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My immersion wort chiller can only cool my wort to the high 70s low 80's so I place my carboy in an insulated bag for a few hours with ice etc to get it to 68 or whatever I am fermenting at THEN pitch. I am very cognizant of my ferm temps but was curious as to when is best to aerate, before or...

It will be fine, nothing to kick yourself over. Just give it some extra time so the yeasties can hopefully clean up any byproducts of high ferm temps. Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

All good stuff here. I would also add that this is your first all grain brew so some adjustments with the new equipment should be expected. If you are using software make the needed adjustments (MLT loss, grain absorption, boil off etc) and see where you end up next time. I would have probably...

Yup, def too warm to pitch. Try to pitch at the temp you are fermenting at. I also use a Cool Brewing bag and find I can get my carboy to 68*, pitch but then need to add an additional frozen 2L bottle of water to keep temps in check the first 3 days of active fermentation. The bag is great at...

I don't ferment at 70 to 80, I ferment at 67-68*. Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Hot side aeration is more of a problem in commercial brewing. I have heard it's really nothing to worry about and more of a homebrew myth.i transfer at around 80* and once aerated the stick on thermometer starts to register 76-78*. I've never had an issue or off flavors I was mostly seeing...

That's kind of what I was thinking. I saw something on Basic Brew Radio where James had an aquarium pump in a cooler with ice and water. He had his chiller in the kettle, got the initial 212* to 100* with tap water then switched to the pump in the cooler and recirculated the water back. It got...

Right on guys thanks. I am going to aerate after I get the temps down. When I was doing extract I had no issues because I would top off with cold water but now doing all grain I have dialed my system in to get exactly 5.5 gallons in the fermentor. Any thoughts on ice water recirculating in the...

So I brew all grain and use an immersion chiller which gets my wort from 212 to 80* rather quickly but getting it any lower is a challenge specially with the heat we have been having. I use a Cool Brewing bag which is basically a large insulated bag as a fermentation chamber. After I chill to...

I've been using a Cool Brewing bag I got from MoreBeer for like $50 bucks. It can keep my beer at 65 with an ambient of 80* (it's already hot in NorCal) with one two liter bottle of frozen water. I chose this because I did not want to hassle with the water and wet shirts associated with a swamp...

Looks like the remaining krausen, should be ok. Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Don't use that gauge to know how much CO2 you have left, go by the actual weight of the tank. Most aluminum CO2 tanks (5 gal that is) weigh 7 empty so at 12lbs you are full. The gauge will drop in the fridge but you are still good.. unless you have a leak. Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

I use a 10G beverage cooler MLT. My normal strike water is at around 168 depending on what I am going for. I normally transfer the water from my kettle to the MLT at around 170, put the lid on and let it settle for a few minutes then dough in. I shoot for around 152 but may go to 148-150 for a...

Agreed, if your other brews are coming out ok and it's just your dark beers with the off flavors it may be your mash PH which could be related to your brewing water chemistry. Get some cheap PH strips to test. Your process looks good though. Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

I built mine with a HD 10G water cooler and SS fittings. Pretty easy DIY and I'm in like $75. Thinking about adding a thermometer in there but not necessary IMO. Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

US-05 should be rehydrated at 80* +-6 (http://www.fermentis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SFA_US05.pdf) That could be killing viable yeast. I brew an IPA with an OG of 1.065 frequently with 05 and hit .008 in 4 days at 68*. Always clean, low esters. Try rehydrating at 80* your next batch...

You're ok. I have really good tap water (Santa Rosa, CA) and often use tap water to top off my carboys and to brew. Relax, have a brew and pitch your yeast when it's at temp. Happy brewing. Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

I just got that same kegerator off craigslist with a 5g tank. I had to replace the fittings for pin lock kegs so I decided to get 10' lines too. Tweaked the thermostat and it can keep two 5G kegs cold. Decided to also put a 1/2" copper tube around the lines in the tower and get a Perlick...

Yup, let it finish out in the keg. I would also carbonate using sugar in the keg instead of CO2 but that's just an option. Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Agreed! I tend to drink my IPA's pretty young (1 week primary, 2 weeks secondary to dry hop and 10 days on co2). I would imagine if any conditioning is happening in the keg it would be slow due to the low temps. Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew