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Don't worry about secondary. It's really not necessary unless you need your fermenter for another brew. Otherwise, just leave it in primary until you get stable FG for 3 days. Then you're good to bottle/keg.

I usually split them, cut them into 1 inch lengths and just cover them with vodka in a small jar (or vial). I give them 2-4 days to soak and then pour the whole mess into the fermenter for a few days before bottling. Splitting them open exposes the seeds inside where all the flavor is. The...

Do a search and you'll find information on creating a tincture by splitting the beans and soaking them in a couple of ounces of alcohol (usually vodka or bourbon) for a few days. The alcohol extracts more flavor and you then dump the whole thing into the fermenter or even the bottling bucket...

^See Post #8. Keep everything covered during bottling to keep fruit flies out.

My buddy ran into a similar situation snowed in a couple of years ago. He had all the grains, yeast and hops but only had lousy well water and no RO system. So he brewed with 9 gal of snowmelt water and called it Blizzard Brew. Came out great!

^ What he said. Yeah, both your water sources are bad for brewing. The good news is you can probably find a big box store (Walmart, etc) where you can get RO refills for cheap. I get mine for $.37/gal. Takes the guess work out and you start with a clean slate.

What was your process. Astringency/tannins can be the result of sparging issues. Sparging too much at high temp and/or pH can extract tannins.

The yeast companies will tell you it's fine to start in the 60's and then drop to 50-ish within 24 hours. Starting high sort of kick starts the fermentation without creating off flavors as long as you get the temp down soon. I personally cool my wort down to the 50's and pitch then. Either way...

The difference between steeping grains in an "extract with specialty grains" recipe is that the steeping extracts some color and flavor from the grains (usually Crystal and other dark grains). It does not, however, extract fermentable sugars. When doing a true mash you need to have base grains...

+1^ As RM-MN said, the Munich will convert itself and the other grains but you might want to bump it up to 2 lbs to be sure it will convert everything. You can mash (steep) it at 152F for 45 min in 6 qts or so and you'll have a true mini-mash. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

While most of my brews kick off in less than 24 hours, my personal record is 84 hours before signs of fermentation. All those posts that say wait 72 hours before worrying are legit. That said, if you want to throw a pack of US-05 on it, it won't hurt it.

I've used yeast that crashed for a month in the fridge. As long as your cell count was a little higher than necessary (to allow for some mortality) you're good to go. On brew day you might want to decant 80% and throw it in a stir plate while you brew. It will bring the temp up and wake it up a bit.

+1^ Definitely take the spigot apart and clean. You might even want to replace it to be safe. This is a common breeding ground for bugs. And disassemble and clean you bottling wand, too. Also, if every bottle in a batch is infected, it's most likely not a bottle-specific issue. It's a fermenter...

I put my BK in my kitchen sink (you could use a big tub) and fill the with water in which I put frozen 1 gal milk jugs and loose ice. I spliced an old Rule 12V bilge pump to an AC adapter. I submerge the pump in the water and circulate the ice water through the IC and back into the sink. As the...

+1^ 1010 is my go to yeast for my summer wheat brews. If you do a starter with it, be prepared. It tends to go a little bonkers.

Every batch and every yeast is different. Even the same yeast with different brews will be different. Five days with active fermentation is not unusual. It's a good thing. Enjoy!

+1^ As Yooper said, the lactose will bump your FG up considerably. Not sure about Brewers Friend but in BeerSmith you need to be sure to check the box for "Not Fermentable" in the Edit Grain Details window for lactose. Otherwise, it will calculate your FG as if the lactose were regular sugar.

If your most current reading is accurate and you can't get any extract, your best bet is to boil it down until you reach an acceptable gravity. You will have less than 5 gal but at least it will be real beer. There's no law that says you have to have a 5 gal brew. If you can get more extract and...

Next time you can either leave it in the fermenter until the yeast (and anything else) settles out or cold crash before kegging to force it to settle out faster.

It's very convenient if I decide my beer needs a little curry mid-brew :mug: