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You're right, it doesn't have to be higher for your method, which is just to use CO2 to push beer from one keg to another. What the lagering tutorial is talking about is something different, siphoning from one keg to another, and as for any siphon, the donating keg obviously will need to be...

I've also thought this would be neat to have, and it turns out there are others who think so. Sadly, a good opportunity has passed by here on kickstarter. I think the high price, $350, is what killed it. Hope they try and relaunch.

I've done the same thing, nick a condenser coil on the outside of a chest freezer. Fortunately, there is a HVAC department where I work, and they were very helpful. The key to doing it yourself is being able to borrow an AC manifold/gauge set, and a vacuum pump. You'll need them only for an...

As others have suggested, the biggest time saver will be in not dissembling the keg every time. PBW is a pretty amazing cleaner, look how well it cleans gunked up carboys just with a soak, and the inside of kegs are much cleaner. I've found pressurizing the keg then shaking it while allowing...

It's a historically accurate technique for the strong belgian ales, brew (for example) a triple from first runnings then use the rest for a patersbier or belgian single. I've often added a bit more crystal malt on top of the mash just before adding water for second runnings to get a bit more...

3724 is one of my favorite strains. The spicy notes can work really well in a lot of ale styles, not just Saisons. I'll typically overpitch, and start the ferment in the mid 80s, ramping to at least 90. It will usually go to completion within a week, but not always. Just as Wyeast states...

The first half of this experiment is now on tap. Efficiency was a bit higher than expected, so the brief time the mash was too hot didn't adversely affect the beer. Tasting notes: A distinct taste of smoke, but it isn't the predominate taste like in a rauchbier. Definite notes of toasted...

Hehe, when you put it like that . . . . :o The extra cost for grain is insignificant; for me the cost of a homebrew is the time investment. It takes as much time to make 12 gallons as it does to make 5 gallons. Ergo, on the (hopefully good) chance it comes out well, I made my usual sized...

No opinions? Brewing this tomorrow; I'll update the thread with tasting notes after the fermentation has slowed.

Oh, one more thing - I'd still have the LME left. After some thought, I thought I'd do something like this: After the above recipe is made and the wort boiled, half is chilled and transfered to a fermenter. The other half has the Muntons added to it, and is boiled for another 30 min or so...

I have been given this extract kit from Strange Brew by my (well meaning) sister: 3kg Muntons Amber LME 8oz Acid malt 8oz Smoked malt 1oz Galena (60 min) 1oz Hallertau (5min) Wyeast London Ale yeast. Makes 5 gallons, with OG 1.044 FG 1.012 It sounds . . . . interesting. I'd be...

Fermentation rates vary a whole lot, so it's hard to say. I've had it go to completion in under 2 days (for an entire 5 gal batch), and had bottles that 2 weeks after priming hadn't finished carbing. You could slowly crack the seal on the growlers and get a feel for how far it's progressed by...

If the growlers are not meant for something pressurized like beer or soda, then yes you're running the risk of having them explode. All is not lost, though. Let the secondary fermentation finish up without building pressure by replacing the caps with an airlock, or just loosening them enough...

I would have to second this. If it has fermented more than half way to your expected FG, just let it sit in the water bath. With that much mass (water + beer) to heat/cool, day and night temps will average out so it will probably end up oscillating a few degrees up and down from mean temp, or...

When this has happened to me, I've usually kept the beer as-is. The extra gravity makes it extra tastier. There's no harm in diluting it to the expected gravity though. I'd recommend waiting until fermentation is done or mostly done so as not to disturb the yeast by sudden changes in...

This. Boiloff rate is determined by (heat in) = (heat out), the temperature remaining a constant 212. In practice I think heat out is almost entirely the boiling (vaporization) of the wort, much less so by surface area/size/shape. Heat in is determined by rate of propane burning and how...

You should have as good results with the plate chiller as with your CFC, after all a plate chiller is also counterflow. I'd look at the in/out connections, it sounds like a pair of them are swapped and you're coflowing not counterflowing (are those even words?) With the cooling water flow...

I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned, but if you're thinking of using an arduino as a pid controller, there's an easy solution: osPID, an arduino-based pid controller. I just got mine, and thanks to the kind people at Rocketscream, have it working with the J thermocouples I'm going to...

+1 Try and get a replacement. However, it looks fine, I have one or two that are a bit banged up too. Looks like the O-ring groove is undamaged at the bottom, and just slightly bunged up at the top. File it smooth so that: 1 - the O-ring can't get cut on the burr anymore, and 2 - the...

Epic thread, maybe. But not in a good way; HBT is generally more helpful and a lot less insulting than this. While I would never brew with a setup like this, I couldn't criticize him either, since I don't know that it's actually bad. I'm not a medical professional, or even know much about...