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haha, i know *exactly* what you mean :D as an avid fly sparger, just keep this simple thought in mind--if you crush too fine and you get a stuck sparge, simply stir and batch sparge! ta-da! no more brew-day pressure! low efficiency for home brewers is one of two things: channeling, or not...

An 1800 watt induction hotplate will bring 4 gallons of wort/water to a rolling boil at a rate of ~2.5F per minute as long as there is a single layer of Reflectix insulation (the silver bubble wrap stuff) on the sides and lid of your kettle. Two layers of insulation is slightly faster. Heat...

regardless, a gfci on your outlet is a lot closer walk than to your panel. oh, and +1 to Maxkling and jkarp.

First try hot water. That doesn't work? Oxyclean and hot water. That doesn't work? Comet. That doesn't work? Razorblade. That doesn't work? New stove. ;)

Before I got a pump I used a heavy duty shelf from Costco for a three tier, gravity setup. Worked like a champ. Transfer hot water to the top tier via a quart Pyrex measuring cup, and yer good to go.

I agree with milholen. Only other thing I would recommend is a high temp march pump and quick disconnects (bargainfittings.com)

only way to really know is subsequent testing. if the SG remains stable over the course of several days, it is stable. if i were in your shoes, forget about the secondary. measure it again in 4-5 days, if the SG is the same then cold crash it for a day or two. bottle, condition, and enjoy.

clarifying beer is a fascinating subject, and it's one that depending on what exactly you want to do can be simple or more complex than the entire brewing process (maybe a slight exaggeration, but not much). hefeweizen is supposed to be cloudy, and if you heavily filtered it then it wouldn't...

Single bottle bombs are hard to predict, but do you know about the trick of putting some of your brew in a plastic 1 liter bottle? Use a clean, 1 liter soda bottle that has been sanitized and bottle that as well when you are bottle the rest of your capped bottles. That way you wan tell how...

god i love mead

IMO, an Irish stout is a beer you can do first, on the cheap, and still have it taste *awesome* Good choice, good choice. This will get you hooked easily :D

if they are 5 years old, then sending them to a lab to be tested for alpha acid >:D in practical terms, the only way you or I are gonna tell is by brewing with them. depending on how they have been kept, they may loose bitterness, aroma, both, or neither. but it's kinda like canned...

that isn't stupid, cause that sounds like it should have inverted just fine. inverting basically means breaking white sugar into sugar yeast can ferment/eat by boiling sugar with acid. (specifically glucose and fructose) you probably have a temperature issue, but don't raise it by more than 1F...

ha! the moar the merrier!!! really though without measurements it's impossible to say, but if i were to look into my crystal ball.... .... ...not too bitter, interesting aroma.

white sugar, unless it really has been inverted can ferment waaay slower. sugar has a lack of nitrogen, B vitamins, and other essentials for yeast. doesn't mean it won't ferment, just much slower.

^ +2 what VTBrewer said should be emphasized, measure and record, measure and record, measure and record :D

I found this a few days ago and will try to find it again, but too hot during the reproductive time for yeast is worse than later. As in they tend to produce more fusel alcohols at the same high temp in the beginning than later in the cycle. In general, wild swings won't ruin it, especially if...

For what it's worth I have a mead that was bubbling (or lack there of) just like you said. Upped the room temp by 2F from 65F to 67F and the bubbling quadrupled. Also, for what it's worth, the slower the ferment the cleaner and less yeasty it will taste. I'd raise the temp by 1F and see what...

Ruin? Impossible to say. You, though, will know at some point. :D

1. 5.2 pH buffer, ~$10 2. pH meter, $30-$120 3. experiment with crush, but make sure to add plenty of rise hulls ( !$??) 4. overly large, but 2x taller than wide mash tun with a false bottom and fly sparging (which ideally will include a pH meter to tell when to stop sparging) 5. or a...