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This is the information I can get online from my local water company: Water Quality Parameters (12/15/14) pH (in pH units) = 7.81 Total Alkalinity (CaCO3) = 171 ppm Total Hardness (CaCO3) = 198 ppm (13 grains per gallon) Total Dissolved Solids = 322 ppm Calcium = 58.0 ppm...

I know I'm brewing hotter than I should. I have a kegerator and can use it as a temperature controlled fermenter, but it was tied up cold crashing a hefeweizen. Before that I brewed everything in my apartment, at ambient, which is usually around 75-80 ˚F. I've noticed many of my brews...

I should note I'm not sure what the flavor is... I don't think it's bitterness from the hops. I took a sample and added a few drops lactic acid to it and the off-flavor doesn't seem to be lactic acid. I'm guessing it's astringency. It does remind me of that teabag flavor, and has a really long...

Recipe: 8# pale 2 row, crushed by my LHBS — assumed 70% efficiency (actual efficiency was 75%) 1# flaked oats .5# crystal 60L .5# chocolate .25# roasted barley 1 tsp Irish moss 1.70 oz east kent goldings (5.7% alpha, 2.9% beta) WLP004 (pitchable tube) I brought 7 gallons of water...

I've been doing extracts for several years now and decided to finally get into all-grain brewing. I brewed an oatmeal stout this past weekend and took a sample out of the primary today. It has an off flavor, that lasts strongly in the aftertaste. I think it might be astringency, but I'm not...

PBW has the same ingredients as OxyClean Free, but also has sodium metasilicate and a chelating agent (likely some version of or equivalent to EDTA). Sodium metasilicate acts to convert the deposits into "softer" forms that are easier to remove. The chelating agent acts to bind to the metals to...

Chilling the beer (normal temperature swings, or cold-crashing) causes the liquid, and the CO2 in the headspace, to decrease in volume (think of SG with temperature: density increases, SG goes up, as temperature goes down). Since the volume is decreasing it's pulling on the blow-off tube and...

Good call. I have much less liquid now. I also diluted the StarSan solution a bit (I think I made it too concentrated) and added a drop of FermCap. No more foam in that jug! Do you know what diameter tubing this is? It doesn't get great reviews, and I might be able to drill a rubber stopper...

I usually ferment in a plastic bucket, but wanted to try using my keg fridge as a temp-controlled fermentation chamber, and my bucket is too big. My 5-gallon BetterBottle fits beautifully, but I needed a blow-off tube (since I'm brewing a 5-gallon batch). I'm using FermCap (added during the...

Oops, forgot to add that! Unfortunately I can't edit the post anymore. I added the chocolate with the Irish moss, for the last 15 minutes of the boil. The first time I brewed this I added the coffee at the end of the boil but let it boil for a couple minutes more. Turned out ok, but a little...

I've started kegging my beer, and am loving the setup! The only drawback is not being able to bring bottles to friend's places. I can bottle condition a few after brewing, but it would be easier to just be able to tap bottles/growlers right from my keg. I have a carbonator cap (plastic...

I did not know that! Every beer that I've seen infected (from friends and online) has had a pellicle so I just assumed. I don't think it's infected either since, other than a bit dry and lacking some mouthfeel, it tastes just fine. I usually use the darker extracts (such as amber) so maybe...

Yeah, my darker beers tend to be pretty consistent: OG 1.066, FG 1.016 (made this stout three times with approximately the same gravities, and the same yeast as the beer in this thread) OG 1.067, FG 1.015 (whiskey barrel stout) OG 1.064, FG 1.016 (porter) Both of my lower gravity beers...

Another bump on an old thread, but I wanted to brew a clone and never did find a recipe so I came up with my own (with some help from my LHBS, thanks Kirk's!). I posted my recipe in the recipes here if anyone is interested!

Yeast: SafAle S-04 1/3 oz Nugget, boiled 60 min (13.3% α acid) 1/2 oz Cascade, boiled 15 min (6.9% α acid) 1/2 oz Cascade, dry-hopped 6 lbs. Pilsen Light Dry Extract 1/4 lb Honey malt 1/4 lb Smoked malt 1/4 lb Biscuit malt 1/2 lb Caramel 60 malt 1/2 lb Chocolate wheat...

I generally tend to brew fairly heavy dark beers (OG's above 1.065), so maybe I'm just not used to the effect temperature has on lower gravity beers. I did brew a Hefeweizen with an OG of 1.056, FG of 1.012, but I was using SafBrew WB-06, and it's a wheat beer, so not sure how much that changes...

7 lbs Amber dry malt extract 3/4 lb chocolate malt 1/2 lb crystal malt 1/4 lb black patent malt 1/4 lb roasted barley 0.2 pounds Nebraska blend coffee (from The Mill, in Lincoln, NE), ground coarsely; this is a chocolate and Irish cream flavored coffee 1/2 cup Ghirardelli unsweetened...

I thought I'd post a follow-up. I ended up pitching more yeast, champagne yeast. Nothing... So I decided to just let it clear in my BetterBottle and rack if off the sediment and use to to back-sweeten a cider or just drink. I got busy with things and didn't get a chance to deal with it. Nearly...

I'm trying a new recipe. It's intended to clone Empyrean's (a Nebraska-based brewery) Burning Skye, a Scottish Ale. I started with an OG of 1.058, fermented with S-04. From BrewTarget I was expecting a FG of about 1.014, but ended up with a FG of 1.008. The brew tastes a little watery, but...

One of my friends went to a nearby apple orchard and picked up some cider (and got some for me too). She pitched some champagne yeast and after two days fermentation still hadn't started. I got started with my batch later, and before I pitched my yeast I realized the jugs of cider have small...