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 ...
- 4,736
7
votes
Accepted
Airlocks and long term unsupervised fermentation
Question 1 is hard to answer because its so dependent on the relative humidity and air flow of the room in question. I wouldn't assume an airlock with water would be safe for more than 4 weeks without ...
- 6,682
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 ...
- 18.4k
6
votes
Accepted
Capper indents bottle cap. Is this ok?
My capper does this too. It's not been an issue for our beer. If it was leaking I'd think you might see some evidence around the top.
- 982
6
votes
Accepted
What are the simple things i should be careful about (like bleach) for my first time brewing?
Fermentation temperature is often overlooked and it's really the key to making good beer. If you don't control the temp, everything else you do doesn't really matter. I prefer most beers to ferment ...
- 33.3k
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.
- 18.4k
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 ...
- 5,611
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 = ...
- 6,377
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 ...
- 1,488
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, ...
- 6,993
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 ...
- 4,736
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
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
What equipment do I need to buy to start making beer?
While these are nice lists I would like to point out that you do not need a 5 gallon bucket and carboy. I like to experiment with new recipes using a two gallon bucket and an old one gallon apple ...
- 41
4
votes
Accepted
HERMS waterproof hole in heat exchanger
The Electric Brewery has a step-by-step guide for mounting a valve and quick disconnect to the kettle wall.
To summarize, pass a 1/2" threaded nipple through a hole in the kettle. On the outside, ...
- 8,978
4
votes
Accepted
Cleaning stainless steel
IT MAY NOT BE STAINLESS ANYMORE
Sorry for the huge emphasis and the absurd caps, but I'm reading some... odd statements.
I should point out I'm in chemical engineering, and did cooperate with experts ...
4
votes
How should I upgrade equipment from a Mr. Beer kit?
John Palmer's How to Brew or Charlie Papazian's New Complete Joy of Homebrewing are good beginner books.
In terms of equipment, I suggest using the inventory from the lowest-tier kit sold by Midwest ...
- 2,947
4
votes
False bottom not working effectively
I think you have the right idea about sealing the rim of your false bottom. The common method is to use a length of vinyl tubing slit lengthwise. The false bottom fits into the slit as you wrap the ...
- 33.3k
4
votes
False bottom not working effectively
200L? Wow.
You might consider using a length of copper tubing with slits cut in it, instead of a false bottom. My mash tun came with a false bottom which was always a bit of a pain to get nicely ...
- 2,819
4
votes
Trouble with flat beer. Everything seems perfect and a few bottles always turn out great. very few! Please help
Are the bottles that you are using screw tops? That might be the problem. Although some people have had success, others complained about leaks
How are you capping? Maybe you are causing damage by ...
- 2,446
4
votes
Fermenter head space and airlock hole
The fermenter should not be full to the brim, there will be at least a couple cm of foam (kreusen) on top of the beer when the yeast get going. Without space, it will try, and succeed, to get out.
...
- 3,030
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 ...
- 6,993
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 ...
- 18.4k
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
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