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In the mash, alpha-amylase is responsible for solubilizing nearly all of the starch in malt, turning it into long chained sugars. This will determine your extract. Alpha also happens to be extremely heat stable. Beta-amylase further reduces the long chained sugars produced by alpha-amylase into...

The "protein rest" is really about the breakdown of beta-glucans by the enzyme beta-glucanase, not much about protein. These are gums that are a source of stuck mashes and poor extraction. They greatly increase the viscosity of the wort and contribute to painfully slow run-off. Additionally...

Sure I live relatively close to dogfish and have gone there a number of times when I was living in Delaware. I've seen a fair number of bars with a randall now. It's pretty much as expected - you get dry hopping flavor in a short period of time. I've also seen different concoctions instead of...

That's pretty neat, thanks for documenting everything with pictures. You seemed to get a pretty good proportion of water to grain and the colors stand out nicely. Looks like the home roasted is a crystal 80 or so. Maybe higher?

Started brewing at 16. Drank my first beer at 21 of course ;), and 23 now.

They will fall out of suspension eventually. I generally cold crash and it seems to help that along. If you have that capability, try dry hopping for 3 days, then crashing for another three before bottling.

I think you need to use the stand first to get rid of the zinc coating. Then you can paint it. I used this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0010O0C94/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 It has held up fine for 2 years covered yet outside in the elements. I like the matte finish, personally.

About 1.5-2", or 3.5-5cm. But it can vary. As long as it's about the same size it won't be any worse to clean than a carboy.

I would suspect that the freezer life would actually be improved. It runs warmer so it doesn't need to cycle as frequently. Fewer cycles means the compressor life would be a bit longer.

Eh, you still put boiling water into it. If it was reasonably clean to begin with, i.e not dirty enough to protect bacteria/yeast from the elements, then the boiling water should have killed any nasties.

As mentioned before, the ancient Chicha is broken down with saliva. The enzyme in saliva is an amylase (not sure which variant, likely alpha). If you wanted to do just an "inspired" recipe then use 6 row barley to convert. Alternatively, buy some bulk amylase...

Try steeping a small precise amount of the crushed grain in a quantity of water proportionate to your recipe. I.e if you're using 2lb for 5 gallons, steep 1/4lb in .625 gal of water. You can then roughly determine the SRM and adjust from there. If you want to be really precise you can compare...

To clarify. Lacto literally sours the wort by making lactic acid. Once it is sour then you can't boil sourness (lactic acid) away. It only takes a day sitting at room temps to get sour. So it's still a legitimate risk.

The strainer is a good thing. But I would still say yes to the siphon over the strainer. If you're going to the trouble to use whirlfloc I'm guessing you want clearer beer. A siphon is gentle and you don't mix up all of that trub into suspension like you do if you pour into a strainer...

Even without the whirlfloc you should be leaving the "trub" (as they call it) in the kettle. Trub is composed of proteins that precipitate during the boil as well as hops and such. Too much trub in the fermentor can cause off flavors. Whilfloc, irish moss, merely encourages this precipitation...

A mash in a commercial brewery will hold temps for many more hours due to the greater thermal mass. It would be unlikely for lacto to propagate in that setting. An RIS also would be a good candidate to hide off flavors. Alternatively on a homebrew scale the mash would be room temp in a few...

A number of people mash overnight, which is similar to what you're describing: https://byo.com/stories/item/931-is-there-any-reason-you-couldnt-mash-overnight-and-just-sparge-in-the-morning As mentioned in the article, infection is a concern, especially if you don't keep it at a proper...

You would be forgoing the protein rest. There are a number of consequences - determining if you can/should do a single infusion depends on your equipment, recipe and preferences. The rest breaks down albumins into smaller more manageable bits. You'll have cloudy beer (who cares in a wit?) due...

It is almost certain that fermentation is incomplete and the gravity will continue to drop. Unless you're making a massive barley wine, 1028 won't be your FG. You're thinking about this backwards (probably due to the misleading instructions). It's not a matter of how many days its been...

This is incredibly slick and a great solution. I have to question the cost effectiveness of this however since I would expect the ferrule and cap to be around 100$, not to mention the cost of the thick steel. The cost makes it a bit of a departure from the inexpensive spirit of the plastic...