Recent content by michaeljdowling

I grew up in PJ, went to Earl L Vandermeulen, class of 95, now I live in the Hudson Valley.

I'm sure they are, but I'm paranoid and hate drinking anything out of plastic, I can tell a taste difference whether it's water, soda, or beer out of a plastic bottle. The fact that it tastes different always makes me iffy about plastic so I went with glass.

It's been a while, finally got around to ordering some stuff to start brewing beer. Last time I thought too big and got overwhelmed and went onto something else for a while. This time I'm keeping it simple and will get bigger in time. Spent ~480 at Northern Brewer and got basically...

i went to ikea on someones recommendation and they had these 13 inch stainless and glass lids which work perfect because i was able to open the hole and get a clean fit with it. $8.00 each lid which is a good price. oddly enough i did not have any old pot lids laying around and everyone i...

this was a great idea ikea has 13 inch stainless lids with glass for $8.99, i'll go pick a few up today.

thanks guys i'll just use this keg for a boil kettle and on the next one i'll use for a mash tun and try to nail the cut with a jig. i think those are the only two i need since i'm going to ferment in a couple of carboys.

sorry for the quasi-double post this one just took a bit to come in and i thought it just didn't post, my questions were answered in my other thread, thanks!

is there a consensus on the fittings to use? i was looking at the weldless mash conversion kit but two things bother me: 1. 10 inch false bottom seems to small for a keg 2. price tag, this seems like a simple setup but i feel like it can be done cheaper unfortunately i can't weld...

i'll get a pic of the top i cut off it's still in my backyard, this keg must be an odd ball because it didn't have a retaining clip in it that i could see, there was nowhere to stick a screwdriver and nothing to pry out, the spear wouldn't budge at all. i first tapped the keg and used the...

ok so you don't cut the fermenting keg at all then? you just remove the spear (i've seen the videos and it looks simple but this keg here didn't have a retaining clip to pull out). what do you put in the hole while fermenting? a bubbler or valve or something? also how do you clean the...

ok thanks a lot, i saw one of my posts go up. warwick is nice, i always hit up the wineries and orchards in the fall.

thanks for the reply i'll read that site end to end tonight and tomorrow. as for the cut i was going to build a jig but this keg did not have a retaining clip, i could not remove the spear so i used a string for a guideline but i had to open the hole up with a grinder and that's where i lost...

i've been trying to post in the beginner section but it appears i'm moderated and my posts never show up, is this just the design of the site? i assume the moderators don't OK each individual post, or is that because i don't have the pay membership? thanks!

i'm just getting into brewing and i mean JUST getting into it, i've never brewed before. the idea actually came from my wife and i agreed it's a good fit and i love a good hobby i can obsess over (i also play the fiddle, weight-lift, fix and ride motorcycles all rather obsessively). anyway...

i'm 33 and just starting to get into home brewing, i've been drinking beer since i was 15 and drank it all over the world, my wife bought me a kegerator about 2 years ago and now building a home brewery just really seems like the natural progression. i'm trying to build a 3 tier or 2 tier...