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I seldom post anymore but this caught my eye. Outside of the Midwest, people may not get this, but Spotted Cow has my vote. FWIW, in my judgement Bud Light and Blue Moon are pretty great examples of their respective styles.

Haven’t posted in a loooong time, because I got sick of my top tier system, takes too long to set up and tear down... My wife got me an Anvil for Christmas and I just finished my first brew. I’m loving it! I broke an electrician rule and wired my outdoor outlet for 220v... (I‘ll keep the extra...

Not too early. Most say much of the yeast character is developed during the growth phase and you’re well past that.

If fermenting cold, I’d use two packs of fresh w34/70. You’ve got 3 packs of not so fresh. Go for it. I did recently receive some expired dry yeast from an online store and it fermented just fine.

I’d make as big of a starter as my flask will hold, decant, and pitch. I’d bet money that it’ll be just fine, but have some dry yeast on hand just in case.

I've always used damprid. It absolutely works, but it isn't rechargeable. If enough people say that the units sold on Amazon and other places work well I might be convinced to give them a try.

Doh!

I'm normally a function over form kind of guy, but had to do something a little different to get mama to allow this to be in a loving space.

I've got one on day 2 in the kettle right now, and I made a few last summer. I think mine's pretty well dialed in. Recipe - I do 50/50 pilsner and wheat. Hallertau hops at 5 or 6 IBUs. Your mash temp sounds about right. You do want it to be pretty dry. You will want to do a short boil...

This is one of those things that home brewers might geek out on a little more than we need to. I'd bet money that your beer will be great with a 2L starter.

That's what temp my basement is. If my chest freezer is full, I use my basement. I chill to 60, pitch and forget with a cal ale strain.

Agreed. Just in case I wasn't clear, I use bru'n water to calculate my water adjustments, and to be prepared to make an adjustment on the fly. Once in a blue moon, ph will be outside of the calculated range, and I'll need to make an adjustment.

Bru'n water. It's not a separate calculation necessarily. Once I've got all my numbers where I want them I just plug in some acid to see how much it takes to lower, and pickling lime to see how much it takes to raise it. It's probably not perfect, but definitely close enough. It's not too...

I use a calculator to get/predict my mash where I want it with salt additions and acid, and also to calculate what adjustment would be required during the mash should I miss. I figure out how much 85% phosphoric acid or pickling lime would be required to change ph by .1. During the mash I take...

Cold brewed coffee is definitely the way to go in beer. My wife LOVES coffee stouts and porters... I'm kind of meh on them. THIS recipe on the other hand, is something we both agree on and I tend to make it fairly often. http://www.beeradvocate.com/mag/7455/white-stout/

If I want more body, carapils is what I use. 5-10% will have a noticeable impact.

W34/70 is a GREAT strain for a German Lager. It's nice to not have to make a huge starter, just buy a a couple packets for every 5 gallons. I really can't say enough good things about it. As far as American Lager strains go, I haven't found one I really like.

1. I'd check the total volume of your 2L flask. It may look like there's a lot of space above the 2L mark, but if it's anything like mine there isn't. 2.5L is the max I'll do. See the attached pic. Not saying that's a deal breaker, just something to be aware of. 2. I'd be inclined to make the...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but they're winning those awards in an American Lager category right? It's not like they're up against a Stone IPA. Bud, Miller, Coors... they're all really good American Lagers.

People knocking PBR makes me sad. I think it's a fantastic beer.