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It should be safe.

The yeast on my Cream Ale blew through the airlock while I was out of town and the batch was contaminated. It was still somewhat drinkable but not very pleasant. Obviously I was disappointed, but I drank the whole thing anyway. I just told myself it was an American sour. It helps to drink it...

I am going to go ahead and do that. It is just not clearing up. I've always decanted heavily and pitched the yeast with a very little amount of the starter wort. I was a little concerned because of the primarily base malt recipe. My worry is that any off flavors will show up more than in...

Alright, let me start out by saying that I normally would not ask this question, but I am going out of town this coming week and I wanted to have this done before I left. I made a 1.5L starter with 3711 French Saison yesterday. This morning, I put it in the fridge. It looks damn near as...

That looks awesome! I will shoot them an email.

What were you brewing? Any adjuncts in the recipe? I use rice hulls whenever I am in doubt.

I've had people ASSURE me that their fermentation was finished because the airlock wasn't bubbling and when you took a gravity reading over three days, it was clearly not finished. Then after a little bit more time even with the airlock not bubbling the final gravity dropped dramatically. I...

The recipe seems good. Have you guys ever tried habaneros or chipotles in a beer?

I know that I'm going to get my ass chewed by a million people here that think secondary fermentation is a super important part of the process, but I think that is part of your problem. Racking to secondary before fermentation is complete is a bad idea IMHO. Just leave it on the yeast cake and...

I agree with the information that everyone else has given you so far. People told me that my first few batches tasted astringent. After that I decided to look into my local water report and to start making adjustments based on what I found. The water where I live was incredibly hard and it was...

Enter the recipe in Beersmith or Mashpro and they will give you a projected original gravity reading and IBU total. From there you can take a measurement with a hydrometer when you're doing your actual transfer into your primary (take wort temp into account when using the hydrometer) and compare...

Thanks for the recipes. They both look great. I am going on pitch onto a yeast cake of Wyeast 1968 London ESB that I am using for a Mild right now. I think I'm going to soak the whiskey chips in some bourbon and then add them in secondary.

Thanks for responding. The size tops out at 2 liters on yeastcalc. I tried some other sites and they reinforced Jamil's calculations on Mr. Malty. In the end my wife just went to the HBS and grabbed another smack pack. I'm going to make up for the extra cost by pitching my Bourbon Barrel...

In order to get five or six gallons in the fermenter you would need to use close to 10 gallons of water for a typical batch. In that case your water to grist ratio would be something like four to one which to me is at the root of your problem even with your current setup. Do you think that the...

First, should I do an Oatmeal/Coffee Stout or a Russian Imperial Stout? Either way, I plan to age on whiskey barrel chips? Second, does anyone have a really solid recipe for either (the Breakfast Stout in particular)?

1. Yes 2. I don't know

I would be concerned that the big swing in temperature may impact the overall flavor, but I wouldnt be concerned about the yeast being unable to perform the rest of fermentation appropriately. Keep it as consistent as possible at either temp and your beer will be good. Jumping around by 6 or so...

Sorry. 5.5 gallons with 1.060 OG.

My smack pack of Wyeast 3711 French Saison is dated Jan 23, 2013 and the yeast pitching calculator on Mr Malty says that I need 2 packs at a minimum to make a starter. I have slid the bar and I have used the calculator for several years. My setup is a stir plate. Should I just make an...

You are fine. I use 6.5 gallon carboys for fermenting/lagering 5.5 gallons. As long as you have an oxygen barrier like an airlock you shouldn't have any problems.