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I have a couple of 5/8" OD immersion chillers I use. The connecting tubing keeps getting chewed up by the clamps I'm using. In addition the connection sometimes leak. I was wondering if there any fittings or disconnects that anyone has used for their chillers.

I'm looking for a piece of equipment that would allow me to squirt a shot of co2, e.g., into an empty carboy before racking from my primary, but I don't know what to call it. Searches for co2 gun returns various kinds of pellet, paint ball, etc. What is that equipment and are there any...

I'm doing a kegerator conversion and would like to put in a couple of gas lines for an external tank with a double regulator. (That would allow me to have two different pressures for initial carbonating and serving.) The gas lines are 9/16 OD. I'm leery of just pushing them through a 9/16 hole...

I generally print my labels on paper with a color laser printer then glue on with standard 'lipstick' glue. (I've tried milk, but that's not very reliable). This is fine if I know the beer will be refrigerator chilled. However, I need something more substantial for beer that may be chilled in...

Interested in buying a 2-3 tap kegerator in the Northern Virginia area.

My son is interested in making a sweet-tart sour, possibly with some fruit, e.g., raspberries. The research he's done indicates that one can't have a sweet-sour since the yeast converts all of the available sugars. However, I was wondering if mashing at a higher temperature (creating more...

I know that one can make beer from just about any beer, but I've also read that water hardness is traditionally associated with different styles. My local water is moderately hard, so I was wondering what styles have traditionally been brewed from hard water.

Are there any published charts or guidelines that document the gravity or alcohol tolerance of the various available yeasts? I just faced a situation in which my actual OG was much higher than expected and the yeast I had purchased was probably not up to the task of fully fermenting all of the...

I stumbled onto a recipe by serendipitous accident. So I'm trying to identify the 'style'. I intended to make a saisson, but when I got home I realized I had the wrong yeast. So, here is the grain bill for a 5 gal batch: 10 lbs pale malt 2 row 9.6 oz Caramel 20L 2 oz Hersbrucker (60 min) (2%...

We have a local craft brewery call Old Ox Brewery. Its name comes from a local road, Old Ox Road, where it had planned to locate. Recently, they found themselves in a trademark war when Red Bull, the energy drink maker, decided that an Ox was too close to a Bull and that people might confuse a...

I have a 4 gal brew pot that's fine for small batches (1-2 gal), but requires 'partial boil' techniques for standard 5 gal batches. Allowing space for hot break foaming and boil-off, my post-boil volumn could be as low as 2 gal (especially after an extended boil as Bill suggests in his recent...

This may be under the 'dumb questions' category. I know that the boil itself should be uncovered. To put it simply, it lets 'bad stuff' boil off. However, is there any harm in covering the wort as it achieves a boil temperature? Also, is there any harm in covering the wort during the chill...

A dedicated propane gas burner is on my wish list. In the meantime I've been using an electric stove top for small batches (1 1/2 to 2 gal). I also have a 3-burner propane gas grill on the deck. Has anyone used a gas grill for the boil? Did it work or not?

I had my first attempt of BIAB brewing last weekend. I used by brew pot on the stove. My main concern is temperature control. It seemed that I couldn't get the temp stable. Either the bottom was too hot or the top too cold. I constantly stirred the mash hoping to mitigate the temp...

Has anyone worked with this product? It's described as a flavor-neutral yeast specifically for bottle and cask conditioning that can work with high alcohol levels (12-14% ABV). Seems like it's pitched after fermentation and before bottling.

I'd like to start BIAB, but I have a question. In extract brewing the specialty grains are added in the boil. In BIAB, would the specialty grains be added to the mash or kept out until the boil (along with the hops)?

I like small batches and am thinking of a small batch BIAB. How is BIAB different from processing the specialty grains in an extract recipe? What I'm reading is that the grains are steeped in 150-155 degree water for 20-30 minutes. This seems to be the same directions as for the specialty...

I now have a few small batch fermentor vessels. I'd like to do an experiment in which I brew a batch of a relatively standard porter, then distribute the same wort to the small batch vessels, then use different yeasts. What yeasts are typical for porters and are there any descriptions of their...

The advantage of Mr. Beer is that it is dirt simple. It can give the novice brewer confidence that he/she can brew a good beer. Once the written instructions are mastered, though, it seems that the quality and consistency of the beer could be improved by going beyond the written instructions...

When scaling for small batches, it seems that I'll have to weigh out portions from the supplied ingredient lots. How precise are those measurements? Is there a recommended kitchen scale that provides the necessary accuracy?