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Hello, I am trying to figure out the best way to set up my keg as a boil kettle. Currently I am using the keggle with a bazooka tube, a Chugger pump, a Duda Diesel 30 plate chiller, and I use mostly pellet hops. My last batch left over a gallon of beer in keggle after the bazooka screen...

I went for a bigger beer with an estimated OG of 1.083 with 20.5 pounds of grain. I ran the grain through my monster mill twice. I checked my thermometers for accuracy. I mashed in with 7.5 gallons. After an hour, I mashed out quickly and got 4.25 gallons. I stirred this around in the...

I was looking through my brew notes and realized that my efficiency is incrementally lower with high gravity beers. When I attempt a beer with an of 1.075 to 1.090, by efficiency is even lower than 65%. Wouldn't this point to a mash issue and not a volume issue? Maybe my temps are still...

Malty Dog - I don't think there can be a silly question, because I feel like I am missing something obvious every time my efficiency is 65%. I really thought the new Monster Mill would make a big difference, but it has not. Although the ease of the motorized mill is awesome and worth every...

Thank you for the help. I set up all my recipes for 5.5 gallons to compensate for the loss in lines, pump, and the heat exchange. If I am using a recipe from another brewer, I adjust the gravity in Beersmith and it automatically increases the grain bill. I would think that my calculations...

Hello, Calichusetts - What do you mean check your volumes? I understand that if you make more beer with same efficiency and grain you will get a lower OG. But I usually end up with 5ish gallons of beer when done, so my volumes should be okay right? I calculate my recipes and use...

Thank you for the replies. I use the strike water volume that Beersmith suggests. I looked a couple recipes up and they were around 1.25-1.3 quarts of water per pound of grain. I generally use one batch sparge, unless I need more volume to reach my recommended pre-boil volume. Would...

Hello, I've done many brews since my last post on here concerning low OG. I still get low efficiency even with better equipment and even a new Monster Mill. I probably brewed over a dozen brews with the corona mill and my efficiency was usually around 65 %. I adjusted all my recipes in...

Thank for the response and advice. I went ahead and took extra steps to insure I was very sanitary to keep the wort for a day while my yeast was done multiplying. I completed the timing just as recommended and I think it should turn out very nicely. Time will tell. Here is my stir...

I originally wasn't ever going to try and grow hops because I hear that they need a ton of sunlight, and my backyard it covered by towering pine trees. But hop rhizomes went on sale and I thought I would give it a try anyways. I suspended an old Warn winch line between two large pine trees...

Thank you for the response. Unfortunately I messed up and forgot the get DME at the LHBS today and don't know what to do. Today (Wednesday) I got one pack of Wyeast 1450, smacked it, and let it do its thing while I finished making a permanent box for my stir plate. I wanted to start a...

Hello, I recently built a stir plate and used it on batch with great success. I've read conflicting opinion on how far a yeast can be grown without the risk of infection increasing too high. I would like to use one yeast on two separate beers this weekend. How would I go about...

Has anyone come up with a good all grain clone worth trying that resembles this wonderful beer? - Craig

Well I brewed another Imperial Stout and my desired OG was 1.090, but I achieved 1.060 measured post boil. Her is a pick of my crush. Does this look good? After weeding through many threads about low OG I suspected that there might be a problem with my thermometer that I purchased at...

Wow. That sounds like a perfectly simply solution. I can not wait to attempt this and brew it this weekend. Thank you very much for the insightful advice.

Hello, I just purchased Beersmith and I am trying to figure out how to scale DOWN a recipe from a microbrew recipe. I've found several topics of scaling UP to a microbrew recipe, but not in reverse. From what I gather, to scale in Beersmith you enter a recipe under a certain equipment...

I've read up on the Corona mills and it the results seem very mixed with a lot of people struggling to get a good crush without lots of experimentation. I'm torn on purchasing this style of mill. I am draining the mash before I add the sparge water.

Thank you for the replies. I did the initial mash water. 5-10 minutes later I added 1 gallon cold water. Then I did a single batch sparge of 2.2 gallons. I believe I was supposed to do 3.2 gallons for the batch sparge, but I deducted a gallon of the one I put in early. The temp was too...

About a year ago I was sick and tired of all the cleaning and sanitizing of all of the equipment related to brewing, especially the bottles. Either I was going to give up home brewing or I was going to try kegs. I bought a couple kegs with the CO2 and I have never looked back. I would...

Hello, I have only three all grain brews under my belt and all have had significantly low original gravity. I've searched through many "Low OG" post here and haven't really gotten a better understanding of what I am doing wrong. My first all grain was the Widmer W11' KGB Russian Imperial...