That depends, I guess. There are so many yeast types available out there, I reckon simply covering the basics of dry and liquid yeasts (and maybe some broad categorisation along the lines of top and bottom and wild/bacterial strains) along with how to use them would suffice, and then have pointed to the likes of the Fermentis, Wyeast and While Labs sites where a person can get more information about particular strains. It might be too much work to try and describe them all.
Some ideas, based on the most common questions that appear on the forum:
Kit Brewing:
How to take a hydrometer reading?
How to calculate ABV?
Is my brew fermenting?
How to Pitch yeast?
How do I know if my brew is ready?
Extract Brewing:
How to build a recipe?
How to Steep Grains?
Why add hops at different times?
How to cool your wort?
How to transfer to your primary Fermentor?
Bottling/Kegging:
Where to get bottles?
Where to get Corny kegs?
Where to get Co2 refills?
How to prime bottles?
How to Force Carbonate a corny keg?
&quot;Barry M&quot;:xhohj3ye wrote: In a way, the forum provides such a mechanism, but can be hard to find (or some people are too lazy <!-- s;) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s;) -->). The new forum version after the migration will have much better search facilities though.[/quote:xhohj3ye]
Great to hear the search function will be improved. That should make the forum even more useful (and maybe I should have been more explicit: I don't think a Q&A section could or should be a substitute for the discussions that go on in the forum).
The main reason I think we ought to consider a Q&A section is that the quality and depth of the advice given on the forum (even in connection with fairly basic issues that we all encounter) can vary significantly depending on who happens to be online, how much time they have to answer a question properly, and whether or not the thread goes off on a tangent (as it often does, which can of course be a great thing). I was really impressed by the way Lewis' book answered each question in a comprehensive fashion, drawing together all the relevant details that need to be considered in each case.
For example, in answering a question about how long fermentation usually lasts, he goes through the following factors: quantity of yeast pitched, viability of the yeast (i.e. yeast health), starting temperature, nutrients in the wort, adequate oxygenation, and maintaining a steady temperature (teasing out each factor in turn). It's not often that an answer is given in one easily locatable place on the forum that addresses an issue in such a systematic fashion.
As for how to design it, I think a single article would be too unwieldy. It could probably be broken up into 9 or 10 articles, each with a suitably general heading. I think Halite's list is a good start.
" title="Wink" /><!-- s;) -->). The new forum version after the migration will have much better search facilities though.[/quote:xhohj3ye]