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My least proud moment...... The rubber ring on the lid had come a little loose. It is fermenting after all. o_O Just much more softly than I'm accustomed to given the low gravity. Probably not going to be my best, but it'll be beer. Still, an interesting question, all in all, I hope....

OG was 1.034 I'll definitely be giving it a few more days (at least a week total) before doing anything, including a reading. I'm just anticipating the worst. True, I don't often brew such low gravity beers, but still... there's no krausen. It bubbled meekly for a day, maybe not even. And now...

Ok, I know, it's only been 4 days. I do plan on giving Orfy's Mild a few days more, but I have a strong suspicion that I denatured the enzymes in the mash. New stove. Cooled it right down after 10min, but the 168 probably already did the nasty by then. The notty started fermenting very slowly...

MrMalty - http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html - is telling me I only need 28ml 1318 slurry / gal for my next brew, a nut brown (1.054 OG). That does seem a lot less than I thought. A pint is 473ml. Thoughts? I know it's an inexact science and all - how much non-yeast matter coincidently...

Thanks all for the advice! I think I'm going to give pitching pure slurry (no washing) a shot. I collected the slurry of a 5gal 1318 ESB batch as is on Jan 20. MrMalty seems to suggest that I need only about 28ml for a 1gal batch (Nut Brown, split batch). I entered the "non-yeast percentage"...

And then just pitch the slurry as is into the next beer's starter, ultimately pitching it into the new beer too? No side effects? Very interesting idea regarding pumping up the initial starter. That probably sounds like the best idea - putting some yeast aside at the outset.

So, I always wash my yeast, keep it in the fridge until next time, make a starter again, pitch. I've never thought to harvest yeast from the bottom of a bottle of my brew instead. Until now. My question: do these methods produce different results? Is one *better* than the other? Culturing...

Totally. Part of the awesomeness of brewing is that there is so much to learn, and so many different types of processes / comfort levels available. My prime suggestion would be: start BIAB'ing all grain. Just go for it. :) Absolutely nothing wrong with extract or anything. If extract looks like...

Yeah, I guess it depends on whether putting together all these things is part of the enjoyment for you. For me it is. As is washing yeast or building immersion chiller, both of which I put in the "very easy" category. Suppose I'm the jump-right-in type. But point taken: if you're a total newbie...

You can definitely get going for less than $200. Even for the semi-industrious. How? Look on Craigslist / Marketplace, etc. Brewing gear is often sold off when folks move, no longer have time, etc. I bought two very nice kettles - 6.5gal (BIAB, boil) and 5gal (dunk sparge) - for $20 and $15...

I hardly ever have a spare bottling bucket available for bottling (they seem to be good at filling up with new beer pretty quick), so I just transfer to brew kettle and use the siphon to bottle from there. Been working well.

I do beer and mead mostly. If there's one thing I've learnt about cider: give it time. It gets way better with age.

Cost-effective, easy, unique, delicious, easy-drinking: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/kiss-yer-cousin-rye-kentucky-common-ale.290419/

If you keep using a big pot, be aware of the volume you'll loose during the boil (due to larger surface area). Also, it might be hard to maintain a stable mash temperature.

+1 on getting the 1 glass gallon jugs from the supermarket. I picked up a bunch for Whole Foods, with excellent apple juice inside (graff! cider!) for something like $7.99. Works great. I'm also scaling down to diversify. Note: depending on what yeast you use and whether you wash it for re-use...

Wish I skipped extract brews. Go straight to Brew in a Bag. Save on extract, get a bag. That's where the learning really gets going. It's not difficult. Don't upgrade any equipment until you've gone all grain.

Awesome, thanks all!

So, I made an ESB with the BIAB method, thinking that a larger mash volume = better efficiency. Instead of going with the prescribed 1.25qt/lb, I went with 2.2qt/lb, also because it fills my kettle more and loses less heat during the mash. 1st Q: to what "extent* will this affect an ESB? I...