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I always do a starter unless I use dry yeast. I feel like it is insurance that the yeast is active and healthy. For a big beer, you should either do a starter or pitch multiple smack packs or vials of yeast to get a proper pitch rate.

There is no shame in going back to extract. I had a string of really good beers when I went all-grain, but then I had 6 crappy beers in a row. I wanted to quit the hobby. I found that brewing the same recipes multiple times helped. You should brew an extract batch and then brew it with steeping...

There is no reason to use a secondary unless you are making a beer like a barley wine that will spend months in the fermenter. You only risk infection by doing the transfer. You also slow the yeast cleaning up by products to finish the beer by reducing the yeast population. Sent from my HTC...

The dry yeast today is pretty darn good. Just make sure to rehydrate the yeast. Pitching dry yeast directly into wort kills a lot of yeast according to the Yeast book by Chris White. Sent from my HTC One using Home Brew mobile app

Professional brewers don't do starters when they use dry yeast. I doubt doing a starter will hurt anything, but the yeast counts in dry yeast are very high. The starter will probably not increase the number of cells, but it will get the yeast active. Breweries do starters because they are...

You don't need a starter with dry yeast. The pitch rate is pretty high as long as you are rehydrating your yeast. You don't need another packet for 5 to 6 gallons.

You want to start with a lower gravity. This video from Whitelabs is helpful. I usually make my starter 24-hours in advance. That means the starter is usually at high kruesen when I pitch. Some people like to ferment out completely and cold crash. They pour off the most of the liquid...

I am kegging an all pilsner American Amber today. I am interested to see how it turned out. I only did it because I had a sack of pilsner and no 2-row. It is pretty heavily hopped and dry hopped.

I have a thermometer on my pump and on my mash tun. There is always a couple of degrees of difference. The pump is always higher because the wort is coming from the bottom of a direct fired kettle. I use the average for mash temps. I also like having the thermometer on the pump when I recirc...

Here are some pics. The probe is in the middle of the flow as it is pumped through. I am planning on replacing all of the bronze with stainless in the future. Let me know if you need more info.

I added a Blichmann thermometer to my pump to monitor the temp as I recirc. You definitely want to recirculate while you are raising the temp. If you don't recirc. you will get uneven temps in your mash and scorching.

I have had that happen. A local brewery had an IPA with a strong bandaid smell and I have been to a few bars with either dirty lines or bad carbonation. If they aren't doing a good job cleaning their lines, it could definitely happen.

It is probably done, but give it another week. The yeast will clean up byproducts produced early in fermentation. I like to swirl the fermenter everyday once the krausen has fallen. It helps to keep the yeast in suspension. You may find that it drops the gravity a few more points during the...

I have the same kettle. I installed a 12" false bottom with silicone tubing over to my ball valve. I use it keep out whole hop trub. It works well. I can send pictures if you want.

I disagree that it does not matter. All things being equal (same pitch, same gravity, same temp) adding to the fermenter will attenuate better than adding to the kettle. That is not to say you can't get the attention by compensating through other means of your process. I have done a side by...

I add my sugar additions to the fermenter. I think you get better attenuation. You will still get good attenuation without it, but for most Belgium beer styles you want a really dry beer. The yeast need to go through their growth phase before consuming a lot of sucrose. The yeast produce an...

Here is my recipe, but it saison III not II. http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/218151/saison-citra I don't to discount anyone else's advice, but I would brew a batch without spices first. I find the yeast adds plenty of spice notes. Sent from my HTC One using Home Brew mobile app

I use the WLP Saison III and usually ferment for the first two days at 65 degrees and then slowly ramp up. I add about 1-pound of sugar, but I wait until the third day of fermentation (boil it for 15-mins and cool it) before adding to the fermentor. The other recommendations is to keep your...

I agree completely. You can make great beer with extract and some steeping grains.

I built my collar to be about 4-inches below the keggerator. I used weather stripping but did not mount it. It works very well. Sent from my HTC One using Home Brew mobile app