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Awesome, thanks for sharing. That setup looks pretty straightforward, and the cost of the thermometer/probe isn't too bad. I'm definitely going to keep that in mind.

Catt, would you mind offering some more details on your exact thermowell/thermocouple/probe setup? I'll also have to look into RIMS, I've not heard of that yet (but I'm still new!). I did think about excessive stirring causing heat loss itself. Just like stirring soup cools it off, I...

I'll try to stir more thoroughly. I've never timed it, but I'd say I stir for at least 2 minutes after dough in. Basically until any little dough balls are gone, and it's got a uniform consistency. The funny thing is that stirring it is what seems to make the readings less stable. Right...

So I had a thermapen before I decided to take up brewing. As you all know, it's an awesome thermometer which gives quick and accurate readings. Naturally it is my go to for mash temperature readings, but I've been having a lot of trouble using it for this, so I wanted to get some other takes...

I never really paid it much attention, but it has always seemed to me that the selection for ABV under 7% or so is somewhat limited in comparison, but maybe it just seems that way to me due to the styles I like most. Either way, I guess they should offer one or two low ABV offerings, but in...

Wow, so maybe it wasn't what improved efficiency? It just made sense to me that it would help, but I guess not after all? So you toss the grains with at least a few pints worth of wort still in there? I brewed today, and draining the way I described between first runnings and sparge, it was...

Great tip!

I'm not an expert, but the first thing that comes to mind is fire hazard? The bulbs that would work to create some heat I wouldn't want touching anything flammable, ie cardboard, if I could help it, but that's just me. Maybe overly cautious.

I think the biggest lesson here is not to use your infrared thermometer to check water temp like that. They are great tools, for sure, but not great for that purpose IMO. Use your "real" thermometer the whole time, next time!

Thanks for all the responses! I had a suspicion it was the yeast that was playing the biggest role. So I guess when I taste a belgian beer I can say the taste is dominated by the yeast, and tastes "yeasty" (granted it's a special belgian yeast), in the same way I would say an IPA is...

This might be a silly question, but I'm trying to pinpoint what makes belgian beers taste belgian-y. Lately I've been trying a lot of them, and find them to be quite delicious, but very different from any non-belgian style I've tried, and from the strong ales to tripels to quads, they all have...

I don't have room for a hoist in my kitchen :p

Oh ok, I see what you mean. That's an interesting idea for sparging. That differs a little from what I was mentioning here, because it still does not decrease your observed absorption rate, which is essentially what I'm doing by draining it longer and more effectively.

I have a quick related question here. I've been doing BIAB AG, but my boiloff rate is high at 2 to 2.25 gal per hour. I'm trying to do full boils for 5 gallon batches, but I'm using an 8 gallon pot, which means I can only boil 7.25 gal tops. I wind up having to top off, which works from a...

Do you have a false bottom or something? Otherwise it wouldn't drain from bag to bucket? I'm trying to picture how you are using it, would you mind giving a few more details?

It's definitely a less than optimal response. The response from Rogue to snowveil is IMO awesome, but above and beyond. The response from Stone leaves wanting. Somewhere in the middle would be great. The response is from the head brewer, though, not from some PR guy. If you had received a...

Are you saying you don't "get" why people read and write reviews of businesses?

Ah, are you talking strictly about the grain smell? That is a nice smell, I don't think my wife minds that. It's once you get that wort to a rolling boil, when it starts smelling like a brewery, that really gets to her. Which one are you talking about there? The smell of the dry grains...

I only have 3 brews under my belt so far, but using DeathBrewer's stovetop all grain brewing method using the bag, brew day has gone very smoothly (thanks DB!). I still do sparging as his does by heating the sparge water in a second pot and after draining the first runnings, I dunk the...

I'm in a similar boat. I can clearly pick out hops, and starting to be able to even pick out different varieties just a tad (ones I've used), and I can taste malt when it tastes like I expect, but I have trouble placing other flavors (except spices and fruits). Like a good belgian beer, say...