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Ok, no quite beer brewing-related, but I have a BCS-460-controlled HERMS system with a standalone heat exchanger. I normally brew 5-10 gallon batch sizes, but last year I pieced together a smaller mash tun that works better for 2-3 gallon batche sizes. Today I picked up a pack of beef...

My understanding is lactobacillus plantarum 299v is capable of both homo and hetero fermentation, depending on conditions. My disclaimer is I'm not a biologist but if I understand correctly, it tends to ferment homo when little/no O2 is available and hetero when O2 is available (see...

I had to look these up to see what they are because I honestly don't think I've ever had them. It sounds like the have a ton of coconut oil in them which is why they're so soft and creamy. Besides killing head, all that oil could go rancid which would not make for a very pleasant beer. I'd...

PBW is kind of harsh. It might be partly related to that and could also be partly related to temps and/or something else. Bobby at Brew Hardware had a couple customers experience cracking issues with their sight glasses...not quite the same material as auto siphons, but similar crazing. But...

The cracking issues are kind of annoying. Here's what's worked for me. I pull the cane out of the outer tube and remove the little cap off the end of the tube then rinse everything well with the kitchen faucet. I do this immediately after use and each time I take it out to use it (before...

You'd probably have to look at a supplier for commercial brewing equipment. I'm not an electrician and my knowledge is a bit limited beyond 120vac, but I believe you might need a 3 phase power supply to use them. Here's some examples, http://www.brewmation.com/Components.cfm

I think you'll be happier with a separate CO2 bottle. This was on homebrewfinds today, 5# tank shipped for $62.44. http://www.homebrewfinds.com/2017/03/5-lb-co2-tank-62-44-free-shipping.html

You can definitely can save and re-use. I don't bother washing mine because I tend to get very little trub in my fermenter, so I can't really help you out there. I'm interested to hear if anyone has tips on washing.

P.S. The air is probably at least partly from CO2 being pulled out of solution due to the vacuum formed when siphoning.

Instead of a hop bag over the pickup end of the auto-siphon, try lining your receiving vessel (e.g. bottling bucket, keg) with a 5 gallon paint strainer bag and rack into it. When you're done, gently lift out the paint strainer bag and most of the hop debris will come along with it. This also...

Sorry, I misunderstood. Yeah, if you aren't force carbing, you shouldn't have any more foam than you would with a regular bottling bucket.

3.22 is going to be awesome. What yeast are you using? I really like a blend of sach and brett in my Berliners, but I tend to sour them post boil rather than kettle souring. I'll let them go for about a week with Lactobacillus only, then pitch brett and sach. That way it gives it a touch of...

I bottle off my kegs for competitions and/or when I'm tired of a beer I have on tap. It works well, but one problem I see in your case is if you can't chill the keg, you're going to have major foaming issues. So you'll lose a lot of beer to foam, will probably have tons of low fills, and...

You might need to provide more info. I'm assuming the stout is intended to be served on nitro, but the lager is not, correct? What kinds of faucets are you using? Two regulators or one, and what serving pressure(s). You can use a blend of CO2 and nitro to push non-nitro beers, but that's...

My understanding as well. If you look at Entry Info on the competition site, it calls it out pretty clearly, "IT IS ILLEGAL TO SHIP ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES VIA THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE". Elsewhere on the AHA's site under the NHC section on How To Ship Beer, they specifically indicate "Do not use...

Personally, I'd shoot for a bit lower pH, but I admit I like my sours pretty sour. I have a sour IPA fermenting right now that I used GoodBelly SuperShots and room temps for souring. It dropped the pH to 3.49 which is still higher pH than almost all of my traditional sours, but I think it's...

No, not true. As long as you have good sanitation practices and you haven't introduced anything along the way, they'll last as long as any other beer.

Congrats on getting your first barrel. They're awesome but there are a few things you'll want to consider. To address your questions above, here are my 2 cents: High ABV beers will not kill bugs, at least not all bugs. By bugs, we're usually talking bacteria, but sometimes people throw...

Yeah, I'm not aware of anything that would cause astringency to increase. It's always better to keep temps consistent and handle them carefully. I'd look at the feedback as jodell suggested. Keep in mind beer judging is supposed to be as objective as possible, but it's still a subjective...

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