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Malted grain does not need to be gelatinized. Only flaked or raw grain would require that process. 90% rye, why? Legally, for a commercial product, rye whiskey only needs to be 51% rye or above. Most rye, commercial or not, does have more than 51% rye content but nothing in the 90% range. I...

Here's my "get off my lawn" response. I do think there is an intellectual conceit or ignorance within the homebrewing community that assumes all the commercial beers and brewers are looking to the BJCP guidelines when they make a beer. Outside of a maybe a handful of small craft breweries...

There's already lots of good info in the thread responses here so forgive me if I generalize a bit and repeat thoughts previously posted. To me there is a both a structure and indigenous flavors in good German lagers that do set them apart. BTW all the beers you listed are Bavarian and close to...

Forget the 120F/49C step. That's too low with modern malts. If you want to do a multi-step I'd suggest a version of a German Hochkurz mash. It will help yield a good body combined with a clean, dry finish. Try 147F/64C for 45 minutes followed by 158F/70C for 30 minutes then proceed to mashout.

Don't overthink the water. The dry is probably tied more to the hops and attenuation. Surface water in the Northeast is typically very soft, almost Pilsen-like. I'd shoot for a low mineral content water, maybe 50-75ppm on the Ca+2 and Cl-2. Go easy on the gypsum/sulphate. Keep it low, maybe...

Klages was the barley variety grown for the production of basic North American pale malt several decades ago. As with most agricultural products new varieties are developed over time and Klages was taken over by, I think, Harrington. Nowadays it might be something else.

Years ago when the SA Oktoberfest was about all you could find I did look forward to it. But, yes it is overly sweet and does not come close to what a true Marzen should be. The Sam is pretty much domestic pale malt colored and sweetened with domestic crystal malt. Maybe that has changed, it's...

I'd go further than BrewSomeMore and eliminate the melonoidin entirely. In spite of what you may have read it does not replicate the taste results of a decoction mash. I would use 60% Vienna and 40% pilsner malt. If you need the acidulated malt just substitute for a portion of the pilsner...

No, most of us are those wise-ass East Coasters you've be told to avoid. Nice to hear of your good experience. I have to say that as an old geezer who drank a lot of Gansett back in the day when the old company was still in existence the reboot has been doing a good job. They've created a...

I don't know and can't tell you what the original brewer had in mind. Those temps are all within the basic saccharification range but in very basic terms the lower temp will create a higher ratio of shorter chain/more fermentable sugars and the higher temps that ratio will decrease a bit. That...

Either you're a very lucky guy or the local brewer is an extremely kind fellow. Glad to hear you're enjoying the beer.

Not at all IMO. Many business decisions then as now are driven by economics. Saving a buck is almost always at the top of the list. Lots of homebrewers have a romantic notion about the brewing business but just like any other business it's the accountants running the show not the brewers.

Use a simple hop schedule. These are not complicated beers. Two additions, one for full boil and one with about 20 minutes left is my standard. This is again based on what I've seen in a lot of traditional recipes and it works for me. A ratio of 3:4 for IBUs:OG is a good yardstick. So for a...

Sounds good. That boil time of an hour and a half or so seems to be the traditional method for the style. I love bitters too and for years was never fully pleased with the results brewing them even though all the ingredients were as authentic as I could find. After reading about it somewhere...

I think you'll be just fine with a single mash temp. One thing I would do, and I don't know if your recipe specifies, is a boil time of 90 minutes rather than the homebrew standby time of 60 minutes.

I guess I have kitchen hands. A quick dip in 150F mash isn't a big deal. Unless you are using crazy amounts of adjuncts I doubt there would be much of a problem. I can only give you my anecdotal evidence but after doing a couple of iodine tests 30 years ago I quickly gave them up. My highest...

If you are mashing good quality, well-milled, modern brewing malt IMO you don't need to do an iodine test, it is going to be converted. Stick your finger in the mash liquid and taste it. I can guarantee it is going to be very sweet. If you truly feel the need, as has been posted, iodine from...

Acidification of mash water is not universal. The treatment of your water is going to depend on two basic things; what the base water has or does not have in it to begin with and the style of beer you are brewing. In addition to reading random and often misleading statements on line, do...

Sounds like it was old, stale, or poorly stored.

The lactic acid producing bacteria were already present on the malt. Plain malt and grain have no shortage of bacteria. Just store it normally.