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Depends on what you are trying to do...melanoidin malt can achieve it, you can also produce melanoidins through decoction method and long boils. As stated earlier biscuit malt will do the job as well. Happy brewing.

Sounds like a counter flow chiller. The only problem with this concept is that you essentially get only one chance to cool your wort. Once you run it through, whatever you can get it chilled to is what you're stuck with. With an immersion chiller you can get it down to essentially as cool as...

It looks like a good kit to start with, I would highly suggest you purchase an immersion chiller. It will make life so much easier than an ice bath. On the side note, do you have a local home brew supply store? It may be a little more expensive to purchase a kit from them, but it is worth...

Your beer was likely carbed, under carbed but still carbed. What it sounds like to me is when you added the sugar you introduced more nucleation points for CO2 to off gas from, thus creating the diet coke and mentos effect. There are numerous variables for under carbonation: 1) Quantity of...

I have to agree with duboman, yeast love to be warmed. It is better to pitch at a lower temperature and then raise to your desired fermentation temperature. Here is a nice little read about it written by John Palmer. http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter8-1-3.html

I agree with the above, it won't hurt your beer and will only improve it. Stouts, porters, barley wines, high gravity beers in general typically do better when matured. I've once capped an imperial stout in my secondary for 6 months (this does not include my primary) and was arguably the best...

Technicals...

That is perfectly fine, just check and maintain your carb level; see if you didn't over or under shoot it. There is an actual technique called ice distilling, used to increase the alcohol of your beer at the expense of the volume. Worst comes to worse, you'll have an ice beer.

I'm afraid the damage is done, just have some Tylenol handy for those headaches from the hard alcohols produced. I'm curious how you added the ice to cool your fermentor, I would highly recommend you do NOT add ice into your fermentor. Dilution of your beer and possible infection problems can...

I don't see a problem in it. Just avoid and oils from getting in it, and clean with vinegar. Vinegar will not only clean your stainless steel but resurface it, plus the low pH will keep any beer stone build up in check.

This isn't crazy at all, in fact it is how they used to keg beers in the good old days. If you like the way beers turn out carbing this way I would suggest looking into a firkin keg, or some other variant of the hoff-Steven type kegs.

I would say you can take them out of the fridge, yeast LOVE to be warmed. The only problem I can foresee if that the yeast may have dropped out of the beer if they were in the fridge for too long, but I would say its worth a try. I would suggest taking it out of the fridge and bringing it up...

I wouldn't be worried about the temperature difference of the co2 and beer, I would focus solely on the beer. The colder the temperature the more readily your beer will absorb the co2. I think your fluctuations of temperature is your culprit. A 40-60 degrees is a BIG difference when it comes...

Agreed with above post, at this point in the game it is just a waiting game. I would check your carbonation at week 2, and stick them in the fridge when you are pleased with the results. You should have plenty of yeast in suspension to finish the job, stirring it at this point will just...