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Interesting that you should point that out. I guess I should have said "all other things considered equal" to cover such things. As it happens, I happen to be one of those people that enjoys the process as well as the final product, so I do in fact check gravity as suggested with my...

Back to the OP process.... In the step where the mash is drained into the kettle, I assume all of the strike water is drained, then the sparge water is added? Does this not increase the chance for a "stuck sparge," considering that the grain bed will have settled onto the bottom of the MLT?

I see that strike water at a specified temp + grains=target mash temp, if you get it right. What effect does the temperature of the grain itself have on this equation? If I keep my grains in my basement where it's closer to 60 degrees, vs. in my kitchen where it's closer to 70, I would think...

So if I understand you correctly, the amount of water called for in your recipe results at the 6.5 gallon pre-boil wort, or did your ratios simply equal that result?

I'm going to make the move to AG with my next batch, but in considering my setup, something struck me. What is it, specifically, that makes AG better than extract? Aside from the process itself, I mean. Is there a tangible difference in the end product? My first batch (ever) was an...

I was just going to do a similar post. My question: Following the process outlined above, do most recipes result in a 5 gallon wort to boil? I've read other posts on here that suggest boiling down to that volume, but what does that do to the gravity?

Anyone have any thoughts on a recipe for Bell's Winter White? I'm going to start AG for the first time soon, and would love to brew up something like that.

True, but don't you wind up having to be super careful not to knock it apart when stirring the mash?

Been reading up on the move to AG, and I'm slowly buying equipment that I'm going to need. I'm planning on a rectangular cooler with a copper manifold. This raises two questions: How big do the slots need to be in the tubing? Should I leave the pieces just press fit together, or solder...

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. I'm off to the hardware store. I really don't feel like cleaning beer off the ceiling if the lid decides to head off with it's own agenda.

Need some quick advice: Got a batch into the primary last night, (second one ever, extract) and it's bubbling through the airlock pretty vigorously. It's to the point where some of the starsan solution is coming through the holes in the cap on the airlock. My primary is a food-grade...

Ok, it's in the fermenter. Went really smooth, and hit my predicted OG at the top end of the range. One thing about straining the wort though...I think my strainer may be a little too fine, as it quickly clogged up with hops, so I had to get my stainless spoon out of my bucket of starsan...

Cool, thanks for the quick responses! Another couple questions: My first batch, I seemed to miss my OG by a bit. My recipe calls for a 2.5 gallon boil, to which I add enough water to equal 5 gallons once it's in the primary. I would think that one could add water in increments until the...

Got everything laid out to make my second extract batch (yeah I know, all grain is better, etc etc, that's for batch #3), and I have a question that I just realized I don't have an answer to. I'm going to be adding 2oz of bittering hops during the boil, and I'm just hurling them into the wort...

1.021, according to brew-calc. That's close enough :D

I'm about to start a Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout clone from the Clonebrews book. The recipe calls for Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale yeast. My local supplier doesn't carry this (of course) product, but I do have a packet of Safale S-04. Is that a viable substitute? Is one packet enough? If anyone...

Thanks everyone for weighing in on this topic. I wasn't expecting such a contentious debate, but I learned a lot from everyone's viewpoint. Part of the reason that I asked this question is that this will in fact be my first batch of home brew, so my concerns about the time it takes to...

I'm about to brew my first batch! In the meantime, I'm trying to get everything ready to roll. One of the things I of course need to do is sanitize my bottles. Here's my question....is it possible to sanitize the bottles ahead of time, and then store them so that you can be sure you don't...