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My 08-08-08 is still in primary, I pitched late on the first and haven't really messed with it since except to swap ice packs and keep it around 60 degF. Today seems like a great day to rack it into secondary though, where I can forget it for another month or so for some bulk conditioning...

Thanks for the advice. I wasn't too concerned and didn't want to keep opening the cooler to take readings. After an hour the temp was around 145 throughout though, so I guess I lost more heat than I expected. Maybe the MLT needs a blanket next time, or should just go indoors.

I just mashed in my 08-08-08 partial mash. My new instant-read digital meat thermometer is tons easier to read than the crappy dial one I got with my turkey fryer, but brings up some questions. It registers temps of 157-159 along the sides of my 5-gallon MLT but more like 140 in the center...

I'm almost through a batch of brown bottled in these, no problems whatsoever. They've gone back to bottling the 24s in pop-tops too, so you can pick up some nice bigger bottles too. Wait - $20/case? That's like half the price of my local grocery store!

jds, check out the pitch rate calculator at http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html. For my 2-week old smack pack and the 5.5 gallons I'm hoping to get into primary it recommends almost a half gallon starter.

Picked up my ingredients yesterday, with some substitutions due to LHBS availability. I'm using Yakima Magnum for bittering and decided to split my hop schedule into 8 additions - just so I have more to do on Tuesday. :p Looks like I've finally found the secret to making starters so I feel...

Seems like a relatively popular question - did you get any answers?

I've sworn for years that I would buy nothing on Black Friday. The blatant celebration of our societal drive to consume sickens me. But... the LHBS doesn't open until Friday, and I really want to brew!

I'm really hoping to see more commercial brown ales become available at the local grocery store or beer stop. Not sure where exactly, but I read that pellets are harder to dry hop with and provide less flavor by weight. Maybe the pellets degrade faster, so you have to make sure they're very...

I'm planning to brew a Scottish 90/- today, and it looks like I'll make it my first partial-mash. I'm worried that my starter never took off though as there's no pressure in the vessel at all. Guess I need to grab some dry yeast... Wish me luck!

Glad to hear you're off the couch and brewing again! I've had a few weeks off too but plan on brewing a Scottish 90/- tomorrow. Found a great looking recipe in the book SWMBO got for my birthday. Hopefully the washed yeast I pitched into a starter last night will take off soon, but I didn't...

Watch for that layer of dust, especially on an IIPA. I had a Ska Brewing Decadence some time back that must have been sitting for months - it tasted like a decent Bitter, not an American IIPA at all. Try one again next year when you know it's fresh.

Definitely sanitize the bottles and caps along with the other equipment. Your dishwasher probably won't sanitize, and probably won't get to all the corners of your bottles if it does. Make sure you rinse VERY WELL when using bleach. Better yet, get a no-rinse sanitizer. One thing to remember...

With good cooling, Whirlfloc and careful siphoning you can leave a lot of the cold break material in your kettle - along with some of your wort. No problem if you pour the proteins into the primary along with all the wort, it just means you'll have more sediment at the bottom of the primary...

Sounds like it's going well as it is, I'd leave it alone until it hits the expected FG then give it a couple more days. That much fermentation after 5 days sounds promising. Your lager yeast will ferment at higher temps but may not produce the ideal flavor profile - for a lager. I would...

This really sounds like something in the air. You could take all your gear to a buddy's house and follow your normal procedure, minus the questionable water. If you can get through primary okay there then it's probably your house. Man, I thought I was discouraged after a few batches...

I love this idea! Sounding like a great beer...

Well that makes sense! I need to check out this Wine Thief, sounds a lot more effective than my turkey baster.

Atkins isn't really that healthy, but I've wondered about eliminating all carbs other than beer. Should be the perfect diet for me! You could also try brewing a "small beer". I haven't seen any recipes - who wants to brew a 1.5-2% batch? - but it should have much less carbs and still taste...

If the wort and top-off weren't mixed properly it would make the SG read low, not high. The higher density wort would sink to the bottom of the vessel. Right? Sounds like you only used half the LME, but that doesn't make much sense either...