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Greenbush in Sawyer is on the way from Grand Rapids to Chicago, and is worth a stop, more so if you like BBQ. Last time I was in the area, I actually did not stop at Founders because the parking was so bad - was not worth the hassle. I presume you are going from MO through to GR, which puts a...

Roll with it. Based on your post, only the base malts were mixed, and if so, then there probably won't be a dramatic difference. I would brew whatever you planned to brew.

I actually kinda like the trimmer head on my Ego electric. You cut 18' of line, string it halfway through the head (9' on either side), then twist the head to feed it back in. The entire process takes maybe 3 or 4 minutes.

Check the plastic stamp on your bucket. Some common buckets are not necessarily HDPE (#2). HDPE buckets are good past boiling (to 248° F repeatedly). Not all plastic buckets are HDPE though, so if you have a different kind, that could cause issues. For larger buckets, I know BGS makes 7.8...

For kegs, I've just broken them down completely, given an extended PBW soak, then sanitize before storing, and then sanitize again, without issue. YMMV. My plastic fermentors get an extended bleach bath with a high-strength bleach solution. The benefit of idophor and star-san is that they...

What's Brewing in Palatine. Not exactly close to Lombard, but not too bad either.

I like my LHBS. Grain by the ounce/pound and she stocks basically everything. Hops are around $2/ounce, up to $3+ for the usual suspects. Base malts are $1.76/pound and specialty malts run $1.94 to $2.30/pound, but you buy and pay for what you need. I buy all my grain there on principal, and...

Another consideration is adding in a 120v 20a line with dedicated neutral for the treadmill. Also, your wife might be better served by a giant fan than an AC unit - and I say that runner, cyclist, 2x Iron-distance and 5x 70.3 distance triathlete. I'd rather it be 85° with a big fan blowing...

That post needs a trigger warning. Previous owner loved that stuff. I spent probably forty hours pulling it up (15x30 patch), and then another three years hunting down stragglers.

Since it's a rear-seal faucet, it might be worth the couple of bucks to buy a generic rebuild kit. The 408 in the picture looks almost exactly like the generic chrome one off of ebay. I'm lucky in the my LHBS has an extensive set of gaskets, o-rings, and whatnot available, so if you're ever in...

Might be a 408.

Works great for flies too.

If your big leaf hydrangea isn't getting enough sun, then the hops are definitely not getting enough sun. My poor hydrangea are getting roasted this summer, to the point I made them parasols out of landscaping fabric. How much water are your hops getting? They are thirsty plants but really...

There are several projects that I keep meaning to do from when we bought our house . . .in 2013. . . but the brewing gear is all clean and organized!

Depends on what you mean by "Chicago". There are three water sources from Lake Michigan. My water comes from Evanston and I live in the northwest suburbs. Using the public reports, the water profile is something along the lines of Ca 32, Mg 11, Na 7.7, Bicarbonate 122, So4 25, and Cl 14. It...

I have some finicky kegs. Some lids only fit in one orientation, or there is a lot of wiggle room where you can twist the lid. You'll learn the ins-and-outs quickly enough. The thicker O-rings help a lot - my LHBS has some larger ones, and I picked up a half dozen, and those help a lot. When...

I use a metal hose in-line shut-off valve on the input side of the chiller. You can find them at Home Depot or Walmart. So Hose->valve->chiller...

2,596. Bought a final gravity hydrometer - fine scale, measures from 0.980 to 1.020, to really determine FG. Took it out of the package, looked at it, put it back in the tube, and promptly dropped it and broke it. SMH.

Truly dry (1.000 to 0.998 SG) is really dry in fruit wines. So much of fruit flavors come from sweetness. Be prepared to stabilize (potassium sorbate and campden / potassium metabisulfite) and back-sweeten. Most wine yeasts will have no problems taking fruit juices and blends down that dry...

When I made blueberry wine, I used a 4x4 post wrapped in wax paper.