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I was going to buy a couple of kegs from someone who was using them for kombucha. I'd be using them for beer, but I was hesitant because I wasn't sure if the regular process of PBW + Star San would be enough to make sure there would be no lingering cultures that would re-ferment my beer. Is...

Hello, I built a glycol chiller from an old 5000 BTU window A/C unit a few months ago. It works great, except that every 2 or 3 chilling cycles (on average) it trips the GFCI outlet I have it plugged into. I've tried different circuits and removed every other load from the circuit and it still...

After much tinkering with my setup, I've decided I'd like to heat my HLT via an induction heater. I need the ability to keep the water at a specific temperature, either with some built in mechanism, or using an external thermostat in which case something that could simply be turned on/off as...

I put together a HERMS setup for mashing and have been using the Inkbird Itc-308 for temp control of the mash. My biggest problem with it is that the thermometer is very slow to reach the correct reading, especially when compared to my Thermopen. This results in a 3-6 degree increase in a couple...

Hi, I've been frustrated by my two most recent brews where i ended up with > 1/2 gallon more wort than expected, but obviously short of my intended O.G. Both of these brews were 90 minute boils (mostly Pilsner malt grists), where I usually boil for 60 minutes and my volumes are more on target...

Hi, I converted my old 15 gallon kettle to a mash tun and put in a thermowell to house the probe for my thermostat in my new HERMS system. The thermowell sits about 5" from the base of the mash tun which puts it at about the 4.5 gallon mark. On a typical batch, this is maybe 1" below the top...

I am new to reusing and storing yeast. I am not 'washing' the yeast, but I am creating a double starter, pitching half in my wort and storing the other half in a sterilized mason jar. I have one such strain with which I have done this twice so I am considering this strain 2nd generation (it has...

*Sorry for the typo in the thread title. Can't change it after posting apparently* So when looking to balance your draft system, there is this simple equation that can be used to calculate how long your liquid lines should be for a given serving pressure...

I plan to make my first sour beer (besides a semi-failed sour mash beer a couple years ago) using 100% Brett Trois in the primary. I will then age this beer for a long while with some oak and Lacto. My question is, do I have to transfer the beer from the primary to a secondary vessel before...

Hey, So this is my first year growing hops and I don't have a ton so I want to use them all in a wet hop ipa. I just got back from vacation and found that my hops are starting to show a good amount of brown which I've read is indicative that they are ready to harvest. My schedule is such that...

I planted a Cascade and a Centennial rhizome 2 weeks ago. The Centennial was growing well with 3 shoots about 4 inches long (Cascade has yet to emerge). I just found the Centennial rhizome laying on top of the soil with all three shoots plucked off. I am incredibly pissed off. Am I screwed now...

I'm kind of confused by my municipal water report. It is showing a pH of 10.1, but an alkalinity of 15.9 ppm and total hardness of 44.7 ppm. My light beers (SRM < 10) have had a strange off-flavor of late, whereas the dark ones seem fine. The off-flavor is kind of creamy/cleaner? Hard to...

I have a brass barb in my HLT which is obviously exposed to high temp water. Today I made a batch of star san in it and after transferring it to a carboy, I noticed the brass barb looked orange. Is this very bad? Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Home Brew mobile app

I'm brewing a Kolsch tomorrow that I would like to add some honey flavor to. I read the BYO article on brewing with honey http://byo.com/stories/item/322-brewing-with-honey and it seems the only way to preserve the honey flavor is by adding it to the primary during high krausen. The problem is...

Hey, I moved at the end of last summer and I have brewed 2 lightish beers on the new setup. They both have had a subtle off-flavor that I can only describe as cleaner/Starsan. The most recent one is an El Dorado single hop beer so I wasn't sure if this hop just has a weird taste. The off-flavor...

I just got a steelhead pump (http://goo.gl/St9gO8) and am trying to figure out what fittings I need to integrate it into my system. Everything is 1/2" in my circuit except for my counterflow chiller which I made using 3/8" OD copper tubing. Since I have to pump from the kettle into the chiller...

So I've got a ~5% Pumpkin Porter in the secondary right now that came out with a weird spice profile. I think the problem is too much hops and too much clove. Anyway I figured if I age it with some rum soaked oak chips, that strange spice flavor will move to the background a bit and mellow out...

So I got a funny idea for a breakfast stout where I could actually include breakfast in the beer. So let's say I want to throw a box of Honey Nut Cheerios in my mash. Would this contribute anything? Can anyone think of any adverse effects to doing this? Could I expect a yield similar to...

I just refilled my CO2 tank for the first time since originally setting up my kegerator 7 or 8 months ago. The first tank only lasted us 5 cornys. Beverage Factory (where I bought all of my equipment from) says a 5lb tank should last like 12 half-barrels! I didn't even get through 1! I am trying...

We just did our first sour mash. We mashed 30% of the total grain bill then dropped it to 127F and stored it. 12 hours later we tasted the mash and there was a nice sourness developing, however the temp had dropped all the way to 102F so we reheated some of the existing mash added some boiling...