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+1 to deferring the expertise to AJ deLange and Mabrungard

It is true that RO water does have some trace amounts of some minerals left in it. Distilled water shouldn't have any. You should be able to adjust the mineral profile of distilled water just as easily as RO.

It depends on the grain bill. If you are using any roasted malts (roasted barley, black malt, etc) you might have to add some carbonates. Also, the amount of crystal malts you are using will definitely effect your mash pH. Check out Martin Brungard's Bru'n Water spreadsheet. It is really helpful...

It depends how cold your basement floor is. You could put your fermentor into a bucket of ice water with a t-shirt over it. Between the ice water and evaporation it can help cool the fermentor. Although, I'm not sure how well that will work for lagers. Otherwise, if you have a spare fridge or...

I have used Safale US-05 to get 12.5% in a barleywine OG 1.122 FG 1.025. As long as you use enough healthy yeast you can achieve some high ABV with the American ale yeast that is available on the market. Cheers, Brandon

Another thing that can happen if you are doing extract batches is stratification. If the top up water isn't properly mixed you could end up with a hydro sample that contains more sugars thus accounting for the higher reading. Cheers, Brandon

I stand corrected. I wouldn't use the quantities listed in a IIPA recipe but that is what makes brewing so much fun. You can do what you want. I would still recommend reducing the Crystal and carapils though. Either way, I will be interested to find out how your beer turns out. Cheers, Brandon

Yes, increase the MO to get the gravity back up. With regards to the hop bill I think you will be fine with what you have. As a reference point I brewed a IIPA last year in which I used 2 oz Chinook and 1 oz of Columbus at 90 min and I didn't think it was harsh or too hoppy. The OG was 1.087...

I would cut the Vienna, Munich, Crystal and carapils in half. With a big beer using too much of specialty malts can leave the beer too sweet. Especially for a IIPA. As for yeast that would be a personal preference. I usually use an American ale strain but I prefer the cleaner finish. An English...

I'm in!

My wife made an almond joy stout. She made a sweet chocolate stout using cocoa nibs. After fermentation was complete she fortified it with coconut rum and amaretto. It is delicious! It was an extract plus steeping grains recipe. Cheers, Brandon

Old Milwaukee. Wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

Unfortunately, I overlooked the simultaneous cool and aerate in my previous response. I meant to say to recirculate just to cool the wort. Then after cooling the wort it can be aerated. As far as aerating hot wort... I agree it's a very bad idea.

I don't think there would be an increased risk of infection even with recirculating cooled wort back into the kettle. Be sure to, initially, recirculate hot/boiling wort through the pump and tubing. This will ensure everything is sterile. After that then start chilling and recirculating.

I just chilled a batch by recirculating back into the kettle and it worked great. It's definitely a viable option.

I would suggest putting them in the fridge, if possible. Cheers, Brandon

It doesn't matter what style you are bottling. If you are worried about bottle bombs when you carbonate to high levels then I would suggest using Belgian style bottles. Some standard beer bottles can handle higher levels of carbonation than others. There really isn't a way to tell which ones...

I'm in!

LOL! Which yeast did you use? Some yeast strains don't like to flocculate very well. If you can crash cool it that may help with the cloudiness.

Fusel alcohols can give you a headache. If the fermentation temp was too high you will get more fusels. Fusels can make a beer taste like you added cheap vodka to it.