Recent content by tooldudetool

I use RO water and Brun water to figure out adjustments. It has worked out very well. For me it's far easier to just start from scratch and build the water I want based on the brew.

Would you care to expand on this? I completely disagree, when conversion is done it's done, I've dropped my single infusion mash time from an hour to 45 minutes and have had zero problems with mash efficiency and finishing gravity. Modern malts have made step mashes a thing of the past (I know...

I'd cut the crystal in half and use 5% table sugar, it helps dry the beer out which I think is essential for a crisp finish. Maybe up the gypsum as well..

I always assume the yeast manufacturer has done far more testing than I ever could, so I just follow their recommendations.. that being said, I would be shocked if you could taste a difference in the finished beer.

Maybe the yeast was old or mishandled? This is one reason making a starter can be beneficial, you can verify yeast health. When I've had leaky bucket lids I would sniff around the lid, you can smell the co2 and esters pretty easily. Or just push down hard all around the outside of the lid, if...

You may want to look into new thermometer or see if you can calibrate yours... you should be boiling right around 212 degrees (depending on your elevation, but the higher in elevation you get, the lower the boiling point, not higher), it's impossible to boil above 212 unless you are using a...

You don't want to aerate your beer once your fermentation has started (unless it's a very high og wort, but don't worry about that at this point). You should aerate before you pitch your yeast though for proper yeast health.

2 weeks may seem fast, but it's a pretty common turn around time for a craft brewery, and the key is manipulating the yeast activity with pitching rate and temperature. Realistically once you see your airlock stop bubbling, assuming you ramped up your temps for the last third of fermentation or...

The fact you are controlling fermentation temperature puts you way ahead of most newbies. There is no reason pretty much any ale you brew shouldn't be ready to keg after 2 weeks. The key is to push the fermentation temperature up as fermentation is starting to slow down (usually by day 4-5)...

In my experience just because someone works at or even owns a homebrew store doesn't mean they know what they are talking about. Especially someone who has been brewing since 1973. There have been massive strides in homebrew knowledge just in the last 5 years with all of the information and...

I use the strike water to preheat my insulated mash tun. I take the calculated strike water temp, add 8 degrees, put that in my room temp mash tun, and in 5-10 minutes it has heated up the mash tun and the water has cooled back to my calculated strike water temp. Works great.

Don't be afraid to just throw your pellet dry hops right into the primary once active fermentation is done. They will mostly just sink to the bottom, with a thin layer left on top, which will stick to the sides of the fermenter when you rack your beer out. I have heard of people dry hopping in...

Knowing what yeast strain you used would be helpful in determining if what you are seeing is normal... after two weeks it should certainly be done. Man that is a dark looking IPA...

Use your immersion chiller to drop it down to 100 degrees F or whatever it gets to quickly, then put it in the icebath. Should work much more quickly..

Have you had your water tested? Do you know what your mineral levels are? Adding acid malt without knowing your water profile can do unexpected things to the final beer, it's possible your pH is far off from where it should be. Seeing as you're trying to taste hop flavors I would want to use...