Hands on Review – Update International Stainless Steel Portion Cups for Brew Day
These are generally intended for serving condiments and small amounts of food. Considering their size, materials and efficient design, they are also well suited for use on brew day. I’ve kept these and similar portion cups in my Brew Day Box for years.
There are lots of similar cups out there Search Amazon for “Stainless Steel Ramekins” to shop around. Look for a good size, quality materials (like stainless steel) and good reviews
You can use these to portion out hop additions and other boil additions and for pH and gravity sample containers. These are a great size and don’t take a lot of room since they nest together.
Here’s a Hands on Look at Spiegelau’s IPA glasses. These glasses have a 19 ounce capacity, they are dishwasher safe and they are designed specifically for the enjoyment of IPA style beers.
Front of the boxSide of the box: “In collaboration with two of the leading IPA brewers in the United States, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head and Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada, Spiegelau has created the new standard for IPA beer glassware. Achieved through a series of design and tasting workshops in which hundreds of possible designs were considered, the brewers ultimately and unanimously chose, by secret vote, one glass – ‘number 6’ – from a final lineup of eight custom-made prototypes. Designed to showcase the complex and alluring aromatic profiles of American “hop-forward” IPA beers, preserve a frothy head, enhance taste and mouthfeel, and present a comfortably wide opening for the drinker to savor each beer, Spiegelau’s latest design is the go-to vessel for enjoying IPA. Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada champion US hop farming. The breweries and donating their portion of the proceeds from this collaboration to benefit advances in hop research.”
Other side of the box: Durable, Lightweight, Brilliant with Max. Dishwasher Safety.
Unboxed
Spiegelau logo on the bottom of the glass. When these first came out there was some discussion about where they laser etched nucleation point was at in these glasses. I spoke with Spiegelau reps at NHC in 2014 and was told…. it’s the dot in the center of each glass. This feature aid in slowly releases CO2 bubbles to enhance flavor and aroma.Looking great filled with More Beer’s Pliny the Elder
I’m really happy with these glasses. They feel really well made and I like the way they look. These have been my go to IPA glasses since receiving them.
Ken Grossman and Sam Calagione talking about the developement of Spiegelau’s IPA Glass
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I use a heat resistant oven glove when I’m making yeast starters in an Erlenmeyer Flask. It’s really handy (pun intended) to swirl around the flask or to quickly remove to keep the flask from boiling over.
These are also handy on brew day for handling hot, (but not wet) ball valves and such.
A lot of these types of gloves, including the pictured model and the ones I use are not waterproof. As such, they should not be used with hot liquids.
Some silicone models are available that may offer some water resistance. Generally speaking silicone gloves are going to be less flexible. That may make it harder to pick things up. You’re trading off some water resistance for grip.
Safety Note: Always use caution when handling hot items or ingredients and always read and follow manufacturer directions.
THE 'OVE' GLOVE: Comes with 2 machine washable, hot surface handler The 'Ove' Glove.
FLAME RESISTANT: Made from heat & flame resistant material used by firefighters. Withstands extreme heat up to 540 degrees Fahrenheit.
FIVE FINGER FLEXIBILITY: Made with full finger mobility and can be used with your left or right hand. Each glove contains a silicone non-slip grip to protect against dropping pans.
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL: Great for barbeques, kitchen, rearranging fireplace logs, car repair, welding, light bulb changes and more!
OVEN MITT: Comes with 1 machine washable, USA manufactured, hot surface handler Comoke Ove Glove
FIVE FINGER FLEXIBILITY: Made with full finger mobility and can be used with your left or right hand. Each glove contains a silicone non-slip grip to protect against dropping pans.
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL: Great for barbeques, kitchen, rearranging fireplace logs, car repair, welding, light bulb changes and more!
EXTRA LONG SLEEVE for extra protection when reaching into BBQ grills, fireplaces, and more!
MADE FROM HEAT & FLAME RESISTANT MATERIAL USED BY FIREFIGHTERS. Withstands extreme heat up to 540 degrees Fahrenheit.
OVEN MITT: Comes with 1 machine washable hot surface handler. Machine washable up to 140 degrees F (60C)
FIVE FINGER FLEXIBILITY: Made with full finger mobility and can be used with your left or right hand. Each glove contains a silicone non-slip grip to protect against dropping pans.
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL: Great for barbeques, kitchen, rearranging fireplace logs, car repair, welding, light bulb changes and more!
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greatdeals
Make sure the components you use are compatible and rated for your intended application. Contact manufacturer with questions about suitability or a specific application. Always read and follow manufacturer directions. tag:lnksfxd toppost:oveglove rp:tips#31 tag:tpr
Over the years I’ve homebrewed, I’ve utilized a number of storage and organization strategies. Some could be defined less as strategies and more as “piles”. These strategies have ranged from, cardboard boxes, to big totes that I threw everything under the sun into to using smaller shoe box size containers and breaking everything out into categories. The shoe box size organization method has worked well and other than a few large totes for bigger items, it’s what I’ve settled on. At some point after going to that, I realized that when brew day rolled around, I had to collect items from a number of these containers. I usually forgot something and had to look around, multiple times per brew day trying to find whatever I needed. That evolved into putting together a container just for brew days. I cleverly 🙂 call that my “Brew Day Box”. This container houses nearly all the small odds and ends that I use when brewing. I’ve also tried to make sure those things don’t really need removed at other times. For example I use a refractometer regularly, not just on brew day, so… I bought another refractometer. Everything that’s in my Brew Day Box generally… stay in my Brew Day Box. This keeps everything in one place and I’m not wasting time trying to find stuff when I should be brewing.
This is a step by step guide to brewing a first extract beer. This process uses More Beer’s Personal Home Brewery Kit #2 Deluxe Starter Equipment Kit.
The techniques that I use here are designed to minimize the need for additional equipment and thereby reduce expenses. You can upgrade equipment and techniques when and if you’re ready to, over time. Most if not all of the equipment contained in this starter equipment kit can continue to be used as your brewing evolves.
I use More Beer’s included Extract Brewing Instructions as an outline for this post. Step numbers can be crossed referenced against those instructions. When I use quotes on step directions, those are direct quotes from the directions.
A kettle that will boil a minimum of 3 gallons. Usually a 5 gallon (20 qt) kettle is the minimum.
Approximately (48)12 oz or (24) 22 oz non-twist, pry-off style beer bottles.
Re-usable nylon mesh bags for steeping grain and hops.
Step by Step: 1 Day Before If you are using liquid yeast, take the yeast out of the refrigerator. If you’re using a Wyeast Smack Pack. Smack the pack when you take it out.
Step 1: Fill the included plastic carboy (hands on review) with 5 gallons of water
Mark 5 Gallons: I used the included fermometer strip to mark the 5 gallon line. The top of that strip is the 5 gallon mark. You can also use a permanent marker. This line will be used to help hit your final volume. Final volume is a key factor in hitting your intended Original Gravity. You only have to complete this step one time.
Sanitizing your fermenter: The included directions say to add 1 oz of sanitizer and fill the fermenter the rest the way to sanitize. I’m going to diverge with the official directions here.
If you use a full 1 ounce of Star San, this bottle will last you for four brews. A much more efficient and arguably easier method is to use the Spray Bottle Method. The crux of that is: Add 6 mL of Star to 1 Gallon of Distilled Water. Fill a Spray Bottle with that. Use the Spray Bottle to coat items in need of sanitization. 4 Ounces is about 118 mL. That’s 29.5 gallons of sanitizer using the Spray Bottle Method. Let’s say you use 1/4 gallon per batch, which is probably high, this one 4 oz bottle will last for 118 batches.
If you’re going to use the Spray Bottle method… empty the five gallons of water and thoroughly soak with Star San using a Spray Bottle. Drain any excess Star San. Place the stopper or a piece of aluminum foil on the opening to minimize air getting back in. Note: You can sanitize the fermenter, and other items, much later in the brew day. I include it here only because the directions combine this step and the 5 gallon marking step.
Fermenter Sanitized Using the Spray Bottle Method
Brewing:
Step 2: Filling your kettle. “If you are using a 5 gallon kettle, add 2–3 gallons of water to your kettle. If using a 7.5 gallon, or larger, kettle fill with 6 gallons of water. Place kettle on stove and turn on heat.”
I used a 6 gallon kettle for this beer. You can use anything that holds at least 5 gallons. Maybe you have a big spaghetti or chili pot that fits the bill. Either way, make sure to leave some space at the top.
Step 3: Steeping Specialty Grains. “Take your cracked flavoring grains (such as crystal, chocolate, roasted barley, black patent malts, etc.) and put them into a large nylon mesh bag. Put the bag into the heating water and remove when the water reaches 170˚F, allowing about 30 minutes to do so. If you reach 170˚F in less than 30 minutes, turn the heat off and let the grains steep until a total of 30 minutes has passed.”
Here are the specialty grains in the included mesh bag.
Just in the water. I used a clamp to secure the bag to the side of the kettle.
Steeping
At the end of the 30 minute steep. Wort is up to around 170 deg F. Approximately 30 minutes has passed. You can see that these specialty grains have imparted a lot of color to the beer. They have also imparted flavor to the beer. That’s more difficult to get from the picture. 🙂
Step 4: “Remove the grain bag and continue to heat the water to a boil. Turn the heat off and stir in, so it does not burn on the bottom, the liquid malt extract, dried malt extract (DME), dextrin powder, sugar and/or lactose as called for in the recipe. This solution is now called sweet wort (pronounced wert.) Note: Do not add the 4 oz, white bag of corn sugar; the sugar will be used two weeks from now during the bottling process.”
Adding Liquid Malt Extract (LME) from the Zythos IPA Kit. The picture doesn’t show it, but to avoid scorching, make sure and remove your kettle from the heat and continuously stir.
Incorporating LME. This kit does include a nice large stainless spoon that will work well for this. I just couldn’t resist using my 24″ whisk.
This recipe calls for some additional Dry Malt Extract (DME) and Maltodextrin They have just been added in this picture.
After a little bit of stirring
After a little more stirring
Step 5: “Turn the heat back up and bring to a boil. Stay near your kettle! When your wort begins to boil, you will notice foam starting to rise. You need to be there to turn down the heat. When the foam drops, reapply heat and proceed to boil.”
Hey, remember in the directions where it says “you will notice foam starting to rise”. Yeah, here’s that happening. You don’t want this to boil over. Ask me how I know. 🙁 Tips: 1. Reduce heat, 2. Stir the foam. You don’t need to stir the whole thing, just stir the foam to break up bubbles. That’s easier, faster and more effective than trying to stir the whole mass.
Step 6: “Add your bittering hops. Put the hops in a fine mesh nylon bag if available. If you do not have a bag add them directly to the boil. Boil for 60 minutes.”
This is going to be recipe specific. Most recipes do call for a 60 minute hop addition.
60 minute hops added. Sometime’s you’ll get a bit of a hop break when you add hops. Something to keep in mind if you’re using a kettle that’s really tight on space.
In all More Beer’s Zythos IPA Kit has four additions – 60 minutes, 20 minutes, 5 minutes and 1 minute. One of the later additions is pictured above.
Step 7: “You now need to sanitize any equipment that might come in contact with the beer once it drops below 160˚F. This list includes a lid (if you are using a plastic bucket fermenter), an airlock, funnel, thermometer, hydrometer sample taker, all stoppers, and anything else that will come in contact with the cooling wort. Put all this equipment into the sanitizing solution that you made earlier in step 1.”
Anything that touches your beer after it has cooled needs to be sanitized.
I found it necessary to sanitize: The included funnel, airlock, stopper and the sample taker (wine/beer thief). The fermenter was already sanitized in step 1. Not pictured: You’re going to want to sanitize the thermometer before you use to to check chilled wort temperature.
Step 8: “With 20 minutes left to the end of your boil, sanitize your wort chiller (for larger kettles) by placing chiller into the boiling wort.”
I skipped this as these directions assume you do not have a wort chiller.
Step 9: “With 5 minutes left in the boil, add the Whirlfloc tablet. Read addendum *4 for info on Whirlfloc.”
More Beer includes a Whirlfloc tablet in all of their kits. Addendum 4 States: “Whirlfloc is a natural product made from seaweed. It helps to clear your beer by attaching to protein molecules which then become heavy and fall out of solution.”
I put Whirlfloc tablets between two spoons and crush them right over the boil kettle. I then use those spoons to mix it in.
Whirfloc causes proteins to coagulate and fall out of suspension. Keep an eye on our kettle as this usually causes some foaming.
Step 10: “Add your hops according to the recipe, with 10, 5, or 1 minute(s) left in the boil. Use fine mesh nylon hop bags if available.”
The final 1 minute, 2 ounce addition of Zythos pellets.
Chilling:
Step 11: Cooling Wort (for partial boils). The directions basically have you chilling in an ice water bath in your sink until you get down to 130 deg F and then draining this into a fermenter filled with ice water. Read the directions for more information on that. I took a slightly different approach.
I added about 2 quarts of ice cubes directly to the kettle (be careful for hot splashing wort!). This brings the temp down a fair bit, quickly.
Right after adding ice
Preparing an ice bath
Kettle in ice bath. Leave the lid on your kettle while chilling. I periodically spin or otherwise agitate the kettle to speed up the cooling process.
When the wort is chilled to between 70 and 80 degrees carefully pour it into the fermenter using the included funnel. Top up as required to achieve a total volume of 5 gallons.
Chilled wort in the fermenter
Step 12: These instructions are for chilling wort when doing a full boil. I skipped this step.
Step 13: “Once the wort is into the fermenter, cover the opening with a lid (plastic bucket) or solid stopper (carboy). If the temperature dropped to between 70–80˚F, proceed to step 13, if not you will have to do additional cooling.”
Step 14: “If using dry yeast you will want to re-hydrate the yeast in accordance with the directions on the packet. If no directions are printed on packet, add dry yeast to 4 oz of warm (86–92˚F) water for 15 minutes. If using liquid yeast there is no need to do anything at this time.”
I ordered Safale US-05 dry yeast along with this kit. I typically do rehydrate dry yeast, but I did not for this beer.
Step 15: “Take a hydrometer reading and mark it down on the recipe sheet. If using buckets utilize the spigot to get a sample. If using a carboy utilize the sample-taker to get a sample. Do not return your sample to the rest of the wort. You take a hydrometer reading to determine how much sugar is in the sweet wort.”
Fermenting:
Step 16: “Add the yeast.”
Step 17: “If brewing an ale, ideally keep your fermenter in a dark spot and at a room temperature between 65–70˚F. Fermentation varies with individual conditions, but normally it starts in about 1–2 days and finishes in about 3–7 days.”
Find a temperature stable place to ferment your beer. Places to consider: Basement, Closet, Bathroom Tub or a tub filled with water. I placed mine in my temp controller fermentation deep freeze.
Fermentation is up and going within 24 hours or so.
Here’s the beer 3 days after pitching.
Here’s the beer 5 days after pitching. Fermentation has slowed noticeably. Airlock activity has markedly slowed down, the krausen/foam has dropped and the beer is starting to clear.
Step 18: “After approximately 14 days, allowing seven for fermentation and seven for settling, the beer is ready to be bottled or kegged.”
Bottling:
Step 19: “You will need to sanitize about 2 cases of re-cappable bottles. You can either wash your bottles with a sanitizing solution and drain them upside down (this is where a bottle tree is worth its weight in gold) or run previously cleaned bottles through your dishwasher on hot wash and dry with no soap. If you are using dirty bottles, you must scrub the inside with a bottle brush first. Do not wash labeled bottles in your dishwasher, as pieces of labels will come off.” I soak bottles in a hot mixture of PBW solution. That does a great job of removing labels and also cleans the inside. These bottles already had the labels removed.
I rinse the outside off with tap water and then rinse the inside out with a jet sprayer.
Bottles drying
Step 20: “If you need to move your fermenter to be able to siphon, move it a few hours, or even a day, ahead of time so that the yeast and sediment, called ‘trub’, can settle.”
Here’s the finished beer
Step 21: “Sanitize your bottling bucket, siphon hose, racking tube (w/carboys only), bottle filler, spoon, hydrometer, and bottle caps with a sanitizing solution.”
Bottling bucket sanitized with the Spray Bottle Technique
Step 22: “In a small pot mix the 4 oz corn sugar packet and two cups of water. Boil for 5 minutes.”
Priming Sugar Solution Boiling
Step 23: “Take a final gravity hydrometer reading and record it on the recipe/log sheet.”
Step 24: “Siphon your beer from the fermenting vessel into the bottling bucket being careful not to splash. Air is now the enemy. Dissolving air into the beer at this point causes premature staling via oxidation. After there is 2 inches of beer in the bottom of the bucket gently stir in the boiled corn sugar. The dissolved sugar will ferment in the bottle, making natural carbonation.”
This equipment includes More Beer’s Sterile Siphoning Kit. This allows you to easily create a siphon.
Sanitize all components (except the sterile filter). Assemble the tubing and racking cane, Insert that through the carboy hood and place the racking cane tip on the end of the racking cane. Place that in the fermenter. Put the sterile filter in the remaining carboy hood hole.
To start a siphon simply blow in the sterile filter.
Situate the bucket and tubing so that the tubing is all the way at the bottom of the bottling bucket. Less splashing equals less oxygen pickup. Per More Beer’s directions, pour in the boiled priming sugar solution when you get two inches of beer in the bottling bucket.
Step 25: “To prevent airborne bacteria from falling in, cover the bottling bucket. Aluminum foil or loose fitting saran wrap is perfect. We don’t recommend attaching a bucket lid because these are so tight they can create a vacuum in the bucket as you drain out the beer.”
Filled bottling bucket with loose fitting saran wrap
Step 26: “Take the 5′ of 3/8″siphoning hose and attach one end to the spigot on the bottling bucket and one end to the bottle filler. Fill the bottles to the top and remove the filler, leaving about 1″ of headspace. Place a cap on top of each bottle. You can choose to cap the bottles as you go or you can fill all of the bottles first and then cap them all at once.”
I use a full size sheet pan to catch drips while bottling. I sanitize bottles by spraying a couple squirts of Star San in each bottle and inverting to drain that solution out. Also make sure to sanitize bottle caps.
Tubing connected to bottling bucket. The included spigot includes handy On and Off labeling.
Sanitized bottling wand on the other end of the sanitized tubing.
Starting to fill bottles. As I fill bottles, I place a sanitized cap on each one. That reduces airborne bacteria while at the same time allowing me to continuing to fill bottles.
Capping using the included capper
I rinse off the bottles to get any drips of beer off of them and then give them a quick dry. Here are some of the filled bottles.
Step 27: “Leave the bottles at room temperature for at least 2 weeks to carbonate. Colder temperatures, 65˚F or below, will require additional time for carbonation. You can drink the beer after 2 weeks, or when carbonation is present, however your beer will improve significantly with additional aging in either the refrigerator (ideal) or at room temperature. The refrigerator, or a cool spot, is really beneficial for long-term aging (months). Beers with higher alcohol contents and higher bittering rates will need to age longer.”
Finished Beer
This Zythos IPA was brewed using relatively simple techniques, in my kitchen. It fermented in my basement. It tastes delicious. If someone handed this to me and said it was such and such from such and such brewery, I would say… that’s a great beer.
Homebrewing is a hobby that can grow with you. You can start out with this or a similar kit and much of the equipment can continue to be used if decide to take a next step. This is a great starter kit with nearly everything you need to get started.
My Perfect Beaker shows this packet coming in at about 2 ounces.
What is 2 ounces of PBW good for? It does little more than prove that PBW exists. 🙂 Seriously though. While the supplied amount of Star San may very well last for years using the Spray Bottle technique, the included amount of PBW isn’t enough to complete your first batch. Add a 1 lb or preferably a 4 lb container on to your order or plan on cleaning with some other substance.
Consider Adding On:
Saves time and water when you’re cleaning bottles.
This works really well for incorporating LME and DME. It also works really well as a mash tun whisk should you choose to start brewing all grain in the future. It’s also great for starting a whirlpool.
Full Wort Boils: At some point consider doing full wort boils. That requires a larger kettle, this one is a great value. That upgrade also, generally requires a wort chiller and can possibly require a propane burner.
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There are several equipment purchases that I look back on and say… I’m really glad I got that, it’s made a big difference. Sturdy, Food Safe One Gallon pitchers fit that bill. I went from a mish-mash of too small plastic pitchers, found around the house, that bent under the weight of wort, dripped and leached who knows what into my beer to two commercial quality 1 gallon pitchers. What a difference.
I started out with pitchers similar to these those worked well, but have a couple of drawbacks, namely… aluminum does not play nicely with Star San. I still use those for some purposes. From there, I picked up a Rubbermaid Commercial’s 4 Quart Bouncer Pitcher
Check Current Price, Specs & Availability, Review Continues Below:
This is a review of the Lifeline’s 7500 64 oz, Double Wall Insulated Stainless Steel Growler.
Note: Since this review was published the design of this growler has changed. Search Lifeline Growler on Amazon for current designs and availability
Front side of the label. It Reads: Vacuum-Insulated Double-Wall. Vacuum insulated to keep liquids hot or cold all day. Double-wall technology prevents condensation & keeps outside wall of bottle at a comfortable temperature. Lightweight 18/8 stainless steel is 100% recyclable It has no liner and will not retain odor or taste. Stainless Steel. BPA-free.
Reverse side of label (click for a larger view)
Inside of view of growler
Bottom of growler
Inside of lid
Product logo
Reverse side – Vacuum Insulated – 64oz/1.9L – 18/8 Stainless
For size comparison – next to a standard growler
Temperature Test 1:
I filled this growler full of cold water. It ended up leveling out at 42.6 deg F.
Next, I placed this outside. It was a warm day. My CDN DTQ450X read 87.9 deg F at 6:17 PM
I brought the growler inside at 9:07 PM. At that time it was 79.1 deg F.
The contents were still at an amazing 45.5 degrees. That’s a loss of 2.9 degrees over nearly 3 hours of sitting in 87.9 – 79.1 deg F ambient temperatures. That ends up being an average of 1.02 degrees per hour. That’s crazy.
Temperature Test 2 – Side by Side Comparison with Standard Growler:
For this test I decided to ensure that each growler held the same mass of water. I did that by weighing both growlers and then subtracting the weight of the growler itself using the tare feature on my Escali Primo scale. Note that while the next two pictures were taken during that process, they do not show the weight of water that was used. I’m including them only so that you can compare the weight of a standard growler vs this stainless growler.
Weight of a standard growler 1,113 grams.
Weight of this stainless growler 772 grams. The stainless growler is 30% lighter.
After getting the same amount of water in each growler I decided to chill these down in my fermentation deep freeze. Figuring that this would be a good way to get the contents close in temperature. I let these chill for a few days. They did get close in temperature but they were not identical. The standard growler came out at 37.5 deg F and the stainless growler came out at 39.2 deg F. Why the difference? I’m not sure, but I theorize it’s related to the insulation capabilities of the stainless growler.
This is very early on in the test. Notice the condensation on the standard growler. Notice no condensation at all on the stainless growler.
The starting ambient temp was 82.1 deg F. I picked up a Taylor 9940 Thermometer for this test because of it’s water proof probe and it’s long cable lead.
This picture was taken around first temperature check at 7:50 PM. If you look closely you’ll notice a puddle of condensation running down this table. The stainless growler continues to be bone dry.
First temperature reading standard growler. 61.7 deg F.
First temperature reading stainless growler. 41.4 deg F.
Results:
In the first period of the test, from 6:03 PM to 7:50 PM. The standard growler lost 24.2 degrees vs the stainless growler’s loss of a mere 2.2 degrees. That’s a difference of 22 degrees! 1.23 degrees per hour vs 13.57 degrees per hour. By the time you get to the last period, the standard growler is looking quite a bit better, but the fact is that it’s almost hit ambient temperature. In all over a span of 3.8 hours, the stainless growler lost mere 4.4 degrees.
I tried to perform these two tests in semi-extreme environments. Most of the time you won’t be just sitting a growler out in 80 or 90 degree weather. Performance in more realistic room temperature scenarios should be all the better.
Carbonation:
The question has arisen as to whether it is designed to hold carbonated beverages. I contacted the manufacturer and was told that yes indeed it is designed to work with carbonated beverages. I’ve also tested this myself. I chose to test with carbonated soda water, thinking that the high carbonation level would be a good test. I let the carbonated water sit in the growler for four days. It worked great.
This is a great growler. It looks amazing and the insulation performance blew me away. It also makes it into places that glass isn’t welcome like a pool or beach.
Note: Since this review was published the design of this growler has changed. Search Lifeline Growler on Amazon for current designs and availability
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Buckets are cheap and efficient containers for storing bulk homebrewing malts. They are generally sturdy and cost effective. Since they stack, they are also space efficient. Search Amazon for “food safe buckets”
How Much Grain Can You Store in a 5 Gallon Bucket?
My general rule of thumb for unmilled malt storage is 5 lbs per gallon. That means a 5 gallon bucket would hold about 25 lbs. Two x buckets would hold a full 50 lb bag of malt. That’s a rough estimate. Actual storage capacities will vary.
The Problem… Lids
I’ll group standard bucket lids into two categories.
First… relatively easy to install and remove and…. questionable on air-tightness. No o-rings or gaskets. They go on fairly easy and come off relatively easy. Sometimes too easily, I’ve had this style pop off on their own.
Second… sturdy, airtight lids… that require the power of Thor to remove. These are gasketed and seal well but are tough to remove. They’re so hard to remove, they make tools to do it. If you’re stuck with these lids, those are worth a look. Search Amazon for “bucket lid opener” to see what’s out there.
The Fix… Gamma Seal Lids!
High quality, gasketed lids do exist for 5 gallon buckets. The problem with these lids is… they are usually difficult to remove, sometimes very difficult. The revolutionary thing about Gamma Seal lids is that the ring stays installed on the bucket. That ring is used in conjunction with an easy to remove spin off lid that features airtight seals. Airtight + Easy to Use = Whammo!
I’ve used the Emsa Perfect Beaker for homebrewing for several years. Here are some pictures, details and impressions.
ML/cubic centimeter scale. Measures 30 ML/CCM to 500 ML/CCM.
Pint Scale. Measures 1/2 Pint to 1 Pint.
Tablespoon Scale. Measures 2 Tablespoons to 32 Tablespoons.
Teaspoon Scale. Measures 6 Teaspoons to 100 Teaspoons.
Cups Scale. Measures 1/8 Cup to 2 Cups.
Ounce Scale. Measures 1 Ounce to 16 Ounces.
The Emsa Perfect Beaker includes a snug fitting lid
I’ve found that lid to be watertight. As this picture shows.
Stock Photo
Features: Works with liquid or dry ingredients. Tight fitting lid. Narrow base ensures accurate measurements even in small quantities. Six different measuring scales. Top Rack Dishwasher safe. Made in Germany.
I’ve used this same beaker around my home brewery since March of 2009. It’s a handy, well made and versatile measuring cup.
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I picked up the Snapware’s 4 Liter Airtight 17 Cup Airtight Container by Snapware primarily to use for DME storage. I think it would also work well to store specialty grain, other ingredients or for use as general storage around your brewery.
This container is part of the Snapware MODS Rectangles series. It is 100-Percent airtight and 100-percent water tight. It features easy to open and close latches that work together with the silicone seal to keep foods fresh and to prevent liquids from leaking.
Front view
This container carries a lifetime warranty
Click for a larger photo. This container is made in the USA, Dishwasher Safe, Microwave Safe, Freezer Safe, Airtight, Leakproof, Stackable and BPA free. It has a capacity of 17 cups or 4 liters.
The label easily peels off to reveal care and use directions. No residue. This is a pet peeve of mine. Why do manufacturers make labels that don’t come off easily? It’s not like we don’t have the technology! We’ve put a man on the moon! Or have we??
Lid with Gasket
Gasket is removable for easy cleaning
This holds right at 5 lbs of this particular grain. The weight of the container itself is excluded from this reading because I used the tare feature on my Escali Primo Scale.
This is going to define a new rule of thumb for me when evaluating containers with a known volume for grain storage. 1.25 lbs/liter.
You can see that the lid easily closes with 5 lbs of grain in the container. I think this is a good size for storing specialty grains. Obviously, this isn’t going to be dandy for storing a sack of base grain. You’re probably not going to want to buy 10 of these containers.
Here’s the container holding 3 lbs, 13 ounces of DME. That’s all the DME I had on hand. I estimate that this can hold a total of 4.57 lbs of DME. See the next picture for the math on that.
This container is about 6 1/2″ tall without the lid. This is all the DME I had on hand. If there are 5″ of DME in the container that figures out to about .7625 lbs of DME per inch. Let’s say there is another 1″ of usable space. 3.1825 (measured weight) + .7625 (estimate for additional inch of DME) = 4.575 lbs. That gives you a spare 1/2″ to easily close the lid.
This is a great container. I purchased this back in April of 2013 and as of this edit (September of 2015) it’s still working great for me and in use as my primary DME Container.
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8-Inch take-apart shear rated number 1 by several gourmet magazines; stainless steel construction
Functions include a screw driver, nut cracker, jar-lid opener and gripper, bottle opener, and bone and twig cutter
Separates for hygienic cleaning and is dishwasher safe
Offset style provides a different cutting angle
Right or left handed use
In package
Back of the package. Features Listed: 1. Perfect for the chef, sportsman, in the workshop or for creative crafting. 2. Tension Tightening Rivet 3. Dual Purpose Stainless Edge & Knife 4. Screwdriver 5. Jar lid opener and gripper 6. Bottle Opener 7. Bone & Twig Cutter 8. Dishwasher Safe 9. 100% Messermeister quality 10. Lifetime Warranty
Messermeister – “The Knife for Life”
Just laying there
Bottle opener, caught in the act of opening a Founders KBS – Kentucky Breakfast Stout. Great Beer! I gave it a 4.5 on Untappd.
These 8″ scissors are 8″ long!
Probably the most unique feature of these scissors is the fact that they easily come apart for cleaning. That was a draw for me. The second most unique feature is the probably the name. Messermeister just sounds like a pair of scissors that mean business. 🙂
These are great scissors. They have a quality feel to them and they look and function great. I like the bottle opener and the fact that these come apart for easy cleaning. They have earned a spot in my brew day box.
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Cool… this thing can open bottles! After some additional time using this opener I can say that it is the best opener I’ve used for leaving caps intact. If you open the beer with one continuous motion, most caps end up looking perfect. I’m wondering if it does this because of the stoutness and rigidity of the opener. In any case, I can recommend this for cap collectors.
This bottle opener has a heavy, quality feel to it. My Fast Weigh MS-500 has it weighing nearly 6.5 ounces.
This is made of cast stainless steel. It has a quality heft to it and it looks great. Apparently Craftsman Bottle Openers that look like wrenches are not suitable for the kitchen. If you bought one of those, your significant other MAY or MAY NOT hide it from you on a regular basis by putting it in the back of a drawer. 🙂 This one on the other hand has a real chance of sticking around.
Features:
Bottle opener for pop-top bottles
Made of cast stainless steel for strength and durability
Long handle for leverage when opening bottles
Stands up for presentation on table or bar
Soft, comfortable grip; dishwasher-safe
Update 1/19/2015…
I have now used this great bottler opener for going on two years.
If you look very closely you can see some very fine scratches. You have to look closely.
The OXO SteeL Pop Top Opener continues to work and look light new. Very obviously cast stainless is a great material for a bottle opener.
This is a great bottle opener that I can heartily recommend. It works great, is built to last and looks beautiful. Beyond using it for yourself, I think it makes a nice (and generally economical) gift.
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I use a recirculating draft line pump for cleaning my draft lines. That’s worked well for me (and many others) for years. See: Recirculating Draft Line Cleaning Pump
The issue I ran into was the desire to periodically do a quick flush to rinse, clean or sanitize lines.
When a keg kicks, there’s residual beer in the line. The beer at the end of a keg is also more likely to contain gunk – hop and yeast trub. Rather than leave that sitting in the line, shank and faucet, I like to flush is out. Also, when putting on a new beer I wanted to be able to easily sanitize.
Of course, I could get out my complete keg line cleaning pump, but setting that up and cleaning afterwards is a bit of work. What I wanted was an easy solution for a quick rinse or flush.
v1 of this build dates back to 2013. A little about that, for comedic and nostalgia reasons, at the end of this post. This write-up walks through a much improved v2.
This build is super easy, works great and can be made from a few items you probably already have around or can easily obtain.
The components – a 2 Liter PET bottle, a carbonation cap and a short length of tubing. My build uses a Kegland DuoTight Compatible Cap and EVABarrier tubing. DuoTights and EVABarrier are outstanding [Hands on Review], but I want to stress that these exact components are not required. Any suitable carbonator cap and a length of compatible tubing should do the trick.
Step 1 – take off the label. Or… leave it on. 🙂 Whatever you want.Step 2 – attach tubing to carbonator cap. I like the idea of using EVABarrier because it’s stiff and I thought it would work well.Step 3 – Trim the tubing to fit. That’s it… you’re ready to change the world by quickly and easily flushing ball lock lines!
Flushing Lines
This photo shows pretty much all the players. The left side is the gas line that I use for charging the cleaner assembly. The right line is liquid line with ball lock QD. You can also see the other side of the liquid line terminating in the right-most shank. My setup is all DuoTight/EVABarrier and you’ll see DuoTight Compatible Locking Clips used throughout. If you are a DuoTight user, the locking clips are something I recommend as they provide a more secure connection.
This is powered by CO2 pressure. It’s important to underfill the bottle to leave some head space for CO2 pressure. I found that about half full, or 1 liter works well. I used about 30 PSI of pressure. Make sure to choose a pressure that’s compatible with all components in your setup.
In Action!
This works really well. 1 liter (half full) along with a 30 PSI initial charge would be enough to briefly flush all four of my tap lines. Alternatively, less than 1 liter could be used to minimize chemical use. A “quick clean” could also be accomplished by filling lines with PBW and letting them sit, followed by a round of water and finally Star San.
The pitcher I’m using for collection is a 2 Quart Rubbermaid Commercial Pitcher. This is a smaller version of the one gallon pitcher I’ve used and recommended for years. Although I got this half gallon size for the kitchen, it’s worked it’s way to my brewing area and is the perfect size for this task.
But Will it Flush Two Lines??
Here’s the key piece of hardware to clean two ball lock lines at the same time. It’s a ball lock jumper from Valuebrew. There are only a couple similar offerings out there, to my knowledge. This one is unique because it uses their custom color, food grade post o-rings AND… it works with both liquid and ball lock jumpers.Here it is installed. This is connecting two 10′ EVABarrier tubing runs.If you look on the right you’ll see my Intertap faucet is equipped with a ball lock nozzle. This would work the exact same way with a NukaTap faucet. If you have another brand, you’d just make a jumper that fits over the spout of your faucet.Complete Setup for Two Line Test
The plumbing for my test is as follows
Flushing Assembly – 2 L bottle/carbonation cap/dip tube (on left) >
Ball Lock Line Jumper – 2 ball lock QDs with a short length of EVABarrier tubing >
I was actually quite surprised at how well this worked. It’s over 20′ of tubing, four QDs and a jumper. All being driven by the head pressure in half of a 2L bottle.
The setup outlined here is for ball lock systems. I know of no similar Pin Lock carbonator caps or fittings. You could build as outlined and make a small jumper to go from Lock to Pin Lock
This setup also uses a PET bottle to store solution, but gets more complicated and… harder to use from there.The cap was modified by installing a Shrader valveInside of the converted capFrom there, I put together a bunch of relatively expensive parts to form the ball lock connector
To make it harder to use… there’s no dip tube. The bottle had to be oriented so the top faces down.
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greatdeals
Make sure the components you use are compatible and rated for your intended application. Contact manufacturer with questions about suitability or a specific application. Always read and follow manufacturer directions. tag:lnksfxd toppost:lineflush tag:tpr
Toward the beginning of 2013, HBF Reader – Let’s be friends! – Kirk encouraged me to look around for a suitable whisk for stirring up the mash. Brilliant! Others chimed in that this works well as a mash paddle or spoon replacement, making quick work of breaking up dough balls.
Check Current Price and Availability + Alternatives
Update International (FW-24) 24″ French Whip – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link
Note: Availability of this specific model has been an issue at times
Winco Stainless Steel French Whip, 24-Inch – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link
Tablecraft 24″ Stainless Steel French Whip – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link
Johnson-Rose 36″ Stainless Steel French Whip – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link
They line is designed to seal well with flow in either direction. In brewing applications they will work at up to 60 PSI.
I found these to be solid and really well made. I like the fact that I could disengage the QD with one hand. If you’re looking for a QD system these are a solid choice.
It’s also worth mentioning that replacement orings/gaskets are available for these – Here
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From the product description, check product page for current description, price and availability:
Stainless steel 0.5 micron diffusion stone with 1/4in barb
Oxygenate wort thoroughly to insure a healthy fermentation
Carbonate draft beer quickly
For use with compressed CO2, O2 or adequately powered air pumps
Possible homebrewing uses include – carbonating, oxygenating and aerating.
This is designed for 1/4″ ID tubing. It fit easily in the tubing, but firmly enough that no tubing clamp is required. I think that’s great because I wasn’t too keen on the idea of trying to sanitize a tubing clamp.
I tried this in a glass jug of water. Here’s the tubing and aeration stone sitting in the jug with no pressure applied.
Up and going
A video of the Carbonation/Oxygenation in action
Since I’ve started Oxygenating using pure Oxygen, I’ve experience a noticeable decrease in lag time and fermentations seem more vigorous. This stone works well.
Carbonating Stone with 1/4″ Barb, 0.5 micron – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link
This post contains affiliate links. We may make a commission when you use our Amazon links. This will never cost you extra. Thank you for supporting Homebrew Finds!
Here’s a look at MoreBeer’s inline thermometer setup. This is an all stainless setup, with stainless quick disconnects that allows you to place a thermometer inline at any point in your system.
Top View. You can see the all stainless construction and the stainless quick disconnects
Thermometer Calibration Screw
I found the inline thermometer to be well built. It also served it’s purpose well. It allows you to check the temperature at a specific point in your process. I think because liquid is moving past this thermometer, you’re getting a great picture of what the temperature actually is at any given point.
I used this to monitor my chill progress. Video…
My apologies that this video is a bit shaky at points. You can watch it for 9 minutes and 12 seconds or just realize that it took 9 minutes and 12 seconds to get to pitching temp.
My batch was about 5.25 Gallons. It took 9 minutes and 12 seconds to get to 68 degrees. Add a couple more seconds on from turning the hose on to starting the video. Ground water temp was 57.7 degrees. I’d say those are dandy results.
Results will vary based on groundwater temp. In my initial trials, I was able to get 5.25 gallons of boiling water down to pitching temp in 5 minutes. Of course, water is easier to chill than wort.
My setup is a 50′ copper immersion chiller (similar to this one) with a recirculation arm along with a this high flow March pump.
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greatdeals
Make sure the components you use are compatible and rated for your intended application. Contact manufacturer with questions about suitability or a specific application. Always read and follow manufacturer directions. review:b3inlinethermometer tag:tpr
You want to drink your beer soon. During conditioning, a lot of what we’re doing is waiting for stuff to fall out of suspension. Filtering hastens that process.
You want to transport your kegged beer. Transporting your beer stirs up anything that’s in the bottom of the keg. Filtering means you don’t need to worry about stirring a bunch of stuff up.
Clarity. You’re interested in having great clarity for a particular style of beer.
You have a problem with your beer. Filtering down to the sterile filter level may remove off flavors. That’s a maybe.
Clean kegerator lines are a key part of serving delicious beer. Bacteria and mineral build in lines can cause off flavors, quick loss of head, under-carbonated beer due to rapid co2 loss and lack of legs forming on the inside of your beer glass.
Limited Time Deal:
Helps you clean multiple lines at the same time…
Valuebrew is offering a pack of two jumpers and 25 replacement o-rings for $32.97. Coupon code JUMP discounts the combo by a whopping 32%.
Double Jumper Special! < note that you must use this link along with coupon code JUMP to get the deal, the standard product will not get you the discount
Valuebrew’s jumper is unique because of the custom color, food grade o-rings and because … it works with both liquid and ball lock jumpers.
The directions on most line cleaners call for recirculating the cleaner for some period of time. Most affordable cleaning setups that are out there include a hand pump. Operating one of those for 15 to 30 minutes, for each faucet, doesn’t sound fun.
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To really clean your draft lines, you need to keep solution flowing for a length of time, not just fill and wait. Initially I tried to clean my system by pushing line cleaner out of a keg. This was a waste of CO2. I also found it tough to keep solution running slowly enough to get the required amount of contact time. It’s easy to quickly push a cleaning or sanitizing solution through your system under CO2 pressure, but I found it to be a pain to try to do so slowly. This also requires quite a bit of cleaning solution versus a recirculating pump.
I decided to put together a recirculating draft line cleaning pump setup.
12 stacked cups take up minimal space
The components – a 2 Liter PET bottle, a carbonation cap and a short length of tubing. My build uses a 
Step 1 – take off the label. Or… leave it on. 🙂 Whatever you want.
Step 2 – attach tubing to carbonator cap. I like the idea of using EVABarrier because it’s stiff and I thought it would work well.
Step 3 – Trim the tubing to fit. That’s it… you’re ready to change the world by quickly and easily flushing ball lock lines!
Here’s the key piece of hardware to clean two ball lock lines at the same time. It’s a 
Here it is installed. This is connecting two 10′ EVABarrier tubing runs.
If you look on the right you’ll see my 
Kegland makes a 
This setup also uses a PET bottle to store solution, but gets more complicated and… harder to use from there.
The cap was modified by installing a Shrader valve
Inside of the converted cap
