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The part of "head" that most people don't think about is carbonation level. If you're going with the "traditional" carb level of 2.8+ volumes of CO2, the easiest way to back down on the amount of head (foam) you're getting is to reduce the carb level. Chances are you'll love it at 2.5 vol CO2...

That's reasonable. Might want to pick up some pH sticks the next time you're at the HBS. Calculators and water reports aren't always perfectly accurate. Once you get to know your system a little better it should get easier.

A few critiques- looks like a fair bit of crystal malt but if you're going for a sweeter or bigger bodied beer it's not an outrageous amount. I would consider swapping the caravienne with plain old vienna malt. I don't think the 1oz of syrup is going to give you much flavor. I've used the...

Yup, siphoning onto a solution of priming sugar should work well, and should be fine to mix in your flavoring.

Just as a bit of background, an Abbey is where a trappist monk would live/work. So an Abbey ale yeast is just another way of saying belgian/trappist style.

Yeah, as long as you're not storing or fermenting in them, they're fine to use as tools. Go for it!

The sugar isn't really there to boost alcohol or anything- I wouldn't use much at all. The idea is that by giving the yeast some nutrient and easy-to-eat food, whatever cells are still kicking in there will be re-energized and ready to chow down on the more complex sugars still left in the beer...

I can't really. I could do some googling, but since I've never used them I wouldn't be able to make a safe recommendation. NorthernBrewer benefits from being a large retailer with a huge warehouse- their stuff is consistently high quality and they have great customer service. I would start with...

A roggenbier should start out like a hef- about 50% rye malt and 50% base malt like pils, 2-row, or vienna. You've got too much going on in there. However, I've brewed a single-infusion roggenbier and ended up with a syrup-thick drink, that was tasty, but off-puttingly thick. I would recommend...

I would consider warming it up and tossing in a bit of sugar boiled with yeast nutrient. This has helped me dry out overly sweet beers in the past.

+1 to "you're good!" Cap it up and move on with your life!

You want to cool it down if you can- 20C would be better. Those temp strip gauges aren't bad. Folks are right about the cooper's kits, though. Do some more reading on here and get yourself a proper kit from northernbrewer.com or another good reputable site.

Looks awesome- let us know how the brew goes!

You're good! You want to stir if possible, but not stirring won't hurt anything besides yeast count. You're pefectly safe!

I don't know, you can make pretty fantastic beer with extract, especially given your knowledge and equipment. I'd spend your money on making MORE beer, and not on making AG beer.

That is a pretty heavy duty pump! Mine was $300 and is not submersible, and it'll do about 14gpm (March AC-5B).

It's not dry or liquid that makes the difference, it's the strain and the species. Most ale yeast should be 60F-68F, and most lagers 50F-58F, as a VERY general rule.

It only makes a difference if you've got chlorine or chloramine you've had problems with in the past. If it hasn't been an issue so far, no big deal. If it's a problem, just remember for next time!

Ending up with one strong and one weak beer is kind of the POINT of partigyle, if you ask me. You're going to want something to drink while you wait for your barleywine to finish fermenting! My last partybatch was a 12.5% ABV barleywine and a small beer that we turned into a mild by steeping a...

Yup- table sugar is just fine! I use it in a bunch of big IPAs like this.