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3.5 pounds of 2-row pale malt at 70% efficiency in 2 gallons (final) will give you about 4.7% abv. About 0.5 ounces at 60 minutes and 0.5 ounces at 5 minutes would give you about 30 IBU's without an overwhelming hop flavor. Not sure if this is anywhere close to what you are looking for, and I...

I would make it more specific. You are not going to write a good paper with 3,000 words if you hope to cover all aspects of craft brewing. There is yeast and its contributions, malt, hops, water, water chemistry, fermentation, alpha acid and its contributions, etc, etc, etc. Especially if it is...

They will certainly keep things sanitary, but direct from farm honey is likely unpasteurized these days. This means that while safe to eat, it certainly can add undesirable bacteria to the beer. Heating the honey or adding to boil is how you would eliminate that, or add after initial...

The yeast you already pitched is working. Save the new yeast for another batch.

How about fermentation temp control? This is much more important than temp you pitch at. Also, have you looked at your water chemistry? Lack of body, lack of head retention, and just tasting off makes me think you might have issues with your water profile.

When interviewing, one of the questions that I was asked was the normal "tell me about your hobbies" and I mentioned that I homebrew. The response by the interviewer was along the lines of "a few years ago we had someone who we terminated for an alcohol problem, how do we know you don't have a...

Today I am brewing my 3rd 5 gallon batch this year, after a long pause due to new job, new house and new baby. MACC IPA, Centennial Blonde, and RIS: 11,491.5 + 15 gal = 11,506.5

Just brewed my second batch of this beer, for an additional 5 gallons =6741

I'm in!

Letting it sit out won't do anything for chloramines but the campden should work well. Maybe post your water report to see if there is something else going on?

Dont' stir it. The sugar will all dissolve on its own, albeit more slowly, and stirring will increase the oxidation of your beer. Leave it alone, and it will be fermented out when you are ready to bottle.

Personally, I would make half batch sized brews. I don't drink enough to have to chase larger batch sizes, so making 2.5 gallons,would be my choice. You definitely should look into the heat stick or other option to increase the heat. I wouldn't be worried at all about hot side aeration myself, fwiw.

I think the crush is a lot more likely to be the issue. Poor crush is one of the most common causes of poor efficiency.

Adding crystal will NOT do anything to boost the abv. If you added anything, it would be sugar. However, since you are new, you would be better off letting it be in the fermenter for another couple weeks, then bottling it and learning from how it turns out. The less you mess with a beer, the better.

(Og - fg) x 131.25 = abv

I assume you don't smoke? If so, that would obviously be a much more likely culprit than the alcohol, even if it hadn't caused problems in the past. Definitely sounds like allergies are the main cause, though, based on the pattern of your symptoms. Try some claritin or zyrtec, and see if it...

Is your 500 square foot space everything, including shipping and receiving, storage, grain, all retail space, and counter? I don't see how you could possibly fit more than a few pre-made kits and a little equipment in that amount of space if that is the case. Get the bigger place, and use the...

Lots of people dry hop in the keg, but if you are adding hops to an already carbonated beer, be careful. The addition of the hops can cause severe foaming, and you could end up with a beer volcano in your keggerator. It might be best to turn the gas off and release the pressure a couple times a...

Did you stir well while chilling? That is going to have a huge impact on the speed your wort chills down.

You are correct, with beer, you definitely do NOT want to mess with the beer once the yeast is pitched, other than keeping it in the proper temperature for the yeast. Adding oxygen by stirring up the beer, or even just opening the fermentor too often, can cause your beer to taste like wet...