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I think I maybe have my problem solved - and it's the way I was measuring gravity. I took a sample from the liquid off at the top of the bucket, which in my new 5G test bucket also read around 1.02. I decided to stir up the mash and then take another reading. This time it came out around 1.060. So h...

rad - I'm using Burton Ale Yeast (WLP023) and I had it fermenting at 68F. Interesting to know that they may like a higher temp. I'll try that out. I still have the issue of a low SG to figure out. I had another 10 pounds of corn left, so yesterday I picked up some more malt to do a 5 gallon batch. T...

I moved my bucket to a warmer area last night, and added some yeast (I had it on hand, and figured it wouldn't hurt). This morning it was bubbling a little more, but not much. If I get the chance this weekend, I may brew up another 5G batch and see what kind of SG I get out of it. Meanwhile, I'll st...

Corn was cracked feed corn. I added around a gallon of backset to each. (One batch got a little less, because the container the backset was in was smaller. Maybe that's a significant difference? I think the one that's stalled is the one that got the smaller amount, but I'm not 100% sure.) Malt seeme...

Corn went in to 205F water and rested for about 6 hours. It was a little over 140F when I added the other grains. I just remembered that I also drew off some of the liquid to measure with a hydrometer. That actually came in at 1.02 (uncorrected for temperature). I aerated by shaking the buckets for ...

Both buckets are fermenting side-by-side at 68F (hooked up to a temperature controller with a heating element on the outside of the bucket). I'll try bringing it upstairs and see what happens. I'm not sure why the SG wasn't higher. I wasn't sure what to expect and I didn't have a refractometer when ...

I'm on my second run of this. Thanks Jimbo for the recipe. It's the first all-grain I've done. I don't have any really large fermenters, so I did a couple 5 gallon batches to put into 5 gallon bucket fermenters. Both batches used the same grain bill, same procedure, and same yeast (I made a starter,...

Hi all. I'm pretty new to this hobby and this site has been an amazing resource. I built a simple pot with a keg, 2" column, and a liebig condenser. I've done one run of Birdwatchers and one run of Jimbo's Wheated Bourbon (with another fermenting right now). It's pretty fun and I'm looking forw...