Tag Archives: Equipment

Kegerator Construction

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FridgeWe bough a new refrigerator as part of a recent kitchen renovation, so I’m turning the old one (still functional and now in the basement) into a two-tap kegerator.  I had kegged my brew for NHC Club Night and immediately decided that I no longer want to bottle my beer (except of course for the occasional Belgian offering).

My order from KegConnection.com has arrived.  It’s showtime.  I gathered my tools, including the most important one, in the name of RDWHAH.  Important safety tip: always have a beer before using power tools. Continue reading →

Stir Starter

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I recently bought a stir plate to aid with my yeast starters.  Using a stir plate can increase your yeast cell count considerably, resulting in quicker fermentation starts and less chance of off-flavors (specifically those that come from unwanted organisms beating the yeast to the yummy sugary nourishment of the wort).

The combined use of a yeast starter and stir plate can also make each batch of beer consierably cheaper, since you won’t need to pitch two (or even three) tubes of yeast to Continue reading →

Brew Day – Hoppy Gnome IPA – 1/9/12

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Today I brewed the first version of my Hoppy Gnome IPA.  It’s a modified version of a Green Flash West Coast IPA clone that I made a few months ago (the clone was actually my first all-grain batch and was very successful).  I dropped the amount of 60L crystal to lighten the color a bit, and swapped out some of the late hops for Citra.  I hope this will give it a softer hop profile. Continue reading →

Mash Paddle

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The Oatmeal Stout brew also gave me a chance to try out my new maple mash paddle, which was a birthday gift from my in-laws (thanks again to Don and Carolyn).  It worked much better than the long-handled plastic spoon I’ve been using, with less stress on my wrist and much less incidents of dough-balls and hot spots.  I highly recommend!