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+1. Also, watch for a krausen as opposed to activity in the airlock. I've pitched big starters that take 24 hours to start, while other times less than 2 hours.

Yeah, I've never had a disaster, but it gets a bit fizzy. I break the seal while letting the White labs warm to room temp, then pour 1/2 into my starter, re-cap it, shake the living piss out of it. It seems like the last bit of yesty goodness never wants to get out. Even with only half the...

Are you doing a partial boil? I've heard of people boiling water for 10 minutes to sterilize, then freezing it. Then they add the whole ice block. It cools the wort and adds top-off water for you. Note: I've never attempted this strategy, but it seems reasonable.

You could try rousing the yeast (rocking the bucket) and moving it to a warmer location (upstairs closet). That might help it get a few more points.

Nope. But I can say I've read about more controllers failing off (so stuff warms up) then failing and freezing things. I've also accidentally frozen bottled homebrew with no ill-effect (bombs). YMMV

Dubbels are meant to age for several months, so you should be fine.

Table sugar is fine. Make sure you stay away from the fake stuff (splenda) as it doesn't ferment. Here's a calculator that gives you quantities for using table sugar and corn sugar. Table sugar is actually a bit more reactive, so you use less. http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

I generally keep my brews in primary for at least 2 weeks, but usually 3. While you mostly likely can bottle now because fermentation has finished (3 consecutive days of gravity readings), the additional time allows the yeast to clean up and for flavors to "meld". I can't cite any data, but I've...

I love my 525SS. I can go a week without cracking the tap and not have any stickiness or clogging. I also like the non-reactivity of stainless stell. Check the vendor section for other suppliers. I find Amazon isn't the greatest with specialized brewing supplies.

There are a lot of threads similar to this on the site. Most tend to say that you don't need to add more yeast, but the bottle carbing will take longer than the 3 weeks commonly cited for ales. With that being said, I've only done one lager, a bock which was lagered for 2 months. I added...

The vendor section has a lot of different places to buy kegging gear. I went with Birdman Brewing for my setup. I felt like they had a good price for Perlick 525SS, which I wanted as opposed to rear-sealing faucets.

Leave it at room temp. Conditioning slows down with the cold, so one week at room temp may equal two or more at fridge temp.

Are you refrigerating it for 3-5 days before pouring? The cold will force the CO2 into the beer and cause less of it to burst out like that.

I went with a rectangular cooler because I had one laying around, so the price was right. I then built a manifold out of cpvc pipe. It works well and has a 13 gallon capacity, which is nice. When I priced things out it seemed like rectangular coolers are cheaper than round water coolers, so...

Yeast starter - cold temperatures can affect yeast. Normally it would put them to sleep/slow down reproduction. Since it took two days to warm them up, there's the possibility that your starter wasn't as big as you planned when you pitched. Since you saw some action, this is probably not a huge...

I don't think carboys are rated for pressure (at least at the level needed to carb boy). I wouldn't attempt this. If you want to have a larger container, get yourself a corny keg. They are rated for pressure, can be naturally carbonated using corn sugar, and can be made portable. The DIY...

I racked a wheat onto 60oz of cranberries. It turned out great - a little red with a bit of a sour bite from the cranberries.

I'm glad this one was better. Maybe just some contaminant in that one bottle.

Curious. Have you tried more beers from the fridge and they all lack head? Could it be a pouring issue? (i.e. the first beer was poured kind of rough and the next one gently down the side of the glass?) I found a post from Yooper back in 2011 with a few other suggestions: 1. If you use...

Was the 24 hour beer flat or lacked head? You mention both in your post and there is a difference. Glassware plays a big part in head retention. Certain dishwasher soaps can eliminate head. So if there was still carbonation but no head, glassware could be the culprit. If it's no carbonation -...