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I've seen a lot of talk about these two systems, and read some really excellent reviews (like Brad at beersnobby.com, here and here). For the time being, let's ignore that the Robobrew comes with an immersion chiller and has an option for a pump*. In terms of the basic functionality, my readings...

Hi all, I'm adding a stout faucet to my kegerator, and was curious if it is better to use 1/4" or 3/8" ID tubing to connect the keg to the shank/faucet. I have 5-foot lines running my current kegs to my taps, with the taps about 2.5 feet above the kegs.

I have used a plate chiller for the past two brews and it works fantastically, but I have a "fine-tuning" question. I ported a kettle with a 12-inch bazooka screen that is about 1-inch off the bottom. The last two times, I ran the wort through the chiller immediately after boiling. The 2nd...

I tried something a little new in this year's cider and it was...a mistake. I decided to use a pack of Saison yeast that they gave away at the AHA meeting in Philly. I made a 1-quart starter the day before, while I let an appropriate dose of pectic enzyme do its dirty work. About a day...

Hi all. I want to add a bunch of Quick Disconnects to my system and found the stainless type usually used on air lines at http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=51_55 These are being sold at half the price (or less) of competitors, which is a super bargain. I...

I've been legging for a few years now, without losing any batches before unexpected them to be last their primes. But the last few months, I've been losing beers much more quickly. I'm not sure if it's a problem with my cleaning, system, or just the nature of the beers. An ESB went bad after 6...

I tried making a fermentation cooler using the pot- n-pot terra cotta method but big box stores don't sell unglazed pots big enough for a carboy. However in the garden I stumbled on the EnduraCool towel ($14) which is a thin, synthetic towel that is extremely efficient at evaporating. It wraps...

I'm going to brew a Kolsch and my basement is in the low 70's. Rather than warm up by kegerator to the 60's for fermentation, I was thinking of building a terra cotta (or pot-in-pot) evaporative cooler. Basically I'm going to find an unglazed planter pot that holds my Better Bottle, stick the...

Hi gang. I have a used corny that came to me reeking of Sprite. I have cleaned it umpteen times with PBW, let Star San eat away for days, and used various combinations of 91% alcohol, sand, vinegar, baking soda...the odor persists and I'm afraid of putting beer in it because I don't want those...

Hi all. The big rubber top of a corny has come undone and flops around, so I have to lift the keg from just one handle and the bottom. I'm worried that this will make the other side peel off, so I'm trying to think of how to reattach it. A big squirt of construction adhesive? Silicone glue?

I was trying to keeve my cider but grew mold and had to nuke it with Camden tabs then pitch yeast. I'm at the final gravity I want and tossed in 1/2 tsp of potassium sorbate per gallon and cold crashed the cider. If I understand the chemistry, the sorbate binds to yeast to keep it from...

Hi gang. I tried to keeve a cider and it failed (it grew mold before the natural yeast took over) so I pitched S05 ale yeast and have kept the cider in the high 50's to do a slow ferment. I'm curious what a typical final gravity (or Brix) is from doing a keeving process for an English-style...

I was trying to make a keeved cider, which means letting the natural yeasts on apples to the fermenting at cold temps (45-55F) but it started to grow mold, so I had to rack off the uninfected cider, nuke it with campden tabs, and then add yeast. I thought I would try keeping the fermentation...

Trying my first keeve. I added PME and CaCl to the cider and it's clarified really nicely with a big thick layer in the bottom the next day. I'm curious how quickly the calcium and pectic enzyme react, and whether I could rack off this to ferment, or whether the chemical process takes much...

I bought a keeving kit from cidersupply.com and it comes with great instructions except for one thing: the temperature to ferment the cider. The idea is to only use the wild yeasts and I am unsure where I should be starting the ferment? 40F? 50F? Also it recommends making a "jump start"...

I have a beer ready to come out of primary and I am going to brew a new beer that will use the same yeast strain. Is there any reason I can't just rack the finished beer to secondary and pour the new wort into the primary? The primary is about 10 days old so I don't figure there is a huge risk...

I'm sterilizing my kegs and kegerator after a brewing buddy who specializes in sour beers infected a 55-gal batch that a number of us helped make. I opened and cleaned all my ball-lock QDs and bought new o-rings, and am curious if I should lightly coat them with keg lube before putting them...

Hi all, I just bought an MM3 grain mill and from reading these threads, I know I need a motor running around 150-250 RPM and with high torque (40 in-lb or more). Everyone was using models from surpluscenter.com but they are all out, so I've been scouring ebay for other options. I found...

Morning everyone! I have been using the turbid mash schedule for making my Belgian Wit and really love the results (mouthfeel, super-high efficiency, no wheat clumps) and was considering doing it for a dunkelweizen. Anyone ever tried this? -ben

Irene took out my power for two days, during which time my kegerator rose from 55F to 61F. My lager had been in its primary fermentation for about 8 days when this started but the airlock was still bubbling away quite vigorously (about one click every 7-8 sec) and I wasn't planning on doing a...