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This is the first time that I have used all RO water. I wanted to follow Gordon Strong's recipe exactly as specified. He starts with all RO water and makes adjustments. I like my tap water with one exception. Sulfates are high for my taste - 66 ppm. Depending on the style, I normally cut it...

Interesting. I got my "RO" water from a machine or system at a local grocery store - Kroger. It claimed multiple stages of filtering and one of the stages clearly was reverse osmosis. Now, I am thinking that this system isn't a very good one. Last time I had my tap water tested the total...

Thanks Martin, that is very helpful!

In Gordon Strong's book Modern Homebrew Recipes he says that .25 tsp of 10% phosphoric acid in 5 gallons of RO water will lower the pH to 5.5. I gave this a try this weekend and I found that it took me 1 whole tsp of 10% phosphoric acid to lower my RO water to a pH of 5.5. Does anyone...

I appreciate the input. Based on that I will go with 5% in stead of 7%. Thanks.

Your are right, my logic is flawed. I was trying to ask my question in such a way where people would stop focusing on boil off rate. The bottom line is that I am going to change my water to grain ratio. With less water to grain my efficiency will go down. It's a matter of making a new equipment...

Thanks for all of the comments on boil rate. The pot that I currently use is almost the same diameter as the new keggle. The keggle is just taller so since the surface area of the wort will be about the same I am predicting the same boil off rate. I may be proven wrong on that but for now please...

I don't think you are following me. The boil off rate may change but it certainly will not double. Therefore, if I merely double the amount of water and double the amount of grain and boil for the same length of time that I normal boil for I will have a *lower* S.G. not higher.

I'm an experienced homebrewer - experienced on my equipment. I brew 5 gallon batches. I double batch sparge. I was given a keggle and so now I'd like to brew a 10 gallon batch. Before I do that I want to get my ducks in a row. I've seen posts on this forum that say to just double everything in...

I attached a picture to my previous post but I don't see it. Anyone know what I did wrong?

My fermentation frig is under repair so I am using my janky old fermentation box. But, what I want to show in the included picture is a method for capturing blow off yeast. Since the yeast for this recipe always seems to come out the top I rigged up a way to capture the blown off yeast so that I...

sikkingj, Your approach sounds promising. I am not understanding why you decant your 4L starter if you plan to capture the blow off from it. Or, are you saying that you capture blow off from the fermentor and throw THAT back in? Would you mind clarifying? Thanks!

I brewed this recipe 4 months ago with minor tweaks. The recipe calls for 2.5 lbs of D180 but I only used 2 lbs since it comes in 1 lb packs. To compensate, I did a double decoction. With each decoction I boiled for 30 minutes. Also to compensate for the .5 lbs of D180 that I cut out of the...

Yes, that has been my point all along. But what I have been trying to get at is this: Is the recipe shooting for 36 or 40 IBUs? The description says 36 IBUs but based on the instructions (to dump the syrup at the end of the boil) it is actually yielding 40 IBUs.

No, it's not AA% variation. With my software, I entered the same AA% as the recipe on the first post with the O.G. set to 1.090 like in the recipe. If the D-180 is added at the beginning of the boil I get 36.7 IBUs. If it is added at the end of the boil I get 40.6 IBUs. If you are trying...

The recipe found in the first post of this thread says that the IBUs = 36. My software comes up with a different number but that could be due to my settings. I'm curious. Does this 36 IBUs calculation take into account that the syrup is added at the end of the boil. The choice to add syrup...

I have had great success with using gelatin in the past. I bloom for an hour in cold water. Heat to 160. Stir the solution into the cloudy beer for about 2 minutes. I usually get very clear beer in 2 to 3 days. However, on my last batch, it did not clear. Perhaps it was because I had not...

That makes sense. Thanks for the info!

If I make a cider that would be considered a Common Cider, Category 27A, (based on the 2008 BJCP guidlines) and then I age it in a wooden whiskey barrel, would it still fit in the Common Cider category or would it be a better fit in category 28D - Other Specialty Cider?

I think you make a great point about how fining can quickly remove much of the green taste from a beer. But why jump all over my point that breweries (and I never said Budweiser) tend to lager, lager beers? I would not call Budweiser the gold standard but it is my understanding that even they...