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Thanks for the replies guys. I've decided to make a "temporary" setup for now, with a stainless steel racking cane (that's been modified) that hangs on the side of the kettle. This way I can adjust it up or down. I do make 5 and 10 gal batches so I need to see what will work best and still...

Hey guys, I want to set up my BK for whirlpooling. For those of you who brew with electric, do you put your return port above or below the heating element? My element sits about 4 or 4.5inches off the bottom of the kettle. (If it matters, I have a blichmann 20gal g1 kettle). Thanks for...

Hey guys, Due to all the glass accidents I've seen and heard of, I've decided to abandon the glass carboys and switch to the food grade plastic buckets. Anything special I should do with them before my first use? I've cleaned them with oxyclean (30 min soak) and just want to be sure I'll...

Has anyone done a side by side comparison of using the filter versus free floating hops? I'm sorry if this has already been discussed in the past 124 pages and I missed it... I'd like to try one of these, just want to make sure I get the same hop flavor (or hoppier flavor!)

Found this today and think I'm going to go with 2 of them. $20 for a 7.9gal bucket is hard to beat. I think I'll go this route for a bit before deciding if I need the SSbrew bucket or something else. http://www.kegerator.com/7-8-gallon-bottling-bucket-spigot-lid/5221DKIT.html Any thoughts?

I've had decent success with a 6gal barrel. First beer was a yeti clone, second was a stronger/hoppy porter. Both turned out great. 1st beer was only in the barrel for about 10 days, second one maybe 14 days. In between beers I dumped a bottle of bourbon in the barrel to try and keep the...

STC-1000 temp controller is around $20 and you can score a chest freezer on craigslist, probably for under $100. The aeration wand and regulator is also around $50.

To what Mirilis said, I completely agree. If you have only $200 and don't have fermentation temp control or an oxygen aeration setup, get that. These two items cost far less then my fancy single tier 3 vessel electric system, and made a much bigger improvement then the fancy "wort making"...

Yeah, plastic buckets are cheap and easy to clean, and that makes them attractive. Braufessor - Little confused. From what I read, it sounds like you use the spigot on the SS brew bucket, but you have removed the racking arm internal to the bucket that usually attaches to the spigot? Do...

Please, inform me (us) how you harvest yeast (specific to the SS bucket, I know the basics) :mug:

This is an interesting find on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-TEMCo-30-Liter-8-Gallon-Stainless-Steel-Milk-Can-Wine-Pail-Bucket-Tote-Jug-/281546699925?

Thanks for all the replies guys. The sanke keg is interesting but lifting 11gal + keg weight (well over 100lbs) over the side of my chest freezer could be challenging. Those of you who use plastic, ever notice any off flavors? The SSTech brew bucket does look nice, but for $225 I feel like...

Hey guys, I've decided I'm done with glass. Been brewing in glass carboys for 8 years now, and while I have not had a catastrophe yet, I figure its only a matter of time. During last sunday's brew, I had to throw a carboy out due to a big crack I noticed on the bottom of the carboy. I know...

OK, thanks guys. I didn't see their cooling system until you pointed it out.

How are you guys controlling the temp on these (or planning to)? Especially the 14gal? Currently I have a chest freezer that can hold two carboys. Given the dimensions it should fit, but 14gal seems like a lot of weight to be lifting over the edge of a chest freezer..

I went nuts with this hobby, sinking thousands into an electric "Kal clone" system (google it if that doesn't sound familiar). I love it. Its a HERMS system. That being said, I would say the biggest improvement to my beer came from a $40 o2 regulator and aeration wand, and the $100 or so I...

If you're planning on doing 10gal batches, get a 20gal pot. Accounting for boil off and trub loss, you'll be starting your boil with 12-14gal in the BK. That's a recipe for boil overs.

BigPerm, thanks for the tip on "No Star-san" in the barrel. So it seems I'm hearing I can store it with whiskey/bourbon, dry (i thought the staves would shrink and this is bad?), or with citric acid/sulfate holding solution. I was going to pick up some whiskey today...

This is all great info guys, thanks! Keep it coming if you have more!

I'm not sure about when it was dumped, but it does have a fill date of 8/13/2013 on it. Does the quality of the bourbon/whiskey matter all that much? The Kirkland stuff from costco is pretty cheap... So it seems like you all rely on the bourbon to keep the barrel sanitized, no star-san...