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OK, I really like this idea...both doing the sour for half the batch and the HP Lager yeast for the other half. I agree with the other comments that there is not much difference between 17 and 21 GU, they are both high enough where the malt sweetness denies hop bitterness but I can tell the...

I brewed a 10 gallon batch of maibock a couple of weeks ago, fairly standard recipe with mostly Pils and some Vienna and light munich. Mash was on target around 150F and I pulled a decoction and added back in around 1 hour. 80% efficiency. My OG was around 1.067 and I split the batch into 2...

I recently put about 24 fl. oz of grade A amber syrup in secondary with my nut brown. My thought was that if I racked over enough yeast it would eat most of the syrup and leave a nice balanced toasty/nutty/malt/maple flavor. But, after 3 weeks I tasted it and it was a maple bomb and super sweet...

What other specialty malt are you using? I agree if you are using just rye and 2 row, go with marris otter 2 row. But if you are bringing in any crystal or biscuit etc, go with american 2 row. Especially if the rye percentage of the grist is low (like < 25-35%).

Hey mitchar19, have you tried boiling with the false bottom? I was thinking about doing this also but heeded the warnings so far. I don't really want to use a hop bag. They also sent some little screen-wire tube thing that looks like it screws into the ball valve but I don't know how that's...

There were no real discernible off flavors with the beer that I can recall...other than I should have been more patient with it and given it time to mature rather than keg it and drink it. It only got better with time. That said I brewed a more traditional 80/- last March and the fermentation...

You are correct on the expected OG being around 1.085. I think you'd need about 3 more pounds of DME to get that gravity up to 1.120. I just don't see how it is possible to have that large of a discrepancy. Even 100% efficiency from mashing 4 lbs of grain will not gain you much. That said, I...

Be careful with cherry extract...they can make the beer taste like cough syrup. I've steered clear of them for that reason, and go with pure 100% dark cherry or tart cherry juice or concentrate you can find in the grocery store...

I do this with my lagers, never had issues. I have heard of people having issues though, but mainly from yeasties that like to emit sulfur and that being a difficult odor to remove from the freezer. I've never had that issue YET, but that may be one odor to try and vent or use some baking soda...

I'm not convinced that mashing with base grains vs. steeping alone would have such a huge impact on the beer. It can be argued that there are some more complex carbs that are not broken down into fermentables when steeped (that would otherwise be when mashed where more enzymes are available for...

what kind of beer style are you brewing, and what is your target OG? Without any additional fermentables 6.6 lbs of DME would give a 5 gallon batch an OG of around 1.048.

There are a few areas where everyone is usually able to improve efficiency. The first is grain crush. You should make sure there are no whole, unbroken husks or even just cracked. They need to be broken up. I've actually found that if you condition your grain (gently wet it with a spray...

hmmm. good point tre9er. I actually cool it down in a measuring cup and pour it in the hydrometer flask...but I don't really mix it up. Couldn't be off by too much to affect the total gravity, but that is good to keep in mind when reading they hydrometer - isothermal wort profile!

Yup, I spin the hydrometer. The preboil volume was right at the 7.5 gal line on the kettle. Did not take into account expansion due to the wort being about 190 F, and I do not think that would fully account for 10+ gravity points (that's like 1/4 gallon expansion). I took the reading at...

I brewed a Porter - I'll spare the grain bill details but I was shooting for an OG at 1.080. I got done with my batch sparge and hit a preboil volume of 7.5 gal at 1.060. So I was pretty pleased as the grain bill was calculated assuming 80% efficiency and that was about 82%. So I boiled...

haha, that's a great video. My vorlauf is horrible. I think probably b/c I disturb the grain bed when I pour the wort back in. Anyway I get a few chunks of husk in and the wort is not clear. No ill effect in terms of clarity, but certainly I have more trub and I hesitate to dump that in the...

I agree. Just do a full batch. I made the leap last year and the first 2 batches were certainly for "learning the system" - like how much water does my crushed grain absorb and what do I need for sparge water to hit my pre-boil volume, what temp does the water need to be to hit my mash temp...

Can someone explain to me how a protein rest would increase efficiency? (Honest question). Has it to do with beta-amylase works better at protein rest temps and helps to break down the more complex carbs that alpha-amylase could not ordinarily chop up when they are active? I also wonder about...

I usually use 16 oz of Belgian amber candi syrup though it may help up the color which some Saison snobs frown upon. I have also used the Saison II yeast with good results. First day fermented at 66 F then I put it in my furnace room and it fermented for 2 weeks at 79 F. Took some time to...

I'd give it time. I thought I added too much gypsum to a recent saison brew. Fermentation dried it right out and there was a very harsh bitterness. I calculated the sulfate addition might have been a bit too much. Sat 3 weeks in secondary and it completely went away. I was worried but in the...