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Dubbel's need 2 things in my mind: Special B, which you have already, and dark candy syrup. I like D90 in Dubbels. A lb of it should do nicely, but 2 lbs would also work if you wanted more of those flavors (these are scaled to 5 gal recipes, you would need more). The popular Belgian Dark...

Infected for sure, but I don't think I'd bottle yet with the same overcarb concern voiced by beergolf. Too much headspace IMO, regardless of the infection. But now that it is, I would be tempted to go buy some Orval and add the dregs of 3 or 4 bottles. Then let it sit for a few months as the...

I'd drop the crystal altogether. Kolsch's are pale an should not be sweet. Mashing 5% white wheat and some pilsner malt (love Global Kolsch malt) @ 152F for 30 minutes may improve flavor. And them you would have a partial mash. Otherwise just roll with strictly Pilsner extract. 8 oz of honey...

Eventually I think you should try all of the bases. I've kind of gone in this order: US 2-row, Pilsner, US Pale (kilned a little higher), Marris Otter, and Vienna. After brewing multiple beers with them, you start to learn what works well with what. I thought a Vienna based IPA would be...

I wouldn't dilute after the fermentation starts. I guess I'd roll with the 1.071 beer and lager longer. Should be tasty assuming you pitched a crap load of yeast. If you have a 6.5 gallon bucket, you could add another 2/3 gallon once the krausen subsides (if there is any). Make that really...

Looks pretty solid to me. If your Munich is really 60L, I'm guessing its Caramunich. If thats the case then your 2 oz of C15 would be fine. If its regular or dark Munich (8-20L), then 2 oz of C15 will not do much in the way of adding any sweetness. In that case I would up the C15 to 8 oz...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvOHbxBAEN8 And yet I salute you for giving it a go :mug:

Umm, if your recipes are correct you had 113 IBU in a 4% for brew 1. And 159.5 IBU in a 4.2% for brew 2. Thats going to be very bitter. With a light grain bill, I would have shot for something in the 18-25 IBU range for an easy drinking beer, and 30-40 if you wanted something hoppy...

I am generally more of a malty flavor guy than hoppy beers (though I brew a lot of both). So for the malty flavor, you just can't beat a decoction. Both of my recent lagers were decocted. I have decoted some ales as well. Barleywine, Altbier, Kolsch (definitely alters the flavor, not...

Dunkels sometimes use 100% Munich Base. If you have an oz or two of Carafa or RB, you could throw that in in the last 5 minutes of the mash for color. Chocolate could also be used I suppose, but in a small amount for a Dunkel.

I don't have that much experience with S-05, maybe 2-3 brews total. From what I can tell it attenuates well. I used Bells yeast (also attenuates well) for my RIS. OG 1.102, FG 1.029. I coaxed another 5-8 points of it by getting creative. This with pitching 2/3 of a yeast cake from previous...

I doubt you will have issues with low gravity. Maybe if you pitched a whole ton of yeast (which you absolutley SHOULD do), mashed very low, and then ramped the temps in the last 30% of fermentation like Belgians you would get a 1.017 FG. But I still doubt it. I bet you finish 1.023-1.030...

You get a different sort of oaking experience using Barrels vs cubes. Generally the barrel will be superior, but its both expensive and inconvenient for homebrewers to use barrels, so cubes made from real oak staves is a wonderful compromise. Since they are using barrels, they have to split up...

I second the DME addition (or even late additon LME if its fresh). Northern Brewer/Midwest has a Maris Otter LME that I've used twice for the same purpose. Its good stuff and they have a ton of turnover so I know its pretty fresh. If you wanted to up it by malt, I'd just up the base malt...

There are many great brewing software programs out there (some of them require payment). I keep a brew log in Excel and use the free Brewers Friend site to build initial recipes. http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator/ For example, for a mash conversion efficiency of...

On the surface it looks fine. It would help if you gave out the projected OG and/or mass of malts. That way we can figure if this is more of a moderate gravity Pale Ale (say 1.052), an IPA (~ 1.065) or even a DIPA (1.080+). Without that its hard to figure if you are hopping heavily, just...

Theres got to be better ways to brew indoors than using propane. High wattage induction plate (~ 3500 w) will be my choice if I ever build a brew room at the cabin (with a hood to vent steam) Brewing is a fun hobby, but is not worth risking it indoors. I think the difference between a brew...

If you do brew a Festivus, better see if you can find brewer's assistant Mulva to help out. If she's busy, maybe Delores could help out. Also don't brew this one out in the cold, or it might shrink like a frightened turtle. Yes, those things shrink.

I do BIAB, so I won't comment on your sparging technique. You didn't mention anything about the crush you are getting on your grains. Grain mill, if so what setting is it at? 1x through the local brew shop crusher, 2x? Thats usually the first place to start with efficiency issues. Also...

+1 to above, I was going to say Old Ale might be best. I would not add it to something with roasted malts. A lot of winter warmers (spiced) are loosely based on the style.