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I have pitched directly onto a yeast cake for a Barley wine and it turned out great. Having said that, there is probably some risk involved. You could over pitch or have an infection and pass it to a second batch. You want to make sure you pitch onto similar styles of beer. English Mild to...

It is probably fine. Just bottle it and be careful when pouring the bottles into a glass to drink to keep the extra yeast at the bottom (of the bottle). After you bottle condition (2 to 3 weeks), I would store in a cold fridge for at least a week to get the yeast to drop out of suspension...

That sounds like a solid plan. You need to keep an eye on your gravity with the second sparge. Once you drop below a certain gravity you want stop because you will get off flavors.

Bottles bombs are more likely to just piss-off your wife and end your brewing than hurt someone. I had a friend who thought it was good idea to ferment in the same closet as his wife's wedding dress. You can guess what happened next.

I let BeerSmith calculate it for me, so I can account for water loss in the grain. Let me make sure I am following your question: You are making a 5-gallon batch. You are mashing-in with 2.5 gallons, draining and then sparging with 2.5 gallons? If so then you probably need to adjust a...

I almost exclusively batch sparge and I stir the sparge almost like I am doughing-in. I have been getting incredible efficiency lately. I am not sure exactly why, but I am getting into mid to high 80s. I recently added a false bottom that covers the entire bottom of my rectangular cooler. I...

Back to the point of the thread, just get your first all-grain under your belt. You will make a lot of mistakes, but your beer will likely turn out fine. Take good notes and come back to the forum for answers. Good luck!

I checked the gravity and it has dropped to 1.013 in spite of adding a pound of sugar. I guess it is proceeding nicely after all. I am letting it go for another 10-days for dry hopping. Thanks for the help...

I don't agree with this assessment of 5.2. I think most people misunderstand what it does and what to expect. 5.2 is not magic. If your water a ph of 10, I suspect that 5.2 is not going to fix that. If you have water in the normal range, 5.2 is much easier to use than adjusting water using ph...

I think you are probably correct that I am under pitching. I think I need to invest in a stir plate and prepare my starter sooner. Any other thoughts on how to correct the issue?

I am fermenting a double IPA with a starting gravity 1.078. I am using a second and third generation harvested Cal Ale yeast. I used a two liter starter with oxygen. I also oxygenated the wort. Typically, I ferment out after 5 days and let it sit for another week. This beer has fermented...

What you are saying is partly true. Labor in China is cheaper, but that is not necessarily the whole story. China has been dumping steel and aluminum products on the world market at below cost for a longtime. These are subsidized state interests with the goal of eliminating competition and...

Thanks for link. I am in the market for a kettle myself. I always prefer American made. It is so rare these days that I almost stopped looking.

I would recommend adding the sugar two to three days after fermentation has started. You want the yeast to get through the maltose before giving them the preferred sucrose. Just boil up a two cups of water and add the sugar. Boil it long enough to sterilize. Cool the water and sugar and add...

This is a great deal: http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2013/08/16-gallon-bayou-classic-kettle_29.html

1.005 is not crazy for the Nottingham yeast. It is highly attenuative.

You pay shipping and you can have it.

Seriously, I think the Bud/Clamato combo might be the worst. The Zero IBU IPA has to be a close runner up. It is an IPA with no hops in it. They tried to make it bitter by adding horse ass or dog urine or something. I could not drink a whole beer and it was $14 a six pack. I eventually used...

I have tried to research those to see if they work well. Here is the problem that I see (please let me know if I am wrong): the new bayou classic kettles have the lip/identions at the bottom of the kettle, the older one have the lip/indentation at the top. OLD New I am pretty sure...

It is highly unlikely you would ferment down that far even with a wild stain. I would guess something is wrong with your hydrometer. However, it may not be off much, the Nottingham strain (if I remember correctly) is highly attentive. For instance you could be at 1.006 and your hydrometer is...