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Dumb question alert: How do you figure ABV on a finished beer without a hydrometer or refractometer? I'm not saying one is necessary to brew. And I can see that recipe calculators would give an estimate but how does the OP know the alcohol is low? No buzz?

Slithery: I agree with the comments above but for temp control during the mash I've made a Reflectix coozie for my brew kettle that covers the sides and top. I then slide an old sleeping bag over the whole thing. If it's breezy outside when I'm brewing (HA! I live in Oklahoma) I will cover all...

Pardon the interruption Revvy but in that calculator it wants the temperature of the beer. I've seen this discussed and I'm never sure if it's the warmest the beer has been during fermentation or the present temp of the beer (cold crashed) or what temperature the beer spent the most time during...

Thanks I really think this is the case because I have no doubt about active fermentation occurring. It's just when I messed up the grains I figured it might have an effect too.

Well water, fairly hard. I have not had problems with head retention. I do think this is a recipe issue. I put WAAAAY to much naked oats, like twice what I had planned, like 35% of the grain bill. 50% Maris and 15% flaked wheat

Nope

No Fermcap I start fermentations in the low 60's and move slowly up as fermentation progresses. This seems to keep my krausen to an inch or so and allows me to fill the fermenter a little higher. Depending on the style I usually move into the low 70's, saison's maybe higher.

active fermentation in the airlock at expected time but zero krausen and active fermentation is slowing after 5 days. Small batch (3 gallon) with Maris Otter, Golden Naked Oats and flaked wheat. Could lack of krausen be a function of the yeast? It's a wheat beer yeast from Southyeast...

Yes. That's a Yes on my set up brewing BIAB outdoors where the boil off rate may be different than indoors and it may be different than your setup. I really don't know. I only brew one gallon batches indoors. Everything else is outdoors. I've been happily married for 40 years and brewing...

For me the potential downside of a full volume 5 gallon batch would far outweigh any benefit for indoor stove top brewing. Things could go from inconvenient (broken glass top) to dangerous ( lifting kettle of hot wort). Half batch is still a case of beer and plenty to start with. Plus...

AleRunner: any sanitizing of beans? I would think not. I'm a home coffee roaster so I may just roast a batch and put in a sanitized container for a day or two then add to fermenter.

According to Brulosophy experiments your beer shouldn't suffer but a lot of trub can affect other parts of your brewing as Morrey mentioned. I can't see that it hurts the final product if you are good at racking beer to your bottling bucket or keg...

Great Thanks

I just installed a pickup tube on my brew kettle. I have just been using gravity to move wort to carboy with a hose on the ball valve. When transferring wort I have the carboy on the floor well below the kettle on a work table. A 2 1/2' hose extends from the ball valve down to the carboy...

I just installed a Spike Brewing dip tube in my Polar Ware kettle. A fitting is hand screwed into the kettle and the tube itself simply pushes in/ pulls out. No tools.

I'll refer that question to chickypad. After checking on availability at local brew shop. 5.5# pale malt maybe maris o 1# Munich 8oz Special B 4oz Roasted barley 4oz Black barley (per Yooper's stout recipe) 6oz chocolate malt Southyeast New Abbey Ale yeast and Undecided on some flaked...

Is Special B considered a "dark malt"?

This is grain bill for a 2.5 gal batch 5.5 lb pale malt (69%) 1 lb Munich (12.5%) 8 oz chocolate malt (6%) 8 oz black malt (6%) 4 oz Special B (3%) 4 oz roasted barley (3%) I'm using New Abbey Ale yeast from Southyeast Labs I've been brewing for over three years and I'm a recipe simpleton...

Thanks for the link Chocolate malt yes Black malt yes

I'm working up a stout recipe and I'm unsure about how much roasted barley to use. Is 5% too low? 10% too high? I've never used it and from reading descriptions it sounds like it needs a warning label. Thanks