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Yeah, the thought crossed my mind, but I was trying to be positive. :) I had my LHBS put aside another vial if the stuff hits the fan, but I'll be hoping it gets at least close enough for the champagne yeast to finish it off. I was attributing (wishful thinking perhaps) that the mass quantity...

Given how well the fermentation is going, I think I'm going to skip the amalyse in the primary. I can always add a little toward the end of fermentation if it slows too much. I'm a little worried about killing the body given how well it's fermenting.

It's not the cheapest brew day, but it was tons of fun! So much more work the entire brew day, but so much more fun.

Fermentation has already slowed to a few bubbles a second as of the O2 shot this morning so I decided to take a gravity reading. It's already down to 1.040 after just a little over a day! Those yeasties are hungry! Doesn't hurt that I had a massive amount of yeast (about 1590 billion cells)...

So the brew day went well. Got a 72% efficiency. OG at 1.212 and bubbling away in primary. Added 4 minutes of O2 within the 1st hour (2 minutes at pitch, 2 minutes an hour later) and another 2 minute shot of O2 this morning. Bubbling pretty violently so I'm going to let it sit till this...

So update time. The starter beer is finished fermenting. I've pulled the yeast bed and washed it. Ended up with 1500ml of slurry which appears to be almost entirely yeast, very little trub and beer present. Yikes! Letting the starter beer sit for another day to clear a bit and see if any...

Hey guys, I could really use some help on this one...I'm killing myself going back and forth. So I brewed the starter batch and the flavor heading into the fermenter (always taste the hydro sample after testing) was good, but not great. I often taste the sample and say, 'wow this is going...

Hey guys, sorry for going quiet. Been busy getting everything together. I've got everything operating brilliantly and did a Spring brew (wishful thinking in New England) last weekend with a Black IPA and Smoked Kolsch to break in the new system. Worked great. Got my efficiency up from 68% to...

That's what I was thinking. Thanks!

I guess another question I have, if anyone can answer it, is around OG. If I reserve a gallon of the 1.206 OG wort and pitch the 1.060 gallon starter, then add back the gallon of 1.206 as ferm slows...how do I calculate the actual OG equivalent? Since it's essentially 3 gallons @ 1.206 and 1...

Make that three...sorry this is why you shouldn't forum at work. Ha! I've never had the pleasure of tasting Utopia. Got the smoked malt from a Paulthenurse and Yeager1977 recipe they made. Guessing it was to simulate some of the barrel aging process? But I could be wrong, I've never used...

Sorry to split this in two...would you split the same amount of sugars into smaller doses and make it 8 feedings instead of 4 or double it and make it 8? I planned on adding the maple as is in syrup form, but melting down the brown sugar with a little distilled water to make a syrup.

Whoops...typo, that's WLP099 Super High Gravity tolerates 25% ABV according to WhiteLabs.

Thanks, Brettomomyces. Actually in speaking with my brother, who has been lucky enough to actually taste the real thing, he advised against peat all together and likened the real Utopias to similar to cognac. He advised going regular smoked malt and aging with bourbon soaked oak instead of...

No one??

How far west, Oginme? I'm from Londonderry and spent the last few years in Nashua.

Nice! I didn't even know that was going on! I'm down in Rockport, MA area a lot so I go near/through Beverly often.

Alright guys, so here's the deal. I'm making a Utopias clone for my CEO at my company (no pressure). This will be my first big beer - I generally stay under 6% and 8% is my max previously - and I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right. I'd love to get any recommendations. While...

Yeah, I have one. When it comes to measuring it out I use the grams, but tablespoons are a better visual for most people in my experience...granted those people aren't homebrewers. ;)

Which is funny since brewing partly came out of requirement because the water was so gross you couldn't drink it, yet magically (after boiling) when it was made into beer it didn't make you sick anymore. ;) In any event, thanks. That is along my lines of thinking as well. I used the Brewer's...