Recent content by fishersfirst

I think you've got your conversions wrong. 69C is 157F. The expected FG should be higher as the mash temp is on the high side. Having said this, I often find that Beersmith underestimates the level of attenuation. British yeasts often land up slowly chugging away for a while, to the point...

To achieve your higher abv from the outset, you have two choices: 1.) Higher attenuation- this would have involved mashing at a lower temp (assuming you mash) so that the FG was lower, say 1.008. Or if doing extract, adding a higher proportion of fully fermentable sugar 2.) start with a higher...

I'd aim for around 28 IBU. Also, my advice would be to go for pale chocolate. Mine came out a touch dark. FG: 1.014 by memory.

It sounds as if your recipe will fall into category 10.B (American Amber Ale) Get the BJCP style guideline app, it's free. You really need to know OG and FG range, bitterness (IBU) range, colour, abv. Your ingredients alone look like they will fall into the above category.

Need more info. Yeast? Hops? IBU etc

I have to disagree. Spend a few dollars on a decent drinking water grade hose. It's a cheap insurance policy. In a darker beer you may not taste any difference, but in a pale, more subtle beer, there's nothing to hide behind and it would be a shame to get those plastic flavours in your beer.

Don't stress about it, won't make any difference to your brew. I normally splash wort against the side to splash it off the side of the kettle, not because it makes any difference to the beer, just so its easier to clean later.

What yeast are you using? That fermentation temp is a little on the high side IMO. Most English ale yeasts are best between say 19-23c. The higher your fermentation temps the more fruity (ester) flavour you'll have in the end product. The first 3-5 days are the most important for maintaining...

What amount of hops are you using? The more hop bitterness you add will usually mean needing a bit more malt to give the beer some backbone so it can stand up to the hop bitterness and help balance it a bit. This doesn't mean that your beer will be malty. Can you post some details of the recipe?

I use(d) an old stocking that I cut the end off and soak in sanitizer with an elastic band. Tie this to the end of your siphon and siphon into your bottling bucket. Works a treat.

Hmm ok, I get the 5 gal upscale. But my calculation of your IBU's are still around 3 times higher. Eg. 0.25oz Summit (17%) at 60 mins = 19 IBU (approx) 3.0 oz NB (8.5%) at 60 mins = 100 IBU (approx) Are you looking at doing a FWH as opposed to 60mins? Flowers or pellets?

The quantities you seem to be using in your hop additions don't make sense to me. They look like the sort of quantities you'd be using for 5-6gal batches. Also, I question whether they IBU's calculated are accurate. Eg, In your Pilsner, 3oz Northern Brewer at 60 mins will give you a crap...

Looks good to me, are you chilling or no chilling?

Correct;-)

The higher your boil off, the higher you water: sugar ratio will be. Ie. you boil off more water than you expect, you end up with a higher OG than you expect. Didn't realise you were adding water to dilute your boil though, my apologies. Still, sounds as though you mixed it through well...