Pic of my new tap handle. It's the leather shift knob from my lancer evolution. I bought the screw, nut, and a washer at Home Depot and had a friend weld them together. I cut the screw short and painted it matte black and here's how it turned out:



I'm pretty happy with it, and i've got to admit that throttling that thing back is pretty satisfying

[Edited on March 6, 2011 at 6:29 PM. Reason : pic]

3/6/2011 6:29:03 PM

That's way cool! I can't wait to have a keg setup, but I feel it may be awhile.

3/6/2011 7:20:12 PM

my OG was 1.092...i pitched the White Labs American Ale II into it at about 630pm last night, at 72F. It has started fermentation this morning. My only concern is that will the yeast be able to eat up all those sugars to get it down to 1.02(ish). I didn't have the time to make a starter. I think i'll be ok, but thoughts from others would be good

3/7/2011 8:39:13 AM

Should be fine.

Though you should always use a starter.

3/7/2011 8:53:39 AM

i might have pitched two vials just to be safe, 1.092 is awfully high without any kind of starter!

3/7/2011 9:01:31 AM

would it be too late to pitch another vial? is that an option?

3/7/2011 9:07:18 AM

So long as it's not carbonated, you can pitch another vial.

3/7/2011 10:56:55 AM

hmmm...ok..i will evaluate the fermentation over the next day or two and determine at that point whether or not to pitch more yeast. thanks!

i'm pretty excited about this beer though...i LOVED the smells/roastiness i was getting from the worst at the start of the boil. gorgeous dark color. Originally had a 1.07 OG, so i kept boiling and got it up.

3/7/2011 11:14:39 AM

roughly 40 hours after the yeast was pitched. I could smell the esters that were escaping the blowoff all the way downstairs! The temperature of my fermenting vessel seemed to drop over night though from about 68 to 60, still I'm getting bubbling at roughly 1 "burp" per second so I don't think the temperature shift has slowed the process at all. The color seems dark for a wheat in this picture, but it's not nearly that dark. Plus once the yeast drops and then I transfer it should lighten back up considerably.

3/7/2011 1:34:14 PM

^looking good! No matter what it'll at least officially be beer...

3/8/2011 6:24:00 PM

just scored 2 brand new 6.5 gal carboys for $35 each. That's about $10-12 less than the LHBS sells them. Hello pipeline!

3/9/2011 8:33:26 AM

bottled my ancient orange on monday...about 12% and as sweet as you'd expect from a mead

very good, but an acquired taste

3/9/2011 8:51:38 AM

Bobby Light, was this your inspiration?
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/converting-frigidaire-7-2-cu-ft-chest-freezer-162225/index5.html


reading through that really has me jazzed up to build one but there are a hundred other things i should be focused on!

3/9/2011 2:29:01 PM

Holy crap, haha. I hadnt seen that, but it's VERY similar to mine. Mine's not built that nicely

I'm definitely going to copy his digital temp reading on the front...but I have a special tweek of my own. I just received all of the parts in the mail to build a "texting temperature sensor". Basically, my kegerator will text/email me if the temperature ever gets above X degrees and below X degrees. I'm stoked.

3/9/2011 2:32:08 PM

i feel like i should build a fermenting chamber before a draft vessel. I know I could essentially ferment in the keezer if i upped the temperature and didn't have any beer on tap. but what good would that do, i built the keezer to always have cold beer to drink! so i'm not sure.

3/9/2011 2:48:54 PM

fermenting chamber would be retarded easy. Just get a cheap analog johnson temp controller (think I paid about $65 for mine) and a cheapo freezer off craigslist. That's it.

3/9/2011 2:56:26 PM

I'd totally build one if I could drink that much beer. Problem is there's so much craft beer I want to drink in addition to my homebrew. That's a pretty awesome setup!

3/9/2011 2:59:04 PM

yeah, i got a couple things in mind haha...


in an unrelated note


is that the Brinkmann burner from Home Depot? I've got one as well. How does it perform heating up that full keggle? I've been a little worried about it's ability to boil a full 8-10 gallons.

3/9/2011 3:01:08 PM

I cant view pics here at work...but i'm guessing it's the pic from my gallery of the keggle on the burner.

It is indeed the Brinkmann burner from Home Depot/Lowes. I believe it's 100,000btu. It actually did really well boiling the ~13 gallons of wort I had in there. I didnt time it, but it might have taken 20 minutes or so to get it to a rolling boil...could be off a bit, but it wasnt agonizingly slow or anything.

3/9/2011 3:21:55 PM

yes, that was the pic. I guess i've just never ramped it up all the way since i'm still doing partial boils. but it's good to know it can handle ~13 gallons.

Quote :

"I'd totally build one if I could drink that much beer. Problem is there's so much craft beer I want to drink in addition to my homebrew. That's a pretty awesome setup!"

Thing is, i've become more interested in the homebrew side of the craft beer world than the commercial side.

3/9/2011 3:23:52 PM

going to keep my eye out for an old free chest freezer. Then probably get this. a little pricey, but i love the idea of being able to control both heating and cooling, especially if the chest is out in the garage next winter.

3/9/2011 4:37:45 PM

Finally got my kegs in last night, filled em up with Hazelnut Brown and an American Lager.

I pressurized the Lager and gently shook it for a good 5-10 minutes, then let it sit for an hour. It was pretty much fully carbed when I pulled the first pint. It tastes pretty good, but smells kinda wretched... sulfury. I think the temp may have been two high when I fermented that one... Oh well.

3/10/2011 9:21:09 AM

FYI..

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452_638

Austin Homebrew has 20 recipe kits on sale for $20. you can get them extract, partial, or all-grain for the same price. They are basic styles, but could be good foundations for tinkering on your own or having some base styles in your pipeline. I think I may pick up a couple extracts or 1 partial mash to have on hand for a quick brew session.

3/10/2011 10:37:12 AM

been checking on my Black IPA over the past few days...it is ROCKING in fermentation. no extra vial needed to be pitched. 1.095OG and its been going at 1 bubble/second for 3 days now. I am happy with that and its stayin at 68F. smells pretty good too in there haha. I havent been this excited about a beer in a while...i have high expectations for it.

im just tryign to decide whether or not to get a kegging setup or bottle it. I think im going to bottle it in 22oz bottles with labels, because I can LOL.

3/10/2011 10:52:27 AM

If you're going to store kits, I'd use them within 6 months or so. And be sure to order the dry yeast (and keep it refrigerated) as liquid yeast doesn't last nearly as long.

I like my ingredients fresh, and if the yeast goes bad, the $7 I saved I'll just have to spend again to buy new yeast.

Or you can just not order yeast, but then you gotta make a trip to the store, which for me defeats the purpose of buying a kit online.

But if you're brewing soon, $20 is dirt cheap! I may actually pick one up to get a wit or hefe going for spring

[Edited on March 10, 2011 at 11:04 AM. Reason : ,]

3/10/2011 10:56:58 AM

i agree, fresh is better but both batches would be used before summer i'm sure, but that being said i wouldn't get yeast and will just buy from my LHBS when i'm ready to brew.


^eh, my LHBS isn't too far and while their kits are quality they tend to be a little over priced and light in ABV.

3/10/2011 11:07:05 AM

that's true, the kits at my LHBS are like $38, but the $20 kit + $7 yeast + $8 shipping ends up only saving me $3

Guess I better buy two kits, then I save $14

[Edited on March 10, 2011 at 11:43 AM. Reason : .]

3/10/2011 11:41:23 AM

or spend $60 more on stuff and get free shipping! ha


what to get though? these styles are so basic. I may do the IPA and tweek it a bit. then something else. what looks good?

3/10/2011 12:34:45 PM

I'm thinking the Blonde Rye, Wit, or English Brown.

I like this:

Quote :

"Add 1% alcohol to your beer without compromising its flavor. Brewvint Alcohol Boost is 55% maltose/45% glucose, a very fermentable mix with little flavor contribution."

Not that I like to boost the ABV, but interesting mix of sugars to get the lack of flavor contribution. I always presumed it would sweeten it too much, but I guess it all gets converted.

[Edited on March 10, 2011 at 12:53 PM. Reason : .]

3/10/2011 12:50:18 PM

I got the IPA, the Pilsner, and the American Ale. Added some cleaner and a bag of DME to keep around for starters and such. Thanks for posting the link.

3/10/2011 2:02:43 PM

just remember these are LME kits unless you specified DME, so their shelf life is much less.

3/11/2011 9:45:38 AM

Oh, they'll all be brewed in the next few months, no worries...

3/11/2011 12:35:07 PM

so i bought two 6.5 gallon carboys this weekend and Sunday i cleaned them up and filled them up so i could mark some fill lines. They hold 7 gallons to the neck, obviously i won't fill them up that far, but holy crap are those things heavy when filled. They don't look much bigger than my 6 gallon, but they are beastly.

3/14/2011 9:37:23 AM

Yeah, I decided to get some Better Bottles after seeing the difference in weight! It's ridiculous!

3/14/2011 9:54:36 AM

can anyone give me a simple response pertaining to recommended method for aging the beer over bourbon soaked oak chips? i'm simply using a carboy and am planning on doing this in secondary. i dont feel like reading complicated articles haha. just a general 1) soak oak chips in whiskey 2) let beer sit on chips for _____weeks

maybe some insight on time vs. flavor, and amount of oak chips to use for a 5 gallon batch.

3/14/2011 10:23:52 AM

i bought four of the abs kits

3/14/2011 10:46:18 AM

good. get back in the game.

what did you end up getting

3/14/2011 10:52:40 AM

oh shit, i'm going to make some apfelwein this week.

3/14/2011 4:20:52 PM

my amber ale from a month or two ago:

3/16/2011 12:40:47 AM

mmmm looks great!

3/16/2011 8:51:33 AM

Nice! I just dry hopped my West Coast Blaster last night with 1oz Centennial & 1oz Citra. I'll let it sit for about 2 weeks and then I'll cold-crash and keg. Cant wait to try this stuff.

3/16/2011 11:40:27 AM

anyone have any suggestions for oak/bourbon aging?

i'm going to take a gravity reading tonight when i get home. I'm curious to see how well my pretties did up against 1.095

3/16/2011 2:27:03 PM

Way to go Prospero! BADASS pic too i really like it, way to leave the sediment behind

3/16/2011 9:19:05 PM

^^you're best off reading on homebrewtalk about oak aging. i don't have any personal experience with the process.

3/17/2011 8:04:03 AM

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/ebay-aquarium-temp-controller-build-163849/

Found this thread while reading about fermentation chambers. I was planning to get a lowball freezer and then splurge on the Ranco dual stage temp controller. After reading much of this thread I just ordered this 20 dollar controller and plan to wire my own dual stage. Now I can spend just a little extra and get a nicer/larger freezer.

3/17/2011 3:32:41 PM

checked my Hefe last night...Almost two full weeks in primary. OG: 1.054, SG on 3-17 1.011

3/18/2011 8:02:35 AM

^^Nice find! I'm going to order one myself. I have an extra freezer in the garage that I've been thinking about converting to a fermentation chest.

3/18/2011 10:44:01 AM

I need to post a picture of the raspberry wheat that just finished... sure is tasty!

Couple questions:

I have a california common (lager) in the secondary right now. When I bottle do I need to remain the cold temp. or can I keep it room temp.?

I also have a caribou slobber (extract) from northern brewer in the primary fermenter. It has been in the primary for about 2 weeks now, but the krausen has yet to settle down. The air lock has stopped bubbling for 5 days, so I'm not sure what going on. Could this just be yeast cake? Suggestions and or ideas would be appreciated.

3/19/2011 1:20:10 PM

Did you pitch Wyeast 1332?

Have you taken any gravity readings on the caribou slobber? If it's the same for about 2 days or more in a row, it's likely done fermenting and you're good to go.

3/19/2011 7:46:02 PM

^ Yes to both questions.... I've taken the gravity and it is the same, I've just never seen this happen before.

3/19/2011 9:58:37 PM