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Dry Nottingham Ale (Danstar), $3.99

Five days later - kraeusen has fallen, everything is clearing up, airlock activity is minimal, and next Friday I am planning to bottle my first AG beer!

Thank you! As for the chamber, here are some pictures of it. It is a standard design with a few improvements.

How do you estimate the shelf life of frozen hops (sealed and resealed)?

Yes, it is on my list of future improvements... Ideally I would like to grow and harvest my own hops :-)

While it is too early to compare taste, I see the difference between extract/mini-mash and AG right on the first day of fermentation. This is my first AG brew, and it has the best looking (out of 13 non-AG brews) kraeusen. Hard to explain, but it just looks much better - shiny and full of...

Hey, I've just brewed exactly the same nut brown yesterday! I think you payed way too much. My local store (Just Brew It, South Atlanta, GA) charged me 23.40, but I bought only one package of yeast, and whatever amount of specialty grains that the recipe called for: 9 lb pale malt -...

I rely on the sight glass in my measurements. I calibrated it myself with a half-gallon juice bottle, I am quite confident in the pre-boil volume of 6.3 gallons... I was also surprised, and the finished volume seems to be the best candidate for mistake. It did look as 5.5, but I could easily...

I do not have a dedicated test cylinder, I am using a plastic storage tube which came with the hydrometer. It is just a little bit longer and wider than the tool itself. It is enough to fill it up maybe with 40-50% of its volume. Well, I'll better go and count tablespoons :-) OK, it took exactly...

I am not sure I understand your point - how can you "mis-measure" with such a primitive tool as a hydrometer which you just stick into the liquid and compare its position above the surface with a certain value? What does it have to do with any losses?

Well, it was only two or three table spoons - I am using the plastic tube that the hydrometer came with :-) I stirred it with the thermometer real good, so I don't think I could have spots. And yes, I stirred the wort in the kettle also real good.

OK, I see how it works. So which reading is more important, in other words, what should I measure next time - pre-boil or brewhouse?

That is exactly my concern:-) I am using a hydrometer from Austin. I check it once in a while in pure water, and it seems to be OK. This time I measured at 60 degrees - put the cup in the freezer for 5 minutes, then checked with a lab thermometer, it was 57, so I had to hold it in my hands for...

After 13 batches of extract and mini-mash brews, I finally made my AG conversion :-) Today I brewed a nut brown ale (the recipe comes from internet). The only issue I ran into was that it started raining about 10 minutes after I put the kettle on fire - so I killed the fire to bring the burner...

Thank you guys for ideas! Cannot wait till the end of the week :-)

What's wrong with 83 vs 170? Yeast action is amount by time by temperature, be it wort or bread dough. In your case wouldn't it just take a bit longer to ferment with one pack? I always do dry yeast, so may be missing something?

You mean I can split the sparge water into several volumes? The recipy says it has to be 4.21 gal. I would rather go with an easier batch sparge, but I couldn't figure out how to fit all this water in my 5 gal cooler, so I started thinking about making a sparge arm...

Yes, 14.69/11.75 is exactly a 1.25 ratio. Now I wonder what is better - keep the grain volume and reduce water, or keep the 1.25 ratio? Overall, what is the difference between 0.75, 1, 1.25 and 1.5 (2?) ratios?

I will be brewing my first AG beer (nut brown) next weekend, and I need some advice with the volumes. I have a recipy which calls for 11.75 lbs of grain (total). Mash volume is 14.69 qt. I doubt that my 5 gal cooler is big enough for it. Upgrading to a 10 gal cooler is not an option for now. I...

I have a cheapo plastic two part quick disconnect form Home Depot - one part with female thread goes on the chiller, and the other part (also female) threads on the hose. Some hoses have female therads on them, but I don't like the idea of screwing it on and off every time and eventually bending...