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What yeast did you pitch? Some do just fine pitching at that temp...although that is rare. Unless you pitched a Belgian strain that likes super high temps, you may have off flavors. Get it cooled down to low 60's ASAP and leave it in the primary for an extra week or two and see what happens...

I was under the impression that "conditioning," although it encompasses the carbonation process, goes beyond that as well. Does conditioning not also include some further cleaning up and flavor maturation of the beer? Not that all of this should occurr at 70 degrees (think lagering for...

A bit slow on the response. I fermented at 67-68 for the full time. I think the S-05 is more forgiving in that it will produce a clean profile at all but the extremes of its range. I would use it again.

I brewed an IIPA (9.32%ABV, 85IBU) and used 2 packets of S-05. Took is down from 1.080 to 1.009. I found that it took a bit longer to condition in the bottles than some of the other liquid yeasts that I had used, but ultimately was an incredible IIPA. When young it had that sticky sweet...

Some answers: 1. I like to use 1.25quarts/lb but if you are using pumpkin in the mash you may use a bit more. 2. After you know the total water required (based on lbs of grain and equipment) subtract #1 and use the rest to sparge. 3. Yes, mash it all, including the pumpkin (although you can put...

Are you getting the ABV noted on the kit? If not, you are missing something. Either your calculations are off or you are not letting the yeast do their work. There is no "efficiency" issue with extract (which I am assuming you are using), so we need more info to help you out on this one.

Not sure how many gravity points 1lb (or even 4lbs) of pumpkin will add. I did notice that my mash tun (10gal cooler) now has a nice orange tint and the wort had a bit of an orange hue. I am hoping for enough pumpkin flavor so that you know it's in there but not overpowering, a nice orange...

I brewed a pumpkin ale last week. Roasted 4lbs of pumpkin puree for 30 min at 350F then put it in the mash. I used 1lb of rice hulls. Runoff was slower than normal despite the thin mash and rice hulls, but pulled off enough liquid. My efficiency was lower than normal. Not sure if it was the...

If you are making any more than 1 gallon, you need a lot more honey. I added 2 lbs of local honey recently to a 5 gallon batch (after flameout) and still lost 98% of the flavor/aroma. You may try using the honey for priming. I think the small amount may be okay for that, and you are more...

I got the standard ball valve from bargain fittings. The owner emailed me several times answering questions. Great experience. As for 1/2" vs 3/8", its really personal preference. Obviously you will get a slower drain with a smaller hole. I do not have anything inside the kettle, but have...

The S-05 is a great yeast, but in my experience you need to let your IPA condition longer in the bottles than expected. I was very disappointed at first and blamed the yeast. After about 4 weeks, the flavor was very good. After 6 weeks it was great. As for techniques, I am a big fan of dry...

I use a copper coiled immersion chiller. As others say, getting below 100 is pretty quick. Getting below 80-85 takes some time. I have heard of guys using a submersible pump and recirculating ice water through the immersion chiller once the temp gets below 100 and it drops to 60 in a hurry...

In Europe/Germany, all beers except the high gravity Belgians come in 0.5L bottles. I brought several cases of swing top bottles back. They do take a little longer to carb up but they are a more appropriate size for your Weizen, or any other old world beer. If you have plastic cases made for...