Recent content by cottagebrews

You've toasted it, so any surface bacteria should be killed. There's of course a small risk, but I've never had any issue. If you're really worried, you can soak the toasted coconut in vodka or bourbon for a few days, then add the liquid to your secondary. Main advantage there is it allows...

:(

Second Nightbiker's comment on the need to take multiple readings. Depending on what yeast you used, it's possible fermentation stalled around 1.024--I've had that happen with this beer before. Adding priming sugar can get things going again, leading to bottle bombs. I always like to use a...

Head retention is a bit of an issue here, due to the oils as you say. Since I brew this one extract with lots of specialty grains, I don't have much wiggle room to correct the issue. If you're brewing all grain, a small addition (about 8 oz.) of flaked wheat and/or flaked oats ought to improve...

Hugely helpful, thanks!

Thanks for the input. I'm not going to have enough room in my pot to do a partial mash--I think 2.5# of grains is about as much as I'll be able to use efficiently. It would be nice to get that conversion, though... Bitterness is definitely something I'd like to avoid. What if I amend this to...

Hey all, I've just worked up an extract oatmeal stout recipe that's a modified version of one I did two years ago and never really liked that much. I was hoping I could get some input on what I've come up with. :ban: Thanks! :ban: Fermentables: 6 lbs. light DME 16 oz. Dark Chocolate...

Unsure how the two flavors would go together, but coconut ought to go with coconut. My recommendation would be to add fresh coconut at flameout and toasted coconut to secondary. It might also be worth splitting this into a few smaller batches and trying it different ways so you can pinpoint...

Toasting the fruit won't affect the flavor in that way. At a homebrew club fundraiser last year, I made a porter with toasted coconut and another member made one with fresh. The two tastes were entirely different--hers actually had more "coconut" flavor than mine did. If anything, I'd say...

I try to ferment most ales around the yeast's lower limit, usually about 63-65º F.

Your FG sounds a little high to me given what you started at. Try to bring up the temperature to about 70º F for a few days just to make sure your yeast has finished everything off. The last thing you want is for that sugar to get processed after you've primed and bottled and then... BOOM!

UPDATE: I did a gravity reading and stole a taste two weeks in a row. The first one had a *lot* of fruity esters, so I decided to hold off on bottling and further coffee additions. One week later, these had faded slightly; I'm hoping they will continue to do so as the beer conditions after...

Your hop additions, both during the boil and for dry hopping, look good to me. In full disclosure, however, I think too many IPAs completely wreck your palate, and prefer a more balanced ale. If you want something that knocks you over with hop flavor, you may want to add an extra ounce. 7-14...

No, hydrometer.

I'm an extract brewer. I have no idea how I get my FG that low, but I do. And I've done the recipe twice, so it isn't a fluke. Apart from keeping it cool, the only thing I can think may help it along is doing a yeast starter with an OG of about 1.060. That gets the yeast acclimated to the...