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Any updates on either the sweet stout or the cider?

search for "yeastbot" for a similar "open" effort that you should consider supporting.

Seconding fermentation temp control and yeast health (stir plate, starter; oxygenation) as probably the most important initial upgrades.

+1. Unless you don't have time to do this w/o stress. As everyone else has said: either option is just fine.

My nylon mesh paint strainer bag / hop spider has been working out pretty well with both pellet and of course whole-leaf hops.

My mnemonics for these are that "palate" is spelled really close to "plate" like what would have food on it. "Pallet" has two l's, like the boards in a pallet. And pallete has an extra 'e' on the end, viz the effete artist holding it.

If you can handle the weight of a full glass carboy, a milk crate is quite good for carrying it safely.

Weight. :) The ability to use brushes to clean; I find a 2 : 1 :: oxiclean : TSP solution will make quick work of fermentation residue, however; and you can get away with using a small amount (and a small amount of water) by inverting the BB in a small pail … only 1-2 gallons water (and the...

Awesome. Try "Project Overmill" on for size, though.

This, except : there's no need to "shake the crap out of it" … the stir plate itself is going to do way more than shaking will in terms of O₂ exchange, and there's no other reason to shake. Note that you should not use an airlock for your starter, since part of the idea of a starter is to...

I'm having a heck of a time with condensation in my plates and slants. I waited until my wort/agar was near its gelling temp (which turned out to be too long, so now I have a bunch of interesting (read: useless) 3d plate surfaces, but that's not the point), but it didn't seem to help at all. I...

Homebrewing: as expensive a hobby as you let it be. :) As I've gone to 10g batches, I usually split batches into two 5gl-s with different yeasts, but sometimes using the same yeast for the whole batch, and instead varying flavor/spice additions or dry hops or fermentation temps or something...

A good ratio for ~1.040 wort is 10g DME : 100ml(/g) water. Really, that's 10g DME covered up to 100ml. Yes, DME by weight, not volume. :) Your 2L flask is probably not big enough for a single starter for a 10g batch. I'm about to make 2 starters for 2 5g splits from the same 10g 1.068 batch...

That's really, really awesome. Great work, great build.

For the first year or so of all grain brewing, I only had one burner and kettle. I would mash and batch-sparge as follows: 1/ heat mash water in kettle; add to grains in mash tun. 2/ heat sparge water in kettle. 3/ transfer sparge water to bucket. 4/ drain mash runnings into kettle. 5/ sparge...

StarSan does not know how to read a calendar. its effectiveness is a function of its pH, and as such how much organic material it's come into contact with. starsan mixed with distilled water lasts "indefinitely" (real key is to check that the pH is below 3); the same starsan mixed with too...

I'm in a similar situation. Cooling is a function of: the surface area of contact, the flow rate, and the difference in temperature. I computed my 25' 3/8" OD IC to be 0.23 m² surface area. Your 50' is going to be, of course, around 0.46m². The (dudadiesel.com) plate I'm looking at is 0.69m²...

A recipe shouldn't call for a water addition. A recipe/style might want a specific water chemistry … specific ion levels or ratios. But suggesting an addition without knowing the source water makeup is blind. With knowledge of your own water, you can adjust to the desired levels.

For a 4.5 to 5g dilution, you're looking at a 0.9 reduction in gravity … so from eg. 1.060 to 1.054; you can dilute it if you want the full 5g, or not. Not a huge difference either way, in my view. 30 qts is 7.5 gallons … either the pot's the wrong size, or your measurements got...

Are you trying to push the stopper fully into the neck of the vessel? Or even a bit? You don't really need to do that; gravity will hold it in place just fine. Especially as it dries, it'll form a well-good-enough seal.