I own both the thermapen and the Milwaukee and if I had to choose one I'd pick the PH meter. More and more brewing publications are stressing the importance of proper PH. It's important from the mash to fermentation and has the biggest effect on flavor. PH strips are not accurate enough for...
I have been struggling with this issue as well. I usually use a conical for most of my fermentations in which I remove the blow off tube and seal the conical with a CO2 gauge before crashing. This creates a vacuum (if properly sealed). When I transfer the beer to kegs, I connect CO2 and...