Jim's Beer Kit

That's a comprehensive list! Happy Christmas! ;) Only things I would add is that... is a 30l fermenter big enough when you have 10g (45l) brew kettle? From a 5g batch I get 21l in the FV so while it won't be an exact scale up 10g would mean roughly 42l in the FV? Even if you do go with a Refractome...

Took the plunge and ordered this and the relevant bits and bobs this morning. Hopefully all here by mid next week and can sort it over the weekend before planning my next brew. Cool - you won't regret it! (I hope :) ) As for reading - I would just jump on the Brewpi forum and have a read of people ...

I agree with Orlando. I would caution against measuring the beer temperature directly (in a thermowell or equivalent) when using a simple on/off temperature controller. The lag between beer temp and chamber temp is such that you will overshoot constantly in both directions, maybe by a degree or more...

Do you use Brewbrite and any other finings such as Irish Moss/Protofloc? I have been using in conjunction but not sure if overkill Brewbrite is a mixture of carrageenan (Irish moss) and PVVP so no, you don't need to use anything else. You can really smell the seaweed, actually, when you mix up the ...

One of my missions for 2017 is to try and lock down a "house" pale ale, and be able to brew it consistently. I brewed v1 today - not likely to be anywhere near the final recipe, but you've got to start somewhere :) I'm enjoying the earthy (dank?) notes of Columbus at the moment, although it can be a...

Yes, true, people do argue about the effects and magnitude of HSA. But the OP's results are so pronounced that I really can't believe normal levels/practices would be the cause, we would all experience them if they did. There would have to have been some unusual amount of aeration, IMO. Agreed - al...

The real-world effects of Hot Side Aeration seem to be far less dire than some used to believe This really depends on what you read and who you believe. Just to be clear, I don't have a dog in this fight (haven't tried minimising oxygen on the hot side yet), but there is a lot of interesting chatte...

This article is an interesting read. One point of particular interest is the claim that paper/cardboard taste is a sign of hot side aeration, not cold. I must admit that I have spent quite a bit of time recently down the rabbit-hole that is the HSA/LODO debate, which is currently ongoing on various...

Did you taste any of it before it went into the keg? It would be interesting to know when the oxidisation occurred. Did you dry hop?

There's a good thread somewhere on Hombrewtalk about making your own arduino based version - lots of fiddling about but a lot cheaper. Must admit I love my Brewpi. Very hard to justify initially (a few beers and a late night purchase got me over the line :) ) but thoroughly glad I took the plunge. I...

I use cable like this for the SSR outputs (the 0.5mm stuff), hope your not using that cable for 240v or anything over 3A,you need 1mm at the very least with an insulation rated for 300v No :) just for the Spark -> SSR 12v Rhodesy - think of the SSR as a switch. You basically take your live, cut it ...

Yes, you need the Pi to run the webserver which hosts the Brewpi web page and acts as an interface to the Spark, which runs the control aglorithms. I think you've listed everything you need. I use cable like this for the SSR outputs (the 0.5mm stuff), but I am not an electrician and just picked it o...

Dennis King wrote:I tend to check mine every 6 months or so.

I do mine every brew. It might seem excessive (every two weeks, on average), but it's usually a little out when I test it. That might say more about my meter though

That's encouraging! I was using 1.5-1.75psi. I even pumped it up to 2.5 at one point to try and clear the air and get the transfer going again. Not sure what happened. Hopefully it will be quicker next time. Cheers! Maybe you got a partial blockage or something? An hour does seem extraordinarily sl...

Once you transferred the sanitiser was the keg at less pressure than the fermentor, I assume it is to get the beer to flow? Do you have to release the prv on the keg at all to burp" anything stopping the flow? What I did was push the sanitiser out completely through the out post and connection to F...