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Where are you in Alaska? There is a big difference between Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau. My brother-in-law lived 2 1/2 hours out of Fairbanks and had a nice greenhouse to extend his season.

They want to grow and help make beer. I think it's that great Ohio soil. The big question is what will you do with them next year.

That is so cool... with quality construction. It is obvious you thought carefully about its' construction.

I'm all for substituting DME and adding some extra hops (maybe a 10 minute boil). As for fermenting three weeks I would not do it. If your ferment temperatures are above 66f two weeks is enough time. WCPA is a very basic recipe and I would not waste the extra week in the fermentor. Yes...

Good advice for next time. This cider was in the fermentor for a month and it was quite clear at bottling so few yeast went into my bottling bucket and I did not re-pitch at bottling so it sounds like there are too few yeast alive in my bottles to do the job.

What is the upper limit for S-04 alcohol tolerance? I used it to brew a cider and it got the FG down to .991 with an ABV of 9.66%. After two weeks carbing in the bottles with enough sugar to provide 2.7 volumes of CO2 I still don't have much carbonation. I'm wondering if the alcohol has...

I'm a first year hops grower in North Carolina with Cascade, Sterling, Nugget and Magnum. Cascade and Nugget took off and produced well and each bine produced more than a half pound dried. Magnum was a slow starter but produced well at the end of the season. Sterling only produced a few cones...

So far I've had 30 great batches, one infected batch and one batch of half cider half beer that... well just don't make half beer half cider. It just doesn't seem right.

I use a 5 gallon Rubbermaid cooler and 6 gallon turkey fryer pots. They are a bit small for 5 gallon batches but it works. On Brew day I often boil up an extra gallon or two of water in a covered pot and I set it in plastic tote full of ice water to cool. If I miss my volume I top off the...

I ferment in the usualy buckets with a spigot on the side. Before bottling I quickly open the spigot all the way and draw off about 8oz to clear trub from the spigot. I use this sample for testing my final gravity so it does not go to waste and after letting the sample sit for 10-15 minutes go...

Unless you buy organically grown grains you can assume that some pesticides & herbicides were used in it's production no matter if you buy it from your local feed store or purchase brand name brewing grains. Depending on where you live barley may be hard to find at the local store. There are...

When I first started I put my kegs in a heavy cardboard box and used a heating pad for heat. I used a piece of scrap Lexan from work to make a door and so I could check my beer without opening the door and loosing my heat. The Lexan door is hinged with clear packing tape, and a tab of adhesive...

They have just tarnished. There was a slight haze of green in the lower right of this one but much of it wiped off with my finger. I think really good green takes a long time or chemicals.

Are there any recent pictures of the nanobrewery I have missed? The last I've seen were when you finished the cold room. I'd like to see it full of kegs and maybe something boiling or mashing...

Nice looking lables. I am sure they will still be readable in a hundred years. Mine have tarnished but they are still easy to read and look great in the garden.

Dribble4all: It helps if you shine a flashlight into the keg to look for the really tiny bubbles. If your temperatures were hot the bulk of fermentation could have happened quickly so it is possible you missed the krausen. The scum ring around the top is a good sign. Temperature is one of...

I have a 20lb and no problems. I purge my secondary before filling and if you want to bottle something for long term storage you can purge the bottles before filling. There is no such thing as too big a CO2 cylinder. Honestly. I have never understood why people store their CO2 cylinder...

Eating a whole hop is not too bad. I made the mistake of licking my fingers after packaging dried Magnum and Nugget. My fingers were yellow and sticky with lupulin... It took half an hour to get the taste out of my mouth. All that hops flavor and no overly malty home brew in sight to cut it...

I used to do a lot of packaging and bottle/can filling work so here is my two cents. Raising/lower the bottles or the filler head really depends on your design. If using a conveyor it is easier to leave the bottles on the conveyor and lower the filler into them. If raising/lowering the...

Try looking at Surplus Center. They have all sorts of electric motors, gears, chains, sprockets, motor controllers... Double check their prices if you can. Some items have been a real steal while others are high.