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Do you conduct a double blind experiment every time you make a change in your process to make sure that it's worth doing?

Agreed! All I'm saying, maskednegator, is that as per the scientific process, a result is published, people attempt to duplicate the result, and explanation follows. Peer review and open-mindedness to new things, not blind adherence to a previous dogma, are what advance all the sciences -...

Actually, evidence is needed to both make and break claims, and evidence SO FAR points to oats improving the flavor of a porter or stout when added in bottles. Not to say it can't swing the other way at some point in the future. It's a funny thing, the scientific process...

Agreed on the fining thing - a good way to confirm this would be to add some bentonite to the secondary and taste-test the final beer against the oats. I found a procedure here.

A variety of hops is the best idea I've seen so far - they will get used, no matter if he already has some of that variety or not. I just bought the grab bag from Austin Homebrew for myself, comes with 8 kinds of hops and some cleaning/sanitizing stuff for 20-something bucks.

It's the way I always brew - I preheat the tun cooler with boiling water for about 15 minutes, heat my strike water to +15 degF target, add water to grain, then adjust accordingly. I usually hit within 2 degF of the target with the strike, so it only takes a little bit of hot or cold to get it...

I guess what I'm saying is that sure, you can calculate the thermal mass of you mash tun, but is it going to help you brew award-winning beer? No. Ingredients, creativity, and cleanliness have more impact than a number most of us don't even know anything about ever will. Thermal mass is...

I use a cube beverage cooler as my mash tun, and the way I run my mash is as follows: I start heating my strike water, aiming about 15-20 degrees higher than the target temp. While that's going, I quickly bring a gallon of water to a boil and throw it in the cooler, close the lid, and let it...

So I realize not many people have access to the necessary equipment to directly measure the color of a beer, but fortunately, I work in a research lab and have all this stuff sitting around, waiting to be used by curious brewers such as myself. For those that do have access to a UV/Vis...

Hi there - I'm new to the boards, but have been lurking for advice for a while. Excited to finally join the crew, and looking forward to brewing some great beer!

I attempted a Dogfish Theobroma-ish recipe, and bought some cacao beans from my LHBS. Didn't roast them, but cracked them with a rolling pin and dumped them in the boil at 10 minutes. Haven't tried the beer yet - it's still conditioning - but can't wait to give the finished product a taste.