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Well, I've dry-hopped in the primary this way for 11 batches with good success. I use buckets so it's easy to add the hop pellets. As far as oxidation is concerned, I stir very slowly, pivoting the spoon at the surface without causing "wakes". There is a thick blanket of CO2 on the beer so there...

Belgian yeasts love to be warm. Raise the temp to about 73 and they should start back up. Don't worry about banana at this stage; most of the esters are formed early. In the future, don't move to secondary until at least 2 weeks, maybe 3.

I primary dry hop quite a bit, right after the main activity dies at about day 4. I also stir to re-suspend the hops every 3rd day for 2 weeks. Eeks out a few more FG points too! Excellent hop aroma/flavor results.

I always dispense cold water into my boil pots the night before brewing. I leave the lids off to let the chlorine gas disipate. The next morning, the water is room temp and I just cover and turn the flames on.

The HD near me has 5 and 10 gallon Rubbermaids in the garden department. Try looking there.

I'm like McKBrew. I couldn't stomach IPAs 15 years ago, now IPA is my favorite. In fact, it's the only beer I order at a brewpub because most beers at brewpubs are not hoppy enough. Belgians were an acquired taste for me. When I brew them, I keep the ferm. temp in the 60s to mellow out the...

Ice-maker lines are working great for me. Just cut to the same length as the dip tube. Make a clean 90 degree cut with a sharp box-cutter type blade. Easy to remove with a nudge from one end. I keep the inlet gas at 18 psi going to a 5 tap manifold and 5' beer lines.

Yup, I use the bath method too. Just used it for a Dubbel to keep it at 73F. Works like a charm. I bought a plastic tub from HD that has raised portions on the bottom. This is good as it allows warm water underneath the fermentor to help distribute heat. You could prop it with blocks too. I only...

I slip a cardboard garment-shipping box around the burner/pot, which keeps the heat in real nice. I use it in the summer too, taking me to boil in less than 10 minutes! I cut the box down to a height of about 10" above the pot. It sits about 6" from the edge of the burner on all sides. The...

I only buy beer for camping trips, like Dale's in cans. Other than that, I only buy beers that are difficult to clone or styles I don't want a whole keg of.

Chase- I got the exact same results you did! For my second try I heated to 290, cooled, then brought it back to about 260 and killed the heat. It kept for a week with no signs of crystalization. I too made a Dubbel this past weekend and the wort smelled and tasted devine. Wort color is a...

Well, I snooped inside the keezer yesterday and did notice that the two foamiest taps have gas lines going to the part of the manifold closest to the gas supply line, which are of a slightly different design. You see, my manifold is made from two manifolds; one has 2 ports, the other has 3 ports...

I'd like to know if folks are experiencing foaming with certain beer styles. I just set up a 5 tap keezer and now have beer flowing to all 5! (wo hoo!). Anyway, all gas lines come from a single manifold (set at 17 psi), with the same hose and lengths to the kegs. The beer lines are all 3/16...

Next time that happens, try champagne yeast. I was reluctant to try it, but it worked on a Hefe that I mashed too high. After 3 frustrating weeks of rousing, increasing temperature, and racking onto another beer's cake, I about had it. I was pleasantly surprised to see the FG go from 1022 to...

Alrighty... Champagne yeast to the rescue!!! The hefe is now at 1015 after adding the Lalvin champagne yeast a week ago. The taste has not altered, which I am really happy about so it still tastes like a hefe. It might still be a little thick for a hefe, but I like it and I don't have sticky...

FWIW, I would culture from a bottle. I think Bell's yeast gives a specific fruity essence that cannot be managed from 001. I made a clone for Bells Best Brown and used the suggested 001 but the fruit profile was nil. Good luck! Bells Amber is a classic...

I've never brewed the same thing twice. I'm always trying different grains, hops and yeasts to see what I like. Also, since I never adjust my water chemistry, I'm discovering what styles work best for the water out of my tap. For instance, lighter color beers work best for the soft water we have.

Thanks for your kindness, Pharmguy. I threw in some Lalven champagne yeast yesterday. I'm out of town unil Friday so hopefully I'll come back to a sub-1.020 beer. I'll report the results.

OK, pitching onto the Cali V cake only reduced it to 1022. Still too sweet for my tastes. So... before I resort to Brett, are there any other alternatives for driving down the FG at this point? Do you think dry yeast might help? I've heard adding lager yeast might help as it breaks down more...

Maybe pH strip manufacturer lot# (if there is one) should be tracked as well for this study. It might correlate to the slight color differences observed.