I have nothing against a raspberry wheat, but I wouldn't put raspberries in that one. It's got a fair amount of citrus in it (I like that recipe a lot) and I honestly feel it would not be complimented by the raspberry - just my opinion.
I've just tossed em in, used a bag, let the bag drip, you name it. I've done it multiple ways with the same beer and not noticed much difference any way.
I'm no expert, but I do remember reading something quite a while ago about electrocuting yeast in some sort of cancer research. As i recall, the basic answer is yes it is possible. Probable?? I don't know. Id kill the heater and repitch if fermentation hasn't started.
Don't be afraid to try all grain. Its not that many more steps than what you are doing already tbh. If I had it to do all over again I would go from extract to brew in a bag. Read up on biab and you'll see.
One of my buckets doesn't seal. The lid seems to snap on, but I NEVER get activity in the air lock. Forget air lock activity. Use a hydrometer. If it has krausen, it IS fermenting. The stuck fermentation you are describing was likely not stuck at all but simply slowing down as it should. Warming...
Pretty much. To preheat, i just put my strike water in hotter than strike temperature and let it sit for a while. When it comes down to the temperature I want, I dump in my grain. Just a thought for ya
To start putting together your own recipes, I recommend you start by trying to brew some styles and stay true to them. I also recommend getting the book "brewing Classic styles". Try a few basic recipes to get a feel for what you like. Brewing outside of style is fine, but running into the woods...
I place orders on the weekends so it ships in the first part of the week. That way it's not sitting around in some unheated facility through the weekend. I also leave a note for the ups guy to put the package inside my door so its not sitting outside. If it's-30 or so, I'll wait for it to warm...
I'm in North Dakota and I'm getting ready to brew later today. Normally I do it all outside. In the winter I'm forced to do everything inside except the boil. Cold weather doesn't keep me from getting a good boil, but wind can be a pain.
To get around this (I've had the same problem), I "pre-dissolve" my late extract additions in water. I typically do my late additions at flameout and add the water quantity in brewsmith as top off water so the IBU's are calculated correctly. As an added bonus, this speeds cooling too.