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The yeast. Without them we just have grass juice.

The reviews will be interesting to see. To me the price seems to good to be true so I'm skeptical but the brewer in me wants it since I was about to pull the trigger on a $350 kettle.

I've been making 2 gallons of starter wort at a time and canning it in mason jars for about a year with no ill effects. It is a added risk but it gives me a little more freedom but a case of botulism could make for a really bad time. You can look up pressure canning if its something you want to...

I have the same cooler that I converted. I had to put a ratchet strap around it near the top because the lid had about a 3/16" gap that would spew steam out of it. I also put 3 layers of foil over my mash after I dough in. Since then I lose maybe a degree over an hour with stirring 2 more times.

Looks good, just keep reading the forums and checking out youtube videos. I feel like I got the most from Beer-N-BBQ with Larry and Brew Geek Nation. There's plenty of things to learn and add to or change with each brew. The biggest factor that changed my beer for the better was fermentation...

It could be oxidized if it darkened up on you. Hops will always loose their aromas as they age but it seems like you had a pretty fast turn around. Sadly I don't think flavors will come back but I've had beers do some crazy things flavor wise as they age. I've had 2 that I nearly dumped but...

In a perfect world one of the big box stores would have a threaded fitting the would thread into the tower and also a giant nut (ha) or a flange that you could lock it down without screws or bolts. As far as tower cooling, I'm not really sure it'd be an issue. Im pretty sure mine just has a...

if you get it shoot me a price for 200 lbs of 2 row. Depending on the specialty grains I'd be interested in some but it depends on the amount and type. I'm about 20 miles west of Chicago so we can't be to far away.

Since I've started brewing I've wondered how different food would taste with something other then my tap water. I haven't looked into an RO system yet but if it's less then 200 it wound definitely pay for itself in 2 years of fridge filters.

I get mine from amazon. The brand is a Canadian company called Swift Green Filters. I found they are cheaper if you buy a 3 pack.

I got a free older fridge on CL and bought an inkbird thermostat. I did have to sawzall out some insulation on the door, built a wood shelf out of 2x3 and 5/8" plywood and it fits to 6.5 gal carboys. Its a side by side so the freezer is useless but it was simple and free.

When I got my cereal killer my efficiency increased 16% from my LHBS mill. I recommend using what ever left over grain have to make a trial batch of something and aim low on the ABV level so you don't end up with a 8.6% amber ale like I did. The bad part of the increase in efficiency is that...

I'll continue to take the risk. If a jar shows signs of infection I won't use it and if a endospore is hanging out in the jar it will get hit with plenty of oxygen during the process of making the starter and the beer so the chance of it becoming active seems low. Plus as a healthcare worker I'm...

I've never used that much wheat but I normally have about a 15% efficacy loss if my recipe is 50% wheat. It seems like a common issue due to the wheat being smaller and more likely to fall through a mill uncrushed and it tends to become gummy during the mash. For those reasons I'd look at going...

For yeast starters I normally make a 6+ liters at a time and store it in mason jars. So far I've avoided infection with soaking the jars and lids in Star San.

If he has a burnt residue in the kettle it is most likely caramelized sugars. You guys can try a few things like dialing down the heat, keeping the wort moving so temperature is even or doing a side by side brew with your equipment with no changes and see the difference.

can we get a candle or air freshener that smells like mashed grains or various hops? I'll take a dozen.

I'd just let it ride but you can increase your fermentation temp some to see if the yeast will work more. It may need to condition longer than normal for the "alcohol bite" to fade if you get one also.

When I have left overs or buy bulk I "seal" my hops by filling my sink with water and dipping a ziplock into with hops into the water. The water puts pressure on the bag better than my hands can and acts as a poor mans vacuum seal. So far I've used 6 month old hops with no big issue. I'm sure...

I just set it and forget it at 10psi, it takes about a week or 2 to be fully carbed. My lines are the factory ones that are about 5'. There are calculators online you can use to find out what PSI you should set to reach specific carb levels.