Recent content by USCG

This is my first shot at my own extract IPA. Looking for opinions on the setup....especially on the hop additions. This is a 5 Gallon batch 1.5 lbs – American 2 row 8 oz – Cara Hell 8 oz – Cara Vienne 6.6 lbs Extra Light LME Safale US-05 yeast with no starter 1oz Columbus...

I have an IPA extract kit with specialty grains. The shop that put the kit together recommends that I only ferment in the primary for 10-14 days then bottle cond. for another 10 days.....no secondary. Not using a secondary seems to go against many other kits instructions. Any thoughts?

Good to hear from people who have been doing this more than me.....it's amazing how many sources there are out there that talk about how bad things happen to people that squeeze the bag!

We didnt record the boil temp the 1st time (as we just did with the 2nd batch). It was in the primary for 7 days, Secondary for 2 weeks and bottle conditioned for 2 weeks(as of 1 week ago). The bitterness seems to have a slight lemon/citrus flavor but not as sharp of a bitter flavor as a tea bag.

I just brewed my first batch (brewers best amber ale) and it has odd bitter taste up front but fairly smooth otherwise. After reading about the process I found out that having squeezed the grain bag into the wort was definitely a bad thing. Is it possible that squeezing the grain bag led to...