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I recently bought one from eBay and brewed my first batch with it. It is awesome! I never had much luck using hydrometers so I just stopped checking SG. The refractometer showed me how poor my mash efficiency was, and I was able to correct that batch. I also used it in conjunction with open...

I was thinking about the sparge. One thing I haven't been able to find is a rough breakdown of gravity contribution for the mash and sparge. For example, would I get 50% of the solids from the mash, and the rest from the sparge? I had assumed it was more like 70/30, and that sparging was just to...

Oh, and the wheat is wheat malt, so it was supposed to convert itself.

The water absorption was based on 3 quarts into my mash tun, and 2.5 quarts out of my mash tun and into my kettle. I used a separate small pot for mash so I'd have better heat retention. After the mash was done, I moved the grain bag to batch sparge in the kettle with 2 gallons. Then I poured...

I just wrapped up my first partial mash with actual process measurements! The bad news is that it looks like my mash efficiency is 58%. Here is my grain bill: 1 lb Golden Promise (est. 32 ppg) 0.5 lb Crystal 15 (est. 35 ppg) 0.5 lb Wheat (est. 38 ppg) Total: 2 lb at 34.25 ppg I mashed...

I just tapped my first beer with Tap a draft after bottling for nearly two years. After natural carbonation for a week, I don't see any noticeable yeast sediment... Maybe a tiny dusting at the bottom of the bottle. But I use gelatin to fine the beer and it really pulls the yeast out. My process...

I actually did up the hops for the 30 minute boil. I was targeting 18 IBU's, which was previously accomplished with 1.5 oz for 60 minutes (according to Tinseth).

Ok, first recipe is Jamil's dark mild (http://beerdujour.com/Recipes/Jamil/The_Jamil_Show_-_Dark_Mild_Extract.html) with WLP 022 (Essex). Second recipe is: 6 lbs pilsener malt extract 1 lb Vienna 0.5 lb carapils Grains are mashed in 0.5g water at 155 for 30 minutes, then batch sparged with...

My thin beer problem is now a recurring one. I've done two batches: one a brown mild, the other a blonde ale. Both taste "thin" or watery, and both were extract-based (with steeping grains or partial mash). Both were also experimental 30-minute partial boils. Could the thinness be a lack of...

I just heard the interview with Lagunitas on Can You Brew It. Those guys dry hop after fermentation is complete and most of the yeast has dropped out. Apparently, yeast sticks to hop oils and drags them out of the beer. Out of curiosity: does PBW sanitize as well as clean? I've been cleaning...

I recently decided to stop thinking of myself as On The Way to all grain brewing. I don't have the space, or the time, or the money to build a setup, and that's ok. Extract has been great to me too, and I am proud to be an extract brewer! Yeah!!

These two batches, compared to other times I've used English ale yeast, fermented at lower temps. The pitch was in the low 60's and I let it free rise to 70. Other times I've used english ale it's been kept roughly at 68-70 the entire time. This might be totally irrelevant, but I think these...

So, I don't really take gravity readings anymore. I could never use my hydrometer accurately, and figured it didn't matter that much for extract. Neither of these was infected, and I didn't think I could beat the estimated attenuation given my amateur fermentation control. Carbonation for both...

This is now the second time I've brewed something that's come out tasting thin, like there's malt and hop flavor but no "base". Both were extract and steeping grains. The first was a Morebeer Irish Red, and the second was Jamil's mild. Nothing else I've brewed has come out like this, from blonde...

You may want to contact Pizza Orgasmica in San Francisco. I would consider them a restaurant that happens to serve its own beer. I don't know how much they brew, but when I went there last, I was the only person in the entire place that ordered one of their beers. Everyone else was drinking...

I used Knox unflavored gelatin and followed the instructions in How to Brew. One packet for two batches in about 2 cups of water. At this point, I can't remember if I let the water cool a bit or if I poured it in at 170F. In any case, a cup of water will cool down pretty fast in 5 gallons of...

An afterword on the gelatin: there is one more benefit to using it. Before, I used to have to decant my beer pretty carefully and leave about 1/4" of the bottom (beer + yeast). The two gelatin batches I made can be poured all the way. There's just a dusting of yeast on the bottom of the bottle...

I decided to take your advice and tell him. He took it really well, and we figured out that his bottle cleaning process was pretty messed up. Before, I felt like my beer wasn't really good enough for me to start critiquing other people. But I think it was a good idea in the end. He had noticed...

I think that if you can chill your wort down to about 68º or so before you pitch your yeast, you'll be totally fine. The yeast will get cooler temps during its growth phase, since it'll take at least 12 hours for the wort to get up to ambient temperature. Once active fermentation starts, esters...

I tried some of a friend's beer today, and since I wasn't asked for any feedback I will post it here semi-anonymously! Bottle 1: terrible medicine taste that stuck to my tongue and would not go away! Bottle 2: a gusher, really strong bubble gum flavour, lots of residual sweetness Bottle 3...