Recent content by harrysaxon

Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure, now, that it was a combination of unmixed wort and/or air bubbles that threw it off. I'm going to just go on the assumption that I was around my target. I'm probably going to pick up a refractometer when I move to AG in the future, but think I'll find it of...

I did a bunch more reading, and now suspect it was because I just poured in aerated water without much churning or mixing, and I was reading the denser wort from the bottom of the bucket with the thief. Does this seem reasonable? I gather it's no big deal in that case - the sloshing I did after...

Hi all, I brewed my fourth extract beer today, Midwest's Hop Head double IPA. Everything went brilliantly, until the end. I aerated the roughly 2.5 gal. post-boil wort by pouring it between buckets several times, and built up such a head of foam that I couldn't float the hydrometer in the...

I'd like to try a batch with lactose. Next time perhaps - going to do another batch in a couple months, once I brew the summer beers I'm planning. I should point out I wasn't just modifying blindly - I'd read several people say they wished they'd added more oatmeal to the Midwest kit for more...

I guess I don't know exactly how it compared to the stock Midwest kit if I'd brewed it. But it was my first attempt at going off-kit - adding more oatmeal and chocolate malt, using a starter - and I'm ecstatic about the result. Best oatmeal stout I've ever tasted. Should I worry my starting...

Just for the record - finally tasted this beer brewed with the modifications previously described. Bottled with table sugar (my brewing partner has a corn allergy) in the amount recommended by BS2. After 4 weeks in the bottle, first taste exceeded my hopes. Best oatmeal stout I've ever had...

Brewed this beer today. I thought it went really well for my second batch of beer ever. SG was 1.056, well within the estimated range. Got airlock action about 7 hours after it was put into primary. Hopefully it will taste as good as it looked and smelled. I made enough modifications - addition...

Thanks for the advice. I found a local source for DME and made up 2.75L of starter today (the volume Beersmith2 recommended). I've decided to try a couple of modifications to the Midwest recipe just to tailor it to my taste a bit more - an additional .5 lbs of oatmeal for body (half what I...

Hey, thanks for the feedback. I should say, this beer isn't going to be really heavy - projected SG is 1.047 - just got a bit paranoid about BeerSmith's calculations on a packet of Wyeast about a month and a half old. Also got the impression I needed DME and nutrients to do a starter - priming...

Hi all, First time post from a newbie brewer who's been reading the forums for tips here for a few weeks. Got a startup brew kit from Midwest for Christmas and bottled my first brew a couple days ago - their Autumn Amber Ale that came with the startup kit. Can't wait for it to carb up so I can...