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I use a ten gallon rubbermaid water cooler with a false bottom as an MLT - It recently developed a bulge in the side that finally cracked. Its getting worse, and although im not worried about the quality of my mash, i seem to lose temperature more quickly than i used to. Is this inevitable in...

a lot of all-grain recipes plan for 65 to 75 percent efficiency also, it depends on the OG you want- a big ass beer with a 24 pound grain bill isnt going to be as efficient as a smaller one

of all those specialty malts, amber is the most obviously overdone. biscuit is easily overdone, as well, but i dont think you have too much here unless you are using the darker variety of munich malts (like briess munich 20L), munich can compose as much as 100% of the grist, depending on the...

if the only thing wrong with the flavor is that its too sweet, try pitching more yeast sounds underattenuated

id suggest doing a simple brown ale- in "How to Brew" John Palmer walks you through making one not only a forgiving brew, but the darker color gives you a visual indication of how much you are extracting when taking first wort and when sparging

i'd say my top five are... -accurate thermometer- can't mash well without it -sanitize, sanitize- this applies to extract, as well -maybe try a darkish beer for your first few all grains- that way you can see the color of the runoff change as you sparge, good way to know when you've got what...

we're all guilty of opening that first bottle too early, but i think we all also know that its really a bad time to judge a beer sit on it

jelly-like sounds excessively funky to me i brewed a beer that was 10 lbs wheat/5 pounds pils/2 pounds munich and saw no such thing- i also did a single-infusion at 152 what type of lautering device do you use?

i would stick with the half pound of special b, and go with half a pound of the aromatic- biscuit is optional but fairly similar to aromatic as far as color is concerned dont be afraid to use the full pound of syrup- JZ's dubbel calls for 3/4 pound syrup PLUS 1/2 pound of cane sugar- use too...

consider starsan as a culprit- john palmer claims it takes a ton of it to ruin a beer, but even after rinsing i have ruined one gallon starters with it it also has that weird, macro-bubble foam that i think you are describing- i have had that with infected beers- if you are going to sit on them...

Maris Otter does provide a toasty graininess to english styles I think that MO can be always used instead of american two row- unless you are not into malt flavors and would rather make a hoppy beer against a clean background- not my thing, i prefer balance Oh, and goodbyebluesky- try Shipyard...

unless you go way high with your strike, like over 2.5 qts per pound, you dont really need to worry about it also, you shouldnt be 'fading fast' in a cooler-based MT- you should only lose like a degree, maybe two, once the temp stabilizes (are you still not stabilized?) if you are way low and...

ps- if you take your OG, you'll NEVER wonder how your mash went- you'll know

this probably has nothing to do with whether or not you screwed up the beer- this has to do with whether or not the sugar you added for bottling is being fermented properly 5oz of sugar should be plenty for those beers to carbonate, and yes, you should see some level of carbonation by now- id...

I live in Knollwood (corner of Rockland and Waukegan), and im assuming you LHBS is Perfect Brewing, and yes, Billy knows what hes doing- their crush has always been good to me

also, have you tried toying with water chemistry? this can make a huge difference, especially in very hoppy or high gravity brews ps- friar tuck just got a HUGE shipment of ale yeasts, including tons of belgians

Hey Eamus, Im a U of I student as well, and was just wondering if you bought your supplies around here (i.e. Friar Tuck and Leisure Time) or if you did internet ordering- the specialty malt and yeast selections they have at both places are WEAK my homebrew shop in libertyville...

the carapils malt should make sure you have plenty of head, as long as you have proper carbonation i havent dont a partial mash of the size you are doing, but i feel like you get the same feeling i often get- too high of a partial mash temperature=too many unfermentables=beer with way too...