Recent content by Bobo1898

Yep, it's on the low end. I've had success at this temp with store bought juice. I think I can chalk this up to oxygen levels. It finally started today (8 days later). I'm sure the campden scrubbed some oxygen and delayed the start. I don't have O2 tanks so I agitated what I could. Will still...

Thanks for the response @Maylar ! So I did add yeast nutrient, which I believe has some DAP in it. Should I add more?

I typically make cider with store bought pasteurized juice. I add brown sugar to it to up the gravity and pitch cote des blanc with yeast nutrient. I pitch around 60°F, sometimes around 63, and have had very good results with this. I tend to slowly raise the temp over time. My LHBS does a cider...

This is a nice alternative, especially if you do x amount of time aging to your liking and then start drinking it. I would say if you know your sweet spot in aging, kegging with sugar way more convenient. Personally I like the experience of trying Belgians bottles over time without taking up a...

UPDATE. And it may be the last one! Finally brewed again today---session IPA with an OG of 1.046. If you recall, my water test run did not indicate any issues within the system that would raise pH substantially. So this time, I decided that I would not use Fermax because I suspected DAP might...

This. If not the entire batch, some or most of it would have already started to push out. You're probably okay. Good thing you checked the next day as opposed to 3-5 days later.

Personally, I think yeast and fermentation schedule/temp are key for the style. I've done 100% pilsner with great results, but recently I've switched to 95% pils and 5% wheat. I prefer belgian strains and like combining Wyeast 3724 and WLP565 into one pitch, but more recently it's been hard for...

I believe dry hopping will only boost aroma and has no contribution to flavor. And I'm not sure I've seen a hopshot used for anything other than bitterness. Assuming the shot is a bittering addition, you may need to make up for the IBUs in place of it or elsewhere (if you bypass it), unless...

I have had no issue with the smell, and I brew inside my condo unit. However, I brew next to a sink which conveniently allows my condenser hose to drop straight into the drain, as opposed to a bucket that collects the water.

UPDATE. Sort of. I'm leaning towards gelatinization as being the culprit. Made a saison recently and had improved results. Heated my strike water to 113° and rested WITHOUT recirculation or heat. I accidentally added all my strike water for this step (I meant to use boiled water additions til...

UPDATE. I ran a water test. Had some leftover distilled water (2 open and 1 closed) and decided to put it in the BK. I voided using the mash tun because my mash pH always appears accurate, and I didn't have time to complete this. I tested my water before going into the BK. Two opened...

I have not tried to measure the pH of my water before and after it enters my kettles. In the meantime, should I try this on it's own since I will not be brewing for a bit? It was suggested earlier in the thread that "you won't be able to get a reliable reading by itself" of distilled water...

Tonight I had the chance to check the probe in buffer solutions again to make sure the probe isn't faulty. The solutions read as follows: 7.01 buffer reading as 7.00/01 4.01 buffer reading as 3.99/4.00 This has been 3 days since brew day, when I recalibrated. The mystery lives on.

I did not recheck after taking either the mash or post boil samples. But after recalibration, I rinsed and put them back in 7.01 and 4.01 to verify they read correctly. My mash sample was taken within 10 to 15 minutes after this. Post boil reading was obviously way down the line---three hours...

I brewed a Belgian Saison 2 days ago!