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I've done a number of All Grain brews, but have never bothered to mess with the water chemistry. However, the next beer I'm doing is a huge beer with a ton of Pilsner / Pilsen malt. According to Beer Smith, my estimated (calculated) mash pH is up around 5.69 which is far too high. I'd like it to...

I recently got some brand new Perlick 630ss faucets. They've worked pretty nicely, however with a strange issue. After closing the tap, one or two slight drips follow immediately after. No big deal, normal behavior. However, the strange thing is that a lot of the time if I just wait for a bit...

In regards to mash/lauter tun deadspace in BeerSmith, I have a couple questions. Assume a recipe with 12 lbs of malt, batch sparging. I have been messing around with the tun deadspace box to see how it affects the calculations. I am very confused, however, because BS doesn't seem to be...

I have always used vinyl tubing in my keg setup and recently purchased some of the Ultra Barrier Silver 3/16" tubing. I can't seem to find a definitive resistance rating on the tubing. Some sites say it is the same as vinyl at 3 psi/ft and others say 2.2 psi/ft. Does anyone have the official...

Hi, I recently acquired two new stainless brew kettles. I believe they are 304 stainless. However, one of them has a much darker bottom than the other. I have posted comparison pics for reference. As you can see from the picture, the inside bottom of the kettle appears to have a brushed finish...

I have been trying to search for the best way to use one of my 16 gallon stainless kettles as a mash tun. I can't quite yet bring myself to spend the near $100 for the needed 15" false bottom. Some people online, and many who use square tuns, suggested using a bazooka screen ($10-$15) in place...

What are the downsides, if any, of using a smaller false bottom in a larger mash tun / kettle? My stainless mash tun will be roughly 15-15.5" in diameter. I understand that using the largest fitting false bottom is preferable, but I have found some pretty great prices on some stainless steel...

I've been searching all over for the (exact) interior dimensions of the Danby DAR440BL and/or Frigidaire LFPH44M4LM mini fridges and was hoping someone who owns one could take some measurements. All of the specs online that I have found post dimensions, but it is unclear whether it is the...

Between the CO2 regulator and CO2 tank goes the round nylon washer. It has a smaller side that "pokes out" and a larger flat side. Which side is supposed to face the regulator and which side is supposed to face the tank? Both sides have grooves and they both seem to fit either way. Any...

As the title implies, I am looking for recommendations for mini fridges out there. Here is the order of my preference: 1. The ideal candidate would be one that could hold three 5-gallon corny ball-lock kegs (9" diameter, ~26" high) and a 5 lb CO2 tank. I realize there are probably very few...

I've been looking into getting a submersible pump to add to my immersion chilling setup so that a) I don't need to use as much water, and b) I can get to lower cooling temperatures than with tap water. I'm basically looking for recommendations on which pump to get and/or the specs that one...

I have recently been messing around with inputting recipes from Brewing Classic Styles into BeerSmith so I can convert/adjust them for my setup. According to BCS, the recipes are formulated assuming: 7 gallon boil 6 gallons left after boil 5.5 gallons into the fermenter 5 gallons into the...

I have been looking into getting a ZooMed ReptiTherm reptile heating pad to heat my relatively small fermentation chamber and was looking for someone to share their experiences with it. Their website lists the following wattages: Mini - 4 watts Small - 8 watts Medium - 16 watts Large - 24...

I was formulating a recipe for an American IPA using BeerSmith and had everything looking to be pretty good. However, I made a few errors along the way. The first being I didn't account for trub loss in the boil kettle, so I was a number of points off from my OG mark into the fermenter. The...

I am looking for a good solution to heat my fermentation chamber (small 5 cu. ft. chest freezer). I built an STC-1000 temperature controller and am currently controlling the cooling on the freezer with that. Now, I'm looking to add heating. There seem to be a lot of different opinions as to...

After doing quite a few batches without doing so, I decided to try my hand at whirlpooling the wort before transferring to the fermenter. I usually just cool it with the wort chiller and dump it in through a strainer into the bucket. I should note up front that I do partial boils and extract...

I have been making starters for a number of my batches and usually like to cold crash them for about 24 hours or so. Then I'll decant off some of the wort. However, I recently made a starter with a long lagging Wyeast 1214. This put me a little behind schedule for my upcoming brew day. It...

I will be making a 5 gallon batch of Belgian Dubbel (Northern Brewer's La Petite Orange). I purchased some sweet orange peel and coriander seeds to go with it. The recipe sheet calls for the "zest of two oranges" and up to .5 oz of coriander. 1. Since I have the dried orange peel from NB, how...

I am in the process of brewing a hefeweizen and am debating on whether or not I should use half a Whirlfloc tablet in the boil. Since hefeweizens are supposed to be cloudy, I am unsure if I should go with it or leave it out. What's your opinion? Do you use Whirlfloc or Irish Moss in your...

I have been reading through some old threads and it seems that there is still some debate on this topic. Let's say I ferment a beer at a pretty constant 68F. It finishes fermentation and I cold crash it for a number of days at 40F. Fast forward to bottling time and the priming sugar...