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Brew 2.5G batches. I switched from 5G to 2.5G years ago. I’m constantly amazed how at our monthly homebrew club the same people show up with yet a different style beer or two and they’re brewing 5 and 10G batches. Who’s drinking all that beer and when do they have time to brew that much and keep...

I did my first brew in my Anvil 10.5 this week. I used the malt pipe with my Wilser bag in the pipe. I also made a DIY small batch adapter cutting a food grade bucket to cover side holes since I did a 2.5G batch for a session IPA (light grain bill which included flaked oats). I crushed my grains...

I’ll be moving in about six months to a new home we’re building in FL for our retirement which I’m having a 240v/50A supply put in the garage for this very purpose, and possibly and EV charging station once I get over my range anxiety of EVs. My current home has the old 3 prong non-GFI 240/30...

I follow the Chloride:Sulfate ratio of 2:1 for NEIPAs per Martin Brungard in his article on this topic in Zymurgy May/June 2017 pg 35. As for bicarbonate level of zero, you need some bicarbonate to buffer pH. I run a bicarbonate level around 20ppm. The yeast need magnesium as a nutrient. I...

I did a test run with my new AF 10.5 yesterday to clean it with PBW and to get familiar with it before actually brewing. I also wanted to get a sense for temp ramp times using 110v. I do 2.5G batches but bought this larger unit in case I later want to return to 5G batches. Here were my temp ramp...

I’ve used both Voss and Hornindal fermented in the 90s to get the esters from the yeast in my session NEIPA with great results. In the end I preferred the Hornindal for the tropical fruit esters it produces. Voss gives more citrus notes. Oh, and fermenting in the 90s the beer hits FG in a couple...

MO and Mosaic fermented with Voss Kveik in the 90F range makes for a nice juicy beer. I’ve done a similar session NEIPA like this several times. If you seriously under pitch the the Voss Kveik and let it ferment hot it will throw off a lot of fruity ester flavors. It will also ferment very fast...

Refractometer

It’s not about balance, I.e., being equal, it’s about maintaining the ratio as one plays with a new target ABV. This helps maintain the relative hop forward-ness to the OG (potential sweetness of the beer). It’s a starting point as one manipulates a recipe for a different target ABV. for...

I had a similar experience a couple of years ago doing my session NEIPA where my dry hop was Galaxy. Even after cold crashing I couldn’t get rid of that “back of the throat” dank bitterness taste. It was undrinkable! I was close to dumping the batch when I read that some hop varieties contain...

It's about maintaining the IBU/GU ratio. A few years ago I took my hazy DIPA that typically finished at 8-8.5% and session'ed it adjusting the target ABV to 5%. I adjusted my hops to maintain the same IBU/GU ratio. It came out very nice. It's was still hop forward without being overly...

That’s what I do, leave it sideways.

I recently did my regular session NEIPA with ginger for my homebrew club as part of a white elephant exchange we did. I did a 2.5G batch where I added 5oz fresh shredded ginger in last 10 min of boil. I soaked for 3 days 2oz shredded ginger in 4oz of tequila adding the tincture at kegging. I...

Lowering your mash pH well below ideal will stunt the amalyase enzymes.

Don’t forget the o-rings around the beer dip tube and shorter gas dip tube under the poppets.

For leak detection fluid I’ve started using plumbing leak fluid from Oatly that you can get at Home Depot. It’s more viscous than Star San and will stay on the interconnect long enough to detect small leaks.

To the last paragraph, if banking yeast in your fridge in jars or vials you can’t screw the lids on tight or pressure will build up and something will eventually give causing a mess. I’ve banked both Voss and Hornindal just fine for a year but leave the caps on loose.

Assuming you have a keg to exchange ;-). I use the level indicator as it gets near the bottom as my indicator that I need to brew soon since my beer fridge can only hold the two kegs currently on tap.

I use these on my kegs. They work great, however, you can’t move or disturb the keg once the metal ball is in place or it will fall off. I have to remember to apply the catch magnet if I need to move or jostle the keg for any reason.

I use rolls of the blue Scott’s Paper shop towels that I can get in six roll bundles at Costco. They’re sturdy enough to rinse and reuse in my home brewing. My wife and I also use them in the kitchen and of course the garage but we don’t reuse them there. Been doing this for years. When they get...