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I have been brewing on a More Beer 10 gallon HERMS system for a coupe of years and have always wondered if other brewers recirculate during the entire mash (other than mash out). A pro-brewer lives a few houses away and told me that recirculating during the mash to maintain temp was not...

I just brewed an imperial stout and racked to secondary. This is my first attempt at wood aging the beer and added a medium toast plus french oak stave to the 5 gallon carboy I got from More Beer. Their website says that the contact time should be similar to that of cubes. My question is...

I brewed a 10 gallon batch (split into 5 gal carboys) all grain American Pale Ale recipe. With 5 gallon batches my system is averaging around 65-67% overall efficiency. Grain Bill: American 2 Row 86% Munich 5.1% Victory 5.1% Wheat malt 3.8% I set up the recipe using the same...

Thanks ajf. Yes, I do fly sparge. I sparge at about 1 qt. per minute and use a float switch to keep about 1-2" on water on top of the grain bed. Here I thought doing the same thing every time and accurately measuring all my brew house losses would help! WTF is wrong!!

I have been working diligently on getting my brew system dialed into the right efficiency so I can be a more consistent brewer. I have measured the liquid that remains in all my transfer lines and counter flow chiller, etc. The last 3 brews have been 5 gallon batches (5.5 gallons going into...

Got it. Appreciate the help!

Thanks Duboman. So, raise up to like 70-72F?

I brewed a Doppelbock with the Brewing Classic Styles recipe as a guide. I had 5.5 gallons go into the fermenter. OG: 1.086 Yeast: 2L starter using two vials of White Labs German Bock yeast Fermentation Temp: 50F, held for 3 weeks. Current gravity: 1.038. Shooting for a final in the...

Thanks guys! I just got blinders on and didn't see it clearly. I"ll go back and take the average of "measured efficiency" from the last 6 brew sessions and enter that into Total Efficiency in the equipment profile. It's pretty interesting to see that they are all in the 60's with...

Thanks everyone for helping clarify my actual question. I am not concerned that I get "off the charts" efficiency. I just want to know how all the different "efficiency" variables in the Beer Smith software work, so I can dial in an accurate number for my system when inputting/designing...

First off, I am sure that I am probably my own worst critic when it comes to home brewing. Lately, I have been dialing in recipes into Beer Smith 2 and setting up based on 70% efficiency. My OG numbers have been coming in at 4 points below what is targeted per the software. For example, I...

This was the biggest beer I have ever brewed and I'm freaking out about the lower mash efficiency than my system typically produces. I mashed 23# of grain at 1.30 quarts per pound of grain (just like I always do). 19lbs of British Pale and the rest included chocolate, pale chocolate, special...

I will be brewing a 10 gallon batch of an american amber and will split into two carboys for fermentation. I want to use the same yeast strain and make only one (1) starter. Once the starter is done in my flask, is there a best practice for measuring how much yeast should go into each...

I am five days into fermentation of what I hope to be a killer batch of american pale ale. Tonight, I went to switch out the blow off tube back to an airlock for another five days or so to ensure fermentation is complete. There was a small black "spec" where the blow off tube and neck of...

I needed to make a starter for an American Pale Ale brew sesh and all I had on hand was dark DME to make a starter. I'm repitching Wyeast 1056 that was harvested from another american pale ale back on 2-9-12. Will using dark DME affect the final beer? Should I refrigerate & decant before...

I will be using WLP 001 slurry that was harvested 2/25/12 and that has been refrigerated. I am brewing a 5 gallon batch of a small 1.040 blonde ale and Mr. Malty says to use 107ML of slurry. Would you guys recommend making a starter to wake up the yeast? If so, how big and how much...

I am planning to keg in the next week or so and will want to bottle a few for competition. If I bottle cold (38F) and then the beer warms to room temp, will the carbonation, flavor or any other characteristics be affected? In other words, can it go from cold to warm to cold and be okay?

I want to brew a habanero or serrano IPA, but I have not been able to find much info from HBT users on when they add habanero and how much. I have not decided on a final IPA recipe, but I plan to brew an american style, 6 gallon batch and use WLP 001 yeast. Any advice on when to add the...

Thanks Turkey. The OG of the beer I pulled from was smaller, about 1.040. Mainly because I had terrible efficiency and wasn't patient to rinse all the sugars. I have a little action in the carboy now so I think I'll just give it a go and let the yeast do their thing - as slow and steady as...

I brewed Jamil's ESB two days ago with some changes on the hops. 6 gallons, 5.5 gallons into the fermenter. 12# Maris Otter 0.50 Crystal 20 0.25 Crystal 120 2 oz Challenger (60 min) 1 oz Fuggle (0 min) Mashed at 152 for 60 minutes. OG: 1.055 (Jamil's recipe estimate is 1.056)...