Category Archives: Reviews & Top Posts

Hands on Review: Kegland Fill-O-Meter

This review is by Homebrew Finds Contributor Brad Probert.  Brad is an engineer, expert homebrewer and experienced reviewer.  Grab a link to Brad’s website at the end of this review.

Kegland Fill-O-Meter

Homebrewing is full of gadgets. There are some things that are high tech versions of common equipment everyone has and uses. Then there are gadgets that are unique in what they do. They maybe aren’t a requirement for brewing, or aren’t things you’d find in every brewer’s toolbox. The Kegland Fill-O-Meter is definitely one of these. The Fill-O-Meter has two functions- turning on & off the water flow, and measuring the amount of water that goes through it. The intersection of these two functions is where it becomes a handy tool in the home brewery.

Fill-O-Meter in BoxSpecs on Side of Box

The Fill-O-Meter has ½” threaded inlet and outlet ports. They are BSP thread, not NPT, so you need to be extra careful when tightening on any NPT fittings to make sure you don’t strip out any threads or end up with leaks. The solenoid inside has a fail-safe such that if you lose power for some reason, the solenoid stays closed and prevents water from flowing. The unit comes with a 24V power supply plug to run the on/off solenoid, as well as the LCD backlit digital screen. The screen displays the current flow rate (in gallons/minute or liters/minute), your target water volume, and how much water has flowed past it since you turned it on. You can select for the display to be in units of US Gallons, or in Liters. You also have the option to display language in English or Chinese (if you’re in the mood). You can also tweak the flowmeter calibration constant to improve the accuracy for your given setup or if you’re going to measure in US gallons (adjustment needed, as explained in my hands on review section).

Contents of Box- Meter and Power Supply

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Hands on Review: BrüMate Hopsulator Trio

brumate hopsulator trio review

BrüMate Hopsulator Trio

I received a BruMate Hopsulator Trio as a birthday present from my beloved daugher. I had seem them around, but hadn’t had a chance to pick one up yet, so I was excited about the present.

BruMate makes a number of can coolers or high end coozies. These generally double wall insulated stainless steel construction and are designed to work with different sizes of cans and for some models (like the Trio), they’ll also function as tumblers all by themselves.

Hands on Review

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Review: Barebottle Brewing Company Torcido Lager – Homebrew Recipe Kit

Updated: July 10, 2024

This review is by Homebrew Finds Contributor Brad Probert.  Brad is an engineer, expert homebrewer and experienced reviewer.  Grab a link to Brad’s website at the end of this review.

Torcido Lager is a Mexican Lager. Sort of. I don’t know much about the style definition of a Mexican Lager, but MoreBeer’s site describes the recipe creation from Barebottle Brewing (San Francisco, CA) as non-traditional. Apparently, Barebottle likes mixing things up, so they describe this beer as a Mexican Pilsner with a German Helles twist. For Barebottle, this beer scored a Gold in the 2019 GABF, so crazy description aside, I figured the beer had some cred behind it.

Get Pricing & Check Availability, Review Continues Below:

MoreBeer Recipe Kit Deals!

MoreBeer.com Recipe Kit Deals

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Hands on Review: Kegland 2.5 Gallon Ball Lock Kegs!

Updated: November 13, 2024

Kegland, based in Australia, produces a broad array of homebrewing gear. fermenters, electric brewing systems, loads of draft stuff (including DuoTight!) and lots more.

It’s obvious these folks are homebrewers at heart, because they’ve come up some really innovative stuff. The other thing they’ve generally done is hit really good price points. There is a balance between cost, features and quality and they seem to be hitting a lot of bullseyes.

This is an in depth hands on look at Kegland’s 2.5 gallon ball lock keg.

Why a 2.5 Gallon Keg?

2.5 gallon kegs are great for splitting batches, small batch brewers, doing one-off beers from split from a 5 gallon batch… or for easily serving on the go.  Purge with CO2, fill from your tap and place in ice in a 5 gallon bucket…. whammo! You can also use these in conjunction with an inline secondary as a CO2 source for portable serving.

Hands on Review Kegland 2.5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg

A look at the boxThe other side of the box. This is one of the better looking keg boxes I’ve run across.

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Keg O-Ring Materials Selection! – EPDM, Silicone and Buna-N?

See More About O-Rings in our Keg Rebuild Post – Jump To: Replacing O-Rings

Selecting the Right Material for Keg O-Rings

I would venture a guess that Silicone and Buna-N are the two most commonly used compounds for keg o-rings. EPDM, which has been the choice of professionals for a long time, is probably a distant third, but coming on strong since they’ve become more accessible to homebrewers.

This post is going to take a look at all three, with the goal of helping your choose the right material for your application.

But first things first, let’s talk about food safe materials…

Food Safe Materials for Keg O-Rings?

Most of the o-rings that are marketed to homebrewers do not claim to be food safe.

In my experience, it’s extremely difficult to find offerings that claim to be safe for food contact.  Maybe some of the o-rings that are available are food safe, but very few are actually labeled as such.

But why?  One possible reason… they aren’t food safe.  Beyond that, one industry insider I spoke with said suppliers have a potential problem with fulfillment.  Since many options and materials are available, It’s difficult for some distributors or sellers to guarantee you’re getting a food safe option.

  • Just because an o-ring is marketed for use in a keg doesn’t automatically mean that the materials and production processes used are food safe.
  •  If you think about it from a random supplier or manufacturer’s perspective… they don’t know what you’re putting in your keg, maybe it’s not even food.  The problem that we, as homebrewers, have is is… beer is food and meant for human consumption.
  • You cannot say all o-rings made from [fill in material here] are food safe.  Certain quality standards and processes are required.

One notable supplier features all food safe o-ring offerings.

Generally speaking, food safe o-rings may cost a little more, but, we’re, generally, only talking a few cents per o-ring.  It’s worth it.

If you’re using your keg for anything food related (beer=food)… My recommendation is to purchase o-rings made out of material safe for food contact.

Compound Selection – Comparing EPDM, Silicone and Buna-N

Terminology

  • Compression Set Resistance – A measurement of the ability of a substance to return to it’s original thickness after long term compression.
  • Compressibility – How well can a material compress to make a quality seal? This is related to hardness, but practically it’s not exactly the same thing. Most keg o-rings are the same hardness, 70A, yet we see Silicone sealing better than Buna-N.
  • Permeability – How well can well can air or oxygen transverse a compound. This is measured in different ways, I’m going to generalize labeling materials excellent or good.
  • Typical Durometer – A measurement of the hardness of a material

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Our Huge Collection of DuoTight and EVABarrier Resources!

duotight evabarrier review

June 27, 2024

Kegland’s DuoTight Fittings are designed to work with EVABarrier Double Wall Tubing.  They offer quick, reliable connections, easy implementation, a variety of fitting options and feature amazing versatility.  They’re also, generally speaking, very well priced.  DuoTights are push to connect fittings and require no tubing clamps.

Limited Time DEAL!duotight fittings

  • DuoTight Fittings are awesome: Easy to use push to connect fittings compatible with EVABarrier lined tubing.  Clamp-less installation and reconfiguration.
  • Lots of options mean the DuoTight system is flexible and full featured.’
  • Check out my extensive Hands on Review
  • Shipping is free or reasonably priced flat rate to addresses in the contiguous US depending on your order size for most items

William’s Brewing is discounting DuoTights by 15%. Applies to all options.

No coupon code is required, add to cart to see discounted prices

Kegland DuoTight Fittings and Accessories!

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Hands on Review: Kegland Digital Gauges!

Kegland’s DuoTight system along with their EVABarrier Tubing are amazing. Check out my extensive hands on review for a deep dive into the system.

Kegland has released a digital gauge option that works with their great inline secondary regulator and BlowTie Spunding Valve.  They have also released a DuoTight version. This is a hands on look at both including upgrades of the inline regulator and BlowTie.

MoreBeer

William’s Brewing

Keg Connection

Gauge Features

  • These gauges both read from 0 to 90 PSI.
  • They features backlight illumination
  • Use easy to source CR2032 batteries
  • Estimated battery life of more than 2 years (using the gauge once daily).
  • Auto off after 15 seconds.
  • The DuoTight version is made for 8mm connections

MoreBeer’s Description sheds some more light on the construction and design of these gauges.

Get instant pressure reads with the back illuminated Digital Mini Pressure Gauge from KegLand. Compatible with 8 mm Duotight fittings and Gray Ball Lock QDs. If you’re using the original BlowTie spunding valve without pressure gauge, you can use a Duotight tee fitting in-line between the ball lock QD and the BlowTie to take pressure readings with the Digital Mini Gauge.

KegLand has developed the world’s most compact mini digital gauge with backlight illumination. This very compact design retains high accuracy while still meeting the desirable small form factor. This meets the growing need as mini keg systems, mini regulators and other more compact keg dispensing solutions are required.

Traditional analogue gauges require a small capillary mechanism where a small pipe expands and unravels under pressure. This in turn drives a mechanical cog to rotate the gauge needle. This age-old technique works quite well especially in large gauges but as this mechanism is manufactured smaller and smaller a tradeoff between accuracy and size becomes the issue. With very small gauges such as a 27mm x 27mm Mini Gauge, it’s difficult to make them better than 10% accuracy due to the physical constraints of the mechanical components.

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Hands on Review: NukaTap Flow Control Faucets!

Updated: July 14, 2024

This review is by Homebrew Finds Contributor Brad Probert.  Brad is an engineer, expert homebrewer and experienced reviewer.  Grab a link to Brad’s website at the end of this review.

Nukatap Flow Control Keg Faucet

There are a wide variety of options for how to take your kegged homebrew with you to a party or meet up with friends. There is a big draw to kegging your homebrew because of how it simplifies the process of serving your beer after it’s finished in the fermentor. But it’s obviously less portable than individual bottles. There are mini keg/growlers you can fill from the tap, or bottle fillers that you can connect right to your tap. But these options all come with the extra step of cleaning and filling additional “stuff”. Being able to serve directly from the keg has advantages from that perspective.

Flow Control Faucet Disassembled

The most common option of serving from the keg is the picnic tap/cobra tap attached to a length of beer tubing. The downside of cobra taps is their propensity to fail, or propensity of your partygoers to not know what they’re doing and end up spilling/wasting a lot of beer. A jockey box is great for a bigger event where you’re going to be pouring a lot of beer over a longer period of time. But these are expensive, big/bulky to haul around, and makes another thing that has an involved cleaning process afterwards.

There have been ball lock keg faucets out on the market for some time. But unless you’re using these on a growler with a restrictive dip tube in it, these aren’t very practical. Putting a regular faucet on a keg gives you a cup of mostly foam unless you take special care to nearly de-carb your beer first (and who likes flat beer?). For these to work properly when directly attached to a keg, you need a flow control faucet. Kegland’s ball lock shank – Review – has the same interface as a regular keg shank like you have on your keezer, so they just mate this to their regular Nukatap. Then you can serve directly from the keg, and it’s not a big piece of gear to haul around with you or clean up later.

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NukaTap Faucets come in three variations. Stainless, Stealth (Matte Black) and Flow Control. All feature stainless steel construction, forward seal design and all the other NukaTap innovations.

I’m also linking to Intertap faucets and accessories where applicable because all Intertap spouts work with NukaTap

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Hands on Review: AMCYL Ball Lock Kegs!

Updated: November 24, 2024

AMCYL manufacturers compressed gas cylinders, kegs and brewing equipment.

According to AMCYL, as of this posting, their kegs are made of food grade 304 stainless and are NSF approved. They produce both sanke and ball lock style kegs. Their ball lock kegs are available in 2.5, 3 and 5 gallon sizes and come in single and double handle versions. This is a hands on look at the double rubber handle 5 gallon keg.

Limited Time Black Friday Deal!

Beverage Elements Black Friday Sale is on!  The sale features some epic prices that look a whole like deals we’d see 5 or 10 years ago.

Reconditioned kegs start out at just $42.95 while brand new kegs start at just $69.95.

Beverage Elements Black Friday Sale

Hands on Review AMCYL Ball Lock Kegs

Here’s the box. This particular keg is showing as part # CK-N5-DRH-INX. Capacity 5 Gallons. Made in India.A look at the seam side of the keg. Generally speaking the body of a keg is cut from a sheet of stainless steel. A rectangle is bent into a cylinder and then welded. This vertical line is that weld.Close up of the T, where the vortical weld meets the top most weld.Top down view

Single Handle vs Double Handle: There are two main styles of keg handles – double rubber handles and single strap handles. I prefer double handles because… you’ve got two handles 🙂 and, more importantly, the even top means you can invert a keg to drain or dry and potentially stack kegs. Single strap handle kegs are tougher to invert, but they’re also generally a little less expensive.

Check Current Prices, Models and Availability, Review Continues Below:

New 5 Gallon...image
New 5 Gallon Ball Lock AMCYL Keg with Dual Rubber Handle
$68.50
New 3 Gallon...image
New 3 Gallon Ball Lock AMCYL Keg with Dual Handle
$75.95
AMCYL New 2.5...image
AMCYL New 2.5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg with Dual Rubber Handle
$75.50
AMCYL New 5...image
AMCYL New 5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg with Single Handle
$67.50
AMCYL CKN3INX 3...image
AMCYL CKN3INX 3 gal Amyl Keg New Ball Lock
$75.50
2.5 Gallon Amcyl...image
2.5 Gallon Amcyl Keg New Ball Lock Single Handle
$86.50

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Cleaning Multiple Kegerator Lines at the Same Time

Updated: 5/3/2024

Regularly cleaning beer lines is an important part of serving tasty beer from your kegerator. Homebrewers use a number of methods to accomplish this from removing tubing to soak in cleaning and sanitizing solutions to DYI pumps to commercial solutions.

Limited Time Deal, 32% Off Stainless Steel Ball Lock Jumpers

Stainless steel ball lock jumper from Valuebrew. This works with both gas and liquid QDs. That means you can jump from keg line to keg line for cleaning and also hook up to the liquid side of your keg to purge with CO2 from the top to the bottom.

These also feature Valuebrew’s Food Grade Silicone Post O-Rings. Blue are pictured, but color can vary.

Valuebrew has generally struggled keeping things in stock and they’ve… specifically struggled to keep these in stock. As of this posting, these are in stock and on sale. Beyond the discounted price, you can add a second jumper on for even less.

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

Standard Page: Stainless Steel Ball Lock Jumper

I have a number of builds/mods for cleaning and flushing lines…

Also: Hands on Review: Kegland Ball Lock Cleaning Kit

Saving Time by Cleaning Multiple Lines

Being able to clean multiple lines at the same time is a big time saver. In years past this would have involved stringing together multiple fittings or partially disassembling your setup.

For ball lock keg users – Ball Lock vs Pin Lock – there is an easy solution available that allows you to clean multiple lines at the same time with minimal effort.

Valuebrew Stainless Steel Ball Lock Jumpers – Hands on Review

This allows you to connect multiple ball lock kegerator runs by simply snapping them into the jumper. There are a few similar models available. Valuebrew’s features stainless steel construction, food grade o-rings and… it works with both gas and liquid QDs.

Here’s the jumper in action. I’ve tried this with both my Recirculating Draft Line Cleaning Pump and Simple Ball Lock Draft Line Flushing Setup

Two lines being flushed by my Simple Ball Lock Draft Line Flushing Setup – keep in mind this particular build is pump free, this is happening all under CO2 pressure

This makes connecting two lines very simple. Connect the two ball lock lines and push cleaning solution through one of your faucets.

How about 3 or more lines?  The QD side is easy, you’ll need 1 jumper for 2 lines, 2 jumpers for 3 lines and so on.  For the faucet side, you need to cut a small piece of tubing to jump between faucets as needed. Keep in mind that each line you add increases resistance. Your pump may do great with two or three lines, but as you add lines, it will have to work harder.

Flushing Lines with CO2: This jumper allows you to connect liquid AND gas lines. That means you can flush lines with CO2 to push out any remaining cleaner or sanitizer and purge O2. Cleaned > Rinsed > Sanitized, Dried  and Purged lines! Make sure to use a low pressure that’s compatible with all components in your system if you do this.

Check Current Price & Availability:

Ball Lock Jumpers – via Valuebrew

How About Pin Lock and Sanke Setups?

KOMOS® Draft Line Cleaning Coupler

This a male beer thread jumper. You would unthread tail pieces and use these jumpers to connect lines together. This is a bit more work that the ball lock jumper for ball lock setups and it wouldn’t include all of your faucets, but it’s a good choice of you use pin lock or sanke connections.

KOMOS® Draft Line Cleaning Coupler – via MoreBeer

Draft Line Cleaning Solutions and Sanitizers

All Our Builds & Related Resources

Keg Deals!

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Rebuild Your Kegs!

More Homebrew Finds!

Recent Deals!

10 Most Recent Homebrew Resource Posts & How-To’s!

We are Homebrew Review HQ!  Our 10 Most Recent Reviews

Also: Kegerator Tips & Gear | Keg Repair Part #s | Recent Keg Finds

Our Top Draft Resources!

Check our our Top Draft Related Resources
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OxiClean Free Versatile Stain Remover Powder, 3 lb
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Price, promotions and availability can change quickly. Check the product page for current price, description and availability.

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  top:cleanmultiple tag:tpr

Why Do I Have Bubbles in My Beer Line? Diagnosing and Fixing Kegerator Foam Problems

Thanks to u/Procrastinator548 on Reddit for this photo

Got Bubbles?

Bubbles in your beer line can point to a several potential problems. These problems can lead to small bubbles… foam or larger CO2 bubbles breaking out of solution. These issues can occur at different points in your kegerator. The point at which they occur and specific behaviors can help us to track down the problem.

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Hands on Review: Valuebrew’s EPDM Keg O-Rings

Updated: August 21, 2024

This review is by Homebrew Finds Contributor Brad Probert.  Brad is an engineer, expert homebrewer and experienced reviewer.  Grab a link to Brad’s website at the end of this review.

In the world of homebrewing, you can surround yourself by as little or as much science as you want. O-rings, seals, and gaskets come in different varieties in homebrewing. The most commonly found material is silicone, and it’s often elevated as the “best” material. As with most things, there are benefits/drawbacks to each different type of material. Silicone has a very wide temperature range, making a good gasket seal choice at cold temperatures, as well as at hot/boiling temperatures. Its high flexibility makes it well-suited to sealing uneven gaps or perhaps non-ideal sealing surfaces.

Some Old Dip Tube O-rings Were in Rough Shape

However, one of its drawbacks is it does not handle acid-based cleaners well, so Star San sanitizing can deteriorate the material. The occasional sanitizing spray might not be a significant degradation, but you definitely don’t want to soak silicone parts in Star San for extended periods of time. When you’re dealing with the cold side like fermentors or kegs, you’ll be sanitizing frequently, and this compatibility might be a consideration for you.

Check Current Price & Availability, Review Continues Below:

Note that Valuebrew has regularly struggled keeping products in stock. If something you’re looking for is out of stock, connect with us and we’ll keep you up to date on availability issues.


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Hands on Review: AEB Italian Made Ball Lock Kegs!

Updated: October 30, 2024

AEB has been manufacturing stainless steel drums, tanks and… kegs in their facility in Andalo Valtellino, Italy for over 30 years.

AEB leans hard into their Italian roots… “THE MADE IN ITALY IS OUR IDENTITY” can be seen plastered on their website in all caps. If I were to take a read on homebrewing, my read is that the general sentiment is that AEB kegs are among the highest quality kegs available to homebrewers. Just a guess and certainly a generalization.

Hands on Review AEB Ball Lock Kegs

A look at the boxA.E.B. Made in Italy. AEB leans heavily on their Italian identity. That makes sense to me as I generally think Italian made = high quality. That’s a broad stroke, but my espresso machine was made in Italy and it’s amazing. So, fair or unfair, that’s where I’m at.Close up of the keg imprint. NSF P/N 29744PS, Max Capacity 5 GAL, Year 2020, A.E.B. Made in Italy, N 004420, Warning, Never Exceed Maximum Working Pressure of 130 PSI.

Tip: If you’re looking for replacement parts look for your keg’s imprint. It should show the manufacturer and model number.

Check Current Prices, Models and Availability, Review Continues Below:

AEB New 5...image
AEB New 5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg - Dual Rubber Handle
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AEB 2.5 Gallon...image
AEB 2.5 Gallon Keg Ball Lock Connections Dual Handle
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AEB New 3 Gallon Keg Ball Lock Dual Handle Keg
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AEB New 5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg with Single Handle
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AEB CKN3-SH-AEB New AEB 3 gal Ball Lock Keg - Single Handle
$107.95
AEB 2.5 Gallon...image
AEB 2.5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg
$103.95

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Hands on Review: KegLand Ball Lock Disconnect With Shank

Kegland is making some great stuff. Really well thought out, innovative and generally well-priced gear. When I see something new from Kegland I’m generally left with one of two responses, 1. I’ve been wanting something like this for a long time or, 2. I would have never thought of this tweak/product, it’s ingenious.

Kegland’s Ball Lock QD with integrated shank is par for the course. A really good idea. I’ll take a closer look at it in this review and also discuss the general idea behind this and similar solutions.

But first, what does a shank adapter do?

Corny Keg Faucet Adapters have been around for a long time. They allow a keg QD to connect to a compatible faucet. An MFL/male flare QD, ball lock or pin lock, connects to the FFL/female flare side of the converter. Basically you’re adding mini shank to your QD. Dandy!

Old style faucet converter and QDThis allows you connect a compatible faucet to a keg QD. No tubing necessary. Really nice for mobile serving and more.

Hands on Review: KegLand Ball Lock With Shank

Kegland’s Ball Lock QD with shank has a standard looking ball lock QD body. Instead of a flare or barb outlet it features and integrated shank and sleeve.

Check Current Pricing and Availability, Review Continues Below:

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Three Top Tips for Keezer Conversions!

keezer conversion tips

Updated: November 14, 2024

Chest freezers are great. They’re generally well priced and they’re space and energy efficient and can be easily had.

The primary idea with a chest freezer is to… freeze food. Also referred to as Deep Freezes, most models do not go through a defrost cycle. That’s a bummer come manual defrost time but outstanding for energy savings and food preservation.

Limited Time Deal on Chest Freezers:

chest freezer kegerator

As of this posting, Wal-Mart has Frigidaire chest freezers on sale. Prices includes free shipping to most US addresses.

Frigidaire 5.0 Cu. ft. Chest Freezer, White – on sale for $145

Frigidaire 7.0 Cu. ft. Chest Freezer, EFRF7003, White – on sale for $174

You could use this to put together a freezer based kegerator/keezer (See: Tips and Gear for your Kegerator) or temperature controlled fermentation chamber.

Side note… Because of the lack of a defrost cycle, chest freezers are great for storing hops – our hop deals roundup

Many people including myself have repurposed chest freezers as kegerators or “keezers”.

What does Keezer mean?  Keezer = kegerator + freezer.

To do the conversion you basically add a compatible temp controller – Inkbird deals and reviews – that will allow you to operate a chest freezer at fridge temps.  After that add some taps, maybe a collar, some kegs and a CO2 tank and you’re off and going!

The problem: Chest freezers are generally meant to operate at freezing temperatures, not beer serving temps. This causes issues with condensation and airflow. Left unhandled these issues can cause other problems, like sanitation issues.

Through several iterations of my own keezer, I’ve experienced all of these problems. I have a library of tips and resources that specifically apply to serving draft beer, but these are the top three when it comes to keezer conversions.

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Hands On Review: Winco 1 Pint Measuring Cup

Homebrewers measure a lot of things around the home brewery… pH, gravity, temperature and volumes. This is a look at Winco’s 1 Pint Measuring Cup.

Hands on Review Winco PMCP-50 Pint Measuring Cup

This measuring cup features polycarbonate construction and two measuring scales. I found an unofficial source that says this is heat resistant up to 210 degrees F. Here are the pint/cup markings. These are in red.

Check Current Price, Specs & Availability, Review Continues Below:

Winco PMCP-50 PintWinco Measuring Cup, Polycarbonate, 1-Pint, Clear – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

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The Story Behind Denny’s Favorite 50 – Wyeast 1450

Denny’s Favorite 50 Wyeast 1450!

Denny’s Favorite 50 is my go-to American style yeast strain. I prefer it over US-05 and similar.  This yeast was preserved by legendary homebrewer Denny Conn (author page on Amazon).

Here’s the story behind Denny’s Favorite 50 from the source, via a post on the Homebrewer’s Association forum

OK, kids, here’s yer bedtime story…

Many years ago I decided to try my hand at yeast ranching. I bought a kit of supplies and some slants from a company by the name of Brewtek, which I later found was run by the inimitable Maribeth Raines. I picked slants at random and one was called CL-50 Cal. brewpub yeast (or something like that). I had just finished developing my Rye IPA recipe and had been using WY1272 for it. I tried the CL-50 and found that it gave the beer a wonderful silky mouthfeel which really complemented the other aspects of the beer. I started using it as my base AM. ale yeast in lieu of 1272 and 1056. I also started talking the yeast up online in the few brewing discussions that were around back then (primarily rec.crafts.brewing for you old timers). A few people started buying slants and many more wanted to see it come put in a larger, more common homebrew format. Meanwhile, back at the ranch (who doesn’t love saying that?), MB had shut down Brewtek and sold the stock to a company in CO. Don’t recall the name, but I ordered CL-50 from them a few times. I saw it going downhill every time I got some, and IIRC that store eventually sold the library to someone else. I had met and begun talking to Dave Logsdon, then owner of Wyeast, about them releasing it commercially so more people would have access to it, but Dave was reluctant as long as someone else had the strain. Some kinda BS about ethics, ya know….;) . I ordered a couple more slants from whoever had it back then just before they vanished. When Dave found out it was no longer available, we arranged for Wyeast to get a sample from my yeast bank. They went back and forth on what to call it (I suggested “Noti Ale yeast”) and finally informed me it was going to be called “Denny’s Favorite 50”. Since I make largely Am. style beers, it’s still my go to yeast for almost all of them. It makes a great BVIP and I really like it in my Noti Brown Ale recipe also (Am. brown ale).

So there you have it. I feel like I’m a really lucky guy to have had such great honors as a homebrewer….the yeast, the GC, the great friends I’ve made.

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Hands on Review: Kegland DuoTight Rigid Joiners

Rigid Joiner pictured with a check valve and DuoTight Ball Lock QD

Updated: 5/15/2024

Kegland’s DuoTight system along with their EVABarrier Tubing are amazing. Check out my extensive hands on review for a deep dive into the system.

This is a look at Kegland Rigid Joiners, part number KL18012.

These are designed to easily join DuoTight fittings together without using EVABarrier tubing.  That’s handy for close connections and if… gasp, you aren’t a DuoTight/EVABarrier user.  The rigid joiners allow you to put DuoTight parts and pieces together without purchasing an entire roll of EVABarrier.

Rigid Joiners, part number KL18012. To my knowledge these are available in 8mm only. I’d venture a guess that this is the most common size.

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Hands on Review: Inkbird Vacuum Sealer!

Why would you want a Vacuum Sealer for homebrewing?

Vacuum sealers are indispensable for storing hops.  You can save money by getting in on bulk hop buys – See: Recent Hop Finds. Use your vacuum sealer to break these up and to preserve freshness.  You can also store specialty grains in vacuum bags.  Other uses include: storing base grains, partial dry yeast packs and storing and preserving other beer ingredients.

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Mason Jars For Homebrew Ingredient Storage, Yeast Starters and More

You can use Mason jars to store hops, grain, yeast slurry and more. Fermentation lids are also available to convert these to be easily used for yeast starters. And, of course, you can serve your beer and other drinks in a one of these. Mason jars generally economical, reusable, oxygen impermeable and you can easily see the contents.

Jar Sizes

A variety of manufacturers make Mason Jars. Ball, Knorr and more. There are two standard sizes regular and wide mouth. This is important when it comes to attachments and lids as these must be size compatible.

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