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Time to use the new brew stand I just finished! I downloaded BS and decided to tweak the NB Dead Ringer recipe for the first brew. I've tested the system with water and have done two boil off tests, but can you please double check my numbers and or give any tips or suggestions? I have no...

If you mean a bucket spigot you can turn on and off then NB has them for under $5. I added one to my bottling bucket. Drill a hole and hand tighten it on, its that simple. It also rotates up so you can mount it really low and still lay the bucket flat.

Thought I would share my homemade wort chiller. I know there are some folks using 1/4" tubing instead of 3/8" but I never really found any results as to how well the 1/4" cooled. I had a 50' roll of the 1/4" OD copper from a previous home improvement project so I figured why not give it a try...

Well opened a bottle of my first brew on New Years Eve. Was extremely impressed with it, turned out great! Its a Black IPA from NB that I adjusted just a tad. Fermented in temp controlled primary for 4 weeks then dry hopped in primary for 4 days, then bottled. I have asked a Lot of questions and...

Great, thanks!

About time to dry hop the first brew. Recipe calls to dry hop 5 days before bottling. Doesn't say leaf hop or pellet. I bought leaf hops. Any idea if .5 oz of leaf hops is the same as .5 of pellet hops? Similar utilization? Also, should I take the hop bag out before cold crashing?

So its day 14 with my first brew. Its a 2.5 gal black IPA from NB. Fermentation took right off around the 12-15 hour mark and at the moment the airlock is still bubbling slightly. Fermentation has been at 63-64 degrees the whole time. The recipe called for 1.075 OG and I got 1.069 OG. Tested it...

It should work as a heat source depending on the wattage. Im no expert by any means, but red light has a longer wavelength and would prob have less affect on fementation than say a white light. That being said, its still light and I would avoid light interacting with fermentation if possible...

Bubble wrap is a great idea! I can get long food grade temp probes through my work. Another option would be to insert a sanitized probe directly into the wort through a sealed grommet on the top of plastic better bottle. The seal would be above wort level to reduce risk of leaks but the probe...

Thanks guys, glad to know all is good! The mini fridge has a 2 stage temp controller for heating and cooling. However the probe is setup for ambient temps. I'll have to look into making a setup that can control fermentation temps. Maybe do what you mentioned and tape or attach somehow and...

So my first brew (2.5 gal black IPA with specialty grains) went perfect. Lots of research here helped! Everything is going well (OG was 1.069, called for 1.075) and fermentation started around 12-15hr mark. I have a climate controlled mini fridge and have been able to keep the fermenting to...

Thanks for the yeast calc. This should work great! Good to know! Im planning on a Black IPA. OG 1.070 I think I'll do 3 gallons or maybe a tad less and see how that responds for my first batch. If I have to add a half gallon or so of water after to get 2.5g I will. I agree, I dont think...

So I found a recipe on my online brewstore I want to try. It like many is setup for a 5 gal brew and I want to do 2.5 gal. From what I read I can simple just cut all the ingredients in half. Easy enough. However, the instructions for the 5 gallon brew state to partial boil at least 3 1/2 gallons...

Thanks! The cause of so many "why" questions I came across sealed the deal that I should get something setup. Figured I can record everything I do but if my ferment temps are all over the place it would be so much harder to solve/ improve on. Plus I like building stuff :) A pressure reverse...

All great stuff, thanks! Totally forgot about the turkey baster. I'll have to look into the Whirlfloc/ Irish moss as I know little about it.

Hey everyone! After much research (and lots of craft beers) on this site and reading John Palmers How to Brew, I feel pretty confident Im ready for my first homebrew. I have a few questions but will keep it simple for my first post :) I think I have almost everything needed to do my first...