Hello from Cleveland!

My wife and I brewed our first batch from a Kit in January. It was a Milk Stout and considering all of or rookie mistakes (not aerating the wort, pitching the yeast before the wort was cool enough, and I'm sure other stuff that I still don't even realize was stupid) it was pretty good and it got better after a few weeks. We really had great time doing it, but felt like we were missing out on some of the fun and the creative side of brewing so we are trying to make the jump to all grain.

I found this website shortly after brewing my first batch, and have found it very informative. I have found lots of tutorials/instructions/videos on how to brew all grain, how to build a MLT out of a 10 gal cooler and how to convert an old keg to Brew Pot. But I think there is more out there to learn.

Some things that I am looking for help with right now are...

1) I dont have to tools, or skill set to cut my keg open, drill holes for the spigot or weld in together. If anyone knows someone in Cleveland I could hire to do this, please let me know.

2) For that matter, if any one knows anyone in Cleveland who has used Brewing equipment please let me know. Or if you just want to get together to brew/drink beer, Im game to learn from/with you.

3)I have only kegged, and would like to learn a simple way to bottle from my keg so that I can save a few bottles for later, or to bring back home to WI (where Im from) for my friends and family.

4) I am looking for another large pot for a hot liquor pot for the sparging. Some sort of stand for all of my pots, MLT and heat source (with different levels for gravity). I also need something to use as a heat source. Not really sure what else I need that I didn't get with my starter brewing kit from the local home brew store.

I look forward to learning what I can about this hobby/passion from all of you and hope that some day I can help share what I have learned.

Cheers,

Mike

Are you familiar with the liquid bread carbonator cap? - Jeff

Welcome, Mike!

I'll take a shot at one of your questions. As for bottling from a keg, here's three options:

1) use a picnic tap on the keg line and insert a bottling wand into the picnic tap and bottle from that

2) purchase or make a bottling gun (lots of info on that here or search Northern Brewer or any of the online home brew stores)

3). When kegging, before the beer is carbonated, put some of the beer in bottles instead of the keg and bottle carbonate using the carbonation tabs available at homebrew stores.

I do the #3 on batches I keg if I think I may wish to enter that beer in competitions.

Thanks for your responses.

Keg Cowboy...I have not heard of the "liquid bread carbonator cap" before and it looks like it would be a good idea to take to a BBQ or something, but I am looking for a longer term solution, My wife is pregnent and so we wanted to bottle up some of our Milk Stout so she can enjoy it after our daughter is born.

Pappers...I'm interested in this picnic tap from the keg line solution....I am assuming that you are just talking about one of the black plastic taps. Would I just connect that right to my corny keg, or could I connect it to my tap on my keggerator? The bottling gun could be an option, but I am trying to use my money to buy/make the rest of my equipment for my all grain batch. Option 3 is a great idea, and I will be doing that from now on, but this batch is already kegged.

One guy I know told me that he just sticks a piece of PVC tubing inside the tap on his keggerator and runs it down to the bottom of his pre chilled bottles and then filles the bottles and caps them. When I tried that, I had beer shooting out the side of my tap, and the bottles were filling with half foam. I guess my PSI was too high (about 6) but I am afraid of going to low and getting flat beer. I use 6 PSI for the pints I our and get good clean purs with the right amount of head.