Recent content by chris_the_goat

That is what I recommend. They work great for a five gallon and can be used on smaller batches, too. I have done 2-5 gallon batches with mine. If you are buying one, make sure the coil starts at the bottom (some have one ring and then a few inches before the coil). This will let you use it...

Think about your future brewing plans for this one. While you are doing 1 gallon batches, an ice bath will work fine. I have an immersion chiller and would recommend them. They are simple to use and work quickly (especially with cold tap water). They get sanitized by sitting in the boiling...

Very true. Colder liquids hold more CO2 in solution. If the beer is not completely chilled, more CO2 is in the headspace and you will have a louder hiss and flatter beer. A good experiment would be to put a bottle in the fridge every few days. The cold temps should stop (or at least slow)...

I definitely agree with the yeast dropping out. Most yeast derived flavors occur during the growth phase. After primary fermentation, they get cleaned up. There are plenty of yeast present to ferment the small amount of priming sugar, so there shouldn't be much (if any) additional flavor...

Go ahead and try it. Especially for a well made light to medium gravity beer, extended conditioning is often unnecessary. If it tastes good at bottling time, it will taste good as soon as it is carbonated. Unless it is a big beer, it is usually fully conditioned in 2 weeks (in my experience).

Definitely don't tighten the lid for at least a day, unless you are using a container that can handle pressure. At that point the CO2 should be more or less stabilized in the liquid. I just leave the lid a little loose on a mason jar until I use it. You could also just cover the top with...

I don't think it would cause less sweetness. Given your FG of 1.016, I wouldn't call it dry. The lack of alcohol could contribute to a thinner mouth feel, though.

An hour is usually more than enough time. I have done a starch test at 20 minutes that came up negative. Have you done an AG batch before? How was your OG then? When I first started, I was making good tasting beer, but my efficiency was horrible. I traced the issue to my grain crush. The...

Extract? Definitely not necessary, except for hop related reasons. If you want bittering with no flavor you need to boil longer (45 minutes or so). All grain? Probably, I have done a half hour boil before, but need to do more batches like this to be confident. My hypothesis is that it is...

Getting the hydrometer was a smart move. You should be able to avoid bottle bombs and you will learn a lot more about fermentation. Plus you can calculate ABV and more geeky things like efficiency. Another way to avoid bottle bombs is to use plastic soda bottles. They can easily hold the...

http://www.mrmalty.com/yeast.htm That is a handy yeast equivalency chart. WLP530 is them same as Wyeast 3787, probably the most widely used Belgian yeast. Most Belgian yeast would be a good substitute. I like WY3522/WLP550. As far as fermentation periods, the 2 week in primary and 2 week...

1/3 of a dry pack will work for now. You will want to experiment with different yeasts as you brew more. They can provide lots of different flavors! They also like to ferment at different temperatures. 19-21C is a good range for most ales. Lagers might like 8-10C. Temperatures will also...

Pretty much. You can probably even pitch it cold if you want. It should be fine for a couple weeks, after that you might want to make a proper starter with it first.

There are no nutrients for proper cell growth. You would be growing less than healthy yeast. Are you bottling the last batch today? You should be able to harvest more than enough yeast to pitch directly (no starter needed).

It's probably fine. Dry yeast has about twice the cell count as liquid, so you will experience a longer lag time with liquid. Assuming your yeast is reasonably fresh it should be fine in that gravity, but you are getting into starter territory. Also remember that you can't know for sure based...