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1) Longer boil will, of course reduce the wort due to boil off, and if not expected could slightly affect your OG. Also the longer boil will carmelize the sugars a bit more, so you may have a slightly richer flavor and the color may be just a bit darker. 2) Getting the grain bed above 170 can...

Or you can just adjust your water to 5.2 and make life easy: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=1692&osCsid=eef0257ce3c92d9916c9b3970c2d2277

If you are worried about it, buy some RO water from the Grocery Store. Or buy some 5.2 from your LHBS http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=1692&osCsid=9713f82fce6625aefd6a805cc1a6aee0

Also - you will need 12-24 hrs for your Starter to 'start'. So be sure to plan your brew day accordingly. Read the Mr. Malty article - he has great step by step instructions.

I know this is the source of much debate. But while having a few homebrews last night, I read through the epic "Brewing Classic Styles" by John and Jamil. In the book, they suggest fermenting for 2-4 weeks and then moving straight to the keg. While I have always racked to a secondary to...

To me it tastes like a Belgian Golden Ale/IPA. Very roasty.

Real Ale XIV Anniversary. Sampled this last night. Wow. Anyone try to formulate a clone yet?

I've been reading a lot about pitching Yeast Starters, calculating yeast pitching rates etc. Sounds like a great idea for a high gravity beer, or larger than a 6gal batch. However, I typically brew a standard 5gal batch and pitch White Labs vials. Would I see much benefit from making a...

I was caught in a massive rain storm during the final throwes of brewing a few months ago. Rain poured into my IC and primary. Beer was great.

And remember, AHB will mill your grains for free.

+1 on the lemon zest. I used about .5oz of lemon zest and .5oz of orange zest during the last 10 of boil on my latest Hefe and it turned our great. Make sure when you are grating the fresh lemon to only get the yellow part of the skin, the white part is very bitter.

With warmer temps in the summer, my ales ferment a bit faster. Plus, the OG of your hefe is likely not that high so the yeasties wont eat as long. My guess is, if you had a good bubble going - you are good!

BrewNoob - I too brew in Austin, TX. Regarding the length of time it takes to chill the wort, brewing in Austin in the summer is hot. Getting the wort down below 80 is particurally hard - the air temps are high, and the city water just isn't that cold. I use a pre chiller - basically...

There is a 'lid vent' molded in on the side, I believe. Additionally, before and after the sparge, I hit the lid with a little star san solution. Plus, the only thing that comes in contact with the lid is 185deg sparge water. Mold don't like that.

You will likely need close to 6.5-7g gals of pre-boil wort if you are doing a 90m full boil.

I target 10-12mins per Gallon

There is actually no insulation in the lid - just two layers of plastic.

This is true. But I find that the flow rate is actually pretty steady throughout the entire process. I do ten to crack open the ball value to 1/8" or so during the last 20mins of the sparge. If you are fly sparging, you should have the grain bed wet the entire time, so the gravity feed is...

I posted the new method I developed for a Fly Sparge rig. It is working very well. I'd appreciate any feedback. http://shoalcreekbrewing.blogspot.com/2010/06/fly-sparging-new-invention.html

I posted the new method I developed for a Fly Sparge rig. It is working very well. I'd appreciate any feedback. http://shoalcreekbrewing.blogspot.com/2010/06/fly-sparging-new-invention.html