9
votes
Life expectancy of swing-top bottles
It is a mechanical cap, as long as the mecanism and rubber is good, the bottle will be good. Changing the rubber seal is one way to expand the life of these bottles, however you should inspect the ...
- 4,806
7
votes
Where do I drill my homebrew fermenting fridge?
Don't drill or use screws. Use magnets to hold drip trays etc.
Chest freezers have refrigerant coils in the walls.
Lids & doors are ok. Only risk hitting some electrical for the lights, but ...
- 18.5k
6
votes
Accepted
How do you wash nylon grain bags for first use?
Toss them in the laundry with your whites.
No farbric softner.
Then air dry.
- 18.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Is it possible for flavors from the malts to stick with a mash bag?
In practice a nylon bag can become discoloured but it rarely gets so contaminated as to actually affect the flavour of a brew. As long as the bag is cleaned of all debris and thoroughly rinsed it ...
- 5,631
6
votes
Accepted
How much power do I need on gas stove to boil 30 liters of wort under 30 minutes?
This is a fairly straightforward calculation, actually.*
First, calculate the total energy needed to heat up your volume of liquid, using the following equation:
E = Cp * M * dT
where:
E = ...
- 6,417
6
votes
Affordable cooling solutions
Son of a Fermentation Chiller
Look up "son of a fermentation chiller". This is a two-chamber box made out of styrofoam insulation. It has a temperature controller and a fan. You load one chamber up ...
- 231
6
votes
Life expectancy of swing-top bottles
If it's a quality Grolsch bottle, it will serve you for years. If it's a generic swing-top bottle from LHBS, don't expect much. Get a large pack of replacement seals off eBay and replace a seal on a ...
- 1,498
5
votes
What stainless steel inox 304 vs inox 316 is acceptable for brewing equipment?
304 should be good enough for anything you are brewing, the wort will not affect it. 316 which is also know as (Marine grade stainless[1]) has 2% molybdenum which makes it more corrosion resistant, ...
- 7,018
5
votes
Accepted
After remaining inactive for a long time, what gear would need to be replaced and what gear can be cleaned/reused?
It should all be good. As long as the plastic items haven't dried out and cracked, they just need to be cleaned and sanitized. I quick trial run with just water will tell you if certain items are ...
- 36.2k
5
votes
Accepted
Conserve water used in immersion chilling?
I start by saving the hottest water in my sink, to be used for cleaning the immersion chiller and other items post-brew. Once I have enough there, I save the water in buckets to be used for watering ...
- 344
5
votes
Has your airlock ever shot out of your carboy?
It usually happens with strong fermentation when the krausen clogs the airlock, it is then ejected with the pressure.
If the fermentation was still active when you returned, the beer might not be ...
- 4,806
4
votes
What is a grant?
As a professional beer brewing equipment manufacturer,we would like to make a detailed clarification for the device "wort grant" here.
The wort grant is generally being installed between the lauter ...
- 41
4
votes
What is a grant?
I also wants to share my experience with this device (Lauter grant).
Actually I am chemical engineer and working in brewery designing company.
Advantages of Lauter grant:
It acts as buffer tank ...
4
votes
Small Space & Apartment Brewing: Equipment Storage
This is a super old thread but I had to deal with this recently and I was very happy with my results. Living in a walk-up second story apartment in Chicago, space being limited I purchased one of ...
- 152
4
votes
Noob question here about 1 gallon to 5 gallon brewing
A smaller container is a good idea in this application for a couple reasons:
The liquid in a one gallon container will have a smaller surface to depth ratio than one gallon in a 5 gallon container. ...
- 36.2k
4
votes
Blow off tubes are cloudy
I'd say just soak them in PBW and then sanitize with Star-San. Keeping those tubes stain-free is tough. As long as they're cleaned and sanitized, no worries.
- 549
4
votes
Can a bad odor from an empty fermenter be a sign of contamination?
I have had a few 'smelly' plastic fermenters in my time, never has greatly impacted the beer coming out of them. If you are concerned then letting a bicarbonate of soda solution sit in them overnight ...
- 7,018
4
votes
Star San ate my spoon - can it still be used?
It will function fine as is. You just have a thick oxide layer there.
If you want to restore, you can polish it using 0000 steel wool. Once to the polish you want passify the stainless steel by ...
- 18.5k
4
votes
Alternative to stir plate for yeast starter (and erlenmeyer flask)
I use a 750 ml bottle, sanitised aluminium foil and a rubber band. Keep aerated by stirring it gently, occasionally during the first 12h; I stir every 6th hour or so. After 18-48h I use it or ...
- 711
4
votes
Affordable cooling solutions
Most often than not, from the "overall temperature", beer quality depends on the temperature over the first 1-2 days of fermentation. Make sure you cool your wort well after boiling, and pitch the ...
- 1,498
4
votes
Life expectancy of swing-top bottles
Swing-top bottle seals are inexpensive, so replace on a regular basis, say every third or fourth bottling. One method of identifying worn seals is to close the cap when the bottle is empty and clean. ...
- 531
3
votes
Accepted
How to tell volume of liquid in a Keggle without a sight glass?
If you have this keg style 5, 7.75, 10 are marked by the bottom rib, middle weld, and top rib
Paddle / spoon marks on a keggle rely on hitting that small flat spot in the bottom.
I've seen people ...
- 18.5k
3
votes
Using 5 gallon kegs for 3 gallon batches
It is absolutely fine, bit of extra head space isn't going to cause any harm, or give any magical benefits. Just means you'll have less beer.
- 7,018
3
votes
Wine Thief or a simpler way to sample wort from a carboy?
I have seen large wine thiefs that the hydrometer fits into. Check the big USA home brew sites, I think it was on there.
- 2,466
3
votes
Can Horizontal Kegging be achieved?
The only and main problem I see is that the dip tubes in the kegs are made to be used with kegs in the vertical position. That is to say, the bottom of a corny keg is concave, and dip tubes are cut ...
- 10.1k
3
votes
Blow off tubes are cloudy
They will have no negative effects on your beer. Craftmeister alkaline wash might clean them, but it's really n o big deal. All of mine look like that.
- 33.4k
3
votes
Accepted
Can a bad odor from an empty fermenter be a sign of contamination?
What does the fermenter smell like? In my experience plastic fermenters have a tendency to pick up smells from prior fermentations and consistently smell like that, even when clean and empty. I've ...
- 1,900
3
votes
Can a bad odor from an empty fermenter be a sign of contamination?
Does it come with a spigot? Those things have a tendency to be skipped while cleaning and sanitising. So, if you have one: take it off and soak it for a night in some sanitiser solution.
3
votes
General questions about controllers
I have built a temperature regulation system for fermentation and a mash controller for my electric kettle using Arduino and Raspberry Pi. The Arduino controls the hardware while the Pi handles the ...
- 344
3
votes
How do you wash nylon grain bags for first use?
No soap. Don't weaken them in the sun. Just drop in PBW for at least 1/2hr. Rinse in hot water (at least as hot as the water was when you started soaking it). Drip dry
- 76
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