I always suggest poking around Facebook marketplace to look for used CO2 cylinders on the cheap. I got a 20 lb. Cylinder for free when I bought a kegerator from a guy. I also picked up a 5 lb cylinder a few months ago for $50. It had a good regulator and was completely full, so no exchange...

Wow! You guys are awesome! Thanks for the replies.

I have searched around online and can’t seem to find a definitive calculator for how much LME to add to wort in order to increase the OG by, say 10 points (e.g. estimated original gravity is 1.050, but I want 1.060). I have some LME that says SG is 1.035 pppg, but I don’t know the formula to...

That makes perfect sense! I’ll go turn them down now. Thanks! By the way is the 4psi sort of universal, or might it need adjusting based on line length and resistance from tubing size?

I guess that would have been helpful info! I pressure to 11 lbs. My beer lines are 8mm Duotight Eva barrier tubing and I use the Kegland ball locks with flow control. My beer lines are 3 feet long and I didn’t calculate proper length for that size tubing. I keep my kegerator at 38 degrees F...

I have an ongoing problem with foaming out of my kegs. It seems that when the keg is full I have no problem pulling a pint with a perfect head. However, as the keg gets low, say about a gallon or so left, when I draft off a glass full I can see clear beer immediately comes out at first...

The major thing that seems to have improved the quality of my beer is going to pressure fermenting. I went to a Kegland 30 liter all-rounder with the pressure kit and immediately my beer quality improved as well as the time savings on kegging. I do have to agree about temp control. I don’t...

The chest freezer has all our frozen meat. The kegerator has three kegs chilled in it. I’m not about to warm those guys up just to ferment a lager, which will not fit in there with 3 kegs. I have a strong enough window AC unit that I can keep the temp down to 65-68 F. Again, I appreciate all...

I appreciate the input. I'm not really interested in trying to get a keezer. My shop is only 25' X 25' and since I already have a kegerator (an old fridge I got for $100 with a 20lb CO2 tank), a large refrigerator, and a small chest freezer, along with a couple workbenches, numerous storage...

I am so glad someone has acknowledged the two common tastes I had with my early homebrew batches! Bubble gum and white wine flavors! It was discouraging. I kept mentioning it to people, but no one ever explained it how Nosy just did. Thank you! But just for argument sake, I found with my...

Okay, after deciding awhile back that I would just stick with ales and bucket fermenters, I happened to have a happy accident in that I wasn't paying attention one evening and ordered a doppelbock all grain brew kit, not fully realizing it was a lager. Lagering is really not within my...

Sweet! Thank you for the info!

Not sure if this is the place to post this, but several of my recipes include "Viking 2-row Xtra Pale Europe" malt in the recipe kit. (Yes, I buy recipe kits from a well known distributor). When I'm trying to calculate my brewhouse efficiency, this particular malt from Viking is not in the...

Ward, I don’t have a set particular style as of yet. I have settled on a cream ale recipe that I have brewed 3times so far as I really like it and know I will be doing a couple more batches this spring and summer. What I am focused on is learning to achieve consistent results in a few classic...

Minbari- yeah, I’ve seen the iodine test. Honestly, I always mash a minimum of 1hour, and lately have been doing 90 minute mashes after reading a thread on extended mash times. I may eventually pick up some iodine and try it. As to using RO and distilled water… I use it because my water I think...

I thank all of you for putting my mind at rest on this topic. I still don’t like having to do water calculations! And I dang sure am no chemist. Recently I have had trouble hitting my OG consistently and had settled on the idea that I’m not getting to the pH I need in the mash. I have a fairly...

I apologize if this question has been asked before, as I’m sure it has. And from my experience in other forums I know it is poor etiquette to ask a common question without researching previous threads/forums for the answer before you ask it. However, I did search but kept coming up with “no...

By the way where can I buy 7 gallon ferment buckets?

Excellent advice from everyone, and that is what I need in order to continue to learn. It sucks that I spent the money for the flask and the stir plate when I don't need it. But that's a product of not having a great knowledge base to start with. I kept seeing/reading about using two packets...

Thanks, SabreSteve. I have had to use blow off tubes before. I had an Irish Red once that blew off the top of the fermenter bucket and I've had active krausen climb up through airlocks a few times, just never had this weird sludge. It really is kind of amazing the amount of gas that gets...