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I’m not (yet) disabled but if I had to lift kegs into my keezer unaided I’m sure I would’ve broken something by now… either me or part of my setup. I get around this by using a ceiling-mounted bicycle hoist (I had a spare lying around). It’s mounted slightly in front of my keezer, which sits on...

Don’t rule out smaller kegs as well. They’re only slightly less expensive than their five gallon siblings, but they’re easier to handle and can give you more options for flavors on tap and on deck (chilling and carbonating). I have a modest three-tap keezer and usually keep one beer and two...

Installed a gas ball lock pass-through in my keezer collar. If I need to have CO2 outside the keezer (transferring beer or purging a keg) I no longer need to keep the keezer lid open. Just hook up a jumper from the outside ball lock to the keg and connect a spare gas QD to the inside ball...

Other than the vessel (I’m using a 5L jug) this looks exactly like the apricot cider I started two days ago (and similar to many batches before that). I think most of my foam starts as a byproduct of the StarSan rinse and the foam from aerated apple juice. Sometimes fermentation is too...

Can’t let a number like that just go to waste. 5 gal salted caramel 1 gal apricot 894 + 6 = 900

That sounds like my second-dumbest mistake. I had removed my taps for a thorough cleaning, then for some foolish reason reconnected one of my beverage QDs to the keg before I had reinstalled the matching tap. I got a brief fountain of cider shooting a few feet across the garage. 😏

Lots of small batches to experiment with different yeasts and fermentables. 5 gal basic cider 1 gal mango peach 1 gal 4-berry 2 gal lingonberry 12.5 gal New World Cider (@jdauria) 9 gal Salted Caramel Cider (@Rish) 1 gal strawberry rhubarb 1.25 gal black cherry 1.25 gal tart cherry 1.25 gal...

After active fermentation there may be unwanted flavors/odors for a number of reasons (Temp? Nutrient? Ingredients? Yeast strain?). Allowing the cider to condition over time will help to remove some or all of the unwanted characteristics (CSB: “Time heals all brews.”). This can be done by...

I keep my clean, sanitized, empty kegs with about 10psi CO2 while waiting to fill. I try to always fill from the fermenter to the keg using a jumper (open on one end, QD to keg out post on other end) to help minimize oxidation from splashing. Works great, except when I forget to release the...

This was my experience a few years ago, when I first started brewing. I learned the hard way to have backup grommets sanitized and ready. I think your paper “grommet” should work. My system (StarSan my arm and go spelunking for my grommet) didn’t work for me. 🤣

Your mention of possibly restarting fermentation after the backsweetening step left me confused. Are you taking SG readings to determine when fermentation is complete, or going with a schedule?

Shouldn’t you stabilize (pasteurize) before backsweetening?

I’ve got five torpedo serving kegs of various volumes and one six-gallon torpedo that I use for pressure fermenting. I use a bucket blaster for routine cleaning/sanitizing and rarely do a full disassembly of all components. I haven’t experienced any leaks yet.

Instead of modifying the gas post, can you attach a gas QD with a blowoff tube?

Has he tried a Bananaweizen? https://greatist.com/eat/bananenweizen-banana-wheat-beer#1

I thought force carbonation referred to any method where the CO2 was added externally (vs natural carbonation where the yeast do the work). Within the category of force carbing would be 1) safe & slow (set to serving pressure and forget), 2) fast & easy (set high for 12-72 hours, then set to...

I run any dirty kegs through a four step process (batching all the kegs through each step before moving to the next). First, a simple garden hose rinse and dump to get any leftovers. Second, a 30 min cleaning cycle w/ Oxiclean solution in the bucket blaster (not too hot though, due to the...

Ja, also in California, so I run mine closed loop as you described. The ice water I use as a heat sink gets poured onto lawn/trees when I’m done.

I normally follow a system of taking two reading about 6-7 days apart. If the SG is the same (or within 0.001) then I rack. Your 0.998 seems like it should be done, but you can’t tell for certain that it won’t be able to go lower. If you rack too early into a vessel with an airlock, no...

Correct. The person who made the pump said that any tubing used had to be pliant enough for the planetary gears to be effective. He gave me a few suggestions for suitable sources. I went with Amazon and it was under 50¢/foot.