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Ok. Once again, I will state that I am operating from a place of ignorance in regard to dry yeast. I've never worked with it, and I don't know of any commercial brewery that uses it. If I'm wrong, I'm eager to hear about it. I'm hear to learn, just like everyone else. I'm sure that many home...

Another note when trying to adjust your water to a classic profile: we don't necessarily have any idea what those breweries are doing to their water once they pull it from the municipal system. From this information we may be able to understand why certain styles are indigenous to certain areas...

Forgot this edit: if you can, bypass your softener. As Palmer says, you probably need the calcium it removes and you don't need the added sodium.

Very true. As I stated, I'm speaking from a place of ignorance in regard to dry yeast. I've never used them. But to my knowledge, neither does any commercial brewery. My only point is that, if there's a place to spend money in this hobby, yeast is it. Of course there are a variety of other...

I'm on beautiful, wonderful Colorado well water. Love it, but the same rules apply to all water supplies. Well water just happens to be extremely variable, because you might have very different water than that of your neighbor. Here are my three rules: 1. Test your water...

Sorry, brother, I can't imagine how frustrating that is to watch your brew sit quietly. I've never used dry yeast, but have brewed hundreds of batches with liquid yeast and appropriate starters (see www.mrmalty.com) without a bad batch. IMHO, go with the "expensive" yeast that you can pitch...

I get pretty strict about this, so if you're doing it right, you have to account for the propane and for the money spent on things like DME for starters even if you're washing yeast. I buy everything in bulk, but also have to account for shipping and handling for hops. My eisbock is easily my...

Beatles Dude - awesome, awesome pic on your profile. Go Donks... Yes again to Naked City. Right down the road from my old house. Look up the drunk surgeon at the end of the bar. That's my brother who's still in Seattle.

Dry hopping (or wet hopping, I imagine) doesn't ever add IBUs. If you check out your brewing software, for instance, when you add the hops into the secondary they don't boost the IBU level. This is because hops must be boiled for the alpha acids to be released into solution. Dry hopping does...

I did add an SS washer to either side of the vessel wall to enhance my ability to crank down on the silicone washer. Definitely helps to keep a nice seal. I have replaced all the Orings on all my tuns and keggles with the silicone washers. Many thanks to whoever found those washers at McMaster.

Hey Kal, Yup. They worked out great. I do think I drilled the hold 1/16" too big, but with some good wrenching these seals hold real tight. Sorry I forgot to post here. From my experience these really are a great part. Make sure to get an SS washer for each seal in the same diameter. Really...

Pull it off when it stops sending krauesen through the blowoff tube. Not really a measure of time, but rather of utility. Just remember to keep everything clean and sanitized.

I, for one, went right into AG. I never even used any DME until one day a few years ago I got a stuck mash and had to save a beer with some DME in the fermenter. To this day I wouldn't even know how to do a PM or extract kit (I suppose I could read the directions). It seems to me that...

You could probably monkey with this idea to make it work, finding a way to time it so that the temperature is a little warmer. Great idea.

+1 for the long primary (at least a month, maybe more), followed by a long secondary. Time is the most important, and most often overlooked ingredient. The higher the gravity (I assume your tripel is in the 1.075 - 1.085 range) the more important time becomes.

I always try to remember that a secondary fermentation is not really a fermentation. Yes, the yeast are doing some additional cleanup work, but the real point of a secondary is clearing the beer. It's the 'bright tank' for that reason. I put all my brews into a cool secondary after a nice, long...

Kal - I figured the same thing. I ordered these: http://www.mcmaster.com/itm/find.ASP?tab=find&context=psrchDtlLink&fasttrack=False&searchstring=99604A129 .74" ID for my 1/2" MPT fittings. They'll be here on Monday and I'll let everyone know how they work out. Nice, fat washers.

Hi kids, I recently built a new kegerator, a stand up that fits one corny. It's the type that cools by cooling the freezer section. Problem is that, even on its lowest setting, it's cooling all the way to 35 degrees or so. Not and ideal serving temp. Sorry if this topic is covered elsewhere...

This is a great part. I went with a smaller inner diameter than you had suggested (3/4"). Thanks for the heads up about these. I'd always done fine with the o-rings. Not sure why this one is leaking. I had to buy a pack of 10 from McMaster, so these are probably going into all my tuns and...

Thanks, Henry. The o-rings that are installed have provided excellent seals with that sized nipple before. Are you referring to a thicker o-ring? That might make sense. But the diameter should be based off the diameter of the nipple itself. I'm sure that opening the valve moves the...