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Looks like it could be cutworm damage, check in the early morning or late evening to see if you can find any worms crawling on your plants. Or just put up a cardboard barrier around the plant (pressed into the soil) to prevent them from accessing it.

Regarding this question specifically, no, you should not start a lager out at 70 and then reduce. I have heard of some people starting their lagers out at higher temps to "get the yeast going", but even they typically start out in the 60's (not as high as 70). That said, I think the general...

When fermenting a lager, it's best to build a yeast starter. This will not only build your cell count to the level needed to properly ferment a lager, but it will also prove yeast viability. You can get away with direct-pitching a smack pack in a low/med gravity ale, but it's a no-no with...

You should probably still crack your STC open and make sure its a 1.0, I wouldn't go by the decal. As far as the Arduino is concerned, I think those other options you listed out are knockoffs but I am a total novice in that world and don't really know. I bought the Arduino branded Uno...

Case in point why you can't reliably discern much from the decal typeface, etc. Here are some pics of one of my 1.0 controllers. No "STC-1000" at all and a "CE" at the bottom right.

Nope, no worries there. There will still be plenty of yeast left in suspension for carbing. The only time this is a concern is with lagers that have been lagered for extended periods.

As progmac suggested, I believe the most common post-boil clarifier used is gelatin. Of course, you also have the option to do nothing and your beer will still be delicious, just a little cloudier. If clarity is important to you, gelatin is a commonly used solution. Time is also a clarifier.

Careful, the pictures aren't necessarily what you'll get. There are instances here of guys buying from the same vendor and getting two different types. There doesn't appear to be a reliable way to discern the difference, especially just by looking at the stock photos these guys use for their...

Unless the freezer is malfunctioning, this shouldn't be a problem for it at all. This is simply how it would've operated as a freezer... Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Good point, the manual pressure relief valve on ball locks is convenient for clearing the headspace. I think you can buy replacement for the pin lock relief valves, but that's more $ and effort. Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Haha, well I guess that's a personal matter! Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Pin locks are cheap, but they're fat and can limit the # of kegs you can fit in your kegerator. Ball locks are pricier but skinnier/taller, so you can often fit more of them in your kegerator. If I had a bigger kegerator I'd use pin locks and save some cash. But my kegerator barely fits 3 ball...

+1

I'll second Yooper's chlorine theory; are you brewing with tap water? If so, are you taking any steps to remove the chlorine/chloromines?

If you had the lactose in the recipe you entered into Beersmith, the gravity estimates it's providing account for the lactose. Looks to me like you hit your OG spot on and you're in good shape. As you get to know your setup better, you can arrive at a target boil volume to pull so you don't...

By significant I mean 2-3 degrees, so not huge, but enough to create whiplash in the temp signal. Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

I've found this to be true with ale fermentations (where there are literally chunks of stuff whipping around inside the fermenter). The pic above is of a lager fermentation at the peak of primary, and the bottom fermentation doesn't create enough action, resulting in a significant difference...

I am using a pretty low wattage heat source (a 60W bulb in a paint can, see below), but I like your suggestion. I'll try out a lower wattage bulb. I may also need to move the temp probe closer to the outside of the fermenter; right now it is dead center. By the time the center of the wort has...

I subbed my flashed controller out for another that was managing a lager I've got fermenting; it held at 50F through the evening without issue. Will be doing a diacetyl rest this weekend or early next week followed by a ramp down to 35 to test out the new ramping feature. My setup is a...

Looks great, Mats! I think your English is better than mine! :)