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overcooking the specialty grains (too hot for too long) can add extra unfermentables but not much extra flavor.

the density of the water can change independent of the weight and volume of the sugar addition- this is because the water molecules stay closer together on average when you dissolve something else in them- otherwise gravity would get lower as you added sugar because the water molecules would be...

if it had 2-4 weeks at 65F it probably is already carbonated. once it carbonates it stops carbonating more and stays carbonated until you open it

just do 2 5 gallon batches at once and taste it before you bottle. if it's infected or totally messed up you can pour it out and start over. if you do extract kits and follow instructions reasonably well you are likely to get good results unless you let it get oxidized or something

yes. if you know the liquid volume and weight you can calculate the specific gravity. If you have a second identical bucket and fill it to the exact same level with water, then measure how much water that is you have the volume. To get specific gravity weigh the full water bucket then the full...

Spring water is often used because it is filtered in the ground in the process of getting to the surface. Lake water has a high potential to be microbiologically unsafe because fish and other things live in there and it must be boiled. Does it taste good to start with?

measure gravity as soon as active fermentation begins and my bet is it will be higher once the yeast mixes the wort. adding a tad more won't hurt anything but i wouldn't go too far or you may get outside the style

if you have concerns you can add some extra hops to your boil like 1/3 of what you would usually use for 5 gallons of unhopped extract- i think diminishing hop flavor is the main reason for having a pull date at all, extract should have a loooooong shelf life otherwise

15c is just fine. us-05 is a machine.

buying a hydrometer was the first upgrade. then it broke. then bought another then it broke. Bought another. kid broke that one.

softened water just has a small amount of salt in it, usually potassium to help reduce the calcium level. If it's safe to drink it should be fine for cleaning. Hit the grocery store for some filtered bottled water to brew with though it's probably worth the $6.

it should mellow over time, yes. the flavor might be way out of whack if you tasted it before fermenting it too because of other grain flavors in the wort that will change during fermentation. Hop flavor diminishes over time too. the recipes are balanced so they taste right after not before...

the good news is you have perfected your recipe and can make it again or even double up next time because you know it is good

come to think of it i think they boil peanut butter at the factory in the manufacturing process to sanitize it

2. I don't think peanut butter has a flavor as delicate as honey that changes when boiled. It's used in hard candy and stuff and that is even hotter than boiling. 3. EC-1118 is excellent for going very way dry if that is your goal. Might go below 1.000. It takes anything resembling a sugar...

you probably got lousy mixing of the cold water and wort and wound up with a denser layer below at 1.090 and a layer on top at 1.045. The yeast will stir it up when it gets going and my guess is if you measure after fermentation kicks off it will be higher than the current reading or read 1.045...

immersion in water helps a lot because it acts like a heat sink

it will probably be just fine

i would not worry at all what you did is almost optimal off by 1 degree. give it 24 more hours

i plugged this into http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator/ and got a gravity of 1.037 assuming 5 US gallons which is i think 5 or 10% different from 40 uk pints i think you just don't have quite enough fermentables. i'd just add another .8-1kg of malt extract or whatever...