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Yep, you've got that right. I ended up with 90-95% AA when I'd originally planned on 75-80%. On the bright side, SWMBO can get drunk from these :mug:

I used to believe the same thing, that mash temp typically didn't change fermentability by more than 5-10% between the far ends of the my typical mashing range, 149F-158F. My issue is that I went past the far end, effectively mashing at 162-164F. I did 3 mashes, resulting in 6 different...

Sure thing JonK331 http://www.cdn-timeandtemp.com/consumer/products/proaccurate/

I've added Termamyl (liquid alpha amylase) to 3 of the beers at 70F, and after a week all 3 have gone from ~40% AA to ~55% AA. So far so good, I'm going to let them sit for awhile longer.

Thanks ODaniel, another great idea. My understanding was that amalyse works at mash temps. Did you just add it to the beer at fermentation temp?

In actuality, it is accurate to calibrate over a range wider than the one you expect to use.

Thats a great idea. Hadn't even crossed my mind.

I've brewed my last few batches with a f****d up thermometer (+10F) and as a result, I've been mashing at 162-164F instead of 152-154F. All the beers have fermented completely to about 40% AA instead of the ~75% I've been aiming for. In tasting the beers, they don't taste bad, nor do they...

I like to do a two point calibration for my mash thermometer, boiling and ice water, since mash temp is much closer to boiling than ice. I buy ~15$ thermometers from restaurant supply stores that have hex on the back that lets you calibrate them. I recommend either using two to prevent errors...

I hope you're not running over the grain with your BMW :) Humor aside, a picture of the crushed grains might be a good start. This gives you an idea what to look for - http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/CrushEval Also, I don't stir the grain at the end of the mash. Just run it off, add...

What are your goals with the ginger beer? I've made 3 beers with ginger so far, each with 2-3 ounces fresh grated ginger root, half at 15 min & half at knock out. I really like the "moderately string ginger smell with hint of ginger flavor." 8 ounces might be a ginger hammer, which might be...

I use two 8" commercial grade thermometers, and I've not had one break in two years. They are easy to calibrate, and quite accurate over time as long as you don't drop them. $15 each at the local restaurant supply store. http://www.cooper-atkins.com/productspecsheet.asp?pid=46

You can water it down in the kettle, during the boil. You might want to adjust the hops too.

I generally put 5.5 gallons of wort into 6 gallon Better Bottles, and typically only have blowoff with Hefeweizen yeast or if I'm pitching to a cake. My 5g glass carboys hold 5g, so 4.5 should be fine. You can also make the wort more concentrated, then dilute back to 5g with boiled water...

I've done the MO & Amarillo twice, and have been very happy with Smasharillo. Lately I've been using alot of Czech Saaz, and I'm curious how that would be in a Smash.

That is certainly true. I like to always take the first wort gravity, as that is an indicator of the efficiency of the mash conversion. I also like to track the efficiency of each sparge after I make process changes to see if anything's changed.

I'm not familiar with beersmith's dilution tool, but I do know how to calculate this with a simple formula. Measure the Volume (V) and Specific Gravity (SG) of each running. Then, for each running, multiply V * SG = Extraction Points (EP) Sum EP for all the runnings, then divide by the total...

Wow, I had no idea there is an anti-auto siphon contingent. I normally just use mine to go from fermenter to keg, and haven't had any issues. If I'm moving a beer with dry hops, I tie a hop sack over the inlet, which seems to do the trick. As for infections, I always use the siphon to pump...

Sure, you can add DME to bump up the gravity. Personally, I'd wait until fermentation starts to slow down. To get to 1.073 overall, you'd need to add about 3.5 pounds of DME to a total volume of 1 gallon to raise the total volume to 7 gallons at 1.073. That may be alot for the volume, but I...

For another picture, I found this very useful - Decoction mash - Home Brewing Wiki I've skipped the protein rest with no ill results.