BeerTools Discussion Forum

From the sounds of it, you've reach 70% attenuation which is in range for Safale. I think she's done, especially considering you're at 12% ABV. I don't believe the yeast in suspension will be able to bottle condition for you as they're pretty stressed from the alcoholic environment they're in. You m...

There's a number of factors that affect your extract efficiency--crush and mash pH are the first two that come to mind. As far as the mash pH, you want it between 5.2 and 5.5 for optimum conversion. Outside these limits and you will see lower extract efficiencies. Calcium has a direct effect on the ...

You'll find a lot of the judges are BJCP certified. They're web site is below:

http://www.bjcp.org/index.php

Your water is soft. According to http://www.bottledwaterweb.com , your water's analysis is: Bicarbonates: 7.2 - 20 PPM Calcium: 3.7 - 8.2 PPM Flouride: 0.2 PPM Magnesium: 0.76 - 1.4 PPM Potassium: 0.59 - 0.7 PPM Sulfates: 0.81 - 5.1 PPM Sodium: 2.4 - 4.7 PPM Total Dissolved Solids: 26 - 60 Mg/l *(ex...

From your description, it sounds like it's working. You won't always see volcanic activity in a starter. As long as you see a layer of foam (however small) and bubbles in the wort, or activity in the airlock, she's working.

I don't believe many people do the process you suggested. Personally, I think you'll actually oxidize the beer this way as the water would probably have dissolved oxygen in it. If I understand your intent correctly, you're wanting to fill bottles with carbonated beer. Is that correct? If so, and if ...

Hmmmm.....I still wouldn't, but that's me. You might want to look into getting a water analysis by a lab before committing the time and resources.

4# LME coverts to approximately 3.25# to 3.5# of DME. Keep the crystal the same as you're just going to steep it in the hot water before adding your DME. For yeast choose Wyeast 2112 or equivalent--that's the steam beer yeast. If you can, try and maintain stable ferment temperatures and definitely d...

The thought of using pond water...with all the ducks and fish swimming in it... :shock: Yech! In the days of old they used their available water sources...but they also didn't have the modern problems we have either, like acid rain, smog, etc. The boil would kill bacteria, pathogens, and such, but i...

It's a good thing to do because it helps you determine the viability of the liquid yeast you have and because you can pitch a higher cell count which leads to quicker onset of fermentation. Here's a link for you with pictures. http://www.beerdude.com/yeast_starter.shtml Here's another link that'll h...

You could...but make sure the water's boiled long enough to drive out the oxygen. Otherwise you'll oxidize the beer later down the road. Also when transferring, do so gently and don't splash the water into the beer. It sounds like your evaporation rate was higher than you expected. See if you can de...

Here's some things I thought of: Is the room cooler than usual which would cause slower activity? Is your fermenter a bucket? Maybe the lid's not on tight and CO2 is escaping through there? Maybe average mash temp was too high causing you to have too many dextrins which are harder for the yeast to e...

Mark: my comments follow: - IBUs, SRM, and OG look about right. - The yeast you're using isn't quite as attenuative as some other strains, so this will naturally leave you with a higher FG, and thus sweeter. - Your addition of lactose will also raise your final gravity, by approximately 5 or 6 gravi...

I was reading up on wheat this morning and remembered that wheat responds better to multiple-step mashes. It'll convert in a single infusion, but with reduced efficiency. Where I was going with the water question--Have you made pale beers with this water before, ie. pale or pilsner malt only? Pale m...

I doubt it's BeerTools, and I doubt it's the wheat. I would look first at your water source. What's your experience with your water source and it's effect on mahses? Do you know what your water chemistry is?