Category Archives: Tips

EMD ColorpHast Precision pH Strips + Why Choose These Over a Meter & A Tip That Doubles Value

EMD colorpHast 4 -7 precision pH strips via MoreBeer

More Info

From the product description, check product page for current description, price and availability:

A simple, reliable way to test the pH of your beer, no meter required!

Quickly test the pH of your mash with confidence using our colorpHast pH strips. These strips are high-quality and made not to run, so you are assured an accurate reading each time. Comes in packs of 100 strips.

Accurate, Narrow Range Strips: These are more accurate and easier to read than most pH test strips. Use these to check the pH of your mash and of your finished beer. These offer the same advantages of a pH meter without the cost and maintenance that goes along with a meter.

Why these instead of a pH meter? pH meters have their place. The downside is they require maintenance and continued cost. You have to calibrate, clean and properly store pH probes for accurate readings. I believe this is why pH meter reviews tend to skew negative.

Tip… Cut these in half the long way. You’ve saved 50% and they are still easy to read.

In stock: These have experience multiple sellouts sometimes for months at a time. As of this update, they’re in stock. Check the product page for current availability.

ColorpHast pH Strips – 4.0 to 7.0 (100 Strips) MT629 at MoreBeer

3 Pack pH.1-14 Test Paper Extensive Test Paper Litmus Test Paper 240 Strips pH Test with Storage Case for Saliva Urine Water Soil Testing Pet Food and Diet pH Monitoring (3 PACK with Storage Case)

Litmus PH Test Strips 160 Strips, Professional Universal pH.1-14 Test Paper with Test Pipette Droppers, for Teaching, Student, Chemistry Experiment, Saliva Urine Water Soil & Diet pH Monitoring

2 Pack pH Test Strips Universal pH 1-14 Test Paper Litmus Test Paper 160 Strips for Saliva Urine Water Soil and Chemistry Experiments

Plastic pH Test Strips, Universal Application (pH 0-14), 100 Strips | for Saliva, Soap, Urine, Food, Liquids, Water with Soil Testing, Lab Monitoring, etc.

pinned

This post contains affiliate links. We may make a commission when you use our links. This will never cost you extra. Thank you for supporting Homebrew Finds!

morebeer

Price, promotions and availability can change quickly. Check the product page for current price, description and availability. tag:lnksfxd tag:b3peroff tag:b3colorphast rpu:b3colorphast:rpu

Using a Full Size Sheet Pan to Make Bottling Easier – Catch Drips on Bottling Day

Part of Our Homebrew Tips and Tricks Series. Check out the complete list – Homebrewing Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts! This is a Top Post! See: All Top Posts

How about tray that has a 54 bottle (or so) capacity to making bottling day easier?
The pictured tray – Thunder Group ALSP1826 – is actually a full size sheet pan that’s about 18″ x 26″. As you can see it easily hold 54 bottles. Those are Anchor Steam bottles which are a little wider than standard beer bottles. You can probably get a few more long neck style bottles on a full size sheet pan. This is large enough to hold enough bottles for a full 5 gallon batch. If you leave 1/2 gallon of trub behind, you would use right around 48 (12) ounce bottles. These are estimates.
This tray catches those in-between bottle drips, helps keep your bottling area clean and generally speeds up bottling and cleanup.’
+BBQ…. When you’re done you have one tray to rinse off. This also pulls double duty for me come time to BBQ. I use this tray for preparing and transporting ribs. Note that this is actually too large to fit in my standard size oven. I like that because it means it stays out of the oven and I don’t have to worry about odds and ends getting baked on to it.
Pictured: Thunder Group ALSP1826 19 Gauge Sheet Pan, Full Size 18″ x 26″ via Amazon
Search Amazon for “full size sheet pan”
Top Post: Using a Full Size Sheet Pan to Make Bottling Easier – Catch Drips on Bottling Day
Related Categories: Bottling

Excellante 18" X 26" Full Size Aluminum Sheet Pan, Comes In Each

Winco 1826-E Commercial-Grade Aluminum Sheet Pan, Full Size / 18" x 26"

Thunder Group Excellanté 18" x 26" Full Size Aluminum Sheet Pan, 16 Gauge

Continue reading →

Phomemo D30 Label Printer – label lines, kegs, manifolds and more

Label keg lines, kegs, manifolds, storage bins and more around your home brewery.

Phomemo D30 Label Printer, Bluetooth Wireless Mini Pocket Smartphone Label Maker Machine with Tape, Direct Thermal Printer Rechargeable Labeler Compatible with iPhone/Android, for Home Office – 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!

pinned

amazon

Short On Time? 40 Time Saving Homebrew Tips + Limited Time DEAL Ends Today

Time can be a big factor when it comes to homebrewing. Sure, it may be nice to spend sunrise until sunset carefully hand crafting a batch (or batches) of beer, but the practicalities of life can and do factor in when we’re deciding if we can brew a batch of beer. For your stage of life, time may not be a factor. If so, that’s awesome. For others, time saving tips and techniques could help you brew more often.

With those thoughts in mind, I put the call out to the HBF community [8 Ways to Connect with HBF] to get some time saving tips and tricks. A selection of those along with some of my own thoughts follows. Thanks to all who participated! A full list of contributors is at the end of this post.

Limited Time DEAL, save on 30 minute ktis!

William’s Brewing has reformulated their popular lineup of extract kits with extract that has been preboiled for 15 minutes. That enables them to shorten the boil from 1 hour to 30 minutes without compromising flavor
For a limited time William’s is discounting these recently releases kits by 15% when you buy two or more, mix and match is okay. No coupon code required.
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 Recipe Kits

How do I save time home brewing? Continue reading →

Avery 5410 – 1″ Round Printable Labels – Great size for labeling beer caps

Avery 1″ Round Multi Use Labels. 600 total labels.

More Info

Highlighted Features

Labels stick stay and remove cleanly without leaving a residue!.
Ideal for drawers containers boxes shelves and other smooth surfaces.
Pack of 600 Labels

Learn More

1″ round labels work really well for labeling beer caps. Labeling caps works especially well if you’re planning to reuse the bottle. There is no work involved in removing old labels before next use.

What are others saying? Search this product’s Amazon reviews for “caps” – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

These are printable labels so you can create some nice looking labels. Avery offers free templates for popular software including Microsoft Word as well as free online design and print tool.

Avery Self-Adhesive Removable Labels, 1-Inch Diameter, White, Pack of 600 (5410) – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

Also: GrogTag Deals and Coupons – GrogTag prints your design onto professionally printed, reusable labels

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!

pinned

amazon

Price, promotions and availability can change quickly. Check the product page for current price, description and availability. rp:averyround

12 x Big Bands 7″ x 1/8″ Rubber Bands – good for affixing temp probe on fermenters – $2.20 + free prime ship

Alliance Rubber Big Rubber Bands 12 Pack 7-Inch X 1/8-Inch Red 00700

More Info

Highlighted Features

REUSABLE: Unlike tape or string that can only be used once, Big Bands large rubber bands are reusable many times over, helping you reduce unnecessary waste and costs. When done with them, simply remove and store them for your next project.
SECURE TRASH LINERS: These oversized rubber bands are ideal for securing trash can liners so that you can put more into your garbage bin without worrying the bag will slip and cause a mess. Big Bands fit can sizes from 13 qt. to 32 gal. so they're great for both home and commercial use.
FREEZER AND MICROWAVE SAFE: These big rubber bands are freezer and microwave safe, making them ideal for securing lids on food for storing leftovers, or for reheating them the next day. Keep chip or cracker bags tightly closed to seal in freshness.
ENDLESS USES: Big elastic bands are a versatile tool that you can use at home, in schools or the office for a variety of purposes to stay organized and tidy.
MADE IN THE USA: Big Bands heavy duty rubber bands are made in the USA so you know that you're receiving a high quality product, fresh stock and fast service.

Learn More

I use these to secure affix my Inkbird temp probe to my fermenter. The 7″ x 1/8″ are large enough to work with my 7.9 and 5.3 gallon sized Speidel fermenters along with my 7 gallon SS Brewtech Brew Bucket. I like these vs using something like duct tape because i don’t like the adhesive that’s left behind with tape. I would guess these will work with many sizes and types of fermenters, but I can’t give you a conclusive list.

1/29 8 AM Central: These are selling for just $2.20. Shipping is also free to many US addresses with Prime Membership [Try Prime for Free] or a qualifying order. Prices and availability can change quickly. Check product page for current info – More About Prices

Alliance Rubber Big Rubber Bands 12 Pack 7-Inch X 1/8-Inch Red 00700 – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

Also:

Alliance Rubber Big Rubber Bands 12 Pack 7-Inch X 1/8-Inch Red 00700

Alliance 00699 Big Bands Rubber Bands, 7 X 1/8, Red, 48/pack

Alliance® SuperSize Bands™, Assorted Colors/Sizes, Bag Of 24

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!

pinned

amazon

Putting Together a “Brew Day Box” – 13 Things to Make Brew Day Easier!

Part of Our Homebrew Tips and Tricks Series. Check out the complete list – Homebrewing Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts! This is a Top Post! See: All Top Posts

Why a Brew Day Box?

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.

Continue reading →

Resolve to… brew more! 40 Time Saving Homebrew Tips!

How do I save time home brewing? Continue reading →

Short On Time? 40 Time Saving Homebrew Tips!

How do I save time home brewing? Continue reading →

Phomemo D30 Label Printer – label lines, kegs, manifolds and more

Label keg lines, kegs, manifolds, storage bins and more around your home brewery.

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!

pinned

amazon

Step by Step: Finding and Fixing Keg CO2 Leaks

Updated: December 18, 2024

A leaky keg can be an issue, a big issue. That nice, full CO2 tank can go away in short order. It’s frustrating, costly and inconvenient. This post should help you them and fix them.

Continue reading →

Checking for Draft System CO2 Leaks – Using The Pressure Gauge Method

For the most part, checking for keg liquid and CO2 leaks is pretty straightforward. Is beer leaking? Then you’ve got a liquid leak. Is there six inches of beer in your kegerator? That one’s really easy to spot. If beer is shooting out like a geyser, you’ve got a… fast leak. 🙂

For kegerator CO2 leaks, it’s a generally a little more work, but still pretty easy… spray everything with Star San solution (diluted of course) and look for bubbles.

A Problem Spot…

Continue reading →

Use Goo Gone to Remove Old Adhesive From Kegs

Used Kegs often have old stickers. After removing these we’re often left with sticky, hard to remove adhesive. Goo Gone to the rescue!

In my experience, Goo Gone is harsh on my skin so I’m using nitrile gloves. Glove are… handy. Did you see what I did there? 🙂 I just work my way around the keg a few times. That gives the Goo Gone a chance to chemically break down the adhesive while I provide some periodic agitation. In this case the adhesive dissolved pretty quickly and the small pieces of sticker that were left came right off. TIP: I recommend using Goo Gone sparingly. You really don’t need that much and you certainly WOULD NOT want to use enough that it gets on the handle or base of your keg. Goo Gone acts as a solvent for many adhesives. It could potentially loosen up rubber handles or bases. Then you’d need to use our Fixing Loose Handles Tip. So, just put a little on a paper towel or rag and add a little more if you need to.A look at the used paper towel with dirt, adhesive residue and small bits of stickers on it. Whammo!

Goo Gone Adhesive Remover - 8 Ounce - Surface Safe Adhesive Remover Safely Removes Stickers Labels Decals Residue Tape Chewing Gum Grease Tar

Goo Gone Original Liquid - 8 Ounce - Surface Safe Adhesive Remover Safely Removes Stickers Labels Decals Residue Tape Chewing Gum Grease Tar Crayon Glue

Goo Gone 16oz Spray Bottle

Goo Gone Pro-Power - 16 Fl Oz (Pack of 1) - Professional Strength Adhesive Remover, Spray Pump, Yellow

Search Amazon for “Goo Gone” to shop around for available options

This write-up is part of my post on rebuilding kegs – Jump To This Section – If you look through the post you’ll see just how good the keg looks at the end.

Continue reading →

Tip: Filling a quick bottle or growler from your kegerator faucet

Part of Our Homebrew Tips and Tricks Series. Check out the complete list – Homebrewing Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts!

Continue reading →

Tip: Dissolving Dry Malt Extract More Easily – Hot or Cold Water?

Pictured: 3 lbs Briess Golden Light Dry Malt Extract (DME) via Amazon

This is a quick and simple tip… Dry Malt Extract dissolves more easily into cold water than it does into hot water. That seems a little counter-intuitive to me, but I’ve found it to be true. It seems to clump up a lot less and just generally dissolve more easily.

Thank you to John Palmer author of How to Brew for this tip

RiteBrew 812325 Briess - Dry Malt Extract - Golden Light - 3 lbs.

Briess-1E-HKKA-3YTM Light Dry Malt Extract 3lbs for Home Brewing,Beige

Briess HOZQ8-875 Dried Malt Extract- Golden Light- 3 lb.

Organic Light DME - Maltoferm 10001 - 3 lb.

Continue reading →

Tips and Gear for Growler Filling

Filling a growler or small draft dispenser from your draft setup is an easy and straightforward process. Here are some tips and tools for making this as easy and efficient as possible.

Tips and Gear for Growler Filling!

Continue reading →

Homebrew Tubing Tips… Cleaning, Drying, Re-Shaping, Storing & More

Part of Our Homebrew Tips and Tricks Series. Check out the complete list – Homebrewing Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts! This is a Top Post! See: All Top Posts

Tubing! Homebrewers use a variety of sizes and styles of tubing for siphoning, beer transfer, wort and water transfer on brew day, keg to keg transfers, kegerator beer and gas lines and more.

Cleaning Tubing

After using (depending on what I’ve used the tubing for), I’ll give the tubing a rinse to get the majority of stuff off and to keep my cleaning solution as clean as possible. Next is a soak in hot PBW solution. I’d say 5 to 10 minutes is typical for me. Followed by a thorough rinse.

Five Star - PBW Cleanser - 4lb Alkaline Cleaner

Reducing Water Spots on Tubing

If you have a problem with water spots on your tubing, make your last step a rinse in a diluted mixture of Star San. Not only will you get some sanitizing benefits, the Star San acts as a surfactant that helps fight water spots.

Five Star - Star San - 16 Ounce - Brew Sanitizer High Foaming Acid Anionic

Five Star - 6022b_ - Star San - 32 Ounce - High Foaming Sanitizer

adstarsan

Keep Reading – Loads More Tubing Tips!

Use a Wallpaper Prep Tray for Cleaning, Sanitizing and Storage of Longer Brewing Items

Pictured: Zinsser 98030 30-Inch Wallpaper Prep Tray – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

Updated: 5/22/2024

Part of Our Homebrew Tips and Tricks Series. Check out the complete list – Homebrewing Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts! This is a Top Post! See: All Top Posts

I use a wallpaper try to clean and sanitize longer items like racking canes, auto-siphons, spoons, tubing and beverage out dip tubes. It works great.

These also work well for storing longer items. If you’re going to store things in these, I would recommend stacking a couple together to give them some extra strength.

What are Other’s Saying? Search this product’s Amazon reviews for “brew” – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

Another similar option are planter boxes. They are generally sturdier than wallpaper prep trays and they’re about the same length. Since you can get away with one your total cost may end up being less.

Zinsser 98030 30-Inch Wallpaper Prep Tray – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

Also:

Search Amazon for “wallpaper prep tray”
Bloem 20-52430 Fiskars TerraBox Planter, Thyme Green, 30″ affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link
Search Amazon for “planter box” – consider total length when deciding

Related Resources and Categories

Related Top Post: Star San Tips, Tricks and Guidelines – Using Star San In a Spray Bottle
Related Top Post: Bus Tubs for Brew Day – Save Time and Effort
Related Categories: Cleaning, Sanitation, Storage

Do Not Soak In Star San

Five Star recommends limited contact time with ALL plastics. See: Star San Tips – Materials Compatibility + Do Not Soak.

Star San Tips and Tricks

More Homebrew Finds!

Last 50 Finds!
Top Deals – a curated list of the best deals
Homebrew Reviews – one of the largest libraries of homebrew reviews in existence!
Our Top Posts – tips, how-tos, resources posts and more
Let’s be Friends!

pinned

This post may contain affiliate links. We may make a commission when you use our links. This will never cost you extra. Thank you for supporting Homebrew Finds!

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 12.20.10 toppost:wptray rp:tips#32 tag:tpr

Tip: Consider Oetiker Stepless Clamps for Kegerator Gas and Beer Lines

Pictured: Oetiker 16700010 Stepless Ear Clamp via Amazon

Updated: July 30, 2024

Part of Our Homebrew Tips and Tricks Series. Check out the complete list – Homebrewing Tips, Tricks & Shortcuts! This is a Top Post! See: All Top Posts

I use stainless steel Oetiker-style stepless clamps for most gas and beer applications. I like the fact that they are, generally… stainless steel, stepless and the fact that they stay tight and will not loosen over time.
These clamps are designed so that there are no steps (gaps) on the inside. That reduces the possibility that tubing will be torn or damaged.
These are single use clamps. The upside of that is… Oetiker-style stepless clamps will not loosen over time. When they’re tight, they’re tight. I really like that for kegerator applications because… A: I don’t like to empty CO2 tanks for no good reason and B: I don’t like standing beer in my kegerator.
A sizing note – Oetiker-style Stepless clamp sizes generally refer to the largest diameter in mm. So a size 13.3 means that the Oetiker Stepless clamp is 13.3 millimeters (about .52″) in diameter uncrimped.
Search Amazon for “Stepless Hose Clamps” to shop around and see what’s available
Related Top Post: Tips: Cleaning, Drying & Storing Tubing
Resource Page: Tips and Gear for your Kegerator
Related Categories: Draft, Tubing

Continue reading →

Short On Time? Time Saving Homebrew Tips!

Limited Time DEAL, save on 30 minute ktis!

William’s Brewing has reformulated their popular lineup of extract kits with extract that has been preboiled for 15 minutes. That enables them to shorten the boil from 1 hour to 30 minutes without compromising flavor
For a limited time William’s is discounting these recently releases kits by 15% when you buy two or more, mix and match is okay. No coupon code required.
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 Recipe Kits