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I have been out of the brewing hobby for a few years, hoping to return someday, but meanwhile I'm going to be moving in the next year and need to clear out 6 or 7 cases of empty beer bottles that I spent a lot of time delabeling and cleaning, so I would hate for them to just go right into the...

So I've had this swamp cooler working for almost a week now, and the temperature seems to have stayed in between 48 and 52 for the entire time. Once or twice a day I have been adding one or two frozen water bottles, aka cooling rods. I'm checking the temperature of the water with a laser...

I made a batch of cider for my wife. Started it 3 months ago and just kegged it the other day. All I used was potassium metabisulfate, a pectic enzyme, nottingham yeast, and 5 gallons of unpasteurized cider. I put it in the fridge after I kegged it to carbonate it as I typically do with beer...

I inherited this carboy from a friend for free. He inherited it from his uncle, who received it in a homebrewing kit he received as a gift, many years ago. He never got into the hobby, and this 6.5 gallon carboy, manufactured in 1996, has never been used. I've noticed that there is a tiny...

I made a starter Thursday night with the intent on brewing some Maibock this afternoon. I used 1/2 cup of dark DME with 1 pint H2O for the starter with WLP 833 German Bock Yeast. The yeast vial does not expire until march 2012. It's been on the stir plate for about 36 hours now, and nothing...

I was installing some recessed lights the other day with the electrician and one of the bulbs we got from the supplier was broken in the box, but the inner halogen part still worked. I pinched the remaining glass off the brass base and got the idea of using a beer bottle to make the outer shell...

I brewed Midwest's California Common kit today(extract), and for some reason 2 different hydrometers said the SG was 1.070 @ 72F. The recipe says it should be around 1.045-1.048, so what could cause it to be so high? Is it really that high? The only modification to the recipe was the addition...

When you buy a commercial keg it is almost always refrigerated and should be kept cold, the stated reason being that most keg beer is unpasteurized and refrigeration will keep it fresher for longer. Following that logic, since homebrew is also unpasteurized, should it too be kept...

I Decided to undertake the project of moving the CO2 tank out of the beer fridge. Since the fridge is tucked in between a wall and 2 stacked drawer units, there is nowhere convenient less than 4' away from the fridge to put a tank. So I ran 1/4" copper tubing from the regulator to a bulkhead I...

I made a pressure gauge for my pinlock kegs using spare parts that I had around: Barbed gas disconnect fitting, pressure gauge from an old air compressor, an air fitting in lieu of a barbed fitting, and a short length of CO2 line with hose clamps. I have my keg charged to 40 PSI for clean...

So I made a yeast starter Tuesday night, WLP060 (White Labs American Ale). Wednesday morning there were tiny CO2 bubbles and things looked good. I gave it a stir then as I had the night before. Gave it another stir that evening and everything moved around in the flask, as with the previous...

Today I was drifting around in my parents basement and something caught my eye: A bottle from my first batch of homebrew, back in 2004! It was actually the 2nd batch I had brewed, the very first one got moldy in the primary. I don't remember this batch being particularly flavorful, the only...

Today I got the idea to replace the light in my beer fridge with an incandescent blacklight. Hooked it up and it looks pretty sweet. My queston is, Should I or the Clear Carboy of Lager in there be worried about light from a blacklight affecting the beer the way sunlight and fluorescent...

Hey Guys, First time using this keg, or any corny keg for that matter and I'm planning on tapping it this weekend when I have some company over. Anyways I just connected my cobra tap to it to check the carbonation level, and no mater what I do, the liquid post leaks when the fitting is...

I've been brewing for a long time but last night was my first successful attempt to do a starter for the batch I plan to brew this weekend. I was using a 1L flask with 1/2cup DME and 1 pint of water, and it did boil over a bit, but as of this morning fermentation is evident with tiny co2...

I received a yeast starter kit for Christmas which included an Erlenmeyer flask, albeit looking good and regular, the glass seems rather thin and infact reminds me of another piece of glass (waterpipe) I had in college that was thin and shortlived due to lack of durability. My question is: Is...

I've got a Chrome tower (approx 1' tall and 3" diameter, 5' of beer line to the shank - no faucet), a Stainless Steel Drip tray with a plastic grid insert and a drain (8 1/4 x 5 3/8), and a Hoff-Steven's keg coupler. They have not really been used but they are not new. I got them in college...

I just kicked the 1st sixtle after converting my basement fridge into a kegerator. Anyways I rinsed the coupling, beer line, and faucet with hot water and let them dry. Is there a good way to clean/rinse the shank without having to remove it from the door?

Hey folks, I've had a cold for the past few days and was wondering if it would be unwise to bottle a batch of beer tomorrow. I'm assuming that since the alcohol has already developed, it should be ok from contamination. I'm also under the assumption that no known pathogens can survive in...

Just brewed a Black Vanilla Stout last night, including 6# of dark LMD and 1# of dry DME. Everything went well but according to my new hydrometer the OG was only 1.02 at 75 degrees! I just got this hydrometer because my old one was becoming inaccurate; could this one be as well?