Recent content by chuckc1

How much does the alcohol throw off the reading? No mention of this in the user manual for my unit. Not an extremely high dollar unit but it was not the cheap version either. I have used Fermentis before but even then, I have done 24 hour prior to boil to re-hydrate and pitch at temp. Never had...

Mash temps, depending upon the ale, are between 152 ~ 156. Sparge temps @168. This last brew, I held the temps tighter at 154~156. I agree I need testing. Especially with the hard water. Just have not decided to pull the trigger on the LaMott test kit or send it to Ward's. If the water is...

Hey all, I may be having an issue and I am lost on where to start looking. We moved from northern Colorado 14 mos. ago. There I was on Weld County water. Never had any problem hitting fermentation numbers but always struggled to hit mash numbers. In CO the mash ph always stayed in the good...

I took the gravity of the starter and I guess my yeast is dead. The gravity was 1.040. According to BeerSmith it should have been 1.041. Seems that nothing has happened as far as any fermentation of the starter is concerned.

When i took it out of the fridge this morning, I noticed the color was darker than when I put it in the fridge. I put it on the stir plate and started it before I got the gravity.....DUH! Now I have to wait for it to separate again to get the gravity. I also did not add the yeast nutrient to the...

Happy New Year to all! Need a little help on two subjects please. This is only my second attempt to make a starter. My first was for a pale ale and worked awesome. I am somewhat confused/concerned my lager starter may have failed. I made a 1.5 L starter and placed it in the fridge to cool...