Questions tagged [equipment]
The various hardware items for producing beer or wine. Includes buckets, carboys, kegs, hoses, airlocks, etc.
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Any risks to storing glass carboys and other brew equipment in an unheated garage?
We currently have all of our brewing equipment big pile in a spare room and have finally made space for it in our garage (as well as purchased some additional equipment for brewing there). We have a ...
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Temperature Probe placement on brew kettle
I have the opportunity to get some hardware for my Keggle and I am looking at a weldless sight glass with a T shape that will allow me to screw on a thermo probe compression fitting. If I buy it I ...
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Trouble with flat beer. Everything seems perfect and a few bottles always turn out great. very few! Please help
So my brother in law are in the midst of our 4th batch. Of our first batch ( a 5 gallon brew) probably 2 bottles turned out. These bottles were spectacular great carbonation, retention etc. The ...
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Choosing a good refrigerator/freezer for kegerator conversion
Does anyone have experience and recommendations for a good fridge/freezer for conversion into a kegerator? I'm basically choosing between a full sized fridge, a mini-fridge and a chest freezer. I'll ...
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First homebrewing equipment question
I'm looking at a homebrewer's equipment that is getting out of the hobby and I'm getting into the hobby. I'm wanting to spend my money wisely and while jumping right into all-grain brewing.
Here is ...
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Suckback and sampling from conical fermenters
How do people with conical (or other sealed) fermenters avoid sucking liquid from the airlock into the vessel when they take samples or remove trub through the bottom valve? Do they just remove a ...
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How to tell volume of liquid in a Keggle without a sight glass?
I recently got a 15.5 keggle from AIH and I'm wondering how I could provide markings for my liquid volume other than a sight glass.
I've seen some ideas about marking a mash paddle or a flat tip ...
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Using 5 gallon kegs for 3 gallon batches
What are the pros and cons for using a 5 gallon keg for 3 gallon batches of beer? Am I wasting a lot of Co2?
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Improving Your Brewing Significantly
I made this wiki to allow folks to post what upgrades in process or equipement really take one's beer brewing to the next level. The bottle-necks to better and better brewing if you will. (This was ...
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Wine Thief or a simpler way to sample wort from a carboy?
I was unable to get an O.G. sample from my first batch in the carboy (tried using a long siphon tube with my finger held over one end...), so I'm trying to buy a wine thief to take final gravity, but ...
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Can a twist-off bottle be capped?
Out of curiosity (and appreciation for Boulevard's bottle's form-factor), can a twist-off bottle be reliably capped?
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Brew stand recommendations
My buddy and I are looking to upgrade to a 20 gallon brew stand, and I'm looking for recommendations between buying a full setup, which brand, or making one ourselves.
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What wattage element is needed for hot liquor tank/heat exchanger, and what about brew kettle?
I'm completely captivated by www.theelectricbrewery.com, love their directions, and have ordered the parts, so I'll have my experience soon, but what is your experience with selecting hot water heater ...
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Bottle Sizes Smaller than 12 Ounces?
Has anyone ever seen 8oz bottles anywhere? I was asked if I could bottle a batch of homebrew in smaller bottles so it could be given out as gifts to more people. I can't seem to find anything ...
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The right first kit?
I've seen a lot of kits and adds online to brew your own beer, but they don't seem all that easy or great.
And any suggestions on what kit(s) to start with?
How much should I plan to spend to get ...
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Will this recipe make drinkable mead?
I want to make mead, but lack any real equipment/skill. I have done "wine" and "mead" before, but only at the "hooch" level of quality and control. All I have access to is a siphon tube and ~2L ...
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plastic storage for bottles
I just found out that roaches harbor in cardboard boxes. Not to mention that cardboard breaks down easily when filled with damp, freshly sanitized bottles. Does anyone have suggestions for plastic ...
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Beer Smith 2 Equipment settings.
Just got Beer Smith 2 and I was wondering if anyone has done equipment profiles and could give me some pointers on where to start. Prost
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Heat spreaders on electric elements
I use electric kettle and hlt, the issue I keep having is that the brews keep coming out darker than I want. This went unnoticed when brewing stouts and bitters, but I have tried a couple of very pale ...
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Carboy versus 2nd Bucket
What are the benefits in using a carboy for a secondary, rather than just using another 5 gallon bucket? I'm just curious because carboys are a pain in the behind to clean properly, and other than ...
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What are the simple things i should be careful about (like bleach) for my first time brewing?
I'm planning to make my first batch within the next couple of days and was checking what all thing i should not OVERDO (like bleach sanitation).
Should i be careful before i cap my bottle (i don't ...
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Do three-way ball valves control flow rate as effectively as one-way ball valves?
I'm planning on implementing three-way ball valves in my three vessel, single pump system and I want to be able to regulate flow on the outward side of the pump. Will a three-way ball valve ...
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Gravity Measurement Tools
What tools for measuring specific gravity are available to the homebrewer? EG: refractometer, hydrometer.
What scale do they measure? EG: Brix, plato
Since there hasn't been much activity on the ...
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Cooler mash tun: prevent leaks from faucet
I've add some mishaps with my standard Coleman-based mash tun, and I'm now left with a hole where the faucet was (some wort went inside the insulation, but I'd like to believe it won't impact ...
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Avoiding excessive soot on brew kettles
Are there any secret tricks to avoiding an exorbitant amount of soot on the brew kettle after the boil?
We have been making all grain batches recently using a 20 gallon stock pot and a propane burner,...
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Brass vs. Stainless Steel for fittings
I see both brass and stainless fittings for sale. Which is appropriate to use when?
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It is necessary to sanitize my wine thief after primary fermentation
I have made several batches of wine from kits and a few batches of mead. One of the things that must be done after primary fermentation is to test the specific gravity. The wine kits I have used ...
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Will my airlock problem ruin my wine?
I'm brewing a Barolo wine which is now stabilizing in a carboy with a bubble airlock fitted, the water from the airlock is being drawn into the carboy. Is this normal ? If not how can I stop this ? ...
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Airlocks and long term unsupervised fermentation
I would like to start leaving beer and mead in secondary at a location that I may not be able to get to on a regular basis (sometimes not for several weeks) and have a few questions for anyone who ...
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Fermenter head space and airlock hole
Hi folks I'm after a bit of advice as its my first time doing home brew
I'm using Wilkos dark velvet stout. As it states on the tin to make 40 pints fill, to 23 litres. Now I have a 23 litre ...
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False bottom not working effectively
I've upgraded from a 20L homebrew system to a 200L system and used it for the first time the other day. I previously did boil-in-the-bag but for my new system I have a false bottom. For my first test ...
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How to get started brewing sake
I have a packet of koji spores and these instructions: http://www.tibbs-vision.com/sake/instrct.html
The instructions call for a 2.6 gal fermenting vessel. Since I have a 7.9 gal bucket, I am ...
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How should I upgrade equipment from a Mr. Beer kit?
I have used a Mr. Beer kit two times now with acceptable success. I want to move to the next level. Can someone tell me the best kit to buy and a good book for starting?
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Using a Induction cooktop
I have been brewing in my kitchen using a giant stockpot.
My brother (my brewing partner) was thinking about picking up propane top and moving it outside. I think that it would be better to use an ...
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Long term storage of equipment like buckets and kegs, lines, etc
I'm moving, so I'm emptying my kegs (not down the drain!), and as I go I'm cleaning lines, emptying buckets, disassembling taps, etc.; and trying to figure out how best to store everything (assume it ...
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Monster Mill v.s. Kitchen Aid Mill attachment
We've been looking into getting a grain mill for some time now. I was pretty settled on getting a monster mill or some version of it until I saw the kitchen aid milling attachment. If this would work ...
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HERMS waterproof hole in heat exchanger
I'm in the initial phase of my HERMS project, and I'm struggling to come up with an elegant solution to waterproofing the hole where my copper pipe will enter the hot liquor tank. Ideally I'd like ...
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Push fit auto close valve connector required
This is a question about gear more than brewing, per se... I'm wondering if a particular component exists...
I'm trying to find a connector suitable for my system that will allow me to disconnect my ...
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Where are MillerCoors Light Home Draft units available?
MillerCoors used to sell Coors Light Home Draft and Miller Light Home Draft "kegs" at my local grocery store, but I have not seem them in a long time.
The reason I ask is because these units are very ...
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Capper indents bottle cap. Is this ok?
I have a standard, hand held bottle capper and when I am using it I am getting indentations in the cap. The larger problem is that I am having issues with inconsistent carbonation and want to ...
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Do I need additional equipment for kits with hops?
I am looking for a kit for my second brew. My first was simply a can, some added DME and the yeast that came with the can, and it turned out pretty well.
My one complaint was that it wasn't quite ...
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New All Grain Setup
I've been brewing extract kits for a while and I think it's time to go to all grain brewing, but I don't exactly know what to buy. I have the book How To Brew and it shows a basic setup, but I'd like ...
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How to brew all-grain indoors
I've been brewing with extracts and specialty grains for two years now, and I want to step up to all-grain brewing. From what I understand, it's important to get a full boil when brewing all-grain and ...
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What are the easiest and hardest commercial beer bottles to re-use for homebrew? [closed]
One of the great perks of homebrewing is the ability to reuse, rather than just recycle the bottles that come into your house. You just soak off the labels and re-use!
All bottles are not created ...
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Starting out with fruit wine?
I have never brewed, but I am playing with the thought of starting to make fruit wines. While I can get very good alcohol of other categories, fruit wines are rare, and some types are not sold here at ...
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Boil kettle from plastic fermentation bin
Can a plastic fermentation bin be modified with a heater element to make a strike-water heater or a boil-kettle?
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Turn Bottling Bin into a Mash Tun?
If I attach a removable mesh filter to hold back the grains and I properly insulate the entire bottling bin, can I dual wield it as a bottler and as a mashing tun?
What benefits are there to having ...
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Food Grade Steel Drums
I'm thinking about buying some a HUGE Blue food grade steel drums, which is either painted or enameled.If I correctly modify them, will these be okay for FV, Mashing Tubs, Boil Kettle, Strike Boiler? ...
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Malt mill gap adjustment
The nature of my work is such that i have all the materials and tools to make a mill so i am not intrested on buying one.I want to know if there is a standard gap between the rollers for all type of ...
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Should I buy two buckets?
There is a sale on homebrew equipment at the moment, and I am adding things to my basket to mimic a starter kit. One thing that I notice is that the kits come with a single fermentation bucket.
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