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I thought I'd share my equipment and process for transferring from my Blichmann Fermenator to my Corny keg with minimal oxygen exposure. I'm sure this can be used for other fermentors as well. The key is I replace the rubber stopper used for venting with a rubber stopper outfitted with a CO2...

Bobby from BrewHardware.com modified the below kit to work with my Blichmann Fermenator. See the attached photo. He drilled a hole in the rubber stopper and installed the gas port to it. You swap your current blowoff with this when you’re ready to rack. For the racking arm he created the...

Thanks for the feedback. I think I can do a closed transfer without having to add the TC blowoff fitting. This will allow me to keep my chest freezer for now.

Yes, I edited my post to be more clear. I can make do with a tall freezer if necessary.

I have a small chest freezer the fits my Fermenator with only a couple of inches vertical clearance. It is your typical 27.75” high interior. I use a block and tackle to make it easier to lift the fermenter in and out of the chest freezer. I’d like to add a tri-clamp fitting blowoff to the...

Bobby from Brewhardware.com did not agree with Blichmann's recommendation to transfer the fermented beer into a Corny keg by using a pump. Instead he is recommending using a Conical to Keg Pressure Transfer Kit. I'm trying to figure out how the tri-clamp and gasket gets integrated into the top...

I appreciate the responses! As shown in the attached photo, the top of my fermenter has a loose fitting metal plug to prevent over-pressure and a cork with the blowoff tube. I don’t see how a spunding valve would be integrated into this setup to allow a closed transfer with CO2.

I currently rack from my Blichmann Fermenator into an air filled Corny keg by a slow gravity feed through vinyl tubing. This is no doubt the worst thing I can do for cold-side oxygenation. One improvement would be to fill my keg with a diluted StarSans solution, force that solution out with...

OK, next time I brew this I'll try the Ca=110 ppm and Sulfate=275 ppm targets. Thanks for the tip about adding the Ca salts designated for mash water (but not the sparge water) to the kettle instead. I'll do that next time. Do you mean both the CaCl2 and the CaSO4? I used liquid CaCl2. So...

In the main Pliny thread, there are a couple of posts that also suggest eliminating the Crystal malt. I chose to modify a recipe I found for Blind Pig by reducing the amount of Crystal and changing from 40L to 10L. With regard to water chemistry, 150 ppm Ca seems like a lot. In Bru'n Water...

The following is similar to a couple of other Blind Pig clone recipes you could find online, but I'm adding the water chemistry instructions which I believe are important. This is very close to Russian River's fine brew! Cheers!! Type: All Grain Batch Size: 5.40 gal Boil Size: 7.15 gal Boil...

Thanks for all of the replies. Interesting comment about getting a TDS meter (yes, only about $15 on Amazon) to check how pure my grocery store RO water is (Glacier machine). Unless I followed up with a Ward water test on that RO water, I'm not sure what I'd do with the TDS measurement in...

I entered my Ward water report into Bru'n Water and I typically use 80% RO for my IPAs for the mash and adjust with minerals and lactic acid. Should I also use 80% RO water for the sparge, or is it OK to reduce that to 50%? Is it generally better to use at least 80% (or even 100%) RO water in...

Glad to hear that dumping the nibs directly into the fermenter isn't an issue. I am brewing a chocolate raspberry stout for the second time this weekend. The first time I made it I used 4 oz of cocoa nibs (soaked in vodka) and added them into my conical fermenter during secondary with a muslin...

OK, 3rd time was definitely the charm. The below recipe is the best of the 3 by far. I think the key changes were (1) flaked rice instead of white wheat, (2) mash at 145F instead of 148F, and (3) dry hop with Citra and Nelson Sauvin. I made this for a large party and it went very quickly...

Thanks to you both. I do also hold my breath if I'm sticking my head in the chest freezer while taking a SG sample. I'm not as concerned about my brain cells (not much left) as I am my beer. Glad I don't need to anything.

The instructions of my Blichmann Fermenator says: "...the CO2 gas from fermentation should be vented through the door or wall of the [temperature controlled chest freezer]". Is the prevention of CO2 buildup for safety reasons or because it can affect the flavor of the beer? Do I really need...

Thanks very much again! I’ll lower to 60F at dry hop (and yes I do dump my trub then with my conical fermentor) and change how I whirlpool (nice tip!). Cheers.

Thanks for the suggestion to mash at a lower temperature. I'll do that. What yeast would you recommend instead of WLP001? Perhaps WLP090? Wyeast 1056? US-05? For 2 dry hops for X number of days (X=1, 4, 5, or 7), would you remove the first dry hop bag before adding the second, or would you...

Thanks for the recommendation. For a 5 gal batch, is the conversion from hops lb/bbl 4 lb/bbl = 4 oz/(5 gal batch)? Perhaps for a 5 gal batch the 2 rounds of dry hops should be separated by 4 days instead of 1. How about this for an all-grain 5 gallon recipe? Note 90 minute boil but...