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I have never had mold issues by making sure I had a starting acidity and good culture. And other than hot water and a scrub, I've never needed to sanitize or use PBW/oxyclean. YMMV

Yes, you can and should be using some of the Kombucha tea each time you make a new batch. If you do not have any, you could use a small amount of vinegar. And you can use store bought Kombucha to start a batch, just be sure you buy "raw" or "plain". Just nothing with extra ingredients.

Mold is everywhere. It grows because the ferment is not yet acidic enough to prevent the mold from growing. If you have a SCOBY and some Kombucha that you saved from the last brew, make sure you add some Kombucha liquid to your new brew along with the SCOBY. This will help acidity the liquid and...

Surprised nobody has mentioned books. Pick up a papazian or Palmer or some other books. They're great quick references on brew day, and you can't really ever read too much.

I've heard (possibly incorrectly) that Drake's started to Burtonize their water for the IPA. So if you're comparing your beer with theirs and it tastes sweeter comparatively, water could be the issue.

The big thing here is that is that it might not be diacetyl. Lots of things we add to beer taste buttery or butterscotchy (some caramel malts, barrel toast, some hops (I'm looking at you, poorly used Mosaic) so it it might not be diacetyl. Try blending your original version with the version...

It's all relative in this case. But to calculate the OG, all you need to take in to consideration is the total volume of water and the total extract added. And possibly yes, your original 3/5 added is the same as your last 2/5 if added to the same ratio of water. How much extract and water...

You don't have to use glass though that's probably the best medium. High-fired ceramic crocks can be used, and probably stainless can be safely used as well. Definitely steer clear of aluminum, and I would not suggest using plastic even if it says "BPA-free", but I would say I'm more concerned...

would steer away from iBrewmaster2 for this. Maybe I'm lazy, or just an idiot, but I struggle to get all my needs from the BIAB part of this. I use it for almost everything else I do with BIAB brews, but have never been able to get the mash part to work. ymmv.

There's a million ways to take an all grain recipe and covert to extract/steeping grains. If you're looking for recipes, a quick google search pulls some up, I'm sure this forum has plenty as well. Or a book like "Brewing Classic Styles" by Palmer/Zainashef gives recipes for extract/steeping for...

Glad you're being clean with Kombucha. However it is fairly overkill for making Kombucha and other wild fermentations. The acid of the ferment is going to prevent anything really nasty from growing, and because you're already introducing Lacto bacteria and probably acetobacter, you don't really...

how long did you ferment before bottling/kegging? Yeast isn't really going to get a chance to clean up acetyldehyde if you rack it off the yeast, and then cold crash it. so it's not gonna dissipate anytime soon, afaik.

OP: SCOBYs don't really follow too many rules, so you might get a bunch of babies the first time and none the next. They fall off when they fall off. I've ripped apart inch thick ones into layers and everything was fine. And as for getting a new SCOBY from GTs, like the previous poster...

AFAIK it primarily has to do with bittering, and the way Alpha Acids isomerize, but it wouldn't surprise me if other aspects of flavor and aroma were compromised as well. I'm no scientist, unfortunately.

Also hop utilization is better when the gravity isn't so high. If you added all the malt extract with a partial boil, the gravity would be super high before watering back.

what was the temp when you pitched lacto? How much did you pitch? what's the berliner weisse yeast strain contain? (Brett, clean ale yeast, etc?) What does "german ale extract" consist of? (Wheat/pale malt?) Are there any signs of fermentation at all? (bubbles, gravity change, etc) Is there an...

are you brewing a berliner or a Gose? Also, a more detailed timeline of your brewing process/ingredients would help answer questions. I'd be greatly speculating otherwise.

unionrdr pretty much nailed it. Make sure that beer is done fermenting! couple follow up comments--> 1. Do you mean "belgian strong golden ale" or like an american blonde? BSGA typically have higher carbonation, and a blonde would likely be in that 5oz/5gallon ballpark. But it's your choice...

You're going to have a slight acetic (vinegar) flavor, and a slight lactic (pickled) flavor, as well as some sweetness and mild tea flavor. When I use jasmine tea, the remaining flavor is VERY apparent. Whereas it's milder when I use a black tea. Depending on how long it is fermented, the acidic...

This is definitely just my educated guess, but I can't see any reason the caffeine would ferment out, so I would think it is likely near the same as when it went in. You can use green tea, or a decaffeinated black tea, but I would recommend using an organic one if you can. I've had some pretty...