assuming the above post is supposed to be in this thead...(the first sentence makes me think it's in the wrong topic)..
Carnie, i don't know you from a bar of soap, but it seems to me like your posting that just to stir up stuff again.
Ill also assume your mostly referring to me when you say "smarting about stc humiliation". That's just plain ******** mate.
Humiliation? pfft. I learn't something new about the wiring of the stc's, i apologised and thanked him for explaining it to me - we all moved on.
This site is about acquiring and sharing knowledge and learning stuff about beer, it's not a contest dude.
Now, on to the topic of the "angry" advice given here.
The only contentious things i read are about how to go about mixing DME successfully, and the idea of using ice to cool it down.
1. FACT - "stirring" DME in hot/boiling water does not make clumping WORSE. It's just plain incorrect.
If the person who posted it thinks it does, they are doing it wrong.
Hot water into a bowl, pour and stir as you go. No clumps/minimal clumps, too easy.
2. With the exception of using boiled and cooled water to actually create the ice, using ice from a shop to cool your beer is a potential for problems. It's been documented previously on AHB as a potential source of infection, as you have no idea where the water came from to make the ice. Won't make you sick, but that doesn't mean it wont contribute to spoiling a beer.
Not guaranteed, but it increases the risk.