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I fermented a 5 gallon batch of cider using the usual recipe and Yesterday I turned the ferm chamber down to freezing temps. I went down today to begin scooping out the ice. I was expecting chunks of ice on the top that were crystal clear. What I got was a brown slush that capped the top and...

I would like to verify my description below for calculating the % alcohol of Apple Jack is correct. I am making the classic Cider with 5 gallons of cider, 2 pounds of brown sugar and WLP 775. In past batches I have determined that my % alcohol was 10%. If I then jack it by freezing and...

I have a 15 gallon Blichman boilermaker I use to make 5 and 10 gallon batches. It has a dip tube on the inlet that comes within 1/4 inch of the bottom of the pot. There is a petal type steamer element placed upside down on the dip tube to minimize the hops settling onto the dip tube. I place the...

Last night I was swapping around some kegs, removing empties and placing new kegs in line for fermentation. One of the kegs refused to accept the gas line. The fitting would push down but not lock in place. It pushed itself back up again like the pressure on a return spring. I tried the gas line...

I'm getting ready to reuse my first yeast cake. I have heard that I should remove half the trub to avoid pitching. What s the danger in overpitchong a batch if I aerate properly?

I have recently taken up brewing after a hiatus of several years. My first 2 brews failed to ferment. I have determined through other threads on this forum that the cause was mash temps that were too high and greatly reduced fermentability. So i decided to do my old crowd pleaser that required...

Here's the situation: 2 weeks ago I brewed a batch of pumpkin ale, something I have done many times before. 10# base malt, 2 pounds specialty malt, 1 lb. brown sugar. 1 oz. hops, spices as required. OG 1.065 on the refractometer. Put in the ferm chamber at 77F. Stirred vigorously with a...

For many years I have been using a Thermoworks meat thermometer with a waterproofed probe to monitor the mash temps. I'd like to upgrade to full wireless. Is there a waterproof wireless thermometer with a floating probe I could place in the mash up to boil temps?

Planned 2 brew days this weekend. One Sunday, one Monday, because I haven't made my holiday beers in a couple seasons and I miss them (I also have 3 empty kegs calling my name) My usual yeasting process is as follows: 1. Flame out 2. cool in kettle to 150F 3. transfer to brew bucked through a...

OK, let me start off by saying I am not a new brewer. I have been brewing for 7 years, all grain for 5. This has never happened to me before. Probably about 45-50 batches through my kettle. I am at a loss to explain, except to conclude there is a micro black hole in my mash kettle pumping heat...

I have had a hefewizen keg in the on deck position at 12 PSI for about 5 months. Tapped it the other day and was rewarded with a full glass of foam. I pulled the PRV, removed the co2 line and have been serving glasses of foam ever since. Its getting better, but I never dreamed it as possible to...

I have a mystery regarding my kegerator. I have solved it and I have no idea how. Recently my wee heavy keg stopped flowing beer. Not the spluttering of co2 and foam that usually accompanies a kick, just stopped flowing entirely. I switched thebeer line to a fresh keg that had already been...

Ok, I admit it. I screwed up. Pulling out the kettle after a hiatus of a couple of years to do a pumpkin ale. I put the spices in at 60 minutes instead of 15 as called for in the recipe. I've resigned myself to adding another load of spice. Should I put it in now?( i pitched the yeast last...

I continue to wish for an accurate gage to tell me how full my kegs are. I have tried and failed several times to design a meter circuit with these components: 1. 10 segment bar LED display Lumex SSA-LXB10W-GF/LP 2. LED display driver Texas Instruments IM3914-443928 3. Force sensor...

1. The summer brewing season is over. I have 7 full kegs (my entire library) sitting full and quietly carbing up for the winter chill. Inevitably some of those kegs will go empty during the winter and get rinsed out and stored. I am debating whether to rinse and store half full of starsan or...

I have been brewing about 4 years. Early in my career I bought an auto siphon and have not given it any thought, beyond sanitizing it before each use. Last week, Something strange happened. I filled my bucket with sanitizer, clipped the auto siphon the edge of the bucket and plopped in the...

Are Shark bite connector a type of John guest fitting? I have never used either, but heard a bit about both. John guest for beer plumbing and shark bite for house plumbing. The pictures look somewhat similar

can/does yeast character shift? I have a sample of White Labs WLP 300 hefeweizen yeast I have been ranching for several years. I didn't do a hefe last year ( didn't get to it) so the sample may well have lain undisturbed for 24 months. Did a starter and it finished off the starter wort quietly...

I have a small (5cf) keezer with 2 taps and 3 kegs ( 2 serving one carbing) The carbing keg sits on the hump. The shanks are standard straight through 4 1/8" with a straight tailpiece. The taps are drilled through the collar, which is a 2x10 (1 1/2" thick) The problem: If I want to remove...

I have always been a "safe" brewer, setting my ferm chamber temp controller to the middle of the published range. Does that tem range represent: 1. The temp where the yeast reproduces and converts sugar to alcohol most efficiently? 2. The temp that produces the best taste? 3. The...