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You're absolutely right! I was thinking mesh, not microns.

Perfect! Could be a pale ale or a triple IPA!

It's just the opposite. The higher the number, the tighter the openings. I use a 4" hop cylinder that hangs over the rim of my BK when I'm using more than a few ounces of hops. I always put my brew spoon in the BK with my IC chiller near the end of the boil to sterilize so I can stir the wort...

I dry mine on an old window screen in my attic for a few days. Then ziploc, or better yet, vacuum seal and put in the freezer. No way to tell IBU without lab testing. Best to use them for late hops, hop stand or dry hops.

We have a planter of basil growing on our back porch and a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that something was munching on it. A friend was over and said it looked like slugs to her. She said to just put a cup of beer near the planter and the slugs would go for that instead and drown in it. She...

You might also try Mangrove Jack M47 Belgian Abbey Yeast or their M41 Belgian Ale Yeast. I had very good results for my recent tripel with their M31 Belgian Tripel. I think the M47 is supposed to be comparable with WLP530.

^+ I regularly do a hop stand at 175F for 30-45 min. Works great. A good dry hop for aroma also helps.

Your temps and process sound fine. Cold crashing shouldn't be an issue. I do it all the time without a problem. It sounds like the flip tops may not be sealing well. If you have crimp caps, try repriming a couple of bottles and capping with them. Store in the low 70s and give it a week or two to...

Brett? Is this a sour APA? Not a big fan of brett IPAs. Haven't tried a brett APA. It seems the fruitiness and general brett flavor will overpower the hops in an APA. I don't brew bretts so I may be totally off base.

^ This. Wal-Mart RO dispenser using reusable water cooler jugs. You can buy A LOT of RO water for less than the price (installation and maintenance) of a home RO system.

Repeating what Max said, the 4-5 oz is weight, not 4-5 oz in a measuring cup. A digital scale is a handy addition to your equipment. They are cheap ($10-20) and most will do metric and imperial. Handy for priming, hops and anything else you need to weigh for brewing. As for calculating the...

What you are describing is also called a hop stand. I do them on all my IPAs. I run my chiller until the temp hits 175F and then stop. Add hops and cover tightly for 30-45 min. Then continue cooling to pitching temp. The benefit is that below 175F hop flavor and aroma are extracted without...

I have perpetual fruit fly issues. I've lost a few brews over the years to aceto infections. Now I set up fruit fly traps for a few days before brewing and before bottling. I use the smallest canning jars (~4 oz), fill half way with apple cider vinegar, remove the canning lid, stretch plastic...

I would say to get a fermenter that is 1 to 2 gallons bigger than whatever size brew you plan to do the most. I brew 5+/- gal batches so I have a 6.5 gal fermenter. In also have a 5 gal fermenter for lagering and a 3 gal for experimental brews so I don't get stuck with 5 gal of something I may...

I'll endorse the previous comments and add a few of my own. You may want to use a cherry smoked malt instead of peat for more of a traditional smoked flavor than the mustiness that peat gives. Also, if you want a truly smoked flavor, you'll need more smoked malt. I did a smoked stout with 10%...

It was definitely mashed too warm but another possible issue may be the grains. The only grain with any diastatic power was the dark Munich and it may not have had enough diastatic power to convert all the grains.

If the yeast was older, it can take a few more hours to kick in. I've had some ferment in just a few hours and the only evidence is that it takes on a creamy yellow color. Either way, 18-24 hours should do it. The only starter I ever had that took longer was one I started from Ommegang harvested...

I brew a NZ summer wheat ale that calls for Rawaka hops. I couldn't find anyone in the US that distributed so I ordered them from a NZ supplier. As far as I can tell, that's the only way to get them. They are definitely unique but not inexpensive when you factor in the shipping.

Correct, you do not have to allow the beer to warm up before bottling. However, for the "temperature" entry when calculating priming sugar use the highest temperature the beer achieved once fermentation was complete, NOT the current cold temp. I won't go into the details but it has to do with...

A Camden tablet will help with chloramines but you still need to know what else is in your local water. Water chemistry is a big (and important) topic. What is the pH? What is the alkilinity? What are the levels of calcium, sulfates, sodium, etc? The answers to those questions can have a big...