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My experience with Windsor was slightly different than many report. I knew esters could be an issue, and tried to keep the fermentation below 65 for the first few days. I didn't notice a particularly poor attenuation, and no fruit esters. What I did get was a (good) minerally flavor...

I don't have a mill, but . . . . Why not do what is often done with cast meat grinders and store in dry rice?

If it were me, I'd at least get it up to a mash out (if not right to a boil) before letting it sit. You'll still have active enzymes in there and I'd be concerned with over conversion and a drier end product. I suppose for some styles this would not be a problem.

Let me say that my first batch using 1968 is currently fermenting, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think 68 is close to the high side being recommended. Here is what bierhaus15 suggested for a temp schedule...

Hydrometer or refractometer?

Great, thanks bierhaus! I was being melodramatic when I said throw out the starter, but I'm generally pretty good about researching new techniques/ingredients an was quite shocked when I cam across that thread. I don't have an O2 system, so I'll not have enough oxygen, but was planning on...

So, in my new-found passion with working towards the less hoppy styles to help me make sure my techniques are good, I've decided to brew Orfy's Hobgoblin II with some slight (very slight!) modifications. 3 G to fermenter 5.75 lbs Marris Otter 5 oz [British] Crystal 60 4 oz Carapils...

Best way to treat you yeast rinsing water is to boil it. In a large pot, boil the container you'll transfer the yeast to with sufficient water to submerge it. Not long, maybe 10-15 minutes. Not only will this drive off chlorine (but I'm unsure if it will do so for chloramines, although I...

It's possible that the bulk of fermentation is complete, and the beer has moved in to the conditioning phase. During the conditioning phase, diacetyl is consumed by yeast and transformed into flavorless compounds. One byproduct of this process is hydrogen sulfur gas. As to why you may have...

Every WL yeast I've looked at that corresponds to a WY number has a higher attenuation. It's the way they're conducting their trials.

The beerXML standard is rather annoying on this point. What with all the experiments (here and elsewhere) homebrewers are doing with late additions, and the articles out there claiming 10-15% utilization (and even at least one on-line recipe builder incorporating such utilizations), it would...

Alkalinity = carbonate hardness. Waters with low residual alkalinity (carbonate hardness) may be unsuitable for beers with a large amount of dark malts.

There are some yeasts that are known to produce minerally finishes. Windsor, for one, is known to. Some say they get it from PacMan. I tend to enjoy a little mineral and am fond of the almost oyster-shell hints I have in my last Windsor batch. It also may be that the brewery's water has more...

No. Many people swear by these bottles. I know I've had them for a while.

To be clear, upping the OG will get you better in to the style parameters, but you definitely need to look at your fermentation techniques and figure out why you're not getting enough attenuation out of your yeast. If all you do is up the grain bill, but still hit the same attenuation, you'll...

I suppose the discovery of anti-fermentation is an announcement of sorts, but I don't think that's what this forum was intended for.

You're at the absolute lowest OG and way above FG according to style. So, there are a number of things to try to get closer to the guidelines for a cream ale. First, you're going to need more fermentables. A set of questions here: why are you using rice instead of (the more traditional)...

How are you determining when to bottle?

If the LHBS carries White Labs, the equivalent yeast is 400.

I don't do wilds, but I have never heard of a pellicle forming that quickly. Just yeast on the surface and surface tension.