(Part 2) Best products from r/Homebrewing

If there are red flags I'm doing in these pictures, please let me know.

edit:

1st batch: Craft-A-Brew APA Kit

2nd batch: Northern Brewer's 1 Gallon Bavarian Hefe Kit

3rd batch: DrinkinSurfer's Milk Oatmeal Stout Recipe @HBT

If I could start over I would go straight to the 3-gallon batches. I hovered around them but I think it's the perfect batch size for beginners -- 1) Most people have a stockpot lying around the kitchen big enough to hold three gallons, 2) The batches are small enough so you don't have to drink two cases of bad brew, but big enough so if you enjoy it [which I'm thoroughly enjoying my first APA], you'll have plenty to taste and rate the evolution of the flavors over various weeks of priming and give out to family friends who are interested to try out what you made, 3) I ordered 3 Gallon Better Bottles for several reasons including worrying about shattering a glass carboy as a newbie. They also qualify for free shipping on MoreBeer's website with purchases above a certain price. 4) Even though I brewed a 5 gallon batch, and since I'm brewing solo, I'm already not looking forward to bottling the whole batch at once so I plan on breaking up bottling between two days.

For resources, I lurk this sub like a crazy stalker. The Daily Q&A is full of information both crucial and minute. I listen to James Spencer's Basic Brewing Radio podcast and practically substituted it for all music recently. It's family friendly and entertaining [I heard the other podcasts aren't so much]. I read Charles Papazian's Complete Joy of Homebrewing, 2nd ed. and For the Love of Hops by Stan Hieronymus to get a better understanding of the hops varieties and characteristics. I plan on reading John Palmer's How to Brew and Ray Daniels Designing Great Beers in the future, as well as Brew Like a Monk. Also, the HomeBrewTalk stickies in the forums provide good picture tutorials for several different styles of brewing.

I got into homebrewing so I can brew the, then, only beer style I liked: Imperial Stouts. But as I learned more about the balance and flavors of beer I surprised myself by branching out to enjoying other beers [even the odd IPA every so often]. My narrow scope of beer has broadened more vast that I ever would've imagined it. My brother got me this beer tasting tool kit used for blind taste tests so I try to keep good records and actively taste and appreciate craft beers. I even keep a couple in my wallet for tasting beers on draft.

I really wish I had an immersion wort chiller, a bigger boil kettle, a mash tun, and a propane burner. Those few equipment pieces hinder me from exploring more advanced style of homebrew. I intend to upgrade to all-grain but making the switch is really expensive. I'm still in the look-to-see-what-I-have-lying-around-the-house phase equipment-wise.

Which leads me to: don't be scared to spend money while DIY-ing. Many of you have probably seen my (and many others', most likely) shitty stir plate. DIY should be a balance of doing things on the cheap, but still making it work and function well. There's no point in DIYing if you're not going to be happy with it and just end up buying the commercial equivalent anyway. That's where I am right now.. I'm currently trying to salvage a cooler [no-spigot] I found in my garage and turn it into a mash tun instead of just buying a new cooler with a plastic, removable spigot. I'm certain it would make DIY easier but slightly more expensive.

But the suckiest thing for me about homebrewing is that I don't have a car so getting local, fresh ingredients and supporting my LHBSs is a piece of PITA bread.

Cool! Welcome!

The Mr. Beer kits are a great inexpensive way to find out if it's going to interest you. If you like it, here's what I would look into:

1. If you want to get into extract, you'll purchase a kit like this one. Of these sort of kits, I recommend cheaper the better. They all include the basics. the difference is usually upgrading the plastic buckets for glass carboys. That's not necessary, and if you decide you want to upgrade, you can build onto your kit from there.
   
2. In addition, you'll need a large kettle. If you ever plan on going all-grain, I'd go at least 8-9 gallons like This guy. They can get pricey... especially with valves and thermometers in them. Shop around.
   
3. Get some reading. Like others have suggested, How to Brew by John Palmer is great. Also Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian. That ones a bit outdated, but still a great read.
   
4. Forums will help a ton. This community here, or the one at homebrewtalk.com are both great resources. There are plenty more out there like beeradvocate, morebeer, etc.
   
5. Podcasts. I love them. I listen to the Brewing Network quite a bit. Basic Brewing Radio is another good one.
   
   As far as tips for starting here: Sanitize, Sanitize. Patience. Time. Sanitize.
   Have fun!!

I've done two sours with some wild yeast I caught.

• My best tip would be use separate equipment. I'm not as worried about my glass carboys, but I have duplicates of all of my plastic accessories/fermenters.
  
  
• It takes lots of time, too. My first sour, which I made very plain just to see how the yeast performed, smelled like vomit for about the first 4 months it was bottled. Now, it tastes great.
  
  
• Fruit is very helpful, in my experience. The two brews I did were almost identical recipes, both with the same wild yeast. One got 1lb/gal of blackberries added to the secondary for about 7 months. This beer is much more refreshing/tart, and not very fruity. The non-fruit one is earthy, like a brett-only beer, with a mild tartness. Not that it's bad, but I prefer the sourness that the berries added.
  
  
• Also, I recently bought this book. However, I haven't read it, so I can't comment on it's usefullness.
  
  Hope that helps! Cheers and good luck!

> I have an extra fridge that doesn't stay super cold, but probably hovers in the the 40-60 range. Should I used it for fermentation/lagering? I would be willing to buy a temp controller later on, but I'd like to start using it now as a cool chamber to control my fermentation temps more readily. I don't think I can count on cool conditions in my garage come summertime in Texas.

That should be perfect for pretty much any brew

> I am building a small keezer from a haier chest freezer we picked up for free (wedding gift return/exchange). As for temperature control for that, should I get a simple outlet-plug in controller (more expensive) or can I possibly opt for a built in unit like this: http://www.amazon.com/All-Purpose-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat-Stc-1000/dp/B008KVCPH2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381420269&sr=8-1&keywords=temperature+controller. I should mention I don't have electrical experience. I am trying to do this as cheaply as possible, and aesthetic is something of an issue- the keezer will be in our dining room.

The STC1000 is nice and cheap, but you do have to build a box for it, unless you want to wire it directly into the compressor. I too, have zero electical experience, and have not yet burned my house down with mine. I found these instructions to be particularly helpful.

I'll echo the other comments - you're basically already set up to do BIAB. You'll need to buy a bag (a 5-gallon mesh paint strainer works great) and ingredients. A small kitchen scale (at the gallon level being off a few grams on your hops can mean big changes in IBUs) and a quick-read thermometer (https://www.amazon.com/Lavatools-PT12-Javelin-Thermometer-Chipotle/dp/B00GRFHXVQ) will be good purchases as well.

I tend to buy in bulk because it's hard to justify shipping on 1 gallon's worth of ingredients. Crushed grain won't last as long as uncrushed, but if you keep it sealed and dry, I don't think you'll have an issue keeping it for a few months. If you have a local shop, it'll be a little easier. If possible, get your grain double crushed - it'll help with efficiency.

You can make a pretty good beer with a couple pounds of Maris Otter, an oz of Mosaic (~30 ibus at 60, 1/2 oz at 0 min and the rest at dry hop), and some US-05. I'll add 1 gallon of water to my pot (use a ruler to mark the height of the water so you'll have 1 gallon into your fermenter) and begin heating this to strike temperature - I've found about 162*f will get my mash temp to about 150-152. Go ahead and treat this water and about a 1/2 gallon of sparge water with campden to remove any chloramines in your water (no one told me about this when I first started, and it's one of the best things you can do for your beer. Maybe you are already adding campden, but if not, it's time to start). Put the mesh bag into your pot, add your grains, stir, and then stick the mash into the oven for an hour. I preheat my oven to 170 and then turn it off when I put my pot in there. You want just enough heat to keep your mash from dropping in temperature.

After an hour, pull your grain bag out and place it into a second bucket or pot to sparge. Repeat the rinse / drain / squeeze sparge process until you have 1 gallon of wort in your main pot. Boil as you have done previously, occasionally adding sparge water to the boil in order to maintain 1 gallon of wort. I find this much easier than trying to account for boil-off by starting the boil with excess wort.

Also, remember that a pack of yeast is meant for 5 gallons. It's maybe not the most sanitary practice, but I'll pitch 1/4 packet and then save the rest by folding, taping, and storing it in a plastic bag in the fridge. It's an easy way to save a couple of dollars per batch.

I built this for about $20 (not including the erlenmeyer and the stir bar).

I got the cigar box a while back at a second hand store.

Here's the USB powered PC fan I used:
http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Mobile-Fan-External-Cooling/dp/B00080G0BK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1381376532&sr=8-2&keywords=usb+pc+fan

I chose a usb fan so that I could power it with an android usb phone charger and not screw around with splicing wires.

Here's the magnets I used (just needed one though):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B1M37MY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Aside from that it just took a few odd nuts, washers, and a bit of superglue. I had to bore the hole in top of the cigar box because the box turned out to be a bit too thick (sorry Pepin Garcia!) to get enough attraction between the magnet and the stir bar. I think I might have had better luck with stronger magnets or a different stir bar but oh well.

As someone suggested I first glued a washer to the fan so that I could move the magnet around a but to find the sweet spot where it didn't shake too bad then I glued the washer in place.

I used the long bolts/nuts that came with the fan to attach it to the lid (you can see the bolts in the first picture). Between the top of the fan and the lid I had to add washers to keep the fan from rubbing on the cigar box.

That's pretty much it. The fan has a variable speed control but I get a small vortex on the lowest setting, and higher settings throws the bar off the magnet.

Now I just need to wait for my soda preforms to show up so I can start saving a bit more yeast after I use the stir plate!
http://www.amazon.com/Soda-Bottle-Preforms-Caps-30/dp/B008MB1QNY/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1381377304&sr=1-1&keywords=bottle+preforms

I got the idea for using the soda preforms from here:
http://www.mikebeer.net/reuseyeast.htm

Cheers

Thanks! Good question. I definitely spent more than was necessary trying to figure everything out but the most expensive item was the king carousel. I was able to get it for on sale for about $45 brand new Amazon prime. Here it is but when I found it, it was on sale http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055OWLFI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1.


Fridge I scored for free.


I'd say for the rod extension, coupler, bolts, screws, caulk, fasteners and glue was about $30. Used these to keep the front door closed with the seal they work great! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N2H50XA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


The wood was one 8' board 8" x 1" I got at Home Depot and they trimmed to my specs, about $10.


The cost of stain and chalk paint 8 oz cans ~$6 each x 3 (primer for chalk) = ~$20.


I had all the keg lines already I just adapted them from old picnic taps.


Elbow shanks I got for 13.99 a piece plus shipping from Adventures In Homebrew with shipping $36.98 (46.98 actually now that i look back had a $10 credit). http://www.homebrewing.org/Chrome-Plated-Elbow-Shank_p_1187.html


Regulator off Amazon for $114.13 with Prime. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0060NOX40/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


$29.90 for both chrome faucets off amazon free shipping http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00370AT2Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Quick Connect I used for the top tap area $6 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DD23N/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


So I guess when all is said and done 292.01.


But if you have the regulator and other bits laying around it could be around $177.88.


Kinda pricey but I guess I had to use that x-mas bonus somewhere!


Oh - and the thing takes about 6 pounds of nuts and dried fruit to fill. That gets pricey but gum balls sell for pretty cheap in bulk from here http://www.gumballmachinefactory.com/gumballscandy.html

drmischief links below - but you REALLY ought to buy and read How to Brew by John Palmer.

It's pretty much indispensable for the noob brewer. It's a great blend of easy to understand process, as well as a good helping of science if you really want to understand what's going on.

Make it through that book, and complement it with Brewing Classic Styles and Brewing Better Beer.

You may not be a book learner, but those books have great references that you can look up mid-brew.

Other than that - find someone to mentor you through a local homebrew club if at all possible. I started with a mentor, and have since passed the torch to other all grain noobs.

Gonna copy and paste one of my previous replies to a similar question last year. Hopefully that helps a bit.

Your question about ballpark cost is a bit "how long is a piece of string..?". It totally depends on your choices. Mine ended up costing me around $1k all up, but I'm in Australia and everything is bloody expensive over here.

------

Recently built a keezer myself so I can offer a bit of advice. I think the main reason most people shy away from kits is they tend to bundle cheap and nasty parts. Here's a list of parts you'll need and my insights to go with them:

• Gas bottle and regulator. (If you can afford it, get a dual pressure regulator. This will allow you to serve one keg while force carbonating another).
  
  
• Gas distributor. (If you want to serve more than one keg. To add to my prior point, you can get gas distributors with individual low pressure regulators on each output. I got one that also has one-way check valves to stop beer getting back to my regulator).
  
  
• Taps. (Don't skimp here, you want nice taps. I went all out and got the Perlick 650ss, mostly for the flow control. It means I don't have to have kilometers of beer line coiled up inside my keezer to get a good pour. You'll also need shanks long enough to get through your fridge door if the taps don't come bundled with them).
  
• Quick disconnects. (Either ball or pin lock to match your kegs. I use ball locks as they're more common here in Australia but I think pin-locks are cheaper over there).
  
• Hose. (Theres more to consider here than you think and its mostly to do with balancing your system to get a good pour. Read this if you haven't already. Generally speaking though, smaller inner diameter is better. I'm using 5mm ID and 8mm OD. If you get taps with flow control, you can afford to be a little less picky with this).
  
• Fittings. (Generally speaking, you've got two main options. Barb and stepless clamps or MFL. It's really up to you how likely you are to want to move parts around. I just used the barb fittings for mine but if you're likely to change things in the future, MFL is probably smarter).
  
  I'm super happy with my system, the 650ss are awesome and let me use less than a metre of beer line. I also shelled out a little extra for a ball lock gas post and bulkhead to replace the gas-in barb on my gas manifold. That combined with another quick disconnect just lets me easily remove the gas bottle from the freezer and gas another keg for storage or something. Hope that helps a bit, feel free to ask any more questions.

I am an all grain brewer that lives in a 550 sq. ft. apartment with my girlfriend (including a 50 sq. ft. balcony area). I brew 5 gallon batches, and created by own cooler mash tun using the following link:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to/g1580/how-to-build-your-own-home-brewing-mash-tun/

It's a 5 gallon cooler that I got at Home Depot. All of the other parts can be sourced at your local hardware store.

In addition to the cooler mash tun I have the following:

• 10.5 gallon boiling kettle
  
  
• Long stirring spoon
  
  
• Standard plastic 6.5 gallon fermenting bucket
  
  
• Cool Brewing jacket for temp control, because I live in Hawaii
  
  
• Standard plastic bottling bucket & spring-loaded wand
  
  
• Hydrometer & thermometer
  
  
• All required airlocks
  
  
• Auto-siphon & tubing
  
  
• Tons of cleaned bottles with labels scrubbed off (stored in 12 pk cases)
  
  
• Accessories for adjusting water (minerals, pH meter, test strips, etc.)
  
  
• DME and a couple mason jars for yeast starters
  
  
• A collapsible table (~2.5x5 feet) that I store in the bathroom behind the washing machine, good for extra work space on brew day
  
  
• Other odds and ends
  
  
  I list all of that to show the type/quantity of things I am able to store. My girlfriend loves the hobby and participates on brew day (yay me!) so that's a bonus, but I don't think the stuff above is truly prohibitive in terms of storing. I have a section of my standard 2x5 ft closet for the large equipment, and I store a lot of the minerals and water chemistry stuff in my bottling bucket when not in use. Cleaned bottles are stored in the 12 packs they originally came in, stored in a little nook above my kitchen cabinets. The mash tun doesn't take up much square footage, being one of those cylindrical coolers, and I keep that outside (no doubt a benefit of the place I live).
  
  I boil on a pretty standard, probably low-end electric stove. Takes a little longer to get things going, but I do get to a rolling boil. I cool the wort in my sink, which I fill with a party-size bag of ice. I also have a few pounds of hops portioned and stored in the freezer.
  
  I hope that helps ease any concerns about apartment brewing.
  
  tl;dr Apartment brewing is incredibly doable, even for someone like me who does all grain 5 gallon batches in a shared 550 sq. ft. apartment.
  
  [Edit: additional info]

It's approximately 2-3 pounds of honey to a gallon of water, or a 5 gallon batch is 10-15. For a 5 gallon batch, the rule of thumb I heard is every pound of honey adds approximately 1% ABV. Example: a one gallon batch with 2 lbs honey is equivalent to a 5 gallon batch with 10 lbs of honey, or a mead at 10%. But this doesn't account for if you want it to be sweet.

Also: 1 gallon of honey weighs approximately 12 pounds. So a 5 gallon batch of mead using 12 pounds of honey comes out to 1 gallon of honey and 4 gallons of water.

Every time your honey gets processed (Def'n processed: heated above 160'F), you lose the honey flavor. It's up to you to decide your final priorities, but to be perfectly frank, I'm cheap and use cheap, over processed honey. I make up for this by picking tasty recipes (JAO, or Orange vanilla cinnamon metheglin which is easily my favorite so far.) The honey I use is Sue Bee, 6 lbs for ~$11 at Save Mart ($1.83 /lb, the cheapest I've seen.)

The flavor of the honey to use depends a lot on the recipe. Some call for a specific honey.

There are a lot of people on here (/r/homebrewing) that insist that sanitizing your honey/water by boiling them is unnecessary. If/when I'm in a hurry (a bad idea), the most I do is sanitize whatever ingredients are going in. Quick trick that I've been meaning to try is to soak whatever it is in as little vodka as possible.

If you happen to live in the Bay Area, there's this excellent honey they sell at Save-Mart (might be sold elsewhere in the country, I've never been able to figure that out.) The honey is something like "Raw mountain" something. I don't have any handy. It comes in a 5 pound can, with a large yellow sticker across the front. Usually about $15, but I've seen it on sale for $12.

Yeast: Depends on what you want, really. Champagne yeast will go up to 18%, some say 20 if you push it. If you want it sweet, you'll either need a weaker yeast or some way to kill the yeast. I've only ever used champagne yeast (EC-1118, will eat anything), but then, I don't have a very delicate touch.

This book is definitely recommended.

And really, come see us in /r/mead. It's a lonely subreddit. The last post was 4 days ago. And feel free to ask questions.

One thing I've learned about mead: there are a few dozen categories of mead. Almost every culture has invented their own. Just figure out what you like. And experiment. Experimentation is the best, especially when you end up with some mead.

Without a doubt it is my Counterpressure Bottle Filler. I hate bottling, and almost exclusively Keg these days. However, sometimes A beer turns out so well I want to either save a couple bottles for later, or bring it to people who won't be drinking it quickly enough for a growler to be reasonable. Option one was to bottle while kegging and bottle condition. The problems with this involve A) Not knowing if your beer is great yet, possibly wasting time. B) Having to clean the bottles and bottling equipment along with kegging equipment, adding time. C) Having trube build up during bottle conditioning, contributing to off flavors for long aging. D) unavoidable high DO / Oxygen levels in the bottles, also causing oxidization and other off flavors after long periods of sitting. The counter pressure filler allows me to bottle beers directly from a carbonated keg. The bottles are cold and carbonated immediately. But more importantly, allowing you to cap on foam like at most craft breweries, you can insure very low DO levels. Combined with the lack of trub, your bottles are likely to age very well for archival purposes. And for people asking, whats the best reason to save a good beer? Well, if you are trying to perfect a recipe, being able to sample the last several batches with your current one together really helps point out what your method changes do to your beer quality.


Another important purchase from the last few months is a combo of these two items: Faucet line Jumper and Submersible Pump. I use these in combination to clean my beer lines. I have a twin faucet tower kegerator. I keep two kegs on, and when they both cash, i clean my lines. I disconnect the line from my first keg, and attach it to this submersible pump, which is sitting in a gallon of caustic liquid line cleaner (from five star, but PBW would work too). I use the Faucet jumper to connect the ends of both faucets, and I disconnect the line from keg 2, and have it dump back into the bucket. What i have created is a recirculation that I let run for 30 minutes. It doesn't need to be supervised. This is so much better than how I used to do it, which was using a squeeze bottle and doing one faucet at a time. It took forever, and required me to be there. This new solution allows me to walk away and let it do its thing. Furthermore, I also use this time to defrost my kegerator if it needs it.


Edit: I would like to add that I think this might be the most interesting and useful post on this sub in a long time, good job OP. I have spent quite a lot of time googling other peoples purchases, some I haven't heard of, and am planning some purchases.

Wait, Home Depot sells homebrewing specific items? Awesome! And congrats on the first brew, looks great. Welcome to the addiction!

Edit: for the thermometer, I highly recommend a Javelin or Javelin Pro. Great thermometer and significantly cheaper than the competition. You'll find other folks on here singing their praises as well. I love mine.

Mash tun cooler (this is probably cheaper at your local hardware store or wal mart) Also, this isn't the only cooler that works. Pretty much any plastic cooler works. But you'll need a different false bottom if you use a chest cooler, which may allow you to mash bigger batches.

Weldless Ball Valve Just take the plastic valve off the cooler and screw this one on. Will work on most any cooler you choose.

False bottom Put this at the bottom, connecting the silicon hose to the ball valve and the top of the false bottom.

3/8" barb You'll need to screw this onto the ball valve on the inside of the mash tun to connect the silicon hose to.

Honestly, if you've already got a kettle that can boil 6 gallons, you're good to go there, and just add this to the mix. Otherwise, pick up a Stainless Steel Brew Kettle.

This whole setup comes in just under $200 but you'll need some hoses and some hose clamps as well. But I'm sure that if you shop around (even on amazon) you might find better deals than I linked. But that's the gist of it. And there's no need to stick with the specific brands I linked. But just make sure to stick with stainless steel for the kettle, ball valve, and connecting accessories and food-grade plastic for the cooler. And any hoses need to be high temp hoses. Silicon is ideal.

This is by no means the "only" way to do it, but a great start down the road. You may also choose to use a pump. It has advantages and disadvantages. You can make great beer with and without one.

It's not too hard but it takes a long time to make traditionally. You don't typically drink a lambic straight, you drink a blend of old and young lambics like geuze or kriek. The lambics that are blended are typically one year old and two to three years old. As far as ingredients you use old or aged hops which have no aroma and little bittering. You don't need a barrel to do oak aging, you can buy oak spirals, cubes, or chips. The easiest way to get the desired microorganisms is probably just to buy something like Wyeast Lambic Blend. A lot of lambics also have fruit added. I'm sure there are shortcuts to make it easier or faster but I haven't done a ton of research into it.

I've never made one but I'd like to at some point, probably best to get started now and throw it in the basement to forget about for a couple of years. Check out Wild Brews if you're still interested.

http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/03/17/the-first-wort-hop-beer-brewing-techniques/

> Sources vary, but most testing indicates that first wort hopping will increase the number of International Bitterness Units (IBUs) by as much as 10%. Given the hop shortage I wrote about earlier, increased utilization is an added bonus. However, taste perception is different. In blind taste testing across a number of articles, the overall flavor of first wort hops is perceived as smoother, less sharp, and had a more pleasing aroma. Hop bitterness was perceived as harmonic and uniformly bitter. In blind taste tests, the FWH were preferred by 11 of 12 test subjects.

Which then links to http://www.brewery.org/library/1stwort.html

>Tasting panel results: the FWH beers were overwhelmingly preferred over the reference beers in triangular taste tests (i.e., each taster was given three beers, two of either the reference beer or the FWH beer, and one of the other, and had to correctly identify which two were alike before their preference results were incorporated in the database). 11 of 12 tasters of each beer preferred the FWH beer. The main reasons given for the preference: "a fine, unobtrusive hop aroma; a more harmonic beer; a more uniform bitterness."

> Analytical results -- bitterness: The FWH beers had more IBUs than did the reference beers. Brew A: Ref beer was 37.9 IBU, FWH beer was 39.6 IBU. Brew B: Ref beer was 27.2 IBU, FWH beer was 32.8 IBU. This should come as no surprise, since more hops were in the kettle for the boil in the FWH beers than in the Reference beers. Prior to fermentation, the worts from both breweries showed the following features: the FWH wort had substantially more isomerized alpha acids, but less non-isomerized alphas. This was particularly true of Brew B, which had a higher proportion of first-wort hops. Nevertheless, the bitterness of the FWH beers was described as more pleasing than the (slightly weaker) bitterness of the reference beers.

> Analytical results -- aroma: For the aroma compounds, very distinct differences were measured (gas chromatography) in both the identities and concentrations of the various aromatic compounds between the FWH beers and the reference beers. Because the precise nature of the effects of aromatic compounds on beer flavor are very complicated, it cannot be said with certainty just why the various measurements resulted in the overwhelming tasting preference, but clearly something is going on here. Even though the reference beers had higher absolute amounts of most of the aroma compounds, again the FWH beers got higher ratings for overall pleasure.

And I believe Gordon Strong covers it in Brewing Better Beer. I haven't read it, but he came to a LHBC meeting and spoke about it.

Hopefully I can answer your questions! Berliner Weisse is one of my favorite styles. MTF is a great resource, so definitely check that out.

1. Use a good calculator to figure out how big of a yeast starter you need. There are plenty of guides online. You shouldn't need a starter for your bacteria if the pack isn't old. If you can't get your hands on OYL-605, you can use GoodBelly Probiotics, which you can find at most health stores or even Whole Foods. The mango kind will impart the least amount of flavor to the beer. 8-10 oz per 5 gal of beer is enough. You can also use Probiotic pills to sour. Again, no starter necessary, just pull apart a few pills (4-5 is plenty) and dump the powder into the fermenter. Whatever you use, I recommend that it contains L. plantarum.
   
   
2. You can buy lactic or phosphoric acid from a homebrew store and a calculator like Bru'n water to figure that out. However, I never bother with this step. Sours usually have terrible head retention, and I don't mind it.
   
   
3. The last few times I've made a Berliner, I just sour for 24-48 hours in my fermenter, then pitch yeast. As long as you pitch a healthy bacteria starter, you shouldn't have to worry about pathogenic aerobic bacteria joining the party.
   
   
4. Yes, that is kettle souring. I don't because I'm lazy and have separate cold-side equipment for my sours. The advantage of this technique is that you don't need to worry about the bacteria getting onto your equipment and infecting clean beers. Someone who runs a production brewery or a brewpub would be more concerned with this, since they are likely using the same fermentation, lines, and kegging equipment for all their beers.

Here are some pots to consider:

• Bayou Classic 36 quart (9 gal) Stainless Steel - $75
  
  
• Granite Ware 50 quart (12.5 gal) - $59.99
  
  
• Bayou Classic 44-Quart (11 gal) SS pot - $111.14
  
  
• Bayou Classic 36 quart (9 gal) SS - $75
  
  
  Here are some turkey fryers to consider if you want to make a bigger investment.
  
  
• Bayou "Basics" with 30 quart (7.5 gal) Aluminum pot. $56.77
  
  
• Bayou Classic with 32 quart (8 gal) SS pot - $140.98
  
  
  Both Aluminum and Stainless steel make great pots. Stainless takes a bit to heat up, but holds up really well to Clean In Place cleaners and oxygen based cleaners.
  
  Aluminum has to have a passive oxidized layer built up on it. Just fill the pot up, boil water in it for 30 minutes and the pot is good to go for the rest of its life. The only negative is you can't use Clean In Place/Oxygen/Bleach based cleaner on it. Some warm, non-scented soap works nicely though.
  
  Good luck.

Best book ever: http://www.amazon.com/The-Compleat-Meadmaker-Production-Award-winning/dp/0937381802

Best cyser I've ever had: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/b-nektar-zombie-killer/141980/

Pick both up, read, read, read, and practice! Practice makes perfect with homebrewing. Pitch a healthy amount of yeast for meads and you won't have an extended ageing period (although I would plan on taking your time with it, be patient!) Very cool hookups you have there, use them to your advantage and learn everything you can about cider apples, cider blends, and honey. Bees are actually quite fascinating, and the history of honey/mead is really cool. Ken Schramm's book is phenomenal.

Fermenter

I would recommend any of the wide mouth, plastic fermenters. IMO they're all pretty similar. They are so easy to clean. Just make sure you only use a soft rag or sponge. Don't use anything remotely abrasive.

Heating Element

I use this guy. But that's only for heating the entire chamber. It doesn't put out a lot of heat, and I haven't tried using it in the full harshness of winter, with temps in the single digits. I like the heat belt idea, but most of my brews are 10+ gallons split up into multiple fermenters, so I try to keep the entire ferm chamber the same temperature.

Gloves

Two suggestions: Those Blichmann gloves look better than what I use.

But also, consider sparging instead of squeezing. I suspend my brew bag above the kettle, and I do a super lazy "sparge." I just have room temperature, pH and mineral adjusted water on hand. And I just pour it slowly into the top of the brew bag.

It sounds like a terrible technique, and maybe it is. But my efficiency jumped quite a bit once I started doing this. And I don't have to screw with squeezing a super heavy, steaming hot grain bag over my head.

ha, loud and clear! I'm on call now, so you lucked out!

I wish I could give you some definitive advice, but without seeing what he's got, I can't comment with authority. He's probably got standard sanke couplers and I've not seen a good solution there. If you live close, I'd pay him a visit and see what you're dealing with. It's probably going to come down to you just making up some new lines to mate with your corny.
We're getting ready for our Strausstoberfest this weekend and over the summer I reconfigured all of my kegging lines to use 1/4 MFL's for an easier change out than barbed fittings. I may have a last minute surprise myself, as a friend has offered to bring a 1/6 barrel to the party, but it will be sanke. Fortunately, I already have a sanke connector and these from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C30F75I

If there is anything I can help with, let me know!

I made this exact recipe back in October 2010. Eventually I took a bit out and bottled it with various spices. I now have only a few precious ounces left, but it is more delicious than I can possibly describe.

Mead is quite forgiving and not (often) prone to infection. It just needs lots of patience. Even a crappy mead made through a simple method (ala this recipe) can produce amazing results given time.

I can only imagine what properly prepared batches will taste like as mine are all aging far in the back of a cupboard and I'm trying to forget they're there.

If you're interested in learning about mead making in greater depth, there's always The Compleat Meadmaker and don't forget the fine folks over at r/mead.

Yes, 1 year and spots fill up for the taste test fast. We are fortunate enough to have a big enough group and couple of high ranking judges to allow us to get our own exam for our study group. They recommend you sign up for a taste test before taking the entrance exam.

I assume you have already visited this page but it will give you everything you need to pass the entrance exam. http://www.bjcp.org/examcenter.php Also if you like reading, Yeast by Chris White and Jamil Zannishef, Hops by Stan Hirronamous and soon Water by John Palmer are great advanced books that will be great resources for brewing, judging and making recipes. That said to pass the exam all you will need is the study guide, the procedure manual, and the BJCP style guidelines is all you need.

Hey guys, I've been brewing Gruit for a couple of months now. Got turned onto it by my neighbor who has been doing it for years. Here is a video of his process Brewing Beer Over A Fire Pit, and we will try to upload more as we go.

The brew bible we are working from is Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers, by Stephen Harrod Buhner. I've been doing research trying to find more information and recipes for gruits, and this book seems to be a major resource for almost everyone. It's also a great read, exploring the history of brewing around the world.

The main reason I love gruit, is that without the hops you don't feel tired or full when drinking it. And with the yarrow and wormwood you get a mild psychotropic effect so you feel pleasant and alert. My friend drinks it every night during the winter because these herbs are used for skin care and drinking a bottle or two a night keeps his skin from cracking when he's working outside the next day.

I'm starting to experiment with new recipes, just tried a sage ale and a ginger beer. Bottling tonight, if there is interest I will post info/pictures.

You can look at my recent post to see how mine is coming. I am doing it with a new 7.1 igloo that I got from best buy for about $200 tax included. I bought a 3 tap system from kegconnection with a dual regulator and all stainless hardware and perlicks. That came to about $370, which is a lot BUT everyone recommends it, and if you're going to fucking do it, you might as well fucking do it right.

I probably spent close to $100 on materials for the collar, BUT this is my first real project and I didnt have a lot of tools/screws/misc stuff around to put that together so about $30 of that would go there.

I got a temp controller on amazon for $16 and an extention cord at home depot for ~$10, and have some leftover electrical accessories from my previous TC build so YMMV there.

I bought these dehumidifiers on amazon for $32

I bought two converted ball lock kegs from cornykeg.com for $100 with shipping and it was a breeze to clean them even thought they said they would be cleaned already.

I then got a 10lb steel air tank from adventures in homebrewing for $60 which I thought was a steal (steel hehe).

So this puts me close to $900. Which is $300 less than a very DIY-spirited blog post like this says it will cost. Sure I havent bought the last two kegs, but I then would still be $200 short of it.

There are some suggestions by the other guys in here that will save you money, and I'd say that my attempt is a little bit of combining both.

Hope I was some help!

Realistically, the only thing that you need to create a keezer is temperature control, and even that is optional depending on what your freezer is capable of.

The key to making a freezer into a keezer is getting the temperature right. The easy way is to add temp control, something like an Inkbird ITC-308 is relatively inexpensive and is plug-n-play. These max out at somewhere around 10 amps, so there is an upper limit on freezer size because larger freezers have larger amp draws during the compressor startup. I have run two different ~6-cuft chest freezers off an ITC-308 and they both worked fine. Another option is to locate the coarse adjustment setting on the freezer's own thermostat and adjust it until you can maintain beer fridge temps. I have successfully done this as well.

As for the collar, Most chest freezers are tall enough for a keg to stand up on the floor without a collar. In-fact, you'll find many keezers that use towers mounted to the top of the lid rather than collars for mounting taps. If you are willing to serve out of a picnic tap, you don't even need a tower. I ran a keezer with picnic taps for almost a year because it allowed me to very quickly and easily convert it back to a fermentation chamber. Another added benefit to not adding a collar is not having to lift the keg as far to get it in.

they used herbs like mugwort and wormwood in everything, read this book

some ale spoiled

some ale was exquisite

Belgian Lambic is a great study in natural fermentations

I don't have any problems with bacterial infections, but I use all glass or stainless steel and any hose or air lock or cork I use gets rinsed in Starsan so that the surfactant and phosphoric acid form a no rinse layer of acid that is uninhabitable for the spoiling bugs.

Just start some good brewing habits, brewing GREAT beer is easy, when you know how

I do a similar thing, but these are the tubes I use. I bought two sets of them several years ago and they still work great. I replace the caps every so often. For the rack, I just keep them in six pack holders and put them in the keezer. I fill the unused vials with StarSan solution and store them that way.

I'd also like to add that, after I have racked a new beer into the fermentor, I pour the leftover trub into a mason jar, and then let it sit in the fridge for a day. Usually the trub separates to the bottom leaving a fair bit of usable wort. I give it another quick boil just to make sure its sterile and then make a small starter of something. After pouring off much of the beer, I can usually get about 10 vials of slurry.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brew-Your-British-Real-Camra/dp/1852492589 is excellent - gives clear simple advice, as well as having a good selection of British ales, milds, porters and stouts - if that's your thing.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sacred-Herbal-Healing-Beers-Fermentation/dp/0937381667/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368899642&sr=1-1&keywords=sacred+herbal+beers is also a really interesting book - an anthropological of the history and mythology of brewing, complete with recipes! A lot of the recipes are a bit simple, or sugar-based, but it (like Radical Brewing) is a really good source of inspiration and historical knowledge.

Advice? Get a bottling wand and a vinator and bottle draining rack and shave tons of time off your bottling day.

If you find making mead enjoyable and want to read some more up on it i can recommend The Compleat Meadmaker by Ken Schramm

A great source of information both for beginners and more advanced meadmakers. He's also a beekeeper, so he has a whole chapter dedicated to various types of honey too :)

I've done a bunch of 1 gallon all-grain batches (and a few 5 gallon extract batches) and want to try my luck with 2.5 gallon all-grain. I bought a 5 gal cooler and a ball valve kit, but would kind of like to swap out the barb on the ball valve for cam lock fittings to make it easier to clean.

What cam lock fittings are best for this type of setup? I'm guessing the "D Style" from looking here but it's a complete guess.

Just kinda brainstorming here, I think I know my options but maybe somebody has some suggestions. I have a tiny crowded apartment, can't get a freezer/mini fridge. It stays pretty warm, like 75 ish. I keep my fermenters in our closet, which i shut the vent to and keep the door closed, but I'm not sure how much that helps. I'm planning on mainly doing 1-2g brews, and i was considering either doing a swamp cooler set up, which i don't really wanna do just cause itd look bad, or getting this which i don't really do because it's kinda expensive and i could probably only fit one of my small batch fermenters in it. There's gotta be some other kinda way to efficiently cool down a tiny 1g fermenter!

Happy to answer any questions people may have!

I'll start with a link to my build post: http://beer.thegremlyn.com/2015/07/02/fermentation-chamber-build-circa-2011/

Temperature Control

The chamber was built to use the cooling system from an old mini fridge, the kind with the coils on the back instead of integrated into the walls. I started with a Ranco controller for cooling only. I lived in a climate where it didn't really get cold, so heating was not required. I now live in a climate where not only does it get cold, but the fermentation chamber lives in the garage so it has to be heated.

I built a dual stage controller using an STC-1000 in a tool box: http://imgur.com/a/rDe8P and bought the Lasko Personal Space Heater, which I view as excellent because it not only heats but has a built in fan.

I also added two fans to the system to make sure the temperature is even in the chamber. One is always on, the other only when the cooling system kicks in. That means that when heating or cooling there are two fans runnings.

Build Design

I needed two things in a fermentation chamber: 1) space for two sanke kegs, which I use to ferment my 11 gal batches, and 2) front loading because I refuse to try to lift 11 gal of beer in a sanke keg up and over the rim of a chest freezer.

I plan to rework the door to be a single door for better sealing, but it holds temps well enough right now that I don't worry much and it is a low priority change. I originally did two doors as it wasn't going to be feasible to have one where it was designed to live.

How to Brew.

Yeast

For the Love of Hops

Water

I haven't read the book in the water-hops-yeast-malt series on malt yet, but I'm sure it's good. Also, the Brewers Publications books on specific styles are great. My boss has most of them and I borrow them frequently.

Absolutely!

Almost everything came from Amazon, it was a little more in some cases... but you cant beat their support. If something is broken its replaced immediately and I wanted that reassurance.

Here is a list of the important stuff:

Nitro Regulator: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DY9SBMB/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

CO2 Regulator (dual tap):https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0060NOX40/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Stout Faucet: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BO1KFY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Shank for the stout faucet (beer faucets came with shanks): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00829HN7E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Beer Faucets: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D6MSELA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thermostat: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0152LYY0I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Drip tray: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NQIROA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This was the nitro tank (probably the best deal IMO), its a nitro coffee place but it holds beer gas fine :) - I had to use this specific one because of the space it had to fit into, I wanted everything to be self contained in my build: https://beveragelements.com/beverage_elements_shop/cold-brew-nitro-coffee/cold-brew-coffee-nitro-coffee-cylinders/23-cu-ft-nitrogen-cylinder-nitro-coffee/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlqLdBRCKARIsAPxTGaVyfeABi5S7mFR-ByXCWkDGRbyimzJ52J-2TXkyxDyYABYQxXios2oaAiDuEALw_wcB

​

Obviously this thin wasn't cheap, but 3 tap kegerators aren't cheap either and this one does nitro! It was a decent investment spread over about 2 months of the build so that eased the pain on the wallet.

​

I can't recommend Radical Brewing enough. This was the book that really kickstarted me into not only designing my own recipes but getting adventurous with them as well.

Brewing Better Beer is also awesome.

Seconding the water report suggestion, but it's a good guideline...don't take it as gospel. Tap water chemistry changes throughout the seasons so it's a moving target. I'd be surprised if you need anything more than a carbon filter and campden tablets. MUCH cheaper than a RO system. Something like this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006IX87S

My tap water starts smelling like pond scum late in the summer, and an inline carbon filter like the one i linked takes that aroma out. Campden to get hit of chlorine and chloramine and i'm golden.

For the Love of Hops by Stan Hieronymus is a very good read. That book is about the most comprehensive bunch of information you'll find without doing the work yourself. It's not the most in depth or technical, but it's an awesome read and still full of tons of good information. Besides that there is a lot of knowledge to be found, you just need to do the research.

I would pick something other than the lacto at your LHBS.

• L. brevis from White Labs or The Yeast Bay
  
• L. plantarum/brevis from Omega
  
  My first pick would be Lacto brevis, and then I'd pick L. platarum from probiotic capsules over omega. You can look for other sources here:
  
  http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Alternative_Bacteria_Sources
  
  I'm not a huge fan of Goodbelly, though others love it.
  
  Doing a starter for lacto is A-OK. I usually keep a jar in my fridge.

Fermenter

If you like glass fermenters and have a power-drill get this or something like it. I absolutely love mine, makes cleaning my glass ones a cinch

Heating Element

Water proof and cheaper than any "brew belt" with same power density: Seed Germination Mat such as this one

Gloves

What you linked to are generic vinyl-dipped or nitrile gloves. I'd go for silicone barbecue gloves such as this for more insulation from the heat

Thermometer

If you're on a budget and Thermapen/MK4 is not an option, most reviews conclude this is the best bang for your buck: Lavatools Javelin

Looks like the last piece of the puzzle is the mash tun - you need to convert a large cooler (10 gallons is a good size). If you have one with a drinking spout, you can unscrew the spout and install a ball valve. The inside end of the ball valve then attaches to something you use for lautering (filtering the wort out of the mash).

Ball valves are maybe $5 at Lowe's/Home Despot. You need some PTFE tape to seal the threads, and maybe a neoprene washer or two (although you can probably steal those from the existing spout you unscrewed from the cooler).

For filtration, you have a couple options --

1. Just get the kettle screen - $20 shipped.
   
   
2. Braided steel toilet supply line, with one end snipped off, the hose removed, and the braid closed at that end. This is probably more than $20 worth of work.
   
   
3. Get some copper piping, some elbows/couplings/tees and make a manifold. Cut slits in the pipes with a hack saw (cut them about halfway through the pipe) to allow the wort in; the grain will stay out. You do not need to solder this -- just dry fit in the bottom of the cooler. In fact, dry-fitting is preferable because it makes clean-up much, much easier. This is probably $10 of copper + more than $20 of work.
   
   I also recommend a thermometer, but honestly I think putting one into the cooler is pointless. Get a digital insta-read version like the thermapen, worth every penny of $100, and you can use it in the mash, on the wort, and while cooking. With a hand-held unit you can take temperature readings at different locations in the mash, and the thermapen probe is about 8 inches long.
   

Good to know, I saw a few websites that had calculators for that but just went with what the recipe called for. A refractometer is absolutely my next purchase, and a fermenter bag like this which I've heard great things about. Wish I had the space for a chest freezer to convert in my home. ( http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Brewing-LLC-5B-YTCW-X9LG-Fermentation/dp/B008EKD7CQ)

Not Safe For Lager!

Damp rid works but if you want a reuseable option these are pretty great. https://www.amazon.com/Improved-Eva-dry-333-Renewable-Dehumidifier/dp/B000H0XFCS/ref=sxin_2_ac_d_pm?keywords=dessicant+reusable&pd_rd_i=B000H0XFCS&pd_rd_r=95d24195-00f7-441d-be92-b5ba6849133f&pd_rd_w=OPVGR&pd_rd_wg=PEhdF&pf_rd_p=64aaff2e-3b89-4fee-a107-2469ecbc5733&pf_rd_r=B67YVD8TBNMHZA22X1TR&qid=1563110968&s=gateway I rotate a few between keezer and ferm chambers. IIRC I bought them last prime day so might be worth looking out for.

Mine was super easy to build and has served me for about 4+ years now.

• 10 gallon Home Depot Cooler
  
  
• Weldless Ball Valve kit.
  
  
• Bazooka Screen with 1/2" NPT adapter
  
  The cooler requires no modification. Simply remove the plastic spigot, and install the new ball valve.
  
  The bazooka screen is a bit longer than the diameter of the cooler. Simply bend the end up slightly and it should fit. The new nipple on the ball valve fits 1/2" ID hoses.
  
  Brew days go pretty smoothly, haven't had a stuck mash yet. Filters well as long as you vorlauf and set the grain bed. My efficiency is around 75% currently, using the Batch sparge method.

I would stay away from that starter kit. Not because its bad per se but its not worth 180 bucks. And I prefer plastic buckets over glass carboys. If you want you can convert a cooler to a mash tun but I would start with BIAB and you then can increase the complexity of your system as you see fit.


Here is my recommendation of equipment. I am function over form driven when selecting my gear. I find that these items serve their purpose at a reasonable price and are of good quality and unless you want to start doing 15 gallon batches they should serve you well.

Starter Kit

KAB4 Burner

44qt Pot with basket

Ball Valve for Kettle

Thermometer

Bag for BIAB

I've read Designing Great Beers and it's a great resource as a style guide, but it leans much more towards the empirical side when it comes to explaining things. If you're looking for something a little more scientific and data-driven there are some other really good options.

Suggestions:

• The Brewing Elements series: Water
  / Yeast
  / Malt
  / Hops - Very specific and science driven focus on each element.
  
• American Sour Beers - Mostly focused on sour beers, but gets really deep into the scientific aspects of it all (bonus: written by /u/oldsock).
  
• Vintage Beer - Data-driven resource on the science behind long-term aging.

You're in luck. I bought the 396gph ecoplus pump just a few weeks ago, for exactly the same purpose. It's been used twice now with my immersion chiller, and has the perfect flow rate.

In Houston, ground water is over 80 degrees right now. An IC simply can't get things below 100. So I run regular hose water through until I get below 110 (about 8 minutes if I keep the wort constantly moving). Then I switch the hookup to that pump sitting in ice water, and another 8 - 10 minutes gets me to 70 degrees. Best $22 spent.

Notes:

1- The pump has a 1/2 inch female output, and a handful of different size hose barbs, none of which are useful. I went to a hardware store, and got a connector to go from that to a male hose receiver for a few dollars.

2- Yes, you could use this to save water by recirculating. However, as your source water heats up, you get less efficient. (Unless you had like a swimming pool or something to draw from)

3- It works fine lifting from ground level, but it works even better if you can raise it to an even level. I have my kettle on the propane burner, so my ice chest (with water and pump inside) sits on a chair.

4- If you can avoid it, don't waste your money on corner store ice. It's insanely over-priced. There's a "Twice the Ice" vendor by my house that sells 20lbs for $1.75. This suffices for the day.

Ask any other questions you have.

This pot rules. Hands down, I love this pot and the price for its size is great. Used it a ton, one of the best purchases I've made.

Response to your question: I think delving into belgian beers would provide a ton of room for experiment and they are really great summer beers in my opinion. Also, maybe doing some spice/nut additions to normal beers. Maybe just go through all the ale styles and pick out something that you would normally never make. I did that and ended up brewing a dortmunder lager which is pretty tasty but not my normal go to.

Question on your question: Can you not lager because of lack of equipment or you just have no interest in it? If you have the space and few extra dollars, you can get into lager for pretty cheap. Get on craigslist and find a big enough dorm fridge or even find a fridge that someone is getting rid of because they've upgraded. Ask around and you'll probably find something for $50 or less easily. Then go get yourself a temp controller for less than $20 (you can also find them on ebay). Follow this build guide and wiring guide along with a box of some sort. Less than $100 spent easily.

My post from another question like that, might help you to see what's needed.

From that list the required things are - the keg, CO2 tank and regulator, gas hose, quick disconnect gas side, quick disconnect beer side, beer hose, faucet. You can get picnicking tap.

...........................................

Here, while not basic, but a list that might help. This is a 4 keg setup. Some items are not exactly needed, for example hose clamps, MFL push to connect (you could just get barb ones), but helpful for disconnecting/cleaning. You can save a lot on faucets - my 4 costed me $280 total all in. You could also get a cheaper freezer.

I got a regulator with 2 possible pressures so I can have carbonation pressure plus serving pressure at the same time - also not a requirement.

Name|Price|Quantity|Total|URL

--|--:|:-:|--:|:--
Inkbird Itc-308 Digital Temperature Controller Outlet Thermostat 2-stage 1100w w/ Sensor|$35 |1|35|https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011296704
Intertap Self Closing Faucet Spring|$1.99 |4|7.96|https://www.morebeer.com/products/intertap-closing-faucet-spring.html
Intertap Stainless Steel Faucet Shank|$32.99 |4|131.96|https://www.morebeer.com/products/intertap-stainless-steel-faucet-shank-4.html
Duda Energy HPpvc025-100ft 100' x 1/4"" ID High Pressure Braided Clear Flexible PVC Tubing|$28.50 |1|28.5|https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LX6LS7E
Brewer's Edge UX-CAOO-IQIT Keg Lube 1 oz.|$5.98 |1|5.98|https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064OK99S
Hilitchi 60 Piece Adjustable 8-38mm Range Stainless Steel Worm Gear Hose Clamps Assortment Kit|$12.99 |1|12.99|https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IOE4RQQ
Taprite T752HP Two Product Dual Pressure Kegerator CO2 Regulator|$89 |1|89|https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0060NOX40
KegWorks Beer Tap Faucet Handle Black|$4.30 |4|17.2|https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VI753Q
Intertap Forward Sealing Beer Faucet (Stainless Steel)|$31.54 |4|126.16|https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NAGS3ST
4 Way Co2 Manifold|$42.99 |1|42.99|http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/4-way-co2-manifold/
Accuflex Bev-Seal Ultra (3/16) 50'|$15.99 |1|15.99|http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/accuflex-bev-seal-ultra-3-16-50/
Pin Lock Disconnect- 1/4 MFL Gas Side|$5.99 |4|23.96|http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/pin-lock-disconnect-1-4-mfl-gas-side/
Pin Lock Disconnect- 1/4 MFL Liquid Side|$5.99 |4|23.96|http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/pin-lock-disconnect-1-4-mfl-liquid-side/
1/4" MFL Push To Connect|$3.79 |4|15.16|http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/1-4-mfl-push-to-connect/
5/16 x 5/8 BSPP (Shank Connector) Push To Connect|$5.99 |4|23.96|http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/5-16-x-5-8-bspp-shank-connector-push-to-connect/
Igloo 7.1 cu ft Chest Freezer Black|$219.99 |1|219.99|https://www.walmart.com/ip/Igloo-7-1-cu-ft-Chest-Freezer-Black/31136433
Set of Four 5 Gallon Pin Lock Kegs Used|$28.90 |4|115.6|http://www.homebrewing.org/Set-of-Four-5-Gallon-Pin-Lock-Kegs-Used_p_3179.html
#20 CO2 tank|$60|1|60|craigslist
2 in. x 8 in. x 10 ft. #2 and Better Prime Douglas Fir Board|$9.86|1|9.86|http://www.homedepot.com/p/2-in-x-8-in-x-10-ft-2-and-Better-Prime-Douglas-Fir-Board-604364/206182008
ZMAX 7 in. 16-Gauge Galvanized Reinforcing L-Angle|$3.27|4|13.08|http://www.homedepot.com/p/Simpson-Strong-Tie-ZMAX-7-in-16-Gauge-Galvanized-Reinforcing-L-Angle-L70Z/100375233
||||1019.3.36|

You would also need a wrench if you don't have one yet to unscrew the posts on the keg.

I can fit my 6.5 gal carboy into my kettle (its short and wide) with room for a bag or two of ice.

Frozen water bottles are great if you have a container that will hold them. I use one of these now, its soft and folds up nicely: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brewing-Fermentation-Cooler-Temperature/dp/B008EKD7CQ

When its occupied and its real hot, I've been using Voss Kevik, which has been delicious even fermenting at 90-100 deg. https://www.theyeastbay.com/brewers-yeast-products/sigmunds-voss-kveik

You sya you don't have the tools to make the mash tun and brew pot. I assemlbe my mash tun, HLT, and brew pot with two 10inch adjustable wrenches, a standard dewalt drill, a carbonate cutting bit, a stepped cutting bit, and some cutting oil. If you have the drill everything else would cost around 50 bucks, then you also gain tools with your equipment. The hardest part is cutting holes in the pot for a thermometer.

Either way to make the Mashtun and MTL you would only need 2 10 inch adjustable wrenches.

Up to you, but here is some all grain kits you could look at:

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/10-Gallon-Igloo-Cooler-Mash-Tun-With-False-Bottom-AND-Hot-Liquor-Tank_p_6699.html

https://www.amazon.com/Gallon-Cooler-Stainless-Steel-Screen/dp/B013KJKAC0/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1486068034&sr=8-9&keywords=10+gallon+mash+tun

You can make a 10 gallon mash tun for under 100 dollars:

10 Gallon cooler (~$50)
https://www.amazon.com/Igloo-Gallon-Beverage-dispenser-Dispenser/dp/B000F6SHTK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486068151&sr=8-1&keywords=10+gallon+cooler

Ball Valve(~$15)
https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Brewing-Wl301-Stainless-Weldless/dp/B00OC8DXPA/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1486068175&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=wedless+ball+valve

Screen (~$8)
https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Bazooka-Screen-Fitting/dp/B003ISY2DC/ref=pd_sim_468_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B003ISY2DC&pd_rd_r=45GNPGH763R20241728C&pd_rd_w=MCZcu&pd_rd_wg=n4Wsv&psc=1&refRID=45GNPGH763R20241728C

1/2 female npt fitting(~$5)
https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Fitting-Coupling-Female/dp/B003GSKXUU/ref=pd_sim_328_6?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B003GSKXUU&pd_rd_r=SMJAVJR6CYZ7P9ZBQBQQ&pd_rd_w=h6v7j&pd_rd_wg=eclPX&psc=1&refRID=SMJAVJR6CYZ7P9ZBQBQQ

Total: 78 dollars. You can buy 2 10 inches adjustable wrenches for 20 dollars (https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-90-949-10-Inch-MaxSteel-Adjustable/dp/B000NIDIXA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486068379&sr=8-1&keywords=10+inch+adjustable+wrench)

so even having to buy tools its still under 100 dollars to make the Mash tun. The hot liquor tank will be the same price minus the screen, npt fitting, and tools. I personally made mine even cheaper buy using a 5 gallon htl instead of a 10 gallon and that will drop the price 25 more dollars. There is 0 drilling involved you simply unscrew the old plastic tap and put the weld ball valve in its place, it took me less than 10 min to make my new HTL on Monday.

Also, and this is really important to why I say build yourself, any mash tun you buy is going to be put together the same way it just matters whether you put it together or someone else does, either way the quality will be identical.

If you need a sparge arm for fly sparge you can make that out of pvc pipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-jgmgbwvg4

My two cents, even though you don't believe in you. I do, if you feel like saving money you can absolutely make all this stuff yourself and it doesn't require you be good at anything more than thinking like a logical person.

If you're into that, you might like to read this book: Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers. I think the author gets a little too caught up in the sacred/spiritual malarkey behind the beverages, but there are really quite a lot of interesting beer-like creations in there, most of them with recipes of various levels of detail (most will at least take some guesswork and creative sourcing of ingredients).

I'm about 3 weeks into fermentation of my first kettle sour attempt. I used Swanson L. Plantarum capsules, 10 of them, rather than goodbelly. They worked really well, as I was down to 3.5 pH after about 16 hours @ 95F (I had pre-soured to 4.5 with lactic acid). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BZ3YWXC/

Depending on your culture of lacto, I have heard it can take as much as 72 hours, especially if you are trying to go really low with the pH. But going beyond 3 days is sketchy IMO. I'm just learning the kettle sour process myself but I wouldn't want to leave my wort more than 1-2 days before boiling and pitching yeast.

My guess is your goodbelly shots did not have enough lacto in them, so it was just a really slow start. Pitching more next time would probably be safe. The capsules worked great though, if you want another method to try. I don't know if the flavors are different between the capsules and goodbelly, they might be, but the simplicity was key for me. I would guess any differences are minimal.

By the way, make sure to keep your lacto no hotter than 100. It can actually do just fine in the 80s or even at room temp. The quickest pH drop supposedly happens right around 95 though. Source: http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Lactobacillus#Commercially_available_Lactobacillus_strains_and_their_pH_change_over_time

​

I've made a lot of mead. I'd recommend getting Ken Schramm's book. He talks about fermenting with fruit. My recommendations:

1. Use fruit in primary. Freeze it first to break down cell walls, then thaw it before fermenting.
   
2. Use a large (10 gallon) sanitized bucket. Mix the honey & water (use a lees stirrer and a drill), put the fruit in a giant hop bag, and put the bag o' thawed berries in the mixture.
   
3. Add nutrients (Fermaid K & DAP) & pitch your yeast
   
4. Cover that bad boy & fix up a blow-off assembly.
   
5. Every day for a week, use your lees stirrer to get CO2 out of the mead. It's ok, let everything get mixed up. You might need to have someone hold the fruit bag out of the way. You're going to get a LOT of foam, so proceed cautiously. This is why you use a huge bucket - otherwise you make a giant mess.
   
6. Every other day, starting on day 2 of fermentation (day of pitching being day 0), add 4.5g of Fermaid K and 2g of DAP. Do this 3 times, every other day. So 6 days in total. Degas on these days, too (degas first).
   
   After that, put an airlock on it and let it sit. After a month or two, rack it off the lees & fruit into a carboy with minimal headspace (purge with CO2 if you can) and hide it away again. It should be ready to drink in another month or so, but letting it sit for a while will let it get even better. So delicious.

For anyone looking to up their brewing game, I always recommend Brewing Better Beer. It's all about fine tuning your process and simplifying your recipes to only include what you need. It's a sort of zen approach that seems applicable to abbey ales.

Although it's getting a bit out into the weeds, if you're more interested in the farmhouse/wild side of brewing, you might want to have a look at The Drunken Botanist and Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers. It gets into using things that aren't hops in your fermentations. Even though Belgian brewing only grazes herbs and spices, you might find some value there.

Once you get more into mead making, give The Compleat MeadMaker and Making Great Mead a read. Both are great to provide a more detailed view on meadmaking, and different ways to go about it. :)

I use Swanson L. Plantarum pills, 2 pills per gallon. Cheap and easy, works like a charm. Sours to my preference in ~18-24 hours. Lately, after having one batch go a bit too sour, I've been erring slightly on the side of undersouring, and finishing with a small dose of lactic acid to dial in that last bit of punch.

​

https://smile.amazon.com/Swanson-Probiotics-Regularity-Gastrointestinal-Supplement/dp/B00BZ3YWXC?sa-no-redirect=1

So, just to clarify, most homebrewers will start out by doing a partial boil. This basically means that you will only be boiling ~3 gallons of water to brew the beer, and then adding cool water to your wort once it is in the primary before you pitch the yeast. Because of this, most homebrewers will start with a 4 gallon kettle and then upgrade to a bigger one later on down the road.


I did something very similar to Ardentfrost. I definitely agree with what he's saying about kettles. On one hand, you're trying to save money for your first batch by not buying a 7.5 gallon kettle (and wort chiller). On the other hand, you don't want to have to buy a 4 gallon kettle and then a 7.5 gallon kettle in a few months. I ended up buying a 3 gallon Graniteware kettle, a 7.5 gallon aluminum kettle from craigslist, and finally a 36 qt. stainless from amazon. Fortunately, my first two pots were only $20 apiece, and I can probably sell them both on craigslist for just as much.

Like Ardentfrost said, my 36 qt. kettle is too big for an ice bath in my sink, but I already have a wort chiller.

Brewing Better Beer, by Gordon Strong. It's a GREAT book.

http://www.amazon.com/Brewing-Better-Beer-Advanced-Homebrewers/dp/0937381985/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317938269&sr=8-1

I have a pool, so I have a kit to test chlorine, alkalinity, pH, etc... It's accurate from 0-5 ppm of chlorine.

I get between 1-2 ppm of chlorine in my tap water depending on the time of year. My fridge filter and this Filtrete take out 100% of the chlorine.

I tested a different Camco RV filter last year, and it only removed about 50% of the chlorine. It also affected the total alkalinity which was very strange. I'm not even sure how that's possible, but I repeated the test multiple times.

Anyway, it looks like your Camco is superior (e.g. 5 micron vs 100), so hopefully you get good results.

Not op but I was only able to bring it down a few degrees using this method. Ended up getting one of these for about $50. It brings it down by up to about 15 degrees depending on how many frozen water bottles you use. It's also pretty easy to dial in a desired temp within a few degrees.

I can't speak for Damp-Rid but I've been using this in mine and it is awesome. I just take it out once a week to dry out for a few hours and then its good to go again.

I'm also hoping it's heating OR cooling (two outlets) to be controller by one controller ... otherwise that's an odd design. The seller should be able to clear it up. My guess is they can either build them with a dual stage Celsius controller or a single stage Fahrenheit controller.

In terms of advantages for the STC-1000+, you have a few advantages. Main thing is stepped fermentation control - so, say, 50 F for three days, ramp to 63 over twelve hours, hold at 63 for 5 days, and then drop to 35 over two days (a lager profile I just made up). Head over to HBT and look at alphaomega's thread on the STC-1000+. For a more condensed version, just keep in mind that the Blackbox is run by the STC-1000+ (but I can't tell you which version).

Another option would be to buy the Celsius dual stage controller, and ship it to the guy who does Blackbox and have him flash it for a fee (assuming he still offers this). If you'd like to do it yourself, you need a bit of DIY interest (usually common in homebrewers) and an arduino/jumper cables. Take a look at the guide for the STC-1000+ on github to get an idea of what's involved.

With those fluctuations in temperature and the humidity issues, it sounds like you’d be better off spending your money on buying a temperature control unit online (~$35 for an Inkbird) and trying to find an inexpensive chest freezer on Craigslist. I know that isn’t a utilization of the crawl space, but it would yield way better cellaring conditions. Which, in theory, should yield better cellared beers. Or maybe just less spoiled by temperature fluctuations, etc.

I actually just posted about this in another thread if you'd like to read about my process.

Thread

You need to look into an upgraded submersible pump and a tub/cooler for ice water. Being able to whirlpool would help as well.

Edit : This is the pump that I use and it does a great job.

I use these, you can find them a little cheaper from other sellers if you look. Get 3-4 brews for under $10 and works really well.

Swanson L. Plantarum Probiotics Bowel Regularity, Gas, Bloating, Immune Support, Gastrointestinal Balance 10 billion CFU Supplement 30 Veggie Capsules https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BZ3YWXC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_BE4vCb9SZXJGJ

Using two steel kettles like that sounds very expensive. How about an upright cooler with a false bottom? There are kits for converting Igloo-brand coolers in this way, like this.

That being said, if your efficiency is bad with a rectangular plastic cooler and braided hose, I'm not entirely sure that your efficiency will be much better with a different style of MLT. I did find that replacing my braided SS hose with a bazooka screen made things a bit easier since it doesn't get crushed in the grain like my SS braid did.

I use two of these in my fermentation chamber. It keeps everything really dry. I've found it helps the most when fermenting ales in the 60 degree range. It's a perfect environment for mold to grow. Moderate temperatures and high humidity. Since I started using those things several years ago that problem has been eliminated. Great thing is, when they're full you can just plug them into an outlet overnight and they're ready to go again.

Could be, yes. Make sure the fermonster isn't cracked, but most likely condensation. Get an Eva Dry from amazon - it's a great, inexpensive dehumidifier.

If you want to go cheaper than the Johnson Controller, you can get yourself one of these and DIY. Since you're comfortable with some handy skills, this should fairly easy. Tons of tutorials online and will save you about $50 or more!

Brewed: Edwort's Haus Pale Ale.

Racked to secondary: Skeeter Pee which I added my finings and stabilized, and my Blackberry Wine.

Cleaned and delabeled: 10 cases of wine bottles that I scored for free from a local winery. (Still working on this).

Ordered: Ingredients for Raging Red Irish Red Ale, and BierMuncher's Centennial Blonde (I've got a few kegs to fill). I also ordered some one gallon fermentors for experimental batches, I think the first one is going to be a Banana Wine. I should also be getting a couple books, For The Love of Hops and Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation, as well as a refractometer, and a 10lb CO2 tank.

Here's a link to those tubes. They're pretty common, you might be able to find a better price than that.

They're food-grade (obviously) so they supposedly work well. Haven't used them myself though. These should only be used for starters though. After storage you're likely not going to have enough viability in a single vial for a healthy pitch.

Alright! So the sparge arm is this connected to this.

I only had to modify the mash tun a little. I had to put a hole in for the thermocouple probe (bigger hole on the outer wall) and a hole in the lid for the sparge arm. Other than that, i just put my bazooka and associated fittings through the existing spigot hole.

As for capping, yes, plain old hand capper. Hopefully I'll be doing more kegging though and won't be required to do so many bottles.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XDTWN2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


working pretty well for me:
http://i.imgur.com/2xpfOa3.jpg


I'm using a chest freezer as well, the seal on the lid is flexible so I just have the cables coming out under the lid, temps are holding easily

A quick Google search provided me this. Seems easy enough. I'm sure there are cheaper prices out there if you do a little more searching than I did. All hail the almighty Amazon. Cheers!

Stand by:

Ball Valve

False Bottom

10 gallon cooler

False Bottom - Valve adapter

Please shop around. I have no doubt you could get some of this stuff for cheaper. I was restricted in that my only form of currency was Amazon gift cards. Especially the adapter could be built / constructed for much cheaper than I paid.

Additionally, instead of the false bottom / adapter, one could simply employ a Bazooka Screen instead of a false bottom, I have just read that false bottoms are more effective and less prone to problems.


DISCLAIMER - Always do your own research and make sure the parts that you are buying are all compatible and properly sized, etc. etc.

Having said that, the parts I listed above are exactly what I ordered and all fit together perfectly, I just needed to go out and buy a female coupler (to attach the valve to the hose from the false bottom) and a washer (per the included instructions with the valve, which had a additional washer for my configuration).

Actually, a lot of northern tribes didn't have beer or fermentation. Tobacco was traded all over N. America and used for ceremonial purposes, and certainly hallucinogens, but most of the non-corn-dependent tribes did not use alcohol until contact with Europeans. If you're really interested in traditional beer styles, though, check out Sacred and Healing Herbal Beers. It's a good bit of research that traces a lot of indigenous brewing techniques.

http://www.amazon.ca/Sacred-Herbal-Healing-Beers-Fermentation/dp/0937381667

Looks very nice but I think you could have saved yourself a lot of work and easier cleaning by simply going with one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Bazooka-Kettle-Screen-brew-kettle/dp/B003ISY2DC

this book has everything you're looking for: sacred and herbal healing beers: the secrets of ancient fermentation. it covers everything from old norse mythology surrounding mead to the cultural practices surrounding traditional south american beers (e.g. chicha which requires the brewer to chew the maize or manioc in order to convert the starches into sugars) to the history of traditional gruits, and has tons of useful historical recipes for whatever you'd be interested in making. it's interesting to read as well as providing a lot of practical tips for using unusual ingredients in your brews.

1. Probably yes
   
   
2. Yes, but the coupler is different for the country of origin of the beer.
   
3. Are you looking at making soda or buying soda? If you're making it, you should do homebrew kegs for it. I do homebrew and use those kegs primarily, but I bought one of these:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Sankey-Ball-Quick-Disconnect-Conversion/dp/B00C30F75I
   
   So I can hook up sankey kegs to my ball lock disconnect system. Works great
   
   
4. Seems reasonable.

This would probably work well. As you can see most of the reviews are for homebrewing.

An aluminum option that I used until very recently. I recommend doing 80 minute boils with it so the hot break settles before adding the hops, otherwise it will boil over. I BIAB with it and it works great for that.

Great book. Probably the best beer brewing book available. On another note check out The Compleat Meadmaker : Home Production of Honey Wine From Your First Batch to Award-winning Fruit and Herb Variations

Is this a full boil, or partial boil? I use a simple pump like this for partial boil to do immersion in a sink, so it gives me the cooling effect of immersion and water on the kettle itself. I do wish I went with a slightly stronger version like the 1083 GPH version. The different versions come with different sized connectors, so you may need a step up in tubing size for the higher GPH versions depending on the tubing you use.

Books are an excellent gift idea. I would also recommend Wild Brews

It's very good. I bought it. I also got the compleat meadmaker, http://www.amazon.com/Compleat-Meadmaker-Production-Award-winning-Variations/dp/0937381802/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397588733&sr=1-1&keywords=compleat+meadmaker and it's very good if you're interested in mead.

Short answer if you just freeze yeast the freezing water solidifies and punctures cell wells, killing most of the yeast.

Long answer if you add a 50/50 solution of (water or beer) with food grade glycerin the water will get cold but never freeze.

My process:

Harvest yeast- overbuilding a starter is the easiest way or you could harvest and wash your yeast.

Decant Beer from your starter or use water and half fill a 1 pt mason jar and top off the rest with food grade glycerin. Boiling at this point is probably unnecessary but I do it anyway just to make sure no bugs get transferred in. Cool.

I then spray everything I use with Starsan and then dip everything I’m using in to the boiling water.

I use Soda Preforms but will switch to 1.5 ounce glasses once I burn through my preforms because I can boil them killing anything and not have to worry about melting plastic plus they’re cheaper.

I fill them halfway with my Decanted Yeast Slurry and let it settle. You want the settled yeast to be about half of the Preform which is approximately 100 billion cells. I then Decant excess liquid off and top off with your 50/50 (Water or starter beer) and glycerin.

Cap/Label place in an insulated bag with an ice pack to protect from freezing/thaw cycles and place in the freezer.

If your looking to get into mead Definately look into reading Ken Schramms The Complete mead maker http://www.amazon.com/Compleat-Meadmaker-Production-Award-winning-Variations/dp/0937381802/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318922141&sr=8-1

the standard ratio for a medium mead is 3 pounds per gallon. A quart is about 6 pounds. In honey your looking for as little processing as possible eg dark is better. Be carefull about varietals as some can get pretty dark flavored eg buckwheat. Clover or orange blossom are good starts.

Yeah, this is a Gordon Strong technique. (http://www.amazon.com/Brewing-Better-Beer-Advanced-Homebrewers/dp/0937381985). Basically, his rationale is that since there is little diastatic power in dark grains, there is little point in mashing them since all you're trying to get from them is flavor and color.
Why let that sit at heat like a pot of coffee for an hour or 90 mins when it's probably going to be close to the flavor you want as soon as you get it wet, or like when you were just steeping grains in your extract days.

Same thought goes into hopping (or not hopping in this case.) Why boil a flower for an hour when you're trying to avoid vegetal flavors and you can get the same effects with more hop (or herb) by first wort hopping and additions with only 20 minutes left in the total boil? And it's a more rounded, delicate bitterness.

I've had fairly good results this way so far.

Might want to check out Brewing Better Beer by Gordon Strong.
http://www.amazon.com/Brewing-Better-Beer-Advanced-Homebrewers/dp/0937381985
It's been a big help to me. Won't teach you how to brew, but goes into evaluating and improving.

I literally just ordered this one from Amazon last week, and it's doing a great job keeping temp. If it's good enough for Wisconsin, it can handle Phoenix.

Best to read a bunch.

Learn from the best:
Brewing Better Beer

Tasting Beer

Spending copius amounts of time on the BJCP website

Specifically I would look at how to complete a score sheet, and read the "how to study" portion of the website, as well as volunteer to steward or judge a local competition! If you do that please ask EVERY question you can think of.


There might be more technical readings but those work to start.

Since I drink commercial beer from the kegerator when I haven't had time to brew I had the need to use both. I got sankey to ball lock adapters. I also got a 90° elbow for the beer line, so it wouldn't kink against the top of the fridge with the adapters on.
I took the lines off the sankey, put the ball lock quick disconnects on the hoses, and that's it. Works well. I can take a pic of the huge hunk of metal on top of my commercial keg if you would like.

Yes, cooler as a mash tun. My setup is:

Ball valve (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00420WMUU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_oFpqDb0236QSQ)

Coleman 48qt cooler
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Coleman-48-Qt-Performance-Marine-Cooler-3000003702/206851499

Silicon tubing for transfer
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079X3SCFV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UGpqDb43MYVWT

Custom Wilser Brew Bag
https://biabbags.webs.com/

I did not bother with insulating the lid of the cooler. I simply place a long piece of aluminum foil down onto the mash. Works perfectly.

The STC-1000, it's a temperature controller which is used by a lot of homebrewers in fermentation chambers

More info here and for example here.

I personally use something like the brewpi which I made myself (software and hardware), so I can't speak for how good an STC-1000 would work. But I hear a lot of people use it so it should be good.

Once you test it, these guys (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0006IX87S?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title) are pretty cheap and work well. They hook up to a hose and last a good while.

There is a pure l. plantarum product made by a company named Swanson: https://www.amazon.com/Swanson-Plantarum-Support-Billion-Drcaps/dp/B00BZ3YWXC/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1500557987&sr=8-4&keywords=Lactobacillus+Plantarum+299V

I just had a Berliner this weekend that was made with Goodbelly probiotic drink, which I believe only contains l. plantarum as well. I am currently souring a batch of Berliner with the Swanson product FWIW.

Get a better thermometer. I have the Javelin and it works great.

The description and ToC read like what I imagined Hops and other element books would be. (Which I found all to be a little underwhelming, except Water which I found overwhelming as hell).

I'm really looking forward to this! Your blogposts are one of the best source of information without having to read the actual research.

Infections all move at different rates. Acetobacter will show up pretty quick, but something like brett takes months to get really established (there's a graph in wild ales).

That said, this guy is totally fine.

I'm looking to purchase the parts for a 2 tap sankey kegerator and wanted some feedback on before I go ahead and order. everything is through amazon because I have a large amazon gift card.

I already have 2 intertap flow control faucets

coupler-kegco KTS97D-W x2

beer line assembly x2

10 feet of gas line

20# luxfer co2 tank

taprite dual regulator

intertap shanks x2


I'm hoping to pick up a used chest freezer on craigslist. Anything I'm missing? Anything I should change?

I use this cheap little pump for a ton of stuff in the brewery

my only gripe is that it did not come with a 3/8ths barb, other than that, super useful for cleaning kegs, draftlines, post brew day cleanup and recircing ice water through my IC.

It's a little over your budget, but I have this one and love it.

Lavatools PT12 Javelin Digital Instant Read Meat Thermometer (Chipotle) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GRFHXVQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_G-2Kyb17PTGZY

Ken Shram's The Compleat Meadmaker has a handful of melomel recipes. I don't know if there's a raspberry-only recipe, but he has a multi-berry melomel recipe that's got strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and cherries. If you go to Amazon do a Search Inside This Book for black raspberries you should be able to find it.

Also, that book is a great in general for meadmaking tips and information.

A tad more expensive then a bulb and paint can, but I use this small heater and it works awesome.

You can drain your runnings into a fermenting bucket, and then pour that into the kettle when you have the correct volume. It's what I do.

I have a 36 qt (9 gal) brew kettle and that's fine for a 5 to 5.5 gallon boil (starting with about 6.5 gallons, usually). $72 with Amazon Prime (not sure how much if you don't have Prime).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009JXYUA/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This isn’t fool proof but does the trick for me at room temperature. I cool using some ice packs it comes with.

Home Brewing Fermentation Cooler - Beer Brewing Temperature Control, Keg Cooler, Fermentation Brewing Bag. The Original - Cool Brewing Fermentation Cooler. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008EKD7CQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Zy9RDb3E513D0

I just did this, literally last week!

• I got this off Amazon for $18 shipped
  
  
• then you'll need a short extension cord, like this
  
  
• you'll want to cut the extension cord somewhat in half, and separate the three wires. You may actually want to cut about 8-12 inches of the wires off, unless you have extra wire around.
  
  
• I've made a wiring diagram to show you how I wired mine up.
  
  
• set the device (i think) by holding the S button and pressing up or down to desired temp. There is only a Celsius setting. I have mine at 19.9 which is 68 F. Once it is above 19.9 deg for 3 minutes, the freezer kicks on and it usually drops to about 19.2-19.4 C (66-67F). It goes on maybe once every 2 hours for a minute or so.
  
  It is pretty easy just takes a little patience.
  
  
  
  

Here's a better option: install a thermostat like This and rewire your freezer to run off of the thermostat, which comes with a thermometer probe that you could probably put directly in the carboy. That way, as soon as your fermenting wort reaches 1 degree too warm the thermostat will turn on the freezer until it cools back down.

This poped up on my amazon the other day
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Hops-Practical-Bitterness-Elements/dp/1938469011/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368987445&sr=1-5&keywords=beer%2C+hops

I haven't bought it or read it. Maybe someone who has read the book can tell you if it is any good, it might be helpful

https://www.amazon.com/Lasko-100-MyHeat-Personal-Ceramic/dp/B003XDTWN2 I use this in my 16 cubic foot freezer fermenter. It does a great job. Used it in my 7 cubic foot freezer. I also have a small fan running 24/7.

Edit: heater has been going for 2 years.

I definitely recommend 1 and 2. I haven't read Yeast yet.

My buddy picked up http://www.amazon.ca/Brewing-Better-Beer-Advanced-Homebrewers/dp/0937381985 and he highly recommends it.

I’ve been freezing yeast for a couple years. The process in that link is a lot more complicated then it needs to be.

I use a variation of this process.

1. Build a 2L starter like normal.
   
2. Once Fermentation is complete cold crash and decant.
   
3. Fill 3/4 of a preform, lightly screw on the cap and place in the fridge.
   
4. Revisit the next day and decant till you have 1/2 filled with compacted yeast.
   
5. Top off with 1/2 Beer, 1/2 food grade glycerin.
   
6. Screw on lid, label, shake and place in freezer.
   
   Tips
   You’ll want to be as sanitary as possible.
   I can reliably fill 4 soda preforms.
   I’d recommend one have a different color cap to let you know you’re almost out of that particular yeast strain.
   I keep the beer/glycerin mixture in a mason jar and bring it to a boil from time to time since you won’t use as much of it as you’d expect.
   Save used preforms to re-use.
   Only do this for yeast you’ll use or have a hard time getting ahold of. You’re not saving money by saving yeast you’ll never use.
   If I plan on reusing yeast within 6 months I’ll wash the yeast and place in a mason jar.
   In my experience it takes the yeast a day or two longer to wake up once pitched into a starter. Make sure you build that time into your brew schedule.

So, you want to think about how many kegs you want in service at any one time. As others have mentioned, second-hand and sales are the shit. But there's something to be said for shiny and new.

A quick note in case you're not familiar with regulators. If you are, skip this. Basically when you get a tank of gas, it's holding a shitload PSI worth of gas. Whether or not the gas is in a liquid or gas state varies, but is largely irrelevant for this treatise. If you straight open that valve, it comes out at the highest speed that the nozzle on the tank will allow. So you screw on a gas regulator. The one that you attach to a tank is a primary/secondary combo. The Primary Regulator gauge is the left part of the regulator. It shows how much gas is in your tank. Co2 turns to liquid under pressure, so don't worry too much about what that gauge READS, just know that the internal mechanisms of the primary portion of the regulator are dropping 500-800PSI down to 0-100PSI or so. The second part of your regulator is the top gauge, which shows your Secondary PSI, or the output PSI, if you will. Depending on the sensitivity of the gauge and internal mechanisms, it can max out anywhere from 40-100. The screw on the front is how you adjust what PSI is coming out of that barb post at the bottom. This is the number you care most about. I only go into this much depth because when I first started kegging, I really didn't have a good grasp on these distinctions

If you plan on building a Keezer with space for 6 kegs, but only want to serve 3 at a time, I would get a single primary regulator with a secondary out and run that to an array of 6 Secondaries. That way you can carbonate and serve at variable pressures/volumes. However, even if you build that from scratch from used/new parts, it's still a pricey proposition.

Or, you could use that single regulator above and run the secondary to a 6 way manifold. The downside is each keg would receive equal pressure and therefore all carbonation in the kegs would be the same.

You could also mix and match for a more even approach: get a regulator like this and run the two outputs to two different 3-way manifold so 3 kegs could be X PSI and 3 kegs could be Y PSI. Meaning 3 kegs would be carbing and serving at 1 pressure, and 3 kegs would be carbing and serving at another.

I'm from Scotland myself, but I've been transplanted to California. Mugwort is all over the place here, too.
I pulled a recipe from Buhner. I haven't made it before, so I plan on reducing the recipe by 1/4 so I can make a gallon tester.

>Mugwort Ale
>
>(Buhner, pg 379)
>
> 3 pounds brown sugar
> 24 oz molasses
> 4 gallons water
> 2 ounces dried mugwort herb
>* yeast
>
>Boil sugar, molasses, water, and herb for 30 minutes. Cool to 70 degrees F, strain into fermenter, and add yeast. Ferment until complete, approximately one week, siphon into bottles brimes with 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and cap. Ready to drink in 10 days to two weeks.
>
>

Gordon Strong's book helped me a lot with improving beer, especially my English styles. I (for the most part) used his Pride of Warwick recipe and then won the English Bitter category of a brewing competition. The key was doing a no-sparge mash, I think.

Wild Brews and Radical Brewing are both really good if you want to go down the more advanced routes of using wild yeasts, bacteria, and exotic fermentables.

Designing Great Beers
Water
Hops
Malt
Yeast

Have you considered bottle blanks? Pretty cheap option and just like what White labs used for years. Bottle Blanks

There are a couple conversion kits. This one adapts the sanke tap to have ball lock connects. https://www.amazon.com/Foxx-4048Sankey-Quick-Disconnect-Conversion/dp/B00C30F75I


This kit swaps the sanke barb fittings for the flare fittings found on nicer ball lock connectors so you can easily swap lines over.
https://www.homebrewing.org/Kegerator-Homebrew-Conversion-Kit_p_720.html

edited links to not be a mess.

I have this one. I can fit two 5 gallon carboys in there or one 8 gallon. There's a small ledge on the right side which prevents me from fitting two 8 gallons carboys. There is tons of room for bottles, though, and even 2 baskets which hang you could put bottles in.

I got this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008KVCPH2/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
To control the temp, which works well as well.

As /u/brewtality mentioned, The Mad Fermentationist is excellent.

I would also recommend Wild Brews by Jeff Sparrow. It is, to me, the Bible of homebrewing sour beers. Well worth checking out.

I failed to mention, you'd want to fit the cooler with either a bazooka tube like this http://www.amazon.com/Bazooka-Kettle-Screen-brew-kettle/dp/B003ISY2DC or a false bottom like this http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-an-awesome-Mash-Tun-Less-than-60-Bucks-False/ I've heard the bazooka tubes can clog so I personally went with the false bottom. It would also be prudent to fit a ball valve on the outside of the cooler to attach a hose for draining into your boil kettle.

I use one too, with similar efficiency. I don't really want higher than mid-70s because that's what recipes are generally built for. Here's one on Amazon for about the same as what it would cost to build a SS braid filter: http://www.amazon.com/Bazooka-Screen-brew-kettle-mash/dp/B003ISY2DC

Plus, it's 1/2" MPT already, so it should thread directly into the bulkhead you attach for your ball valve. Easy peasy.

One thing is that for the 10gal Igloo cooler the 12" are slightly too long. I just bent the last 1-1 1/2" back on itself.

The 396 gph version isn't much more expensive. To keep from using too much ice, you could start by letting the pot rest on its own for a few minutes (try a hop stand!), then switch to cold tap water through the pump, then switch that out for ice water. The key is just maintaining a high differential between the wort and whatever you're cooling with.

Another option -- and this is a little off the wall -- is to use your shower. You could switch to a handheld shower, get a diverter, or get a showerhead with a splitter that would let you easily swap in your wort chiller. Handheld showers use a pretty standard 1/2" thread.

I may have just gotten too cautious with the trub as I was siphoning, but I stopped as soon as everything I was sucking up was extremely cloudy, which could have been about a .5 - 1 gal left still. Also I don't know if 85 degree humid weather in the south caused any faster boil off. But my kettle is definitely a good bit taller than wide (like this one) and I had 12lbs of grain.

Easy! You can build the exact same thing, but you'll have to slightly modify your Sanke keg coupler with something like these. Basically, you put those ball lock conversion couplers onto your Sanke coupler and add ball lock disconnects to your existing gas/liquid lines. Now your system will work with the device in the hbt thread, and you'll be able to tab ball lock kegs too!

No you do not want those. You want these. http://www.midwestsupplies.com/5-16-barbed-shutoff-valve.html

the 4 way should already come with them. You need a way to turn the CO2 on and off as well as preventing any beer from back flowing into your gas lines. These will accomplish that

I currently have this one. http://www.amazon.com/Taprite-Product-Pressure-Kegerator-Regulator/dp/B0060NOX40

That is a good price for the 4 way

I built one and it was pretty easy and not very expensive considering. Warning: The following instructions are probably dangerous. This is what I did, and it's to demonstrate how simple it was to make.

1. Get a 10 gallon pot with a steamer basket.
   
2. Drill one or two 1" holes across from each other with a hole saw in the bottom of the pot, depending on how many elements you're putting in. Put some scrap wood inside the pot while drilling for support. One hole if you're doing it for 220, two for if you only have 110.
   
3. Drill another hole for the bulkhead valve.
   
4. Attach your electric elements. If you have 220. If you have 110.
   
5. Assemble everything.
   
6. Wire up the heating elements with some heavy duty wire. I covered the whole element backside with j b weld so that it won't short out.
   
7. Put some GFCI plugs on there to be extra sure.
   
   It's maybe two hundred bucks and when combined with an inkbird it makes biab a breeze.

I use a gaint carboy sized cooler bag found here. It can fold up pretty small or slide under your bed when not in use so you aren't commiting to bulky fridge or something similar. Putting a frozen 2 liter in there will easily bring you down to around 65 degrees.

Thanks, yes it is a Sanjay keg. Is it one of these I need along with the regular co2 set-up?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sankey-Ball-Quick-Disconnect-Conversion/dp/B00C30F75I

If anyone is interested, I have owned both and this thermometer is better (more water resistant) and cheaper too

/u/Auwardamn, this is also my suggestion. I've followed in the footsteps of others in using an EcoPlus pond pump. I have a $20, 290-gph, but this one is just $4 more and more powerful (396-gph).

I usually go 100 billion - same as comes in a commercial yeast pack.

I save them back in my original White Labs vial, or in one of these.

I started with the bazooka screen linked below. I have brewed 12 batches with it and have no intention of "upgrading" to a false bottom. Make sure you select the one that is sold by Arbor Fabricating. For some reason it is only $.50 plus $4.99 shipping right now and it is really well made. I actually just bought a backup when I saw how cheap they are. :)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ISY2DC

They're quite easy to make. I use mine all winter long. Just need a heater and a controller. I use the two below.

Brew Fermentation Heating Belt, 1-Count https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001D6IUB6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Q3L1BbH29S370

Inkbird ITC-308 Max.1200W Heater, Cool Device Temperature Controller, Carboy, Fermenter, Greenhouse Terrarium Temp. Control https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HXM5UAC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_04L1Bb1CAC4VY

I am using this one, NeverKink Teknor Apex, 7612-50 Boat and Camper, Drinking Water Safe Hose, 1/2-Inch by 50-Feet Hose though I have only used it for brewing water a couple of times. It doesn't leave discernible taste to the water. I primarily use it for supplying my immersion chiller (with a clothes washer hot water hose on the drain side).

For filter I assume you mean something like https://www.amazon.com/Camco-TastePURE-Flexible-Protector-40043/dp/B0006IX87S?

That depends on whether or not you add additional sugar before bottling it. If you ferment to completion, rack into the secondary, and then bottle from there, then you'll get still mead. But if you add mix some additional honey or other sugar into the secondary right before you bottle, then you'll get sparkling mead.

Check out The Compleat Meadmaker for everything you need to know about making mead.

Do note that mead takes about a year to hit its stride. The ones I've made have all had some astringent taste after primary fermentation and even tasted hot from the alcohol, but they mellow nicely after a year.

Is your keg in the garage? Where do you live?

It can easily freeze if it's cold enough. I live in the Twin Cities MN. I need a heater in my kegerator in the winter (it's in my garage), or else it easily freezes solid. Does your inkbird have both a heating and a cooling circuit? IF you live in a cold area and your keezer is outside, get one of these https://smile.amazon.com/Lasko-100-MyHeat-Personal-Ceramic/dp/B003XDTWN2/ and plug it into the "heat" part of the inkbird....that way this wont happen again.

That's a bit crazy though - I've had a bunch of kegs freeze solid - never had one overflow though.

I run all my tap water through this https://www.amazon.com/Camco-40043-TastePURE-Flexible-Protector/dp/B0006IX87S along with a "drinking water hose" it works out great!

Caraway Ale (From Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers by Stephen Harror Buhner)
Original Recipe:

• 3 pounds Dark Malted Barley
  
• 1 pound Unmalted Dark Rye
  
• 2 gallons water
  
• 1/2 ounce caraway seeds
  
• yeast
  
  My adaptation of the recipe:
  
  
• 5% Biscuit Malt
  
• 5% Brown Malt
  
• 5% Chocolate Malt
  
• 25% Rye Malt (couldn't find unmalted rye)
  
• 60% Marris Otter
  
• 1/4 oz caraway seeds per gallon of batch size
  
  This came out to be a very malty beer. There are no hops in it to balance out the maltiness. This is probably the reason why it calls for unmalted rye. Nevertheless it is a delicious beer. There is something to be said though for the aroma. It is quite strange, and if you brew this I strongly suggest waiting 2 weeks after primary for conditioning because the aroma can be overwhelming at first. I thought I was going to have to dump it because of how awful it smelled, but the smell cleared up nicely after 2 weeks. The aftertaste is a bit unusual too.
  
  If I were to brew this again, I'd probably lighten up on the malts a bit. Probably would raise the % on the pale malt and reduce the chocolate to no more than 2%.
  
  Caraway supposedly has medicinal properties that help you digest food, making this a fantastic beer to have with a meal. So far even with its minor flaws it has been a hit with everyone who has tried it.
  
  
  

I use a 200W space heater. Works quite well, and helps circulate the air in the fermentation chamber. I've been taping my temp probe to the outside of my carboy, with some bubble wrap on the outside (duct tape -> bubble wrap -> temp probe -> carboy).

I'd recommend an inexpensive thermometer like this, rather than the probe--I'm not sure quite how warm a probe can get, but I'd be surprised if it's over 100 F. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GRFHXVQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Javelin thermometer, best thing in my kit and I use it though out the kitchen

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GRFHXVQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rE8VAbF1HFB4G

Get a copy of The Complete Meadmaker by Ken Schramm. Best book on the subject IMO. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0937381802/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1369915766&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

This was my attempt at remembering an experiment quoted in "For The Love of Hops" [pp201-202] that concludes that "longer post-boil residence resulted in more hop flavour than dry hopping".

The actual time tested was 80 mins.
(80 mins generated bigger flavours than 30 mins)

http://www.amazon.com/For-The-Love-Hops-Bitterness/dp/1938469011

I use this and it keeps my chest freezer bone dry. Love it.

This is the gold standard for a lot of us:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XDTWN2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_jYJLybPEEVZT1

Best thing I ever did was to build a BrewPi and install that heater in a chest freezer.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00420WMUU/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rubbermaid-10-Gal-Orange-Water-Cooler-FG1610HDORAN/202260809

http://www.northernbrewer.com/universal-false-bottom

exactly what I have, works perfectly

I batch sparge. I bought this cooler: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-70-Quart-Xtreme-Cooler/4807332 and a screen like this: http://www.amazon.com/Bazooka-Screen-brew-kettle-mash/dp/B003ISY2DC

The cooler was on sale and cost me $25. (Looks like they might not be selling it anymore). The screen was about $20. They've lasted me a long time and I can do enormous batches (10 gal batches up to OG 1.080 or so without sugar or extract additions, or any strength 5 gal batches). Efficiency sits around 70%.

For batch sparging, the equipment doesn't seem to matter too much. If you don't grind too fine and are careful with your grain composition (not too much wheat) you won't have sticking problems, and there's no point in being fancy with the manifold since it's a batch sparge.

I am not (yet) qualified to speak on fly sparging. I'm trying to figure out a setup for it but it will take a bit more planning.

Check out Bruce (George) Heilshorn's book "Against All Hops". https://www.amazon.com/Against-All-Hops-Techniques-Extraordinary/dp/1624143792

Another good read which Bruce recommends is Buhner's "Sacred and Healing Beers" https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Herbal-Healing-Beers-Fermentation/dp/0937381667/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3VDTYQE3LECM4&keywords=sacred+and+healing+herbal+beers&qid=1568459625&s=books&sprefix=sacred+and+hea%2Cstripbooks%2C139&sr=1-2

Camco 40043 TastePURE Water Filter with Flexible Hose Protector https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006IX87S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_44Gvyb81DXKYH

I get my water from my hose outside, since it's so near the garage.

Is this comparable to the quality filter you're speaking of?

Or is it better to run water from inside with said filter you replied with?

The $40 is worth it to get a good silicone o-ring, washer, and SS parts, in my opinion. I got this one and I'm happy with it. I just don't think you'll save enough to make up for having inferior stuff.

I do a similar sous vide bath type setup, but have an Inkbird controller driving an immersion coffee heater and fountain pump in my cooler so it's 100% hands off

​

Nicely done!

Jeff Sparrow's Wild Brews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer's Yeast is a great place to start.

I've brewed maybe 20 all grain batches in one of these and it's held up great, especially given the price.

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-1036-Stainless-Steamer/dp/B0009JXYUA/

I have been using the slightly smaller E-333 and its been great so far.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000H0XFCS/

I use this pump to pump cold water through my chiller, works great for me.

This is all I use in my igloo, and it works great:

http://www.amazon.com/Bazooka-Screen-brew-kettle-mash/dp/B003ISY2DC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406924473&sr=8-1&keywords=bazooka+screen

I have the brew bucket and just use a small cheap desk heater in my fermentation chamber hooked to my inkbird, works great

lasko heater