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I can keep it at 55* now. I picked up a wine bottle chiller and am adding a temperature control circuit to it to more accurately control the temperature. I'm going to make a 2L starter and let it sit for 3 days before brewing. That should provide enough healthy yeast for a good fermentation...

I wasn't paying attention and I bought a lager kit. Using WLP830 (German Lager Yeast) which ferments optimally at 50-55*. I'm concerned that there are more differences between lagers and ales than just the fermenting temperature. I believe that I should make a starter. I did recently build a...

Well, it all starts with a RTC (realtime clock) that keeps track of time. Implementing multiple alarms would be a simple addition. Do you know how beersmith saves information? It would be interesting to try and parse the beersmith data and set up alarms based on it. Pausing the timer is not a...

So I've got all these microcontrollers left over from college (and a vast assortment of components), and a 16x2 lcd screen. I thought it would be neat to recycle them into a brew timer. Right now, it counts up in seconds from 00:00:00 until you turn it off or reset the controller, but that's not...

Count me in :ban:

Very good read. I'll make sure I do this as I'm brewing this weekend. Thank you :)

I know you don't need a starter with dry yeast, but if it won't hurt anything or it could help out, why not?

I'm going to be brewing an IPA this weekend and given what occurred (and the noob worrying) from my last batch taking ages to start fermenting, I thought it might be a good idea to make a starter this time. I'm going to be brewing the Brewers Best Australian IPA. I've been reading into starters...

So I've got this thing, you put water in a bottle with some flavor stuff and it makes soda. I was thinking about trying this with a beer. I'd siphon out a bottle before I add the priming sugar mixture to the batch and use the force on it. Think this is a good idea?

The sample I took was not even worthy of calling a sample. I just wanted to taste it to see if there was a taste of alcohol. I do see your point of exposing it to infection, though. I really hope those fuzzy white things aren't a sign of infection. This should be a damn tasty brew.

That is exactly what I intend to do. It is difficult to resist looking at it. Makes me happy :)

Well, sure enough it did indeed start doing something. It's bubbling rather slowly, but it is bubbling. I woke up this morning to the beautiful sound of my airlock bubbling. This made me very happy. I opened the winter coat I've got the fermenter cuddled in, and found a thin layer of krausen...

I'll definitely make a starter next time. If my recipe calls for 3 pounds of DME, would using a cup of it for the starter affect the final product? Or should I purchase extra dme specifically for a starter?

My fermenter is probably around 70*F, perhaps a bit cooler. Should I put a "small animal heater" under it to warm it up a bit? I've been shaking it every once in a while to stir up the trub thinking there may be some yeast suffocating underneath a layer of particulate that I could rescue. I'm...

Not sure if this means anything, but the fermenter appears to have negative pressure. It's sucking the airlock water up slowly. I've replaced it with vodka for now. I also took a tiny sample (half a shot glass) and tasted it. Didn't taste any alcohol, or very little. I didn't have enough to get...

Well, we poured it from the stock pot into a funnel in the carboy, then added the rest of the water the same way. It should be aerated nicely.

If I had a HB to drink, I would be. Sadly, I drank the last few the other night. It feels... wrong. I believe that the date on the yeast was 12APR18. I don't have the package anymore though :(. Not sure on the temp; I've got it in my glass carboy wrapped in a heavy winter coat. It's slightly...

I'm using wyeast ringwood ale 1187. I made the mistake of not getting it started soon enough before brewing and I pitched it before it expanded. It did expand a little, but not much. Now ~26 hours in the primary, and it's not yet showing any signs of fermentation. No airlock bubbling, no krausen...

There are a lot of great ideas in this thread. I'll give your recommendation a shot, Yooper, once I brew your dead guy clone. :) which I intend to do soon. Thank you for all the good information, you guys.

I realized that not long ago. I've since changed the recipe entirely. Using different hops and a correct hop schedule. 6.0 lb ldme 1.0 lb Crystal 20L 0.5 oz Galena (60 min) 1.0 oz Cascade (45 min) 1.0 oz Cascade (30 min) 1.0 oz Cascade (15 min) 3.0 lb ldme (last 15 minutes) 0.5 oz...