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refractometer and pH meter were also calibrated the last time I brewed.

I have 3 digital thermometers that are all in sync with each other and match the temp of my wife's analog candy thermometer. I calibrated my hydrometer on the last brew and it hasn't been used so while I can't be 100% sure it's correct - I am 99.9% sure. I'll check it in a while tho.

all-grain, 3 keggles, gravity fed, (no pump). The HLT and the BK are 1/2 barrel sanke kegs with the tops cut off, 1/2" ball valve silver soldered with stainless dip tubes. The HLT also has a sight glass. The MLT is a 1/2 barrel sanke keg with the bottom cut off. It has this bottom drain...

I brewed a Belgian Quad a few months ago that used 21 pounds of grain. BeerSmith II estimated the OG at 1.100. My measured OG was 1.055. That pissed me off, but I thought I knew where I went off the rails. I brewed a couple smaller beers in the meantime, an IPA, a pale ale and a stout all with...

Thanks for the feedback. I take it there's no real pH concerns I need to worry about if I throw it all in at once?

I'm getting ready to brew a stout with the following grains: Pale Malt (2 row) - 42.9% Weyermann® BARKE® Vienna Malt - 39.3% Torrified Wheat - 3.6% Chocolate Malt - 2.7% Flaked Oats - 2.7% Black Patent Malt - 1.8% Roasted Barley - 1.8% Demerara Sugar - 5.4% I'd like to get some...

The water in the boil boils off but the minerals in that water don't. To me, that would be the primary concern in topping off vs. starting with more water. And with 1 gallon batches I'm not sure the difference would even be perceptible. As long as you do it the same way every time I think either...

This is my dip tube. I can just turn the tube around and do some slight trimming to make it a side pick-up. It's probably a 2 minute project - just haven't gotten around to it yet. For the past month or so I've taken a break from brewing and been focused on getting the area I use organized; new...

I don't have a pump. I have a center pick-up tube in my kettle, no screen or false bottom. I throw all my additions in bags and I use an immersion chiller. Whirlpooling is not really an option. The idea of filtering came about because I was thinking I'm tired of brewing beer that I'm the only...

Great advice. I thought about doing smaller batches a few years ago but decided against it. And to be honest now, I have no idea why I decided against it. I think I was looking at doing 1 gallon batches and decided it was a lot of work and expense for not even a 12 pack. My wife quit...

Oddly enough - I don't mind cloudy beer. There are no "craft beer" people in my circle of friends or family. Out of everyone I know personally, only a handful actually drink "beer", and they are the typical Bud Light crowd. Bud Light IS beer - Beer IS Bud Light. I have to admit, it gets old...

I'm thinking about filtering my beer from the boil kettle to the fermenter using this kind of filter with a pump. My thinking is that any oxygen this style filter might add won't matter at this stage since I have to add oxygen before pitching the yeast anyway. My question is: I'd be...

I brewed this around June 15, 2017. Probably bottled it around the 29th or 30th, (I lost my notes for this one). I originally planned on using 2 packets of Safale US-05 but, being the consummate cheapskate, I decided one packet was plenty. I ended up with a slight diacetyl off flavor. It's not...

I think having a "good reason" to do it could be said about pretty much every aspect of brewing. Without a closed system it's virtually impossible to keep oxygen out of your beer. Racking does obviously add some oxygen, depending on how careful you are. It affects how long the beer will keep...

We live in a world where psychology has a huge influence over every aspect of our lives, where global warming is taken seriously, and xx or xy chromosone is all but ignored. I'm thinking there's no need to distinguish between science and "real" science where brewing beer is concerned.

Unflavored gelatin. You're only going to use 1/2 tsp for a 5 gallon batch so it doesn't affect the flavor or the consistency. You're heating the water up to 160 degrees ONLY to sanitize it and kill bacteria. You do not want to make wiggly jiggly "Jello". It should still be liquid form when you...

Ditto on gelatin and cold crashing for clarity. However, gelatin works best when the beer is cold. If you aren't able to cold crash your carboy then you're probably not going to notice much difference with or without the gelatin. I'm sure it will help some - but it's not going to be that drastic.

I used to rack to secondary on my bigger Belgians. But the more I read on it, there seemed to be overwhelming evidence against racking to secondary and the few weak reasons given for it didn't seem to be important concerns to me. I also remember reading something from Brulosophy where he did an...

As long as the yeast isn't too old you should be fine without a starter. There are a number of online calculators like this one that are extremely helpful. A starter is simply a way to increase the number of yeast cells you are pitching. The extract that you use to make the starter isn't all...

Water chemistry for well water or tap water naturally changes. The changes can be minor to major. Having your water tested will give you a ballpark idea of what your water is like at the time you test it. When you go to brew, maybe it's the same water, maybe it's not. I would agree with the...