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Looks awesome. How do you drain your RIMS tube? I have the Sabco frame and agree that it rocks. I upgradd to natural gas and won't run out of propane again!!! The Rims tube was bought online (forget where). It is clamped to a cross member of the Sabco frame. To drain it, I have to have a...

low mash temp means more alcohol flavor. That should add some heat and dryness, but if that's not the bitterness you refer to then maybe you put in too many hops. Are you sure you're at 32 ibu? how many ounces of what aa% hops did you put in for how long? I like Paul's suggestion...wait a...

I started using the Schirron small plate chiller 6-8 months ago. It rocks! I am on a well and the water is fairly cool, but I can go from my boiler to 63 degrees with a low flow in about 15 mins for a 5.5 gallon batch. I let the output water go into my grass...no waste there as I water my...

I tried using oxygen for a while and have the diffuser stone in my pile of brew gear. I don't know how many 5 gallon batches you can oxygenate with a small bottle but expect maybe 10 was what I was getting. I may have only turned it on full for 30 seconds though. I have actually stopped using...

for aeration, just slosh around the wort in your fermenter. I do this for 5 minutes and usually have a krausen raised, then I pitch. Works great. Since your starter went well and I assume you had a nice layer of white yeast cake, that part obviously went OK. You pitched at high krausen, so...

I think the yeast mfr temps for fermentation are for primary. Secondary is really a misnomer. Your fermentation should be completed in 7 days or so in the primary vessel, then you can rack the beer into the secondary vessel for clarification. I ferment in my basement which is in the mid 60s...

I've only brewed 2 lagers. One was a Bohemian Pilsner. I think lager yeasts need time because of the cold fermentation. At the end of the primary (at least 10 days), let it rise to 68 for 2 days (your diacetyl rest). You'll find that any residual fermentation or off gassing can happen here...

Looks like a good grain bill to me. Not redundant that I can tell. Mashing high will preserve long protein chains and reduce alcohol production. Could yield a sweeter (maltier) flavor but affect your efficiency. Many use dextrin (3%) for head retention in Denny's IPA for example. depending...

First, buy Beersmith. I think buying now will get you the newest version free (coming soon). It's quite usable and allows you to identify problems such as: -beer style of Amer Wheat shows 1.040-1.055 as good range. Your second recipe comes up to 1.044 at75% efficiency. This will net you a...

You need a false bottom to keep only wort in the bottom of the mash tun to allow recirc to flow more freely. I use a Sankey keg and use the Sabco false bottom. You can still have too much pumping power and compact your grain bed and get a stuck sparge if not careful, but you should never...

quite a plumbing job on that mash tun/sparge screen! Wait til you taste it... I don't buy beer anymore, just ingredients and brew it myself. Enjoy.

Common problem with Bazooka screens. I used one for a couple of years, but when I made my keggles, I got away from it. It tended to clog, particularly if you ever use hop pellets. I whirlpool a bit now and actually have a stainless scrubber on the pickup tube. It filters, but doesn't clog...

I used the Austin Homebrew style for a couple of years, then bought the Sabco bottom. The Sabco is much thicker SS and is hinged so you can remove it from your opening. The Sabco rests up higher so you have a good 1-1/2" or so of wort in the bottom area. It is wider (14-15"?), so sparge (and...

I brewed for 3 years with only sediment filter on my well water. Now I use a carbon cartridge filter for my HLT water. Not certain of anything, but the more I read, the more I think it's a good idea to remove maximum particulate and taste. I wouldn't go back to non-filtered water personally.

In lager brewing, you ferment cold and lager very cold. In between the diacetyl rest is used to bring the beer up to 68 or so for a couple of days to finish fermentation and clear up buttery flavors. I did this with the two lagers I have brewed and haven't had sulphur or diacetyl flavors, so...

Only thought I have is around the mash consistency. More liquid mashes purportedly can add astringency to the finished wort. Other than that, I would say that temps are most critical so do what it takes to achieve that temp.

I thought that SMASH beers were concocted for their simplicity...adding a triple decoction for that defeats the purpose. If I were to invest the time and effort of the triple decoction, I would find a more classic style recipe to do it with. That being said, I think you'll gain from the acid...

that's a 6.5 gallon carboy so he's pretty close to 5 gallons there. Nice krausen. Mine takes 36 hours to do that usually.

Above all I think the best thing is to keep the grain in a constant temp. My garage is all over the map, but my basement is stable year-round. I brew in a wood shop (actually the ventilated finishing room). Lots of dust potential, but I clean and sanitize religiously and don't have infection...

I have a lagering fridge and a keezer. I use Johson analog on both. My probes hang down freely in the air. I never went to the trouble of using water for the probe and have tested with a milk thermometer and the temps have been right on. Check the docs to see if you can calibrate that...