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I let the batch of beer that I'm fermenting free rise to the 70s. The larger batch has enough thermal mass that it's staying above room temperature, but the sample in the flask was so small that it probably stayed at ambient, in the mid-low 60s. I made an extra-large starter so that there would...

I just tried doing a force fermentation test on my last batch (a saison) - I poured a sample of wort into the flask that I had made my yeast starter in, so there should have been sufficient yeast for the sample. I left the sample out at room temp (~62F) for four days. For reference, the...

benchill, thanks for the detailed reply! Heating water in the kettle would definitely solve the problem of having the coil exposed. I'll have to look into those Low Watt Density elements, too. Do you have any tips for speeding up the mash out time?

I'm putting together a 55 gallon electric brew system using Blichmann Boilermakers. I'm going to use a HERMS system to control the mash temperature, and I'm trying to figure out the coil size and placement for the HLT. What size should the coil be (length/diameter) Where is the best spot on...

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I'm trying to get an idea of what the options are for large kettles. I'm looking for something at least 55 gallons and not much more, maybe 80-100 gallons max. I'd prefer something with a sight gauge, thermometer and drain valve pre-installed. At first I was considering either a 55 gallon...

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I want to buy a control panel that I can use on a 55 gallon electric set up. I'm looking to purchase this ASAP. Thanks.

Thanks for the detailed write-up, sweetcell. Usually I go for the 3-4 day method that you describe, and will definitely resume doing so for future starters. Anyways, I just sampled the beer that was fermented with this suspect yeast. It's 8 days since pitching and I've hit my estimated...

Well, I fermented/decanted the starter that I made from the suspect half-gallon starter. The beer from this new starter was slightly tart, but then again there was a lot of wort from the original half-gallon starter in this second starter, which could account for the taste. After I decanted...

Thanks for the quick reply. It's somewhere not strong enough to make you pu Another note, I poured off a container of the starter after the first week for a friend and they brewed a light pale ale with no flavor issues. Perhaps the off-flavor is from the starter wort sitting in the container...

About three weeks ago, I made a half-gallon yeast starter with 2 vials of the Yeast Geek 001 strain, which is supposed to be the conan strain. I let this ferment for one week, put it in the fridge for the second. Then I took it out for a third week at room temperature, just to make sure all...

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Would you be interested in anything from Ithaca, New England Brewing or Southern Tier?

I just posted a thread touching on this subject in the yeast sub-forum. My experience with 5335 is that you will know if your starter has been successful based on the smell and taste of the starter liquid. When it works, it tastes/smells clean and sour; when it doesn't work, it...

I thought I'd share my most recent experience at souring wort using Wyeast 5335, so that others can avoid my mistake. I'd also like some input on my current situation. My first attempt at souring wort went off like gangbusters. I boiled a weizen wort for 5 minutes, cooled to 100F and drained...

I'm brewing an APA. It's a pretty average grain bill, with 5% crystal 10. Problem is, the HBS was out of crystal 10. I ended up buying some Belgian Cara 8, a malt which I've never used, instead. What differences are there between the two malts? Will it make the malt profile of my beer...

Well, when I went to my LHBS looking for this blend, they only had three year-old packets (7/12). They weren't sure how well it would work, so they gave me the packets for free. I'm definitely lucky to live close to such an awesome store. As for not making a starter. I considered it...

I have three packets of the Wyeast Berliner-Weisse blend that I smacked five days ago (6/7) intending to use that day. Things came up and long story short, brew day had to get postponed, and I won't get to brew until tomorrow. The thing is, these yeast packets have been at room...

Thanks for all of the input. It turns out that like most things in home brewing, patience was the key. I followed the collective advice and left the starter out over the weekend. By the following Monday, there was a little more sediment at the bottom of the jar, although it was still grey...