Recent content by DirtyMcCurdy

I used 5' beer lines and had issues with excess foam -- I went to 10' lines and didn't have a problem. 10psi @ 40 degrees - ~2.3 volumes. The longer lines really made a huge difference.

Less suspended protein = less beer farts. I add irish moss (and sometimes gelatin) to all of my brews now. It keeps the air in my garage breathable.

Awesome! I bought my brother a carboy and some other assorted extras 'cause he makes redneck wine (peaches, pears, wild grapes and bread yeast). He's brewed with me once or twice, but it'd be nice if he got into brewing beer. Congrats on getting another one hooked!

The creamy head generally comes from the stout faucet you pour from, not the gas itself. The nitrogen forces the beer through the plate in the stout faucet @ 20-40psi and beats most of the CO2 out of it making tiny bubbles, thus creating the creamy head. If you've got a creamy head and you don't...

I wouldn't think that force carbing is against the Reinheitsgebot, as the CO2 isn't an "ingredient" in the beer. I guess that depends on your definition of "ingredient." If you follow the reinheitsgebot, then why deviate from it when it suits your needs? The thing about a law is that it's a...

While I'm no expert, let me throw in my $0.02 here... My pH levels are right around 6.4-6.6 at my place, too. I'd pick up some Five-Star 5.2 pH stabilizer to lower the pH level of the water. It's quick, easy, and inexpensive. I use it in all my AG batches and haven't had a problem with...

There's something fundamentally wrong with a reinheitsgebot brewer who makes milk stouts, pumpkin ales, and peach wheats. ;-)

I've been doing some reading into FR12 as well -- does anyone have any experience with this stuff?

I've spent over $1,000 at KegConnection, and those guys are awesome. I've been in their warehouse and it's pretty impressive -- they've got tons and tons of stuff, and they fabricate a lot of their own parts. Pretty cool shop. Great customer service from them, too. Austinhomebrew advertises...

I had my brother pick up a used freezer from Craigslist. The ad said that it worked. My brother verified that "it worked," and I got it the day before I got all of my keezer components, so I took their word for it. Two weeks later, I finished my keezer (about a $1700 project for 8x CO2...

I wouldn't rack it out of the keg. You should be able to take a ratchet to the disconnect post and pull out the tube to clean it. Just make sure you turn off your gas and bleed off any pressure in the system before unscrewing that post, or you might get hurt. BALL-LOCK MISSILE! Oh, and don't...

Why don't you just go with R134A? That should work, right?

Looks like Austin Homebrew has an Extract kit for Pliny: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=11675

Yeah, water doesn't hurt MOST things as long as there's no power being applied. I've heard of people taking apart computer keyboards and running them through the dishwasher before with no problems at all.

Pumpelstiltskin. You know, like Rumpelstiltskin. He's from a German fairy-tale by the Brothers Grimm, and has been known to sing about brewing.