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Going forward... Best time to adjust your wort to come within measurement error of your intended OG every time is after you have collected your preboil volume. Using a refractometer you can quickly assess how much sugar (points) was collected (gallons*(sg-1)*1000) and add or subtract sugar by...

Probably not the MO - which is just an English variety of barley kilned to to about 3.5 Lovi. It's probably the Honey Malt which is Gambrinus' version of Melanoidin malt which is like a very, very, dark Munich and imparts a very strong flavor even in small quantities. Some brewers like it and...

^Building upon... The most fermentable worts, ones that achieve high attenuation and low finished gravity, the optimal strategy is to ferment below 148ish for a very long time (90 mins+). The alpha will continue to prune branches as it is not denatured, and the beta will bite off fermentable...

Short answer - both beta and alpha convert starches to sugars. Descending step (or continuous) mash schedule are not the norm - I have never read about one, but that does not mean they don't exist. Although, as a homebrewer I lose 2 degrees per hour, but this is due to limitations of my system...

^, below is a chart with data demonstrating the relationship of grain weight to preboil volume. 80% to 60% is quite large, so other factors may be at play, but in general, you should always expect a drop off in efficiency when making big beers. Here is a link to the article...

You did under-pitch, but once it gets going, if you have good temperature control, you will make good beer. Raising the temperature beyond 54 could cause off flavors during growth phase so don't be tempted to raise the temp to get it going. Also, in my experience with WLP800, it behaves...

Short answer - never. Not necessary with today's yeast health. All you will do is expose your beer to oxygen and increase likelihood of infection. For most lager yeast, just primary for 2-3 weeks then raise temp for diacetyl rest for 3-5 days. Then just secondary in bottle or keg. Don't...

You asked for scientific... First, how did you determine that the realized IBUs in your beers were the same? Perception or IBU analysis. Formulas that calculate IBUs are based on best fit curves from empirical data, they are only approximations, so your calculated IBUs may be the same but the...

The issue isn't absorption, which should be similar or maybe even less. Cold steeping of roasted malts is done to extract the color and roastiness without the harshness, similar to cold steeping coffee. Cold steeping of caramel or crystal malts is probably a very uncommon practice (probably...

Unlike stouts, high gravity Belgian beers like Quads, Dubbels, and Trippels use a lot of candi-sugars/syrups (15%) that are nearly 100% fermentable. Also, the Belgian yeasts are highly attenuative so these beers finish with relatively low gravities and crisp finishes. For example, Westmalle...

This is no different than preparing candi-sugar to add to the fermenter when making a high gravity Belgian - it is done all the time. Dilute it with about 14 fl oz of water per pound DME. Boil for 15 mins and cool to fermenter temperature and then add. Sterilized and fully dissolved. This...

Biggest issue would be raising your PH above 5.6. That said, since your PH was ok at the end of the mash (5.5) you will probably be ok unless the PH rose over the course of the additional 20 mins. CaCO3 does not dissolve well, which in this case was fortunate for you. Going forward, if you...

Short answer - yes you can. You just need to learn how to count sugar points and adjust your preboil volumes and post boil volumes. Longer answer - every pound of extract and grain has a potential amount (points) of sugar that it will add to your wort. Recipes use these potentials when...

While a lager yeast, 34/70 (WY2124, WLP830) is highly versatile and can be used to make lager like beers at ale temperatures. It is very forgiving. While a Kolsch is a German Ale, the style is highly variable as there are many Kolsch breweries each with its own flavor profile. Per the...

Use a calculator based on the Tinseth model, which many consider the most accurate, model and just use the boil time plus the estimated extra FWH time. My thoughts on why... Per this great Tinseth model analysis, Impress your Friends - Analyzing the Tinseth Formula, after 60 mins of boil the...

Living in Houston, the heart of the US petrochemical industry, our water comes out of the tap three ways - chunky, super chunky, and extra thick:yes: Actually, I drink the tap stuff which won't kill you at least in the short run, but is very high in HCO3 and chloramines amongst other volatiles...

In case you may not know this - from a brewing perspective distilled and RO water are essentially the same except RO water from one of those water kiosks is only ~30 cents a gallon and they are quite ubiquitous.

There are many high level areas for missing OG including... Recipe doesn't align with OG expectation Lower realized mash efficiency than expected by the kit/recipe (various reasons including poor lautering or poor conversion) Grain weight was incorrectly weighed - so not enough to start Too...

Fuller's London Pride (and Pilsner Urquell) are two of my favorite beers. Both have become white whales for me. Despite using A09, WLP002, or WY1968 and following everything but the partigyle process from the below episodes of "Can You Brew It" which provides the grain bill, hop schedule...

At a high level there are two factors (sugars and water) that result in too low gravity: Too little sugar was extracted or added Too much water ended up in wort Of course there are 4 possible combinations of too much / too little that ultimately result in the realized OG. Determining where...