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if you have a good scale it is pretty easy to do. Measure the final gravity of the beer with a hydrometer. Take a small sample and weigh it. Then dry the sample with gentle heat, removing all the moisture. Then weigh it again - calculate the weight% solids. This will give you your final...

I think you'll like it, give it some time (3-6 weeks) before you make any judgements. The yeast strain is very important, fermentation temperature 67 - 70 also is key. Don't overcrush the coriander - in other words dont grind it up or use coriander form the grocery spice rack - it will be too...

Wow, that is a bunch of sugar for an IPA. Sounds like you are using a refractometer and getting Brix readings from it. I agree that 17.9 %Brix would be about 1.074 OG. However, 8 %Brix final would give an FG more in the range of 1.024. I'm a hydrometer guy, not a refractometer user, so I am...

Suck-back. Could be a bad problem - contaminating your beer. I use vodka in my airlock to help avoid contamination (not that I really want any vodka in my beer, it is just better than some nasty water or iodophor). When your beer stopped producing CO2 it was at a certain temperature (let's...

Lack of fermentation temperature control can lead to "homebrew" off-flavors - esters and fusel alcohols. It is not good enough to place your carboy in a 70 F room - the temperature inside the fermenter will rise up toward 80 F during the rapid ferm phases. Temperature control can be done a...

Sounds like you cooled the wort to 70 degF and then pitched the yeast straight into your kettle. Normally the cooled wort is transferred to the fermenter before the yeast is pitched. I don't think you should have any problem, should be fine.

Yes, fermentation produces a significant amount of heat. A temperature rise of 8 degF on an uncooled carboy is believable - and it is also not good. Need to keep most ales around 70 or below to avoid esters and fusels. No need to dump the beer but it will likely taste like "homebrew". I now...

Grolsch swing-tops are my favorite, never a problem with carbonation, lots of mileage out of the original gaskets plus it is easy to find replacement gaskets when needed.

Weigh your raw materials. You might be surprised at the results. I have a digital lab scale that is very accurate and I find that sometimes DME and LME are less quantity than "I paid for". Once I got a whole pound less LME than I ordered. I have not noticed this error in the other...

Yes, this is way too cold. You will find that the temperature inside your fermenter is equal to the swamp water temperature. Let it warm up and restart airlock activity. Then put it in the swamp cooler at about 65 F water temp. Shouldn't need to add much, if any ice to keep it below 70 F.

could someone please post the picture in the HBT gallery, I can't see it otherwise.

I would do something like a quarter or half ounce (per 5 gal) at the most if you intend to drink it soon (within the next month). I find my dry-hopped beers to be quite grassy for quite a while - I usually do a full ounce and wait a couple months before drinking.

I hear Coors is going to try to market Vienna Lager.

this is a great question. I think a blind taste test would be revealing. I think wheat makes for a different mouthfeel and some describe it as adding "chewiness" to the beer. I bet I would struggle to tell a difference in the taste test. Depending on the yeast used you might get some...

Yep, you gotta freeze the gum rubber stoppers in order to drill them. And regular old freezer temps are not cold enough. You need to use dry ice or liquid nitrogen. I have had pretty good luck using a torch and heating the end of tube to cherry red and then pushing it through the stopper - a...

Sure, measuring and controlling the surface temperature of your carboy will provide some level of control of the fermenting wort temperature. A little insulation on the probe doesn't hurt either. Trouble I found was that this still does not provide a great indication of what is occurring...

Put your carboy in a tub of water and temperature control the water.

It is an awesome feeling to have control of the yeasties!

Here is a photo of my water cooled fermentation chamber. It is pretty simple...just a 20 gallon trash can inside a 32 gallon can with great stuff foam in the gap for seal and insulation. I am using the "Ice Probe" which I purchased for ~$100. I have not made any beer with this yet but have...

water cooled fermentation chamber