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Wow, thanks for the quick response everyone!🍺 It was tough to gauge how many people are doing it since the chest freezer appears to be more popular. Out of curiosity, do you use the freezer portion for anything? I'm also wondering if it's possible to bypass the built in thermostat for the fridge...

Hi all, I recently purchased a new fridge for my home and am trying to figure out the best use for the old one. The old one is a 2017 model and works perfectly fine. I already have a kegerator that I have been using for fermentation/serving purposes (along with a STC-1000 for controlling...

Hi specialkayme, What is your water to grain ratio during the mash? It's very possible it's too thin resulting in greater heat loss. In general you may want to try making the mash thicker which should help maintain temps.

Hi wilserbrewer, I can see what you're saying, and I will definitely go out to the full 14 days next time. For this batch I used a plastic carboy, and when I pull samples for hydrometer readings I use plastic tubing connected to a turkey baster to minimize the amount of air introduced into the...

Thanks AZBeer, I didn't realize there were RO stations outside of big stores, I will have to check that out. Just an update for everyone on my most recent batch. After over 10 days in the fermenter, I finally decided to take a gravity reading and do a taste test to see how the fermentation was...

I actually just contacted the water treatment supervisor and it was the same, they don't test for half of the things which are necessary to make adjustments. Instead of sending out a sample to get tested elsewhere, I'm just going to build off of RO/distilled water.

Like most cities, Buffalo releases an annual water quality report with specific mineral levels. Would it be better to make adjustments and build from this profile, or just start fresh with distilled/RO water? I usually run my water through a charcoal filter before starting the brewing process...

Hey Kevin58, yea I have definitely started thinking about this. I am actually very interested in collecting some yeast from the batch I am currently brewing and storing for next time. I hear that it is not too complicated and they can just be stored in mason jars. I am curious with how much you...

A lot of my early issues with extract brewing (I believe) came from the maillard reaction, where extract was caramelizing on the bottom of my pot. Not only was the beer color darker than what I wanted, but I had a consistent sweet toffee/malt flavor in a lot of my beers. Most of these beers were...

Hey whiskeyjack, thanks for the input. I think I'm starting to realize that taking notes is going to be really important to brewing consistent beer. I know there are some templates out there that I might print out and keep in a binder/notebook. I also agree that making too many changes can make...

Yeah, I altered the recipe quite a bit. I actually added more C40 than what is called for in the original recipe but used about 2lbs less of the 2 row. Then lowered my 60 min boil hop addition because I also figured I was boiling at a lower gravity which would enhance the bitterness. I think...

Thanks for the input, I have always wanted to adjust my water chemistry but wasn't sure how difficult it is. Whiskeyjack below sent a really nice link that I think will get me started. Also, I hadn't really thought about the head space in the past, but this is probably because I was only...

Hello all! Recently I have been on a mission to significantly improve my home brew. I have been brewing for about 5 years, mostly extract, however the extended time in between batches (~4-5 months) has made it so that improvements have been minimal across this time. All in all I've brewed...

I agree with GilaMinumBeer, I would check your water. It would have to been something consistent between all batches. I recall John Palmer talking about how some mineral levels in water can bring out undesirable bitterness. It may be worth doing a test batch using purified water. Also a good...

It sounds like everything you are doing with the water should be fine. I am thinking that even 64 degrees is a little warm. Do you have a temp for inside the bucket? It is likely that the temperature inside could be several degrees higher, putting your fermentation temperature close to or even...

Hmm, this sounds like the yeast are not happy when they are fermenting. Probably not infection or anything you are doing directly to the beer. I had similar issues with early batches tasting like bananas/had a chemical taste. What cured it for me was controlling the temperature during...

I agree with blizz81, it is highly possible that such an aggressive fermentation will lead to undesirably high fermentation temperatures. This can give the beer a chemical/solvent and sharp alcohol flavor. This happened in one of my early batches which fermented quickly without a temp...

I have had a lot of issues with adding all of my LME at the beginning of the boil. I had several beers that all were way too dark and had a similar off flavor, even though I removed the kettle during LME addition. For my last beer I made a cream ale and added half of the LME at the beginning...

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You could always keep the lid off and experiment with an open fermentation. I'm not brave enough to try it yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9xT8DHOZFE Of course this is your first brew so it may be too soon to try. Good luck, it looks great. Cheers!