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At first I wanted to save every yeast I used, but now I really just harvest yeast that I'm going to use in the near future. I'm too lazy to go through the trouble of maintaining a yeast bank using starters, it's easier to buy a new package. Any time I buy yeast now, I try to use the same cake to...

I did partial boil 5-gallon batches on an electric range for over a year. I started with extract kits and later moved to partial mash BIAB in the 5-gallon kettle on the stove. Partial mash allowed for more flexibility with recipes and in my opinion, better beer than just the extract kits. I also...

From what I understand about it, you are correct that with modern malts it doesn't matter in terms of efficiency to batch sparge or fly sparge. The thing that pushed me towards batch sparging is the simplicity. With fly sparging you need a sparge arm to sprinkle the water at a set rate over the...

Still working on it, got two more attempts at it in the fermenters currently so we'll see how it goes this time.

I hear you there. Years ago I used Pittsburgh on forums, but I lived in Wexford then. Now that I've moved up close to Butler City, I just said F it and have been using Butler on the forums. I figure people can Google it if they care that much, haha! Not that I'm aware of, but maybe the three...

Working... for a change. Be careful what you wish for, lol

Erie Brewing Company's "Mad Anthony's Ale" The first time I had it, they made it as an American Amber Ale. According to the case (which I still have), it was a slightly nutty beer with a generous amount of caramel malt and they used EKG and UK Fuggles for the hops. Not long after I first...

Hey, my one American Amber Ale recipe uses 2# of C-60 and 1# of Special B....... In an 11 gallon batch.... I was forced to be a bit towards the heavy-handed side of things to try to re-create a beer that I loved, but is no longer made. I'm not convinced that I succeeded, however it has turned...

Yea, you need a yeast starter or some champagne yeast. Try to warm it towards the upper 60's low 70's around 24 to 48 hours after pitching the yeast, you need to get that FG down some more or it's going to taste sickeningly sweet.

I get most of my stuff from Northern Brewer or one of my LHBS stores (Country Wines, which is related to South Hills Brewing Supply). I have bought some stuff from the other two LHBS stores (3B's Tobacco and Porter House), but neither of them have a whole lot of anything on hand. I've also...

+5.5 gal Ryamber +11 gal April Springer Amber +11 gal Horny Blonde +11 gal Monk's Ten =4430.5

I've taken to naming my beers, and there's a bit of variety in the names depending on what I feel like calling it at the time. I've wanted to do some witty names, but so far it's mostly just been a nod to pets or the location I live in. If I make a clone or recipe kit, I usually just use the...

It kind of depends. A pulley system would certainly make it easier to lift a grain bag and with it you could pick up a grain bag and let it drain without a colander or sieve, especially with a large grain bill, but it's not absolutely necessary unless you're doing a BIAB for say, an 11 gallon...

You're welcome! Not all beer ages well, and most "commercial" bottled beer does not age well. Typically stouts, porters, imperial ales, barleywine, sours, and Belgians age well, but I figure it doesn't hurt to try with other beer. The worst case is I have to dump a couple bottles. So far...

I was relatively satisfied with how my BIAB partial mashes were working out. Messy and sticky as it was, it worked. But now that I've moved outside and into things the way I have, I wouldn't have it any other way. To be able to blow out an 11 gallon batch in 5 hours without getting sticky is...

I did BIAB my partial mashes and a couple small batch all grains. But I quickly got tired of moving a heavy bag of hot, wet grain. That and with my hip issues, it wasn't agreeable at all. It's true that now I have to deal with lifting and moving coolers, but all the hot wet stuff is inside of...

The temp you use for the conversion for the hydrometer is the temperature of the liquid. The room temperature has no bearing on hydrometer reading. You'll also at some point probably want to verify that your hydrometer is indeed correctly calibrated. You have to do that using distilled water...

I started with extract and moved to partial mashing early on. I was doing BIAB partial mashing in the kettle, worked out well. I finally made the switch to all grain this year. Well, that and I moved to an outdoor burner, 15 gallon Spike Brewing kettle and a counterflow chiller, but yea. I can...

Got it scaled up based on percentages and brewed it up yesterday. We'll see how it turns out.

Welcome! Sounds like you got a good start on equipment. I love my Edelmetall Bru Burner, it will work awesome if you ever decide to step up to a bigger batch. IIRC they are rated for up to 30 gallon batches. I squeezed in my brew day yesterday, so I'm good on that front. Got all my fermenters...