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I got a Countertop Ice maker from a neighbor for free, but looking at Amazon, you can get one for about $90. I also got a submersible fountain pump from another neighbor for free, but those are around $10 on Amazon. I bought a few John Guest push to connect fittings and some 3/8 tubing from...

I brewed a cream ale recipe last weekend, and I misread the recipe and forgot the 60 min bittering hop addition. The recipe only called for 20 IBU's anyways, and because I missed the 60 min addition I will be more like 6 IBU's. Since it's a Cream Ale, it's not supposed to be very bitter in the...

My yeast was supposed to arrive yesterday which is when I brewed. It did not arrive until today and Beersmith called for a 1.3 liter starter. After brewing I transferred the wort into a well sanitized/sealed fermenter so there SHOULDN'T Be any contamination. That being said, should I build the...

Just curious... What is the proper way to take a sample for my refractometer during the boil? I noticed that I get a different reading if I pull the sample with an eye dropper vs letting it drip off the stir spoon vs dipping the head of the refractometer into the boiling wort. I don't think...

I'm running a 220 volt water heater element connected to an Aubur ezboil PID. When I turn the system on, the temp shoots right past my set value and doesn't shut off. The odd part is, if I wait until the actual temperature is within 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit of the set value (or I overshoot...

I've recently added a a grain mill to my equipment and I just brewed my first batch using it. Everything went smoothly, but I got some numbers that I was not expecting and I don't exactly know why or how to adjust beersmith to account for it in the future. My target boil volume/gravity was...

I'm planning on stepping up from buckets to a conical, and I've read about the fermentasaraus Gen 2 which sounds amazing, especially for the price! I typically brew 5 gallon batches but occasionally will brew a 10 gallon batch. I was originally looking into 14 gallon conicals so I could do...

I'm color blind, so doing the iodine test usually requires me to ask my wife or kids if conversion is complete. Normally I brew when no one's home, so I just mash extra long to ensure that it's done. During my last Brew, I got to thinking... shouldn't specific gravity keep rising until mash...

I'm getting ready to brew a Pliny the Younger Triple IPA and I have a question regarding the yeast. This recipe is 1.090 OG and about 10.8% ABV and calls for WLP 001 California Ale yeast. My home brew store only carries 1056 Wyeast. After plugging 1056 into Beersmith, I realized that 1056 would...

I need a 4l starter for my next 10 gallon batch, so I was planning on making a starter, decanting and adding fresh starter wort back in to get the yeast cells that I need. Is there any reason that I couldn't make a couple gallons of starter wort (enough for my next batch of beer as well as this...

I recently upgraded from buckets to a 14 gallon fastferment conical. In doing so I've outgrown my chest freezer fermenting chamber, so I'm looking for other options. Has anyone tried using evaporative coolers for a fermenting chamber? I'm not talking about the t-shirt in a bucket of water type...

I brewed my first 10 gallon batch 9 days ago, and the brew day actually went pretty well. When I split the batch into fermenter buckets, it was more like 4.75 gal and 5.75 gal per bucket, so not exactly an even split. My Yeast starter was a 3 litre starter which I poured off the wort and pitched...

I am sure this has been answered somewhere before, but I've been looking for about an hour and can't find my answer. I'm planning on brewing my first 10g batch this Friday, and Beersmith is telling me that I need an 8L starter (It's a double IPA). I typically do 5 gallon batches and I'll just...

I typically like to brew when nobody is home so there are no distractions at critical points. Unfortunately, I'm watching my 8 yr old daughter today and there was a "crisis" that took me away a few times during the mash. The results of her "crisis" was my mash temp spiking to 160 during the...

Hi there! I am having a hard time dialing in my temperatures for my E-Keggle and E-Herms setup that I've built. I have an Auber EZBoil controller for my BK/HLT and I have an old Inkbird PID that I use for monitoring Mash Temp. Here's the problem. In Ice water the Auber reads 32 and the...

Hey all! So I'm sort of new to all grain brewing, I've got around 10 batches under my belt and the results have run the spectrum. I've recently built an EHERMs setup and I've got a few questions. 1.) When I fly sparge, the temperature drops pretty quickly using 168F sparge water in my keggle...

Ok, I've read a ton of these foaming keg threads and I think I've tried everything with no solution. I have a keezer and the first pour has a lot of foam and I can't get rid of it. I have a fan in there running 24/7. Temp is around 37 degrees as measured by a grill thermometer which seems...

Hey all, I've been reading E-HLT threads for a few weeks now and I am very close to starting the build on my PID control box. So far I have a 3 prong dryer outlet not GFCI protected in my basement. I have installed the 5500w 240v Heater element into my HLT. I'm far from an electrician and my...

Hi there, I'm in the process of building an E-HLT/BK. I have a 25' IC right now, but will be upgrading to a 50' SS IC in the future. I've seen plenty of people talking about using their IC as a drop in HERMS Heat exchanger, but I have not found any information on how they keep it off of the...