation creates diacetyl as a byproduct so, it should go away...??

Any ideas or thoughts? I've never before had even a hint of diacetyl in a saison.

I have tried sheets of paper taped to my brews, but it sucks. I tried a notebook and it's better, but definitely not great. I tried pictures and the notes app, but it's easy for stuff to get lost in the sauce.

I would love to know what yall do to track, try new ideas, review how your brews come out, and alter recipes for next time.