Search results

Yes, this is a normal temp rise for this yeast. Depending on your grain bill, you can (and probably should) add another pound of sugar to dry it out. I usually add sugar to provide 10-15% of fermentables.

Shameless plug for my LHBS: http://www.perfectbrewingsupply.com/products/Barley-Crusher-w%7B47%7D-7-lb.-Hopper.html You might want to call ahead to make sure they have it. I saw one on display there 2 weeks ago.

Damn, that's a good price. Perhaps they snake you on the shipping, though. You can always replace the lids, but new lids cost almost as much as a used corny.

You would need a fairly large, lab-grade stir plate to support and vortex a 5-gallon carboy. The Stirstarter from your LHBS isn't going to cut it. For a fraction of the cost, you can buy an oxygen regulator and achieve O2 saturation in a matter of minutes.

http://www.perfectbrewingsupply.com/products/Simcoe-Hop-Pellets-%281-oz.%29.html I bought 6 oz of pellets from their brick-and-mortar store last week, so you may want to call to check availability before placing the order. Sorry if I cleaned them out. :P

Brett can take a looooong time to fully attenuate. Months, in fact. I'd keg it and leave in a corner for a while. I sometimes add brett to a dark strong ale at kegging after fermenting out with saccharomyces. Last time I did it it took three months to drop from 1.014 to 1.006, and I did...

It sounds like you're getting off-flavors characteristic of overly hot fermentation. After you see fermentation begin, shut off all temp control. Let it rise and fall naturally. When you're heating the ferment to the high 70s, the liquid temp is probably in the low 80s. I think that step is...

What are the qualities you find disappointing? Underattenuation? What's your final gravity? Let it ramp itself up. I typically pitch a healthy starter of Belgian yeast into well-oxygenated wort at 65F. At the first sign of activity I shut off the temperature controller and let the...

I agree with PearsonFam's concern, though, about seasonal variation. Here in Chicago the water tastes funny when it rains hard after a dry spell. The water profile undoubtedly changes temporarily when that happens. I don't know what the climate is in your part of Texas, but if your water...

Many of these results are reported on the last page of the document he posted - but, yes, the variance is significant. Overall this is not a horrible water profile. The total alkalinity is high. This is contributing to the high pH. You will likely run into problems with lighter beers that...

Exactly. I stopped repitching onto cakes after finding that my repitched batches often had off-flavors characteristic of overpitching. Wash your yeast or use fresh starters, and use the Mr Malty calculator. Your beer will be better for it. http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

Pacman slurry should have a slight sulfide odor, but you are describing something worse. In any case I agree with Calder - wash it, make a new starter, and see if it improves.

Excessive iron is bad for you. In any case I would not brew with water that looked like that. Is it from a well? Here in Chicago the water tastes funny for a day or two if it rains hard after a dry spell. Don't know why, but I don't brew until it returns to normal.

I'd suggest raising the special B content. I usually push it to 10% of the grain bill for dubbels, more for quads. Gives it a rich raisin-malt background. I also use Caramunich a lot, as it behaves a lot like carapils but adds color. If you're going to use Willamette hops, put them all...

Yes, a chest freezer + temperature controller is your best option. If you camp out on craigslist long enough you can find one for less than $100.

Also, Unibroue apparently uses different yeasts for fermentation and bottle conditioning. I suspect that WY3864 is the fermentation strain, so bottle culturing may not be optimal.

Try WY3522, Belgian Ardennes. It's not as estery as a typical abbey/trappist yeast. Or, you could fall back to WY1214 - Chimay yeast. Cana-Belg yeast is apparently a descendant of a sample taken from Chimay 40-odd years ago. I imagine they've diverged a lot since then, however.

Also check the airlock every now and then, and add sanitizer if the fluid level is too low. Given enough time the sanitizer will evaporate and expose the beer.

I usually see krausen within 24 hours with Pacman, but I pitch big starters into well-oxygenated wort. I usually recommend fermenting pacman @ 60F, but your higher temps will help you get better attenuation since you underpitched.

Hop selection comes down, of course, to personal preference. These days I brew my Belgians strictly to style guidelines - I'm trying to up my game to enter them in competitions - but there's nothing wrong with experimenting. A citrusy hop like Centennial or Simcoe would be very interesting in...