Recent content by JamesHoffman

I keep missing details in this thread. I used a refractometer for the 1.033, I just took a hydrometer sample and got 1.020. thanks for keeping me on my toes

Sorry, I forgot to add that little part. OG was 1.067 and FG was 1.033 (expected was 1.016)

I made an IPL (recipe details below) and, long story short, my final gravity is way off. I fermented for 17 days at 54°F, did diacetyl rest for 48 hours at 65°F, and just now racked to secondary to bring down to lagering temp (35°F). Is the final gravity supposed to be this off before...

Pictured is the second one I tried, so I left it in the fridge for two days before trying. And I tried to leave the sediment at the bottom, but when I opened it the CO2 release stirred some of it up, including the hop particles I didn't filter.

So you don't rack to secondary, just rack to a bottling bucket and use a screen around the pour faucet on the bucket. Sounds easy enough. Thanks for the advice. Maybe I oxidized it when I racked to secondary.

I went full amateur and did not take any gravity readings. I feel pretty dumb about it. I did two weeks in primary, racked to secondary, dry hopped (without straining the hops, that's the solid chunks you see I think), and it sat in secondary for two weeks before bottling. Temp was about 68-70...

I think I've come across my first infection. I don't know how it happened, but the beer is overcarbonated (foams over the rim of the bottle several minutes after it's opened), looks like mud (this is after 5 weeks of bottle conditioning at about 65 degrees F), smells very yeasty and earthy, and...

Thanks for the heads up. I will look into Star San!

I like to make my iodine solution for sanitation in a large bucket, about 25 gallons. I recently came back from a military deployment to find that I had forgotten to empty it previously, and it wasn't pretty. Anyway, it got me thinking, what is the shelf life of an iodine solution? How long...

First off, I've brewed a few extract batches and (with your help) I've even made a couple recipes of my own. I've got experience but I still consider myself new to all this especially since I've never brewed a lager before. I just acquired a new fridge for lager brewing and it unfortunately...

Update after bottle conditioning: conditioning mellowed everything out perfectly. Very full bodied, with pumpkin taste that definitely doesn't cover up the grains or overwhelm the senses. Good thick pale brown head with strong porter and slight pumpkin smell. I wouldn't change the amount of...

This is an extract brew (APA) with 6 lbs LME and 1 lb DME, summit/cascade/centennial hops, and .75 oz of lavender. I brewed it on the 7th of this month, and used wyeast 1506. Now, I planned on throwing a lavender tincture in today, but the brew seems to still be in primary. Is this normal with...

Update for everyone still following this: I added 60 oz. of canned pumpkin (60 min. boil) and 1 tbs pumpkin pie spice (2-5 min boil). The OG ended up as 1.064, and the FG ended up as 1.016. Strong pumpkin taste (haven't bottle conditioned yet, will do so for 1 month starting today), but not...

I've gotten a request to try to make a lavender beer. Most of the suggestions I've seen on here and other websites suggest wit beer, but I don't really like wit beers very much. I'm planning on trying it with an APA. My goal is to obviously make the lavender the focus tastewise/aromawise, But I...

Brewed a pumpkin porter of my own design today, and yesterday I bottled my NB Dead Ringer IPA. 'twas a good weekend.