CH your low cost and K.I.S.S. approach to brewing is what made me pull the trigger and start brewing. Keep up the content, it is edited exactly right for my attention span.
Got my 2 tap kegerator off FB market. $300, came with 3 kegs and 2 CO2 tanks (almost worth the price right there). Upgraded the rusty taps and put new beer line in, added locks to keep the kiddos out. Artist wife made me custom tap handles. My kettle/mash tun doubles as a crab boiler. Credit score 849.
Starsan (chemisan etc) is a solution of phosphoric acid and a splash of dish soap. Buying the chemical in higher concentration (usually 15%) from lab or catering supply stores and diluting it yourself saves a huge amount.
Since I am always smashing my hydrometer test tube I decided to make the perfect shatter proof vessel. Take the stainless tube from the pony keg & tip it upside down. Cut the tube so your hydrometer fits. Put copper or stainless mesh in the bottom for a cushion & bam. Unbreakable hydrometer test tube.
Yeast supposedly clings on to hop oils acting like a fining agent keeping them behind during transfer which is why some prefer to cold crash and dump the yeast out first and if that is not possible then transfer to another vessel would be next best choice. It is possible though that bagged hops don't interact with the yeast as much as free floating ones that get mixed in and sometimes end up underneath the yeast cake. Also some think that floating yeast with hop oils attached in floating beer is the cause of astringency.
When I'm taking gravity readings during the brew, cooling them down used to take forever, now I keep a small cake pan in the freezer, put the wort sample in that, and it's down to 20c in about 5 minutes, even if i take right from the boil.
Don't worry, eventually you will save tons of money. Beer prices are insane at the stores. Last time I went to the store, I just looked at all the beer and didn't even buy any. It's alright, I still have about 30 gallons at home.
@@Soupy_loopy absolutely. That is what I told my wife 🤣🤣🤣 All kidding aside, $10.99-16.99 per 4 or 6 pack of the fancy stuff adds up quick and will quickly pay for what I bought and save me money.
For kettles and tuns. Maple syrup 304 SS drums with reinforced bottoms. I had a buddy weld mine in. Essentially shipping containers. About $260 Canadian for 32Gal unit.
I really need to start fermenting in kegs, and I'm not quite sure why I didn't get more spigots yet. Great overview of some of the classic hacks! Cheers!
Good Stuff, I need to try the magnet trick, I was Zip Tie a Paint strainer to the end of my hose running from the Fermenter to the keg. This catches any Dry Hops or yeast you don't want in your finished beer. Only works if your not doing a closed transfer, and you may want to Purge keg of CO2 and Sanitize the bag first.
No bathtub needed for warming fermenters, I use an Inkbird running two heating pads and a plant warming matt wrapped around my keg or allrounder fermenter with a bungee cord. Stick the temp sensor to the side with plumbers putty or tape and cover it all up well. Set and walk away.
I’ve been taking a page out of the brulophy book and dry hopping at yeast pitch with kveik for ipa’s, beer is done in 4-5 days max with a full dry hop charge in the bank while completely sealed.
I swear half of homebrewing is just coming up with creative ways to solve a problem. Some great hacks you showed, use a few myself. One of my favorite power moves from my early days of brewing: Instead of buying a false bottom for my mash tun I made a square of pvc tubing that ties into the ball valve. Drill lots of holes in one side of the pvc tubing and bam, you have a way to syphon off all of that delicious sugary goodness without taking a bunch of grains with it.
Dude! Checking out that diy spunding valve video out today, need to make one of those. Also the DIY Keg BIAB systems are sweet. Always like seeing those out on big brew days.
damn this video is really a huge power move in terms of home brewing and getting a significant amount techniques/work/tricks for extremely cheap and relatively easy. Very inspiring. Also they touch on lots of the HB4L matra but also in a new light which is which that dawg CH is still making for sure #1 home brew videos. Much respect to my dawg.
Modular wire shelving. They are cheap and can easily handle the weight of 10gal systems. Being modular, putting together a multi-tier gravity system is easy.
If you have not heard this before..... ALL the buckets at Home Depot ARE food grade. Yes the Orange ones, The white ones and the ones that Say food grade are all FOOD GRADE.
I havent done it myself, but some people cut the bottom of the keg, flip it over, and use the spear opening for a drain. Keep an eye on buy/sell forums, I scored a 3v electric herms setup unused for 1/3 the price of new.
I use sankeys and they are a pain to learn how to open them, the correct way is to pull the ring without bending it, I use a knife and stick the tip into one of the two holes and try to pull it out, used to take me 10mins but now it's like 1 minute tops
Plastic bucket fermentor all the way but I'm willing to pay the couple extra bucks at my LHBS to get that rubber-gasketed lid. Had some lid leaks with the hardware store variety lids. Never ruined a batch but I'm not gonna push my luck.
Good stuff. Great advice. That converted keg looked a lot like my kegmenter which I’ve come to really like after a couple uses. Was a great investment for the cost as new, but I wonder what the equivalent cost of a converter keg would be.
Awesome video! Using sanke kegs for home brewing is one of the best hacks, Im still fermenting beer in sanke kegs. Reusing yeast is a good trick too, I think. For 20 gallon batches I was paying about $32 for yeast each time, on the same yeast strain for 1 year now with at least 8 batches. Close to a $300 savings
@@tman9338 I haven't cleaned my keg fermenters for about a year now. I leave the beer in the fermenters until brew day and syphon it out and leave some behind along with the yeast. And put the new wort in shortly after. Its allowed me to reuse the same yeast all this time, saved around $32 each brew day this way.
I always wondered if that would work. I did something similar with 3470 over the winter, the remaining beer with priming sugar in it would get dumped over the yeast in the fermenter to get it going again, the next batch would go right on top
I know another money saving tip...don't waste money on razors and leave the beard alone, CH. I learn this every time I shave and my wife gives me the look of "wtf?" Great video btw ;)
Ay bruu, I have a non video related q. I know I've probably seen one of your vids about it but I cant find it. I need advice on a good grain mill. Dont wanna spend more than 250 or so. Any advice??