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One of the greatest things I did to help myself make better beer was to put my primary fermentor in a place where I couldn't see it. Out of sight, out of mind type thing. I always had an overwhelming feeling like I should be "doing something" with it if I could see and hear the airlock...

Based on the vigorous fermentation that you described, I'd give the yeast a chance to clean up after itself. Some people say a diacetyl rest isn't necessary unless you're brewing lagers. But given how fast and furious your beer fermented, I'd give the yeast a few more days to do its thing.

I didn't realize Friar Tuck's sold homebrew stuff. I'll have to stop in and check it out. Thanks for the heads up.

I see you're from St. Louis. There's a great homebrew shop out in Chesterfield just off 141 -- St. Louis Wine and Beer. Dave, the owner, is extremely helpful and can certainly help you get going in the right direction. In terms of kit suggestions, I would start off with a beer that's fairly...

From what I understand, gelatin is used as a yeast fining. I'm not sure it how effective it will be at helping hops to fall out...particularly if you're talking about whole leaf hops.

I've always wanted to use flip-tops. I'm just too cheap to buy enough for 5 gallons, and I don't like the idea of using green Grolsch bottles.

I like to use 22 oz bottles as an alternative to standard 12 ouncers. I've also got a friend who occasionally bottles a portion of his brews in 1/2 gallon growlers. But I think the growlers require special airtight caps...different from the regular caps you would get from the brewpub...

The 1.30 SG is low compared to the target SG, but not so low that you wouldn't see signs of fermentation. However, your boil volume wouldn't be the problem regarding the SG. My guess is that the boiled wort wasn't thoroughly mixed with the top off water when you took your hydro sample, and...

Danstar Nottingham and SafAle US-05 are both excellent yeasts. Rehydrating the yeast can help reduce lag time. But I never rehydrate. I just pitch the dry yeast right in. I actually switched to using dry yeasts about a year ago because of the cost difference compared to the smack packs...

I don't know if it actually dissolves faster, but I can definitely say that it makes things considerably simpler. When I tried pouring DME into my kettle while it was hot enough to produce steam, the steam would cause the DME to clump together at the opening of the bag and then harden...it...

I had the same situation for a long time. My extremely cramped apartment kitchen wouldn't really accomodate much more than the absolute bare minimum of brewing gear. Now I have a house with a larger kitchen and a basement that stays nice and cool in the summer. :rockin:

I can't speak for anyone else, but I think any difference in quality that I perceive in my own beers, regarding AG vs extract, are mostly psychological. That being said, I think the actual process of brewing an AG beer is way more fun.

Did a google search for "homebrew grain mill". Found a recommendation for a Barley Crusher and a new brewing forum. :rockin: