Recent content by ChrispyBites

Welp, just bottled up. My refractometer indicated that the gravity never fell below 1.020. I find that hard to believe, given that I could taste the booze in the unfinished beer. Maybe my mind playing tricks on me, I dunno. I think it's more likely that I screwed up measuring the gravity...

Unless it's something that absolutely requires less or more time, I generally don't rack beer unless it's been in the fermenter for 14 days. But I do test things at typical intervals. This was to see how things were going 72 hours post pitch to see the gravity after primary fermentation...

So, I just checked gravity---1.020---and either my initial read (5 gallons at 1.035) was way off or something else is wrong. I've been fermenting, and kind of hot, too, for almost 72 hours now. Shouldn't it be a lot lower? I have a real healthy braun hefe ring and even a foam on top that...

So, I'm going back through my notes from the brew day and I really have no friggin clue what happened. I hit all my temps---actually, today was notable for being one of the few times I've hit my mash temp right on target, without needing to adjust. Any idea why I might have gotten such a weak...

I'm not sure what I did wrong. There appeared to be plenty of volume from the tun, but after boiling, I only had 3 gallons of 1.054 wort. Adding top up obviously just compounded the problem. Waste of time and money.

Oh, and depending on your definition of fame, the guy who invented DumbLaws.com went to my highschool. Don't even know if that thing is still around, but he ended up selling the whole site off for like $150k back before the tech bubble burst.

Alright, so here's the adjusted recipe: Grain Bill 10lbs Maris Otter 3 lbs Rye 1 lbs Crystal Rye 0.5 lb rice hulls (is this right?) 2-step mash with protein rest for the rye. So, if I'm calculating right, 4.25 gallons to 120-125 degrees and hang for 30 minutes, then up to saccharification at...

Awesome! I think I may have cribbed some of my recipe from that. It sounds familiar anyway. I just friggin love Mosaic. Oh, big ups to the Tank 7 clone you've got on deck. We just started getting Boulevard brews down here in Columbus GA and we love that stuff. And just about everything...

I do. Maybe you'll have more luck with yours than I did with mine (thus the name you see in my signature). Grain Bill 6.5 lbs 2-row Pilsner 1.5 lbs Gambrinus Honey 1 lbs Caramel Wheat Regular, single-stage mash for light body. Hop Schedule 1 oz. Hallertauer @ 60 1 oz. Hallertauer @ 30 1 oz...

After the kids hit the bed, wife and I are sharing a Weyerbacher Tiny.

Hmmm. Any suggestions for a clean, smooth bittering hop? Or should I try first wort hopping with something?

Ok, that's probably a good point. I definitely don't want to take away from the rye spice. Just, you know, accentuate it a bit.

It seems like if you're sitting at 1.020 and you used an extract kit, that you've had some action. I'd wager OG was somewhere between 1.046 and 1.056. Temperature's right for the yeast and, though I've never used that one before, the dry yeasts I have used tend to chew through the sugars...

Thanks for the tips! The only reason the crystal rye is there is to add some depth of flavor. I may go with what I've got just to see how it turns out and adjust in a later version. The hop choice and timing were my main concerns. I'll use your suggestions. On the yeast... I like US05...

Anyone got any advice here, or should I just brew it and tell you all how it went? I don't get to brew very often due to the expense, so I usually approach my recipes really carefully. I really would appreciate any and all advice.