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You are correct that sparge temp is a bigger contributor to tannins than stirring (also correct on the Ph factor). I have received conflicting feedback from brewers about stirring/tannins, so have just accepted the "both/and" of it and try to be gentle with the stir. You are also correct on the...

When you get to the end game and are taking gravity readings to verify that your yeast have finished, although you want to see stable readings over 3-days, I would caution against taking readings every day. 1) you expose your beer to potential infection (although, this risk is reduced greatly...

You can do this for sure. I would be inclined to harvest/wash the yeast from the slurry. This will give you cleaner yeast to work with, will be easier to estimate your pitch rate, and will be easier to duplicate should you find that your Stout comes out awesome and you want to make it again...

Good tip ... I am planning to pick up a couple of the 3G better bottles, but Im thinking because I want to do split batches and try different yeast.

+1 this. Then, getcha a 10 gallon igloo cooler (home depot/lowes) and add a SS spigot and false bottom for your MT. You will be on your way to winning medals with that setup. I found a 15 gal SS pot on Amazon for $99, bought a step bit and drilled my own hole for a valve. Total costs was...

I would agree to curb your ambition for a batch or two as you get comfortable with your system/process. After that, I always go parti gyle when I brew big beers ... why not get some mileage out of the big grain bill and go 2-fer?

I agree ferm temp control is important, but if you have a space (closet) that you can maintain 60-70 degrees, you'll be fine until you start getting geeky and really want more precise temp control. If you can find a dorm fridge on craiglist and a temperature controller (they will cost about $75...

Oh - and hit up You Tube ... all kinds of guys showing how to make beer there.

Go to your local home brew shop and introduce yourself ... they will be a great resource for knowledge, after all they have a stake in you learning to brew and coming to enjoy it. Get a pot (stainless is best, aluminum will work but it can react to cleaning products, so only wash with water)...

Go to the brew shop, buy a kit and small bottle of Star San - pester the shop guys for pointers. Follow some of the advice on this thread about bottling ... but you'll have a few weeks to worry about that (and remember, cleaning is not sanitizing). Be patient ... give the beer at least three...

-6 gallons Barrel aged Old Ale, with 2-gallons sitting on Brett for blending -6 gallons vanilla porter -6 gallons honey saison -6 gallons Belgian pale ale -6 gallons Brett Berliner-Weize Brewing a Schwartzbier this weekend.

As the saying goes: experience as a teacher is a ***** ... she gives the test first, the lesson later.

IMHO that would be better. Hop bills/schedules are really a mesh of art, science and experience. Human flavor thresholds can't really detect above 100 IBUs, but IBUs themselves are a pig in the poke metric as I've brewed beers that per my brewing software (BeerSmith) were 120-130 IBUs, and...

Yes, yeast health is important ... but they are hardy little buggers. I froze a batch of beer I was lagering last winter (the fridge was in my garage and outside temps dropped a lot and suddenly). I drug the carboy into the house and let it thaw out and got my fridge into the basement so it...

Boil time is also about boiling off DMS (dimethyl sulfide - causes creamed corn smell, especially present with pilsner malts because of low temp kilning), melding flavor compounds at the molecular level (and creating certain molecular breaks ... e.g. protein) and finally in producing...

PS - make sure you got that carboy handle cinched on there tight ... those things can slip off pretty easy, especially with an application of Star-San. Google images of gruesome carboy injuries (not to mention a big mess and a lot of wasted beer). Don't get into the habit of lifting full...

Looks fine - just a bit of residual fermentation. Perhaps the temperature in your room went up a bit and kickstarted the yeast, or perhaps they got roused from moving the carboy. In any case ... don't sweat it. Maybe pull a sample and have a taste ... if its infected, you'll know, but it...

Good strategy if giving away a couple cases of beer and paying $100 in entry fees is worth a few trinkets. I like getting score sheets from judges on recipes I'm trying to perfect so that I can make better beer. Winning a medal is just a sign that I got that one dialed in and its time to start...

Yup - the warmer temp gets those yeasties gorging, which results in more thermo activity and hence a higher rise in wort temp. This will produce a more estery (fruity notes) characteristic (kind of like when I'm in Mexico and the warm weather gets me drinking tequila and eating burrito ... man...

While this is technically correct, I would caution against chasing unicorns throughout the homebrewing process. Beer-making has a pretty fair degree of tolerance (mash temps/times, boil times, gravity readings, volumes, fermentation temps/times, pitch rates, etc) and given the homebrewer's...