Recent content by Madkins

Good tool, thanks. And thanks for all the tips from everyone else. I'll go back and re-examine my process. After all, 4th time's a charm, right?

Underpitching may be an issue, but for one of the batches I pitched 2 packs in a five gallon bucket. That should be plenty of yeast at an OG around 1.050. But still no luck with that batch. All good thoughts but I think I've addressed them in my subsequent brews. The only thing I haven't...

I'm using a refractometer. I tested it with water but it wasn't distilled. I have some at the house and will give that a try tonight along with a hydrometer reading. Thanks for the thought.

Also a good thought. For my last brew I calibrated the thermometer and used a back up digital probe to ensure accuracy. The temp was reading accurately.

Thanks for the thought, but my mash temps have all been 150-152 max. I dont think the mash temp has been too high and I don't want to go much lower than that unless as part of an acid rest or something.

I've been brewing all grain for about 4 years. I've used White Labs and Wye Yeast with great results. Recently I moved states and away from my brewing buddies and purchased my own equipment. I'm using the Boilermaker system with a bayou banjo burner. I've done 3 brews, each time I hit my OG...

My BSIIPA (Belgain Style Imperial IPA) is still chugging away. I'm down to the 11th day and the airlock is still bubbling every 1-2 seconds. Last night I plugged in the total amount of sugar I've added to this point and took a gravity reading; it's at 1.036 with an ABV of 16%. Very happy so...

I brewed it last sunday, 15 August. I hit a starting gravity of 1.100 without dextrose. I'm on day 4 now. I mixed things up a bit and took a little bit of Tasty's advice and a little of Jamil's advice. I front loaded the sugar additions and by time the 14th day comes around I will only be...

Thanks for the update Pat. I'm going to do this in August but use a Belgian yeast insteaed of Cal Ale. I don't have a conical either so I'll have simliar challenges with racking.

Pat, Any updates on this brew? How did it turn out? What were your biggest challenges?

So I know there's a ton of threads on here about fermentation chambers and temp controls. Even with all of these resources I still have questions. I recently built my fermentation chamber and decided to use a Frigidair window AC unit. The AC unit doesn't have a thermostat to set the...

I brewed a pumpkin brown ale last year and will do one again this month for the fall. My brown ale recipe was pretty basic, so do what ever you'd like but I recommend throwing in some crystal 60 or above or some carafoam to give you some body to compliment the bitterness of the spices. I used...

Good call on the yeast. Thanks. Is anyone familiar with Grants Perfect Porter? They're out of Yakima, WA. Used to be able to get their beer when I lived in GA, they don't distribute in MD (bastards with their out dated distribution laws). Anyway, Grants Perfect Porter is exactly that...

So, I'm working on a porter recipe, not too tough right. I'm looking for a specific characteristic, dry-ness. Do I need to adjust my water to grain ratio in the mash to achieve this? If not, what do I need to do?

Thanks for the response. I am curious what honey will do, so as mentioned, I think it will be a fun experiment. Good thing I had enough to bottle 5 gal already in case the honey experiment doesn't work out. Oh, the Beer Recipator calculator is great! Thanks!