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That outta do it! Is there an easy way to get it in and out without a hoist?

I agree with SnakeRidge. You can also look up some different recipes for Pumpkin Ale and do some comparisons to get you more in the ball park. Typcially the "steeping" grains are in much smaller quantities than the stuff you can mash like the Munich or Vienna, which are great substituitons for...

Do you have the equipment to make a starter? Then you could purchase one vial and use an online calculator to step it up to the size you would need. Lagers typically need a larger dose than ales and the benefit really makes it worth the effort.

For me Gordon's method just makes things easy. My water is higher in alkalinity anyway and instead of trying to adjust it with RO water based on the amounts of roasty or crystal malts I have I just reserve those to the last 15 minutes of the mash and treat ALL of my brewing water with acid down...

GREAT storage solution for folks who buy grain in bulk. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DJOOI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Definitely agree with the low fermentation temps to start with for the first few days and then let it rise up to finish. It also helps to make sure the wort is chilled down before adding the yeast. Usually takes me 3 to 4 hours with the probe taped to the side of the fermentor and then I'll...

It definitely wouldnt hurt anything to add another one if you have one handy. Im sure it would ferment out just fine though with one but that's a pretty big beer. I've heard it helps when you rehydrate it first but I've pitched dry and everything was fine. I've also had it take three days to...

DAMN SON! Block party anyone?

I would definitely take Yooper's advice over mine though, she's forgotten more about this stuff than I'll ever know. :)

I usually ferment it at 50F for about three weeks and then let it rise to 60-65F for a few days to finish and then take the temp down to 45, add gelatin to fine it then continue to crash it down to 33 degrees for a couple more days. Then I'll keg it and let it carb up for a week (still at 33...

looks like you fixed it! Just make sure the other end is inserted into water so it bubbles. What temp are you fermenting at? Might want to try to cool things down a little bit (search swamp cooler method if you dont have a fermentation chamber), especially during the first three days of...

also make sure your sparge water is low in pH, around 5.5 to avoid extracting tannins and stop sparging when the wort is about 1.010. It should also take you at least 45 mins and it's definitly a slow process so dont get in a hurry. Something I'm guilty of when I try to fly sparge. :(

If you don't have an aversion to using acid, have you thought about using lactic or phosphoric acid to bring all of your brewing water down to a pH of 5.5 and then start your mash from there? The dark grains will bring down the mash pH some if you mash everything together but I'm not sure...

If you're not moving accross the country or anything like that then I would keg it per your normal process, enjoy a few pints over the next four to six weeks, and just move it in one trip to the new house. If you're in a situation where it'll sit all day in the move then I'd keg it and drink...

Looks like a great recipe! I agree with fermenting a little lower too. Especially if you're really wanting more hop character over the esters that will be created when fermenting over 70 degrees.

Sub'd. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. Makes things so much easier.

hah! I second guess myself constantly too. Then I remember that it's more than likely not going to matter all that much. Like when you have a stomach ache and you go online and convince yourself that you have some weird stomach disease only sharks get... kinda like that.

I think you'll be fine to bottle normally, even after all that time there are still lots of yeasties in suspension that should be able to carb it up. If you'd like to though, I've heard of people using just a little bit of ale yeast at bottling time in their lagers.

For the fermentation question what you described is all you can do basically. Just keep an eye on it until final gravity is reached. What was the original gravity? If it was a big beer then it can take it a little more but most of the time they've finished fermenting within a week and are...

The smaller container will fluctuate in temps quicker than the larger container but I don't think it will cause you any issues. Especially if you're fairly steady with your temps anyway. I usually just tape the sensor to the outside of the fermentor and go from there.