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Thought I'd come back and give an update! The Honey Malt goes a long way, gives a nice flavour to it without being overwhelming. Would not change the amount in this recipe. The vanilla does not come through very much. Next time I would use vanilla extract or use double the beans. The dryness...

You can call it a 'research' beer and learn firsthand what a beer will be like after 1wk of conditioning versus longer! How quickly it carbs can be highly variable depending on the temp of the beer, amount of yeast pitched, how viable the yeast was... blah blah blah. It will also develop a more...

Had my first AG brewday this weekend... brew went pretty well, but a cup or so of spent grains ended up in my sink and without thinking I rinsed down the drain. Immediate clog. Standing water, not a drop moving. Great. Apparently my house was plumbed by a bricklayer, because the trap for...

Not finished yet, but here's a quick update. It's been a bit over 3wks since I pitched. The US-04 & Notty seem to have finished at 1.004 & 1.000 respectively. I've transferred them to secondaries (new buckets) for now while I make a bottling bucket. I'm going to modify a spare 2gal bucket to...

Totally agree - it's always satisfying using (or drinking, for that matter) stuff you made yourself!

I'm in Canada, so I have a smaller pool of places to buy equipment without getting flogged on FX and shipping. (1 CAD is about .77 USD right now, and that's an improvement over the past few months) The two shops I typically order from only had immersion chillers with 25' coils and those were...

Thanks! I used it for a real brewday last weekend and it was great. Saved a ton of time. I recommend to clean it with some white vinegar prior to use; gets rid of any copper oxide (and plain old dirt & grime) on the surface. At the end of brew day just rinse it off with hot water.

I would think it greatly depends on what the sanitizer is... post up a name/ingredient/picture of it and someone can likely chime in with advice. Free is a great deal, but personally I like the comfort of using Starsan because I know tons of other homebrewers use it with no issues. It's also...

Sunday was brewday. Went pretty well overall, although I undershot my OG (1.043 vs 1.046 per Brewer's Friend) I added a few ounces of Dextrose to get up to 1.045 OG. I'm pleased with the choice of Hallertau after I got a chance to smell them. My LHBS had them at 3.2%AA so I adjusted my...

Alright, here's what I settled on. Picked everything up last night. Wish I could change the thread title since it's not a cream ale anymore. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brew Method: Extract w/Steep Style Name...

Did my first trial using water last night and it worked amazing! Cooled 3.5Gal from 100C down to 21C in 5.5mins with sporadic stirring. My tap water temp is 7C. Not sure how much it fluctuates in the summer months. It displaced about 0.5Gal of water in the kettle, so I'll have to keep that in...

Unless you've pasteurized it, I'd say there will likely be enough yeast in suspension to carb. I'm not sure how you would decide how much yeast to add (I've never had to do it); someone else will have to chime in.

After getting tired cold-bath cooling my 5gal kettle in the kitchen sink (it barely fits), I decided it was time to invest a few bucks in a chiller. I also plan to switch to all-grain & get a larger kettle, so I want something that is future-proof at least to that stage. Immersion seemed to fit...

I think I've settled on a recipe, thanks for the input! I'll post up the final revision when I pick up the grains etc. Brew day will be next weekend

3658 + 5gal IPA + 5gal Hefe =3668

Saving the remainder for another starter seems like a good deal to me. Just curious - are you adverse to topping up to 5gal in the fermentation vessel, or that your vessel will only hold 3gal?

I would also be concerned about compressor stink... any condensation in the tank is sure to pick up some odors, or the plastic smell of the airline. I just rack the chilled wort from the kettle to primary through a SS strainer (like a fine mesh colander) Aerates extremely well and catches most...

Thanks for the link; it still isn't working, but I found the website and they have a pretty comprehensive listing of hops that you can sort by aroma. Handy to have. Hallertau might be nice too. Described as flora/spicy/herbal. I used them in a cream ale a few months ago and it worked well. I...

That's a good point. I had cascade by default because the base was an American Amber. I'm thinking something spicy/floral/earthy might be a better fit with the sweetness of the honey malt. Would fuggles be a fit for that profile? Hops are not my area of expertise :/

Alright, plot twist: I think I might change this to a Honey Vanilla Amber Ale. Initially I was thinking to keep the honey/vanilla flavours at the forefront by making cream ale, but I think an Amber might be a bit better balanced and more pleasing. Revised recipe...