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I harvested some yeast from my previous Vienna lager fermentation. I added sanitized water to the fermentor, shook it up, then put the yeast/water/trub mixture into mason jars. They have been there for 2 days and there is only 2 layers: the top liquid and then a cloudy tan layer, but no trub at...

If I am doing additions to my mash water while doing a decoction mash, would I set my mash water volume in Bru'n Water to the total amount of infusion water and not to what would be remaining after I pulled the decoction?

I'm angry :mad: Both times I've tried to brew a pale ale I get this awful "dirty" taste that I cannot put my finger on. It tastes as if the beer is a weiss (and I HATE the taste of wheat beers) even though there is no wheat in the grain bill. My first pale ale I dry hopped with hop sacks and...

I've brewed probably 2 IPA's and 2 Pale Ales in my career. As a rule of thumb, I usually let all my beers, regardless of gravity, ferment in the primary for a minimum of 3 weeks, usually 6 weeks for 1.070+. I brewed a Pale 4 days ago that's currently in the primary which got me thinking... I've...

Trying to brew my first lager next week. I ordered a fridge temp controller that hasn't shipped yet and am considering cancelling because I'm not sure I need it for the following reasons. I am using W-34/70, suggested ferm. temp 48F-59F My garage in the winter is like 52-56F at the bottom...

I brewed a est. 1.090 Imperial Stout. Because of my BIAB kettle size limitations, I was forced to mash at a super thick 1.05qt/lb. Obviously I did not get good sugar extraction so I was expecting my OG to be a little low, but I measured a 1.078. One of the reasons I think I was so low is because...

I was at a fancy restaurant and was wise enough to order an "Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout" which was absolutely phenomenal, and usually after I try a beer like this I end up brewing a clone. So I got the recipe from BYO and bought the ingredients. Tomorrow I plan on brewing it but need...

I have only brewed ales in my homebrew career (25+ batches) all in my basement for simplicity's sake. In the summer I run an ambient temp of 66-68F*. I am currently trying a new (for me) technique of using a swamp cooler. With a wet shirt and a fan, the temp on the fermenter reads 61-62 and I...

I live in Naperville, IL and there are no helpful water reports on the internet. I brew with tap water and am wondering if I need to start adding things to my mash. Here's a Chicago report that I believe may be the tap water I get. I've made a lot of batches and as bad as it sounds I've never...

My last couple brews, my safale us-05 has attenuated way too much. My FG's end up in the mid 00's. My most recent brew was a Sierra Nevada PA clone that went from 1.054 to a 1.006 which is an apparent attenuation of 89%. I was shooting for around 5.7% and end up with a 6.3%. Here is my bill...

I have never missed my OG on an all-grain brew by more than a few points, but I missed one tonight on an IPA. Beersmith estimated at 72 but I measured a 60 (12 points!!!) I boiled too much off so I added top up water to get to the right and didn't imagine it to lower the OG so much. Can I throw...

I'm making a Fat Tire clone that calls for "Pale Malt (2-Row) Bel" but the website I order from does not have it and the websites that do will cost so much it won't be worth trying the recipe. I'm looking to substitute it with Northwest Pale Ale Malt, which a few websites say can be used for...

If you are a Mr. Beer user and are looking to move to all-grain brewing, or a brew master who is brushing the dust off his old memories, I'll try to start providing a few recipes that turn out satisfactory for me that fit perfectly in a Mr. Beer brown keg fermentor. This will typically fill...

I am planning on making a "Blonde Ale" type beer tomorrow. I have all my grains and input them into BeerSmith 2 and have been fine-tuning the recipe today to get everything in check. The default mash temp was input at 150F while the recipe calls for a 154F mash, albeit I cut the recipe in half...

I bought an American Ale kit that included a can of HME in it on Amazon. I received the kit and the can of HME says "best before July 18th, 2014", which is nearly 7 months ago. I won't be able to use it for at least another month which would put it at 8 months old because my fermenter will be in...

This isn't a first batch brewer asking if he cleaned his equipment enough, but I do have a problem. I set my fermentor in an ice bath in attempt to chill it to pitch the yeast. I had put tap water, bagged ice cubes, as well as snow from outside in a dirty sink. I then cooled my wart to the...

I have had a batch of 5.7% Amber Ale in the fermentor for about a week now and wanted to know your guys' opinions on what temp it should be brewing it at. I have done some research but I have seen such an array of answers from 60 all the way up to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. My house is fairly cold...

I got a Mr. Beer kit (hey leave the amateur alone) for Christmas and I was wondering if I could use the 2 gallon keg and double it's use making it a primary and secondary fermentor. What I was thinking was getting a bucket from a hardware store, or using a big pot, or whatever it may be and...

I have had my first ever batch, which is Czech Pilsner fermenting for 13 days. I planned on bottling today or tomorrow but I have rafts of what I hope to be yeast, not mold. I took the lid off for a few pictures which I'll put links to below. The first 3 days of fermenting the room temp where...