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48 seems too low for fermentation. IMO lagering above 33 is more traditional (IE the process started before refrigeration)....but of course nothing is set in stone. I have seen one "fast" method lager technique that seems interesting: haven't tried it yet (but seems easy enough if you have a...

Seems like you already had a good efficiency. Only time I'd consider trying something new is if my efficiency is too low, and/or is inconsistent. If you change one thing, you probably have to change other factors to compensate and experiment with a few more batches.

As some others have said, the estimated gravity readings are only as good as your profile. Based on what little info that's been given on your actual recipe, I can't tell if this would be an unusual extract/steeping grain recipe or partial mash. Extract brewing tends to yield pretty consistent...

I think Islam is the only main religion that shuns alcohol. I'm mainly Jewish myself (which is not anti-alcohol...wines are common for some holidays). Pretty sure Catholism is the same way. There may be some current evangilical churches that want to cast any alcohol (even beer) as sinful, but...

You could still be having fermentation: it's either really slow or the active fermentation is already done (not uncommon for low alcohol beers fermented at a high temp). It's best not to go by airlock but by pulling samples to take gravity readings and taste.

Well Starsan or not...with extract brewing, there is more stratifying with your boiled extract vs top off water. Unless you really screw something off...your gravity readings SHOULD be what the extract recipes are. Usually, when you pull a sample right from an extract brew, it might be a bit...

I'm pretty sure a corny is 5 gallon. I normally secondary with 5 gallon carboys and then syphon off to a corny keg. If it's a good volume, the carboy will be all the way up, and then it racks right to the main lid of the corny. The batches I've had that are very close to the lid still...

Another thing you can try: if your line is at 30 psi, it's good to hear if it's dissolving into beer. So the quickest way to force carb beer is to set the psi to 30, then vigorously shake the keg for up to 5 mins. On a sealed system, all you hear is the occasional regulator/tank hissing more...

Well IMO, you won't tell too much difference with perceived bitterness. Examples like this are an indicator over how different IBU scales are *somewhat* irrelevant. They're good for making sure a beer will be hoppy for hop heads, but they mean nothing about the overall bitterness/hop...

Usually...but to determine the ABV in your batch of beer, you take the OG and the final reading. For many beers, you do assume it should be around what your OG reading is. However, the bigger the OG the higher the FG will be: there will be more unfermentables. That factor contributes to...

You liked your Kolsch it seems. I'd make a California Common: a good light hybrid in a similar vein. See what differences there are. Tonight I did notice my local package store has one brewer getting in a pumpkin ale already. OK, I think that style is disgusting to begin with: my fall beers...

I'd just stop there. You're talking about some kind of questionable germinated barley...that's still iffy if it's an OK malt for AG brewing. You have plenty of other issues to worry about when you're first starting: don't complicate it with this. For a first homebrew, I would recommend trying...

IMO, the best mash temps are between 148-152. There are many complexities about brewing...from just looking at these temps, I'd say it would lead to a malty tasting beer, but it wouldn't account for unattenuated beer. Ever since I've gotten into AG brewing, I've been sure I oxygenate the wort...

No, protein rest has to do with getting as much fermentables from a base malt as you can. Most 2-row grains we use in brewing these days are "modified"...which means they've been bred and malted to have the most potential fermentables after mashing. With a lot of the standard base malts in...

That's one of the things I like about homebrewing vs pro brewing: all the methods are analogous, and you can geek out over the science of fermentation. Yes there are differences about the batch size, units, and overall business goals you'll get within the professional community...but if you're...

I'd just dry hop. Alpha acids are the main component that adds hop bitterness: and they are released from hops during full boil. Your boiling hops are the main ingredients contributing to IBUs (Alpha acids/bitterness/etc). Hops at flameout aren't releasing Alpha acids, but release different...

Looks like the beer hasn't attenuated fully. +1 on not adding more fermentables yet (it won't solve the problem if the yeast is getting stuck). There are several factors that can lead to a stuck fermentation: yeast go dormant if there's not enough fermentable sugars, nutrients, oxygen levels...

I think Palmer can sometimes be too theoretical and doesn't consider other factors. Looking at info about Free Amino Nitrogen, the levels vary wildly between different extracts. There's also different amino groups that yeast will use for nutrients, so a given sample could be low in one...

I would be very careful about continually adding fruit. I don't brew that many fruit beers, but when I have, I'll do plenty of sampling before adding more fruit. Everyone has different preferences on how sweet a fruit beer should be...so my advice would be to actually taste your beer now...

.5-1 lb dextrose is pretty common in IPA recipes. I would try the recipe as is, as trying to forgo/add more grain will change the characteristics. The sugar isn't just for FG, but does give a slight dry taste. Looking at the rest of the recipe, I'd say it might be a noticeable difference (the...