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I leave kegs connected but turn off the gas at the regulator. If I return home in a few weeks and find a flat keg I know there's a micro leak somewhere that had avoided detection.

Since you have an RO system, take a look at "Modern Homebrew Recipes," by Gordon Strong. His recipes are based on RO water and require minimal additions of salts & acids. A key point is the addition of non-base malts (roasted, crystal, etc) to the mash tun after conversion of the base malts has...

That is the way I started back in 1971. The baking aisle of a local grocery provided 3.3 lb. cans of malt (hopped or plain), bags of sugar and packets of bread yeast. Always got a wink from the check-out lady and a comment about my cookies. Fermented in an old pickle crock covered with a towel...

I'd say an average of 5 hrs, but all depends. If doing a standard ale with 60 min. mash and 60 min. boil I naturally wrap up earlier than a step-mashed lager and 90 min boil.

Have not used Philly Sour, but just read this blog a few minutes ago. Lots of good information: Lallemand Philly Sour - Yeast Overview

Farm pond is the household water supply.

Just empirical, but all of the guys I brewed with in the '90's have stopped brewing and have sold or given away their equipment. The homebrew club that I joined in the 10's has seen a substantial drop in monthly attendance and is becoming increasingly "gray."

Your bill will be recorded by check marks on your coaster. When finished, place your coaster on top of your glass. Otherwise, an empty glass will always be replaced with a full one with no questions asked.

Since you only have one day and will probably visit the cathedral, two that are very close and on opposite sides of the Dom are Fruh and Gaffel. My favorite, however, is Mühlen Kölsch which is a bit of a hike at Brauerei zur Malzmühle, Heumarkt 6, 50667 Köln.

Plant your hops in a somewhat isolated and controllable area. I had Cascades planted in a mulched area which ran the length of the house. Runners made their way under the mulch and came up in the wife's day lilies. She ruled capital punishment with no option for appeal. Did get a few years of...

Whole process. The bakery-like aroma hangs in my basement brewery for a day or two afterwards. Fortunately my wife will sometimes come downstairs during a brew session and say "The house smells great!" She's of 100% German linage if that explains anything.

Do a YouTube search for Novalager yeast. There are several use and taste reviews.

Though I brewed with bread yeast decades ago, I agree with everything the Ninoid said. Along with saison yeast, I might recommend something like Omega Lutra dry. It's very temperature tolerant, neutral flavored and I have made some very nice pseudo-lagers and pale ales with it.

I started brewing back in the early '70s with packets of Fleischmanns bread yeast. To the best of my memory the beers tasted sort of "Belgiany" but were drinkable. The yeast dropped out of suspension quite well and produced some very clear and lively beers after conditioning in the 16oz. Pepsi...

Not that this applies to homebrewing but it brought back a vivid memory .... was with a small brewpub when a state Dept. of Ag. inspector found a mouse dropping on the outside of a bag of malt. Condemned the whole pallet and waited while we opened and poured all 40 bags into a dumpster followed...

I swapped out a couple of old Perlicks with Intertaps for use with a Tapcooler (tried the Tapcooler 500-Series Perlick Adapter and it didn't work, so mine must have been some previous series ... couldn't find any markings). The Intertaps work well (and bottle well with the Tapcooler), but you'd...

When my MM3 begins showing feed issues it's usually a sign that it needs a good cleaning. Malt dust collects around the ends of the rollers reducing the ability to spin freely. Also, brush the dust out of the roller knurls before each use. I very lightly lube with mineral oil after each cleaning...

Before I had temperature control I'd use 34/70 or WY2124 with the "wet t-shirt and fan" technique. Made some very acceptable lagers at ambient basement temps.

I do as 5-gal batches as well, but there is a lot of flexibility for that size brew. Two-2.5 gal kegs filled; two 3 gal. kegs (purged but not filled to the top); one smaller keg and the remainder bottled, etc. I have a larger converted chest freezer and there's always a couple of 3 gal. cornies...

I too use the cheapest vodka I can find ... almost feel the need to explain when checking out at the liquor store.