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Would it have been better to add the K-sorbate and sugar in solution, stir gently, then bottle?

The story begins last October. SWMBO and I purchased 100 lb Eastern WA riesling. Everything went well until conditioning/back sweetening about 2 weeks ago. Before conditioning/back sweetening, The wine was cold conditioning/clarifying. It tasted clean and fruity but too sour to leave dry (?low...

Yes. Artificially high. Damn cold medicine.

I don't think dissolved CO2 significantly decreases SG. However CO2 bubbles clinging to the hydrometer bulb definitely increase its buoyancy causing artifactually low SG readings. For this reason I degas my samples before hydrometer readings.

True but...CO2 remains in solution for a while once production ceases. This is true even in a vessel at atmospheric pressure. So CO2 bubble formation can mean either there is an active fermentation or that there was an active fermentation.

I used Fermcap a few times until learning it is not recommended for non-filtered beers. http://hbd.org/discus/messages/50162/50540.html?1304008514

+1 to this. At the apex of the siphon tubing pressure is below ambient, facilitating CO2 bubble formation.

That's odd. Hot break typically subsides within 5 min. I'll be interested to hear the experience of others.

Count me in as a cycling fan. Great story.

You may test this by adding some sodium bicarbonate solution.

My WAG, a pH dependent change in a chromophore, a la phenolphthalein.

Hmmmm. Tough one. I think you're going to get a lot of folks telling you to buy a hydrometer. I think if you have a vigorous fermentation initially, though, and bottle at 3 weeks with minimal residual krausen, you'll be a-ok.

I suggest finding an experienced taster to evaluate the off flavor. Enter a homebrew contest perhaps? Hopefully this will narrow the cause of the off flavor to a more manageable list.

I'd use corn sugar (or table sugar). I think honey would be ok too. And I think adding a little more pilsner extract would hurt either. So go forth and make beer :D

What hogarthe said. I'm a keg/force carb guy I use carb drops when I want to bottle a small portion of my batch at the time of kegging.

In addition to what others have said re:sanitation and temp control, I suggest a dark environment for fermentation (or cover the fermenter with a towel) to prevent skunking of hops.

Does anyone perform a mash out? At the end of the mash, I've been adding a volume of boiling water to increase the temp to 168 prior to vorlauf. Takes extra time and mare importantly for big beers or 10 gal batches, more volume (48qt MLT here). Seems superfluous as the sparge water addition...

Who is this ZOMG you are writing to? :) Glad you are showing girly girls the way to craft brews. Good luck with the AG. Whatcha making?

You talking about filling bottles from a keg? If so, turn the pressure down to2-3 psi and fill the growler with a 12inch piece of tubing inserted into the picnic tap. Fill the growler until beer (not foam) reaches the top of the growler, then cap. Carbonation drops will not work for this...

Post your mash conditions, hop schedule, ferment conditions including yeast, and OG/FG