Emergency services...Darwin Award winner--lol, not too overdramatic? You give the wood a couple taps to get the point to bite in and hold it, then your hands are free to give the wood a whack with the sledge. Hands nowhere near the pointy part. If you miss you might wreck the hammer handle...

If the screws in the clamp start grabbing, a bit of paraffin can help it turn smoothly. Otherwise, they're cheap enough to consider as a consumable item.

I saw this one on Amazon for about $40. Looks lighter duty than what @Craigerrr and @Hawkbox have. But it might be something for me to keep in the camper to split up cordwood into kindling. Most of the parks we go to don't allow outside firewood to be brought in and the stuff they sell at the...

This. Many "stainless steel" clamps have ordinary steel components. I found out the hard way when a few started rusting, including two used on an oxygenator wand that is immersed in wort. :mad: IIRC, they were from Lowe's, but I'll assume most hardware store clamps are similar. The butterfly...

This dual fermenter temp control thing is interesting. I have a Brew Bucket with oatmeal stout that I brewed a week ago, and another Brew Bucket with a mild ale I brewed yesterday. Both have thermowells with Inkbird temp probes in each. The mild ale has the unit that both monitors and controls...

Yep, it's a home-built. About 50' of 1/4" I.D. copper tubing.

OK, Albany ale...don't know that one. I checked the Googles and found a little info. A 400 year old historical brew, kind of a mild, pale ale. I'm intrigued, might have to look into that. Seems to be some association with oysters, based on my searches. Got a recipe? I did find this one, with...

Indoors during cold weather here. I could sit out in the garage to brew in winter (and I've done it more times than I care to remember) but I just don't enjoy it and this hobby's supposed to be fun. So, it's kitchen brewing from about Nov until March or April. With the 8 gal kettle and heat...

Homebrew Dubbel. Not quite ready for prime time, but couldn't resist trying one at 2 weeks. When bottling I had just enough at the end of the run to fill a 200ml bottle. This is what I poured, as my "test bottle." Head was much higher when I poured, but had shrunk some by the time I took the...

Brew day done, it's in the fermenter. OG was 1.041, a little above the 1.038 predicted. And exceeded the vol. into the fermenter--5.75 gallons instead of the 5.5 predicted. Close enough. Time for a beer or three. :)

Brewing a dark mild today. Sacc rest almost done. I always forget to take pics when brewing, but remembered today. Should have a few images later.

A few lager folks here...I'll throw a question at you. What are your thoughts on SafLager W-34/70? Later this winter I plan to brew a Schwarzbier and Festbier. Probably do a double-header the same day. If I'm going to tie up my ferm chamber a few months, might as well get two of them in there...

Tea towels could be it. Hard to sanitize porous items like that. Can you use something smooth (and easy to sanitize) for covering, like some aluminum foil?

That's the time I'm the most nervous, from when I start chilling the wort until it's buttoned up inside the fermenter, safe and sound. While chilling with the IC I keep the lid covering as much of the kettle as possible. Maybe it's overkill, but I want to limit the amount of stuff that could...

@abenes, do you have a vacuum sealer? You can buy hops in larger quantities, take out what you need, then vac-seal the rest and store in the freezer. Your hops will last a few years if you keep them frozen.

Maybe deck the Helles with boughs of holly?

Aw dammit, that sucks, @Trialben. I hope the gastro people can help you get this sorted, and maybe some ideas from the dietitian for things to eat. Get better soon!

Test tube brushes are great for cleaning small openings, and the bristles aren't so stiff as to scratch plastic. After I clean the plastic spigot on my bottling bucket, I store it in a jar of Starsan until next time I use it.

What time would you like us to stop over? ;) Those ribs look incredible.

I usually don't plan a lot of brews in advance, and just brew whenever and try to keep the pipeline filled. But now I'm strategizing about brews for the next few months. Right now, I have a Scottish strong that needs to age a few more months, a dubbel that should be ready in 2 or 3 weeks, and an...