Recent content by MrSnrub

I ordered exclusively from BMW from January 2012 through April 2013. I loved the BrewBuilder, the ability to view and purchase recipes created by other users, and buying grain by the ounce. My final three orders, however, were plagued with problems: items out of stock with no notice, extremely...

"It's" is a contraction of "it is." Why do people have such trouble understanding this?

Just drink it in the morning.

Could it be BMW? I did switch to them around when the efficiency drop happened; previously I had ordered from Austin. But I've read that they do a good crush, and I've even been asking them to double-crush the grains.

I don't see how that would happen, but I also don't know how to tell.

Same normal recipes I've always brewed. I just realized there is one thing that's changed recently: I replaced the braid in my mash tun and the new one is too long to lie flat on the bottom. But since the tun still drains just fine, I don't see how this could affect my gravity.

I live in the city proper; I thought the water was soft since soap lathers up just fine, but maybe there's more to it. I think my efficiency first dropped about 3-4 months ago.

I live in Pittsburgh, which has soft water. I am not aware of any changes to the water source since I started brewing, but I will check my pH next time.

I have not weighed the grain, but I certainly hope they have not been shorting me! My hydrometer reads .996 in water, so I add .004 to all my gravity readings. Thermometer reads 212 in boiling water, so I assume it's accurate at mash temperatures as well. I have been brewing standard recipes...

I know there are many threads on low efficiency on this forum, but my case is particularly odd. I've been using the same equipment (cooler + braid) and technique (single infusion 152-155F, batch sparge 175F) for over two years, producing around 50 batches. Until recently I got good efficiency...

I used this recipe as a base for a Mexican chocolate stout. I steeped 4 oz. cacao nibs, 3 cinnamon sticks, and one dried chile de arbol in vodka for about 6 weeks and added the extract to the keg. This did not produce enough "Mexican" flavor so I put 5 cinnamon sticks and 3 chiles in a mesh bag...

I sanitized before bottling, naturally, but afterward I just rinsed. Is it too late?

I recently bottled a batch of stout that I had aged in a rye whiskey barrel for a few weeks. I tasted the beer at bottling and noticed a faint sourness, so I'm guessing some bugs may have taken up residence in the wood. Are my subsequent beers at risk of becoming sour if I use the same bottling...

Thanks guys!

I recently kegged a 9% Belgian strong dark ale. The beer is really dry and somewhat lacking in depth, and I thought adding some fruit might give it some sweetness and complexity. I put 4 oz. of finely chopped prunes into a muslin bag, soaked in boiling water, then put the bag plus the water into...