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For those who take pre-boil hydrometer readings, I'm curious how you do it. For some reason I've never fully trusted the hydrometer correction calculations in ProMash. I have absolutely no reason not to, but still don't. Therefore, I've always waited for my hydrometer sample to cool before...

Yesterday I brewed a PM recipe that used 7 lbs of grain and 2 lbs of DME. I've never had stellar efficiencies - typically about 65% - but based on yesterday's results I wonder if I've been using ProMash correctly. At 65% and 5.0 gal batch size ProMash predicted 33 points from the mash and 18...

I've been doing mini mashes with batch sparging for a while now but have always had to do a partial wort boil. I recently got a kettle big enough to let me do a full wort boil and will soon be brewing an Anchor Steam clone with the following grains: 5lbs 2-row 1 lb crystal 60 2.25 lbs DME...

I think I've encountered my first dose of contaminated homebrew. I did a clone of Pete's Wicked that I initially thought turned out pretty good. I kegged most of it and bottled about 12. I gave a couple each to some friends and they both liked it. After that it really went down hill. It got...

I'm considering using sugar/DME to prime in the corny keg on a batch of brown ale that's close to being ready. I've never done this before - I've always just carbed the keg with CO2. I know that the general rule is to use less priming sugar in a keg than you would for bottling (despite some...

I'm trying to duplicate a recipe that calls for some Superbrau light LME and I've been unable to find a place that sells it. Does anybody know of any place that offers this or a suitable replacement for it? Thanks, SP

So a couple months ago I brewed a stout. I don't have a nitrogen tank so when it came time to keg I decided to use CO2. Until now, every time I've kegged, I've done it the "fast" way of setting to 30psi, shaking and waiting overnight. This time I decided to carbonate the "slow" way by...

I've noticed that a lot of the recipes in Clone Brews call for "US 2-row pale malt" as the base. But I see most suppliers list both 1) US 2-row and 2) US pale malt. What's the difference between these two and which one is Clone Brews referring to? Thanks, SP

I'm just about ready to follow Janx's advice and throw away my hydrometer. I have yet to hit any OG targets. Although my latest result was off in the opposite direction of all my others...it was way high. After performing several mini mashes by heating the grain on the stove and sparging...

So far I've done all of my mini-mashes by heating the grain and water on the stove and then pouring through a strainer into the brew kettle. Then I would slowly pour my sparge water over the grains in the strainer. To improve my setup a bit I have put together a more advanced mash tun using a...

I just got the "Clone Brews" book not too long ago and was looking at some of the partial mash instructions. There are a couple recipies that call for mashing for 30 min @122°F then 60 min 150°F. So far, I've stuck to doing my partial mashes in my brew pot on the stove. What are some of the...

I've seen a number of threads recommending conversion amounts for grain to all-extract. (e.g. LME = 0.8125 x grain amount, DME = 0.6875 x grain amount) But I'm curious about any general recommendations there might be for converting from AG to partial mash. I've looked at some recipies...

Earlier this week I kegged the results of my third partial mash kit..."California Steam" (lager) from Midwest Supplies. I've tried it and like it quite a bit, but it actually resembles a pale ale like Sierra Nevada more than Anchor Steam. Good bitterness/hop flavor, not very malty. Not sure...

Is One Step cleanser OK to use for sanitizing kegging equipment? Most info I've seen recommends Iodophor or B-Brite. SP

I just received my keg, regulator, fittings, and tubing today and I'm getting ready to keg my batch that's been sitting in the secondary for almost three weeks. I'm trying to decide whether to force or naturally carbonate my first keg trial. The gas line that came with the kit I ordered is...

I found a great deal on a mini fridge the other day at Home Depot. They were selling the display model for $80, reg $130. I decided to get it even though it might not be ideal for converting to a corny-keg fridge. Part of the problem is that it has a freezer section and so a 5-gal corny...

The place where I work is decomissioning some buildings and there's a CO2 fire extinguisher that looks like it's equivalent to about a typical 5-lb cylinder. Of course, the top has the pin, handle/trigger, and nozzle attached to it. But I'm wondering how difficult it would be to convert this...

Since I'm not ready to commit the ~$300 required to set up a full size keg system, I've been considering a mini-keg system as an intermediate step. Is anybody using or know of someone who uses the Tap-A-Draft system? If so, how do you /they like it? I'm also curious about the dimensions of...

I understand the importance of cleanliness but I've noticed that by default I find myself going to great lengths to keep sanitized items "clean" and was wondering how much of this is necessary. Here's some examples: 1) Last night I sanitized my carboy thief and then used it to take a...

I've seen a lot of different suggestions regarding the appropriate time to rack to secondary: 3-5 days, no more that a week, etc, etc. But what is the appropriate event to trigger it? i.e. Wait until no more bubbles are rising? Wait for the airlock to stop popping? I know these are the...