Recent content by Thakaz

A normal sharpie won't wash off the outside of a plastic carboy. I have graduated carboys where the sharpie marks are years old.

It sounds like you want the efficiency of a counterflow chiller with the trub benefits of an immersion chiller. I don't think the disc idea will work for the same reasons PGEduardo has already listed. You have to keep in mind you're chilling a thermal mass that wants to constantly find a point...

You can help your culture adapt by mixing your next starter 50/50 apple juice to dme wort.

I did something similar to this awhile back with a 30" sprinkler riser, sprinkler head, 1/2" ball valve and 1/2" MPT to hose adapter. I already had a 1/2" ball valve laying around so the total cost was around $5, would be $10 with a valve.

That and the fittings for 3/8" copper are 4x that of 1/2"

Polystyrene and polyiso rigid insulation boards are both qualify as a vapor barrier. Just put the boards on the inside of the framing and use silicone sealant at all the seams. If you want a belt and suspenders approach, you can put a layer of FRP panel on there too.

What's the reasoning behind a space right next to your burners for a steel fermentor? You could just build a separate furniture dolly for the fermentor and roll it up to your BK after flame out.

You can do this with a cork cage.

This on the inside. If they're touching on the outside you could use another o-ring or just throw some bond breaker tape on there and be done with it.

Dissimilar metals in contact can cause galvanic action where one material begins to corrode the other, they can eventually become fused together. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_corrosion Easy fix, just grab 2 rubber washers or o-rings to isolate the metals from each other.

I generally go this route when brewing a big beer, and to echo other posters, it's a better practice to harvest yeast from an oversized starter then to wash the yeast after primary. Not to mention, it's much easier.

The Pilser needs to be cooler. The fermenting liquid will be slightly warmer than ambient temps too, all that yeast activity can drive temps up another 5-10 degrees. All yeast strains have an optimal temp range specific to that strain. Grab a bunch of liquid crystal thermometers for the...

Their rare stuff doesn't see any distribution, the seasonals see limited distribution and are generally sold out within a day or two. Flood seems to hit D&Q pretty often with seasonal releases, and Brandon always tweets out when new bottles hit his store.

Co2 also dissolves into beer faster at lower temps, i.e. your beer will carb up in the keg faster.

If they don't take mail in entries and all your paperwork is in order, you can send me 4. I'll drink one and turn the rest when I drop off my entry.