Recent content by bmac

Ordinary Bitter Special Bitter Doppelbock Classic American Pilsner Cream Ale

6 gallons "Poppy Charlie's" CAP 6 gallons Little Giant English Mild 6 Gallons Witty Blonde

6 gallons of Dortmunder and 6 gallons of Ol' McSquizzy's 80/-

5gallons of Snaggletooth English IPA

The strip thermometers actually give the temp of the liquid inside the fermenter.

6 gallons of "Monk Punch", Belgian Dark Strong with an OG of 1.095:rockin:

The only thing I would add is to get an adhesive strip thermometer for your fermenter so you will know the temp of your fermenting beer.

Did you check the calibration of the refractometer with distilled water?

I store mine in the freezer after vacuum sealing them in foodsaver bags. I've used some of them after having them stored like this for just over a year and have not noticed any issues.

What wad the OG of the beer? Did you aerate the wort before you pitched? What was the date on the vial? If your OG was around 1.040, you aerated the wort and the vial was fresh you will be fine. Even if the vial was a couple months old and your OG is a little higher you should still be fine...

I put my racking cane into a carboy cap and force co2 into the other hole in the carboy cap and then force the beer into a purged keg going thru the liquid in. You could do the same thing with an autosyphon if you are racking from a bucket.

Definitely get a couple sets of o-rings, a couple universal poppets and some keg lube. I also have an extra gas qc and liquid qc that i use for transferring from my fermenter straight to my purged keg. I have the liquid connector hooked to my transfer line and i use the extra gas connector to...

+1

The best way to know when it's done is by verifying a constant gravity over a couple day period. Also remember, just because you don't see bubbles in the airlock doesn't mean fermentation is done, always check with a hydrometer.

Have you taken any gravity readings to see where the beer is at as far as fermentation?