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I doubt a hop bag makes a difference either way, but saying not to use it because it lowers isomerization doesn't make sense. He wants less isomerization, anyway.

I've only done a few lagers and I did it just like that, around 51 for 7 days, ramp to 68 and hold for a few days then down to 38 for 5 days and to the keg. I have 2 lagers in the keezer right now that taste the same after 3 weeks as they did after 3 days (24h at 30PSI then 48h at serving...

2-3 packs of dry yeast sounds like a good idea. I've only done one dark strong that was around 11.5%. I used ~350bil cells and a minute of pure o2. It attenuated fine. I read a lot of recipes for brews of a similar nature, and they all recommended ramping the temperature up throughout the...

I do it exactly like this. I use a thermapen. I never make adjustments to the temp during the mash. The temperature tends to only drop a few degrees over 60 minutes. The few experiments I've seen on here seem to indicate that most conversion occurs within the first few minutes, anyway...

If you're kegging and carbing at serving pressure, you'll probably find your lagers to be very clear after the 1-2 weeks it takes to reach desired carb levels. With brulosopher's fast lager method, he only recommends 3-5 days at the ~32F range.

Domed bottom and tiny size makes mason jars suck. I used a gallon jug for a while, but the bottom is also domed. Currently use a 4L beaker and it is awesome. It has a flat bottom, is also made from borosilicate and was cheaper than 4L flasks at the time I bought it. Also, the larger opening may...

I bought one of these for my keezer. It seems to help. I think I need a 2nd one, though. I'll probably buy a couple more for my fermentation chamber.

Airlock activity or lack thereof does not always indicate if fermentation is there. Even with hydrometer readings, it is impossible to say if fermentation has completed or not. The only somewhat accurate measurement is consistent gravity readings over a period of time. That said, after 2 weeks...

I always keep a "house strain" in my fridge. For a while, it was chico ale yeast, it is now super san diego yeast and will most likely stay that way. I also have some german southern lager yeast that I'll most likely continue to save. Generally, everything is harvested from oversized starters.

Nobody can even attempt to tell you if it is done without your recipe. It could be done, or it might not. Also, have you calibrated your hydrometer? The temperature at which you take your reading matters, too. The same wort/beer can fluctuate several gravity points from 13-22 degrees celcius.

So you're saying the yeast in your starter doesn't settle out after 2 days in the fridge? If this is the case, you probably mixed up your fridge with your oven. In all seriousness, it doesn't make any sort of sense that yeast would flocculate faster at room temp than refrigerator temp.

That is what I use. I think it is a good kettle for most of my purposes. Sometimes I wish I'd gone with a 15 gal. 1.100+ brews are a pretty tight fit with a full volume mash and normal boil length. I haven't tried brewing something super strong since I started doing only 30 minute boils. The...

Soaking the vanilla beans in a small amount of vodka does a great job of extracting the vanilla flavor from the beans, too. You can soak a bean in an ounce of vodka (or more if you want) for a week and you'd actually get near-maximum vanilla flavor just adding the vodka to your bottling bucket...

How did you overshoot so much? I'm surprised it has dropped so far. Did it spend some time under 170F before getting so hot?

I don't want to sound mean, but if you're asking questions like this, you clearly need to do some research. A lot of people put a lot of effort into reading/learning about brewing. The answer to your question is brought up in basically every introduction to brewing on the internet.

Any should be fine. AFAIK, most yeast nutrients are mostly just dead yeast.

I think what you're reading is more of the "conventional" way you see people recommend. Most of the more vocal and experienced brewers I've seen on here don't even use secondaries and might have 2 weeks total fermentation time. I'm kegging a hoppy wheat today that I pitched yeast on 9 days ago.

FWIW, 1lb is more grain than you need. It isn't a big deal, but for future batches, a handful or two is fine.

Personally, I would and wouldn't think twice about it.

I ordered a few kits and miscellaneous things from them. 2 of the kits didn't have the option to not include yeast and both vials were dead on arrival (it gets to 110F here every day). I e-mailed them and explained the situation and they refunded me for the vials I'd purchase. I was a bit...