gophers6

Glad to see someone else using the finger in the bottle trick. If I don't do this, I end up with a ring where the top of the beer was. You know there is a certain poster on here (not naming him but his last name rhymes with deer) who thinks I'm imagining "ring around the bottle."

Maybe there's something to that. I have a 3 friends that haven't homebrewed in a couple of years because they can't keep up trying new craft beers.

You mean business is down because they added more time to the process?

3-4 weeks at 70 degrees is plenty. Makes me think that's not the issue.

I thought Mr B sanitizer was One Step.

Kedogn, not trying to argue with a pro, but my brew had a real nice head.

Yes, Mr B American Porter HME. Josh told me soaking the coconut in vodka would bring out more flavor.

I made a Coconut Porter a while back. I got my advice from Josh at MB. Here's my notes: 1.Made the beer as usual 2.After 7 days put 7 oz of unsweetened shredded coconut on a cookie sheet and toasted it in the oven till brown. 3. Put the toasted coconut in a bowl and cover with vodka for 3 days. 4. On day 10 poured the bowl of coconut + vodka into lbk 5. Ferment another 10 days Turned out great. Maybe my best brew ever!

There's no reason the ring should cause a problem as long as it's all the way down against the seat. I've had plastic bottles for years and most of them still have the ring on them.

It's never happened to me, but I know others have posted here with that issue. Hopefully one of them chimes in.

I keep all my hops in the freezer.

Looks Good! Welcome to the world's greatest hobby!

Not dumb questions at all. Heck, most of us like helping newcomers. We've all been there.

There's something drastically wrong with a guy that squeezes his glass bottles to check for carbonation.

I still do the taste test before bottling. If it is flat and not sweet, it's ready. If it's still a little fizzy or sweet, it's not ready.