BeerTools Discussion Forum

Take a look at the design at St.pats.com. It is a copper tube bend like a flat coil. I personnaly have found that a coffee can lid in the center keeps the water from cutting through and works just as well if you recirculate the first 2 qts.

I put the old magnetic stir plate to work and after 2 days I got some air lock action. I then stepped it up to 1000ml. The resultant beer has a strange and slightly harsh flavor that is not normal for this beer, I am sure is yeast related. I am still aging it, maybe it will mature out? Maybe the fro...

I have a small amount of Pilsner Urquell yeast on a slant. My frig control went out and the yeast was subjected to 14f for 8 hrs. Is it dead? Or can I wake it up and it be worth using?

My only real proplem was sticky wallpaper, and I think you have solved that. I never thought about oxygen during the stir. Thanks, You are the beer man.

I have recently started using a magnetic stirer to make my starter. The two 5gal batches that I have made since started blowing off the air lock, and/or the blow off tube and making a mess. I am using 7.5gal plastic bucket with about 8" of head space, but during the first 6 hrs it foams all the...

I was hoping it would be the yeast causing your smell. I have heard this before and the beer turned out very well. Lager yeast seems to have this more than ale(london). What was the fermentation tempreture? Should be 60-72f and it will have some diacetyl(butterscotch). I would like to link that smel...

I like ball type. Pull the bail up and push the lid down. There should be a o-ring. To remove the relief valve twist the ring ccw. A socket can be used to remove the fitting for in and out. (one is bigger). remove the dip tube and clean the springand ball. it pops out when the fitting is removed or ...

Can anyone tell me the proper use for acid malt and high ph water?

Could be sulfide(hydrogen sulfide)produced by the yeast. Did you use a lager yeast at ale temp? Anyway, should go away in time(maybe 2 weeks or more). Don't seperate the yeast from the beer, the yeast will get rid of your egg. I don't know why there would be a difference between batches on the same ...

Commercial brewers use this food-safe anti freeze type liquid to cool wort because it can be recirculated through the jacket at any tempreture including below freezing. A pump runs it from the mechcanical cooling unit(possibly a chiller)and back to be recooled. Imagine putting a coil into your kettl...

It was said by a great homebrewer that "nothing ruins a beer faster than worrying". Five gallons takes a long time to change tempreture. slight changes will not affect your beer(ales). It will average out the tempreture if it goes up or down a few degrees.

I made systems for two breweries, one for 775 gallons and one for 8000 Gallons. The difference being power. You need to know the maximum time to reduce the tempreture how many degrees. If you increase your current system, consider that it will take longer to cool with out increasing horsepower and p...

pin lock or ball?

I have taken used units from the junk commercial pile that were replaced due to to phase out of R12. I used a replacement type refrigerant(mp39)to operate them in my garage. You can also get single door "low boy" units being phased out of fast food resturants which are big enough for a hal...