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Thanks for all of the help friends. Makes me feel a lot better about my refractometer. I do like the fact I just have to use a few drops, and hopefully it won't be as easy to break as the hydrometers. Merry Christmas

Hello, I know there have been many other posts on this topic on these and other forums. I know that many people have explained the difference in measurement of specific gravity between the two tools. I could not find anything in a forum about such a big difference between measurements as I am...

I agree with sweetcell, I would add dme, but I was trying to give different options.

You can also try adding Belgian Candi sugar which is pure sucrose and ferments completely. This will increase the original gravity without adding body to the beer. LME adds 36 ppg, DME 40 ppg, and from what I have read candi sugar adds 42 ppg in crystalline form (as opposed to candi syrup which...

I measured my water temp and it is currently 63-64 deg F. I'm looking to get a digital thermometer, can anyone recommend one?

Hey jestmaty, I used to get like 17-22 min chill times with my wort chiller (stainless steel, Midwest supplies), which I was kind of disappointed with. Two brews ago, I started stirring the wort continuously while running the wort chiller and have gotten ten min chill times both times. I get a...

Did you use a yeast starter or just dry yeast? How did you get pine flavors (from the simcoe perhaps? Never heard of those hops)?

Why did you use a pound of corn sugar instead of some more dme or LME? Looks like a good brew, and I do like the name. I can never come up with good original names... John

I would give consideration to either using liquid yeast (wyeast or white labs) or doing a yeast starter to increase the cell count that you are pitching to increase the likelihood of getting a complete fermentation. John

What does this symbol mean? I can't even find it on google... John

Congrats on the first time brew! It Is a wonderful hobby and you will find yourself addicted in no time flat. That is an awesome original gravity for your first brew, and you will be more than thrilled with the final results. John

I discovered that having a hop spider is useless if you have a giant hole in your hop bag. I am using the 1 gallon paint strainer bags that you can get from Lowe's. They worked well but having a hole definitely introduced some hops into my brew. I am fairly certain that the pore size would have...

Get a more versatile brew kit like the Midwest Supplies beginner brewing kit - you can make larger volumes and brew a much larger variety of beers! John

Thank you for the comment. This is actually my eighth brew, all extract kits. I love brewing, but for right now don't have the time to get more involved with the all grain brewing. John

I suggest moving it to another room where the temperature is at least 72°F. Whenever I have bottles that won't carbonate then I move them into a warmer room and also shake them every 2 to 3 days in order to stimulate the yeast that are in the bottle. Good luck, John

That seems like a high final gravity to me especially given your original gravity. I would consider pitching another set of yeast or using yeast energizer to try to restart what may be a stuck fermentation. John

Hey everyone, been reading Homebrew forums for quite a while now. This is the first time I have posted, so I thought I would post a picture of the brew I am doing today. It is the deep dark wheat extract kit from Midwest supplies. I am using a hop spider I built for the first time. It is a...