Recent content by CABeerMaker

I agree with CB. Active fermentation is probaly close to being done so go ahead and switch back to your 3 piece. Also leave it in the bucket of water to help control temp swings. I wouldn't give up on this beer until I had tasted the final product, but next time definitely make sure you have...

The quick and easy answer is Yes. You can boil with less water and still make beer, you just won't get the same hop utilization that you would've from a full boil. Another option is to only add half of the extract at the begining and then add the rest at the end, this will give you better hop...

Your gravity is what it is, using extract you really can't do much to affect your OG. As far as the lower than expected FG, that is not unusual as most of my beers end up with lower than expected FG's, it just means that your yeast did a little better job of attenuating your beer. For some...

Really depends on how thick the layer is. A thin little line of yeast at the bottom is normal, however a really thick layer may represent that you are stirring up your cake from the bottom of your fermentor. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Hard to say if you really have a...

Congrats on your first extract kit. I usually dont bother with a secondary and just leaave it in the primary for 3 weeks. Keep going and it will get easier, I have about 40 batches under my belt and can almost brew on cruise control. I will be switching to all garain this summer and there...

I agree with mrduna the problem could be from fermenting at too high of a temp. Try getting a hand on your fermenting temps and see if this corrects the problem. Also with extract, if the extract is old you may get some off flavors there. If you are geting kits from the top suppliers online...

I usually keep my smack packs in the fridge and pull them out the night before to warm to room temp. Smack it when I start brewing and it's good to go when I'm ready. As far as yours is concerned if the temps didn't get really high it should be fine, but I would make a starter just to make...

If you are going to force carb the beer there is no need to add priming sugar.

My basic extract IPA recipe is. 8 lbs LME 1 lb Crytsal 40 2 oz Magnum 2 oz Chinook 2 oz Cascade I steep the crystal at 160 for 30 min add 1/2 the LME mix the Magnum & Chinook and add .5 oz of mixture every 10 min add remaining LME at flameout Ferment for 10-14 days at 64F dry...

Awesome build, and being a Parker employee real happy to see the selection of Parker products in this build.

Another suggestion on the blonde theme... I make a blonde that I add vanilla to the fermenter, 2 beans for 5 gal. It leaves just a hint of vanilla flavor and adds a level of creaminess to the beer. It is one of the favorites among my BMC friends, I'm still trying to expand their horizons.

I agree with Cyanide, wait until Monday and take another reading if it is still at 1.022 then it should be finished. I would still give it a few more days to clean itself up before bottling. If you can wait a week after getting a stable gravity it will clean up real nice and give you a better...

Thanks for the input, nice to know I'm on te right track.

I've been doing extract for 4 years now and am getting ready to make the plunge to all grain. I am currently building a single tier HERMS stand. I have been doing research and feel that the ability to keep my temps constant with direct fire seems the way to go. Now come the questions...

I am currently building a HERMS rig, hope to finish it later this summer as time permits. If you don't/can't go for the expense of pumps then you will need to do a 3 tier system and let gravity more liquid for you. I would also suggest getting a good cooler and doing batch sparges, it will be...