Recent content by aludwig

I was thinking about installing one of the larger ones and building out a basement restroom at the same time. But that will be a couple grand all together (and therefore isn't going to happen any time soon). The smaller pump might be a better short-term solution. I can't see why it wouldn't...

The aforementioned book, "Brewery Operations Manual" is a good resource. It doesn't go into great depth on equipment, but there is a fairly good outline of what equipment a brewpub uses and what it's for. He outlines a typical brew session, then later in the book goes into some details of the...

In the future, if you have too much wort at the beginning of the boil, just boil off some before adding your hops. For instance you can do a 90 min boil, adding the hops after the first 30 min. As for the yeast splitting, you run the risk of under pitching, but it will most likely ferment...

According to Noonan's book, aging is typically done close to freezing, so I would go with the refrigerator.

That will work fine. The hot plate should only pull around 10 amps (1100/120), unless I am mistaken. Just make sure the trigger side is the right voltage range for your controller/switch.

Good point. This stopper (currently out of stock at morebeer) looks like it is just the size of a regular stopper. I bet it sticks out of the carboy by a 1/4" or so. http://morebeer.com/products/silicone-stopper-breathable-carboy.html

Overall height is 4-5/8" (including the cap), 1-5/8" of that is the stem, the reservoir is 3". Note: I also measured the one that is currently in my carboy and the top of the cap is about 3-1/4" higher than the lip of the carboy. This extra 1/4" is due to the stopper not going all the way in...

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but do you have pictures, or can you talk about the whirlpool a little? (Nice build, BTW) I'm building a 1 BBL system and i'm worried about being able to get that much volume moving fast enough to get good trub separation. Do you find that the pump you have...

I wish I read this earlier. I made a 2L starter with WLP830 (German Lager). My plan was to let it go for 24-30 hours then cold crash overnight, decant and top up with another 2l fresh wort and let that go another 24 hours before pitching. Only when I pulled it out of the fridge it was still...

"won't have to buy anything else later" is what you tell your significant other. Welcome to the hobby (and forum). I don't think you will regret getting the equipment you wanted up front, but don't kid yourself. You will end up spending a lot more most likely. Keep in mind you don't need...

I have been kegging for 6 years. I still bottle some styles like dunkelweizen and you can't beat the portability of bottles. Still I can't imagine wanting to clean and sanitize 52 bottles rather than one keg. I guess to each his own.

Nicely done! Do you have any problems with condensation drip? I really like the idea of the sheeting for a backsplash.

Did you try it with water? Mine threw the magnet even at the lowest setting, but once I filled the flask with water, it slowed way down.

Congrats! It looks good. Did you have any issues with the sight glass? I had to put a heat shield under mine. The plastic was getting too hot. Some vendors sell them, but I just used a thin piece of sheet metal. It made a huge difference in the heat measured under the fitting.

That gravity seems high, but it totally depends on your malt bill. You could have a lot of unfermentables in there. I would still add the corn sugar for bottle conditioning.