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  1. WoodlandBrew

    Overshot my SG

    That's a fine solution. I've done that before with good results.
  2. WoodlandBrew

    Missed my final gravity.....what did I do wrong?

    Thanks! Good lick on your brews.
  3. WoodlandBrew

    Missed my final gravity.....what did I do wrong?

    Fermax is fine. I actually haven't found a product that has the sterols that are needed for healthy anaerobic cell growth. If you are pitching at least 0.75 billion per liter degree plato, and aerating well at inoculation, it's not really an issue, and effects the subsequent beer more than...
  4. WoodlandBrew

    Missed my final gravity.....what did I do wrong?

    It looks like that one contains diammonium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, yeast hulls, B vitamins and calcium salts. The diammonium phosphate would be important if it is a nitrogen deficiency, and the yeast hulls will help if it is a sterol limit, but not much. My book is "Brewing...
  5. WoodlandBrew

    Missed my final gravity.....what did I do wrong?

    I would be hesitant to add oxygen with the high amount of alcohol that is present. You risk alcohol dehydrogenase which will add a "wet cardboard" taste to the beer. Oxygen is needed at the onset of fermentation so that yeast can synthesize sterols. Most yeast nutrient contains ergosterol so...
  6. WoodlandBrew

    Missed my final gravity.....what did I do wrong?

    Thanks! I'm glad you liked the book!
  7. WoodlandBrew

    Cinnamon in a sasion

    The easiest way to mess up a beer is to mess with it. However, part of the fun of homebrewing is experimenting. If you want to try the cinnamon and citrus flavors in beer, you might try adding them to a small sample to see if you like it, and at what ratio. You could buy a nips from the liquor...
  8. WoodlandBrew

    Missed my final gravity.....what did I do wrong?

    LME is notorious for poor fermentability. Ray Daniels in Designing Great Beers Goes into details. If I remember correct it ranges from 40% to 75% fermentable. The water in the LME allows for maillard reactions to continue while in storage which reduces the fermentability. .. so the yeast...
  9. WoodlandBrew

    Missed my final gravity.....what did I do wrong?

    It will be effective, but not as effective as in the primary because there is less yeast in the secondary. From your description of the problem I'm pretty confident that this will work for this purpose, but I can't say this will work every time. Generally speaking adding yeast nutrient will...
  10. WoodlandBrew

    Missed my final gravity.....what did I do wrong?

    Substrate limitation is when a microorganism runs out of one of it's vital nutrient. Malt extract has plenty of carbohydrates for the yeast, but a limited amount of FAN (free amino nitrogen which is nitrogen that yeast can use). It sounds like your starter was fine assuming that it was two days...
  11. WoodlandBrew

    Missed my final gravity.....what did I do wrong?

    There should be enough yeast to finish fermentation, but it will be slower than it would have been in primary. Assuming that your fermentation temperature is reasonable, the low attenuation sounds like substrate limitation. My guess would be nitrogen, but it could also be sterol. You might...
  12. WoodlandBrew

    Best Way To Add DME / LME?

    What Tinseth has come up with mostly agrees with Malowicki's Thesis on the subject if you drop what Tinseth calls "The bigness" factor. Here is my summary I put together for the HBT main page: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/bittering-hops-in-15-minutes.html If you can find this paper...
  13. WoodlandBrew

    Best Way To Add DME / LME?

    Mostly yes. There is anecdotal evidence that the character is different, but in terms of isomerismised alpha acids the difference is negligible.
  14. WoodlandBrew

    Will this taste good?

    That sounds like a beer I would like, but everyone's taste is different. If this is one of your first beers i would recommend riding it out until it mellows to something you would like. If you are familiar with how flavors evolve over time you might try bending it with some additions before...
  15. WoodlandBrew

    Steeping question

    You will want to remove the grains before the boil. Once the temperature gets to about 160°F there can be significant tannin extraction, especially if your pH is high.
  16. WoodlandBrew

    Best Way To Add DME / LME?

    If the malt extract is still in the original package it is practically sterile because of the way it is manufactured. Some of my best beers were made by adding it directly to the fermentor. It will be difficult to dissolve in the cold water, but over the course of a couple days the yeast will...
  17. WoodlandBrew

    Light colored Extract beers. Possible?

    You can make a fine beer with no boil. If the extract is still in the package from the manufacturer it is sterile, or very close, so boiling is not required. Boiling extracts will produce maillard reactions that will darken the beer and add a malty or caramelized flavor.
  18. WoodlandBrew

    Improving My Technique

    I agree with the other posters. The water bath to control temperature and a yeast starter are going to be the most effective at improving beer quality. If you already have a huge pot and propane burner, great, go for the full boil. If you haven't made that purchase you might consider...
  19. WoodlandBrew

    Expanding batch size from extract kits

    A large head space shouldn't cause a contamination issue, but bacteria trapped in the wood might. Wine barrels are often retired and sold relatively inexpensively once they start to show signs of contamination.
  20. WoodlandBrew

    100% Extract

    That sounds like acetaldehyde. The level could be higher than normal due to a high fermentation temperature. The good news is that it should mellow with age. http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html
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