West Coast Brewer Home Brewing Blog

Tag: homebrewing (Page 3 of 9)

Check out the 10 Best Home Brewing Gift Ideas at HomebrewingDeal.com

Top 10 Best Holiday Home Brewing Gift Ideas

Top 10 Best Holiday Home Brewing Gift Ideas

 

Tis the season for Homebrewing! It is not always easy to find that perfect Holiday gift for your boss, Father In Law, Dad, Boyfriend, Girlfriend or Beer Lover in your life. So with the Holiday Season quickly approaching, we thought this was the perfect time for our Top 10 Best Home Brewer Holiday Gift Ideas! This year we tried to select a variety of the very best home brewer holiday gifts that accommodate a wide range of home brewing budgets as well as home brewing gift ideas for every beer brewing experience level from advanced home brewers to someone who loves beer and is looking to try their hand at home beer brewing for the first time. So with out further ado, here is the HomeBrewingDeal.com Top 10 List for Best Home Brewing Gifts Ideas of 2017!

Click Here to View the List!

Motorize Your Home Brewing Grain Mill!

Grain Mill Motor Kit

Grain Mill Motor Kit

 

Limited time and quantity WilliamsBrewing.com Promo Code
New Home Brewing Product Month of July, 2017
New Product  Date:
 7-5-2017
Product Details:
 Motorize Your Grain Mill for $199
Product User Rating: 
5/5
Availability: 
In Stock
New Home Brewing Equipment
:  Do you want to super charge your home brewing grain mill?  Well William’s Brewing has a new product that you are going to love.  Their new homebrewing grain mill motorizing kit features a  high torque grain mill motor fits the 10mm diameter shaft of most standard home brewing grain mills, including their L07 and  B21 homebrew mills and many other other two or three roller mills with 1½” diameter rollers and with a 10mm diameter drive shaft.
Home Brewing Grain Mill Motor Kit

Home Brewing Grain Mill Motor Kit

This grain mill motor kit features internal gears to spin your mill at 200 rpm and a heavy duty spider coupling that absorbs the direct drive shock and a powerful 1 amp motor that has plenty of power to crush your grain!

WilliamsBrewing.com Grain Mill Motorizing Kit

John Palmer Beer Recipe Sale

John Palmer Beer Recipe Kits

John Palmer Beer Recipe Kits

Coupon Code Date: 4-20-2017 to 4-21-2017
Promotion Details: Save 15% On John Palmer Beer Kits!
Promo Code: PALMER15
Coupon Description: Celebrate 420 with More Beer and Save 15% On John Palmer home brewing kits! These delicious homebrew beer kits were designed by John Palmer, author of the best selling book How to Brew.  John also co wrote Brewing Classic Styles with brewer Jamil Zainasheff, and these world class home brewing recipes come directly from that great book. These kits are all inclusive and come with all the ingredients you need to brew a great batch of beer.  Here are the beer ingredient kits available for this More Beer Coupon Code:
  • Weed, Feed, and Mow – Cream Ale
  • JZ Früh – Kolsch
  • Kent’s Hollow Leg – American Wheat
  • All-American Pale Ale – American Pale Ale
  • Black Widow – Robust Porter
  • Biere De L’inde – English IPA
  • Hoppiness is an IPA – American IPA
  • Munich Madness – Oktoberfest
  • Programmers Elbow – Extra Special Bitter (ESB)
  • Strict Observance – Belgian Tripel

 

MoreBeer.com Promo Code John Palmer Beer Kits

 

How To Clean Beer Lines and Draft Beer Systems

 

Beer Line Cleaning Kit

Beer Line Cleaning Kit

 

Just about any good home brewer will tell you that one of the first rules of home brewing beer and making good home brewed beer is cleanliness. Unfortunately humans are not the only beer lovers on the planet.  Beer is loved by everything from insects to bacteria and your home brewing and keg systems are highly susceptible to bacterial growth. Beer lines, keg fittings and taps are often times places where the like to hang out and they should be cleaned regularly.  Thankfully there are several products out there to help you keep your systems sanitary and your beer tasting good!

 

The downside of having a home draft beer system means that you also have to care for it. So I purchased a draft beer line cleaning kit and some liquid beer line cleaner which is shown above. The kit was great, it came with instructions and everything that I needed in order to do the job. The beer keg line cleaning kit came with a 1 quart hand pump that pushes Beer Line Cleaner through the draft beer system. The faucet gets removed and cleaned with the included faucet wrench and brush.  The process is relatively quick and easy and takes about 20 minutes to clean a couple beer taps out.

 

If you are interest in purchasing a draft beer line cleaning kit you can find it here:

Keg line cleaning kit

 

Keg Line Cleaning Solution

 

Here are some instructions on how to clean your keg beer lines and draft beer system:

1) Remove the tap from the keg. Use a beer faucet wrench to remove the faucet (the piece that the beer actually flows though to your glass) from the draft beer shank. The beer faucet collar should have a few holes in it, insert the wrench end into a hole and spin the collar clockwise to remove.

 

2) Next, disassemble the faucet to the point that the shaft inside can slide out. Place these parts in a bowl with 2 cups of warm water and ¼ teaspoon of Beer Line Cleaner. Put one cap full of beer line cleaner into the beer line pump jar and fill with warm water. Attach the lid pump unit back on the jar. Get a bucket to collect the fluid running from the tap. Insert the cleaning brush small end into the bottom of the tap to allow the flow to go through if needed.

 

3) Pump the cleaning solution though line and tap allowing the solution to sit in the lines for 10–15 minutes, then pump through. Follow this with 1–2 jars of water to rinse. Remove the brush from the tap.

 

4) Use the brush and a towel to clean the draft beer faucet and then rinse with clean water. Reassemble the faucet, hand tighten parts, leave loose enough so that they move freely. Attach the faucet back onto the shank again, using the wrench, do not over tighten, just tighten enough so that it does not leak any precious beer!

 

Just let me know if you have any questions on how to clean your draft beer system and keg lines.

CORNICAL

Blichmann Cornical - Keg Based Homebrewing Fermenter

Cornical Fermenter

Blichmann has done it again! They just released their new Cornical Fermenter based homebrew fermenter. The Cornical is the latest fermentor from Blichmann who has a long history of creating top quality home brewing fermenters. The Cornical is made from two main pieces; the first being a modular home brewing keg with a removable base. The modular design makes cleaning it a snap. The second part of the Cornical is a stainless steel conical bottom that attaches to the keg turning it into a homebrewing fermentor. Unlike most homebrewing fermenter, the Cornical is rated all the way up to 50 psi, allowing a home brewer to carbonate right in the fermenter. When fermentation finished, if desired you can replace the bottom of the keg and serve right from the Cornical. The modular design allows you to use the conical bottom to ferment another batch on a different keg while you drink your first batch!  Here are some of the features of the Blichmann Cornical Home Brewing Fermenter:
  • Built from stainless steel
  • Both a keg and a fermenter
  • Keg made in Italy, Cone and legs made in USA,  assembled in USA
  • Ferment, carbonate, and serve beer from one vessel
  • Modular design to allow use as both a fermenter and a serving keg
  • Removable bottom makes cleaning simple and fast
  • Rotating racking arm with sanitary sampling and racking valve
  • Full 1.5” sanitary butterfly dump valve allows for yeast harvesting and trub clean out
  • Sanitary stainless steel fittings for contamination free beer
  • Pressure capable to 50psi for carbonation and beer dispensing
  • Easy to use lid hatch for dry hopping and secondary additions

For additional information or to purchase a Cornical fermenter, click the following link. MoreBeer offers some of the best prices for Blichmann products like the Cornical and free shipping!

Click Here For More Details Or To Purchase A Cornical Fermenter

Homebrewing Product Information Found At:

HomebrewingDeal.com

#homebrew #homebrewing #homebrewer #beer #brewing #home #brewing #brewer #deal #more #beer #morebeer.com #Blichmann #Cornical #Fermenter #Fermentor #Keg

Ruby Street Homebrewing System Promo Code

Ruby Street Home Brewing Systems Coupon

Ruby Street Home Brewing Systems Promo Codes

Adventures in Homebrewing Promotion
Sale from Adventures In Homebrewing

Promotion Details: Ruby Street Brewing Systems On Sale + Free Shipping
Sale Description: Adventures in Homebrewing is currently running a sale on Ruby Street Home Brewering Systems!  If you act now you can get FREE SHIPPING on a Ruby Street Brewing System and save up to $250! Not a bad deal for a turn key home brewing system.  Ruby Street offers a wide variety of brewrig configurations and has the home brewing setup for you no matter if you are an extract home brewer, all grain brewer or want to transition over to all electric home brewing! You will be impressed with what Ruby Street has to offer as they are currently one of the most innovative homebrew system builder out there and give you probably the best bang for your home brewing buck!

 

Ruby Street Home Brewery Sale

Brewer’s Edge Homebrewing System

Brewers Edge Homebrewing System #homebrew #homebrewing #brewers #edge #brewersedge

Brewers Edge Homebrewing System #homebrew #homebrewing #brewers #edge #brewersedge

 

Brewers Edge Mash & Boil Homebrewing System


Retail Price: $299
Homebrewing Rig Style: All In One Homebrewing System
Home Brewing Rig Details: The Brewer’s Edge Mash & Boil is probably the best deal going for an all in one all grain home brewing system.  With the Brewer’s Edge, there is no need for an outdoor burner, complicated brewing system, or even a 220 volt special circuit. The Brewer’s Edge homebrew system plugs right in to any standard 110 volt GFI household outlet. The Brewer’s Edge Mash and Boil’s exclusive double wall stainless construction conserves heat to achieve a rolling boil with only 110 volts and 1600 watts, and its precise thermostat and internal sparging basket lets you mash and boil in the same vessel!

MoreBeer’s Hop Rhizome Sale Going On Now!

MoreBeer hop rhizome sale - Save 30% on Hop Plants

MoreBeer hop rhizome sale – Save 30% on Hop Plants

 

Limited time and quantity promo code from  MoreBeer.com
Promo Codes for the Month of February, 2017
Coupon Code Date:
2-6-2017 to 2-10-2017
Promotion Details:
 Save up to 30% on Hop Rhizomes
Promo Code:
HOP RHIZOME SALE
Coupon Description
:  Right now More Beer has a sale going on for their hop rhizomes.  If you act now, you can save 30% on a variety of hop rhizomes including sterling, columbus, cascade, centennial, chinook and many more!  These items also qualify for the MoreBeer free shipping offer!

MoreBeer.com Coupon Code Hop Rhizome Sale

 

 

How to Build a Kegerator

Guide on how to convert an old refrigerator in to a kegerator #kegerator #guide #howto #DIY

Guide on how to convert an old refrigerator in to a kegerator #kegerator #guide #howto #DIY

 

For the last several years, I have been using a boring old white refrigerator to store my kegs. Originally when it came time to purchase one, I was just looking for the best deal out there on a refrigerator that could keep my homebrew cold. I have been serving my beer from picnic \ cobra taps that sit lose on top of the kegs in my fridge. A couple of weeks ago I decided to take the keg fridge to the next level and convert it to a full fledged Kegerator with for taps to accommodate all of my kegs. After ordering the beer tap hardware at MoreBeer and taking a trip to the local hardware supply shop, I had everything that I needed to begin my work.

 

My goal for this homebrewing blog entry is to list out all of the basics of what you will need to conduct the process yourself but I am sure to miss something and if you need any specifics please feel free to ask; I am happy to help if I can.  Please keep in mind that I am not a carpenter, engineer or machinist; so there are probably 10 better ways of doing this, I am just trying to share my experience in case it helps someone else out.

 

Step 1 – Ordering your gear!
I figured that if I am going to take the time to do this project, I was going to do it right!  Recently MoreBeer started to carry Intertap stainless steel beer facuets – tap, which are basically the Holy Grail of beer taps and the best beer faucets currently available!

 

 

Intertap Stainless Steel Beer Faucets, Shanks and Beer Taps! #intertap #beer #taps #faucets #stainless #steel

Intertap Stainless Steel Beer Faucets, Shanks and Beer Taps! #intertap #beer #taps #faucets #stainless #steel

 

I chose these intertap beer faucets for a few different reasons.  For one, they offered an all stainless steel faucets which is important to me because I want it to last, I want my homebrew beer serving to be as sanitary as possbile and I do not want to be worrying about releasing strange metallic particulates in to my beer like I do when using an old chrome tap that erodes after time. Another great thing about  these Intertap beer faucets is that they are forward sealing and with forward-sealing faucets the faucet keeps beer in it so the inside doesn’t have a chance to get sticky. This makes cleaning your draft beer system far easier. It also reduces the chance of off flavors transferring to your beer while you are pouring. One of the things that sets Intertap beer taps apart from other forward sealing beer taps is that Intertap faucets use a sliding shuttle that guides the internal o-ring into the perfect position every time. The Intertap stainless steel faucets are also modularly designed  allowing you to add helpful items like a ball lock spout, stainless steel growler filling spout and an elongated stout beer spout! They have two varieties of beer faucets in all stainless and 1 features a flow control lever.  I ended up getting one of the stainless steel flow control beer faucet and three of the standard stainless steel beer faucets.

 

MoreBeer has the best price I have found for Intertap Faucets and they also offer free shipping on any home brewing equipment or supply orders over $59.  Here are links to them as well as links to the anti-microbial beer line which I also highly recommend. Do not forget to pick a shank for each beer faucet, I got the 4″ shanks and they have me plenty of extra room to run them into my refrigerator door.

 

Intertap Forward Sealing Stainless Steel Beer Faucet

 

Intertap Forward Sealing Stainless Steel Beer Faucet with Flow Control

 

Intertap Stainless Steel Beer Faucet and Beer Tap Shanks

 

Ultra Barrier  Antimicrobial and PVC Free Beer Tubing

 

 

West Coast Brewer Beer Tap Handles

West Coast Brewer Beer Tap Handles

 

For now, I am using chalkboard tap handles, which make it convenient to remind me which beer is on which which tap in case I consume a few too many and can no longer remember. At some point I would like to design a handle for each one of my home brewed beer that I make;  but for now, these look great and are very functional tap handles.  They come in both chalkboard style tap handles and white board dry erase tap handles:

 

Chalkboard Beer Tap Handles

 

Whiteboard Dry Erase Tap Handles

 

Depending on what draft beer equipment you are starting with or if you have anything at all for that matter, there may be a few other items that you want to pick up, such as a CO2 manifold (which permits you to dispence CO2 to multiple beer kegs from one tank or regulator), homebrewing beer kegs, a CO2 Tank and regulator. Here is a link to a great place to start if your are looking for an entire draft beer setup or just random draft beer and keg items:

 

Draft Beer and Keg Equipment

 

Those were the items that I picked up at MoreBeer, the remaining items I purchased at my local Lowes. I purchased 1 box of Stainmaster Vinyl flooring, which is great because it is resistant to liquid and stains; two things you need to consider when building your kegerator. Normal wood flooring does not do well with moisture so I would recommend avoiding it if possible.

I also picked up a small container of vinyl flooring adhesive, a plastic spreading knife, a razor blade cutting knife (to cut the vinyl flooring), a 1″ drill bill to cut the shank holes for the beer taps, chalkboard spray paint (for the refrigerator upper door), a 3″ wide plank of wood (to make a frame for the upper door), some wood stain to match the vinyl flooring, black duct tape for trim and a brushed aluminum kick plate to put on over the vinyl but under the beer faucets and tap handles.

 

Vinyl Fake Wood Flooring for my Kegerator Door

Vinyl Fake Wood Flooring for my Kegerator Door

 

Once you have all of your supplies in hand, it is time to get to work!  I started off my shutting off the refrigerator and giving it a good cleaning. Next I removed both of the refrigerator doors and all of the handles and hardware from the doors. I then sanded the refrigerator doors with a high grit sandpaper to make them more receptive to the vinyl adhesive and chalkboard spray paint. I did not remove all the paint but instead just roughed them up a bit. I then measured and cut the flooring so that it would fit my refrigerator door.  After making all of the needed cuts, I applied the adhesive to the lower refrigerator door. I waited approximately 10 minutes as per the instructions for my adhesive and began to put the vinyl planks in place. I tried my best to mix the planks up a bit so that it did not look to repetitive as can be the case with synthetic flooring.

 

Placing the vinyl flooring on the refrigerator door.

Placing the vinyl flooring on the refrigerator door.

 

These Stainmaster vinyl flooring planks were very easy to install. They locked in to place with one another crating a strong bond. After placing all of the vinyl wood planks, I put pressed down on each of the planks firmly and then set it to the side to allow it to dry.  Next I began work on painting the upper door, building the wood frame and preparing the mash paddle door handle for the kegerator.

After giving it a little thought, I figured that I would paint the upper door with a chalkboard spray paint. I was hoping it would add some contrast to the kegerator doors and would also give me the option of adding some notes about the beer being served or allow me to change the appearance of the fridge easily by modifying the drawing on the board. Painting the door was very easy and I gave it two coats of paint.

 

Chalkboard kegerator door

Chalkboard kegerator door

 

After the upper kegerator door was painted, I began my work on creating a simple frame to give it a border and add some cohesion with the rest of the kegerator. I searched for the cheapest 3″ wide plank I could find at Lowes and had them cut it to the appropriate sized lengths which they are always kind enough to do at no cost. I joined the pieces together with some wood glue and staples. I was going for a rustic look so was not too concerned with any rough edges or the staples showing. I sealed some of the gaps with putty, sanded it down a bit and then stained the wood. Lastly I applied a clear acrylic coat once the stain had dried.

 

Chalkboard upper door frame for the homebrewing kegerator

Chalkboard upper door frame for the homebrewing kegerator

 

Next up was crating a door handle for my homebrew kegerator.  I wanted a door handle that said beer and homebrewing when you looked at it! So I decided to use an old mash paddle that I had hanging around the garage. I am really pleased with how it worked out, it is very functional and has the look and feel that I desired for my kegerator. I started by staining the mash paddle to a color that would contrast the wood on the doors but compliment the beer tap handles. I then drilled the mounting holes and used a wine cork as a spacer so that the top of the handle would have about an inch of gap between the kegerator door to make it more easy to open. I used a heavy stainless steel bolt to mount the top of the handle so that it would not pull off the door if one of my buddies starts lifting weights and pull the door open too hard.

 

Home Brewing Mash Paddle for a refrigerator door handle

Home Brewing Mash Paddle for a refrigerator door handle

 

Once the kegerator door handle was completed I mounted the doors back on the kegerator after I had verified that the flooring had adhered well enough and the paint had dried. Next I installed the brushed aluminum kick plate to the lower door after measuring it and cutting the excess metal off with a pair of tin snips. I placed the kick plate in the center of the area where I was planning on installing my stainless steel beer taps. I simply drilled it in with screws that would be long enough length to make it into the door but not so long as to pass in to the interior of the kegerator.

 

Home Brewing Kegerator Stainless Steel Plate for Tap Handles and Faucets

Home Brewing Kegerator Stainless Steel Plate for Tap Handles and Faucets

 

Once the kick plate was installed, it was time to position and install the frame for the upper kegerator door. I drilled some pilot holes and affixed the frame to the upper door with 4 screws. I then mounted the mash paddle kegerator door handle and applied some vinyl squid decals that I picked up online to add a little something different to the kegerator. It was then time to install the beer tap shanks! I drilled pilot holes and used my 1″ drill bit to cut the 4 holes for the stainless steel Intertap tap shanks.  If I had this part of the process to do over again, I think I would have switched drill bits to a 1″ saw style drill bit as I think the holes would have been a little cleaner. On one of the holes that I drilled, some of the plastic splintered on the inside of the kegerator.  It was not a big deal, but could have been better.

 

How to cut a draft beer tap hole for your kegerator

How to cut a draft beer tap hole for your kegerator

 

If you are like me and do not have room to fit your CO2 tank in your kegerator and or do not want to store your CO2 tank in the kegerator then you will need to drill a hole in the door to pass the CO2 line.  I did so with a 1/4″ stainless steel pipe and brass fittings. It works well and makes it easy to disconnect from the kegerator door if needed. Eventually I am also going to drill 3 additional holes so that I can connect my SS BrewTech conical fermenter chilling system; but that is for a later homebrewing blog!

 

Install the CO2 hardware for your kegerator

Install the CO2 hardware for your kegerator

 

if you are reading this while you are building your own kegerator, at this point all of the hard work is behind you and you are probably ready for a beer! Next clean up the mess that you have certainly created from drilling in to vinyl and styrofoam. Then slide the shanks in to the holes and tighten down the bolts on the inside of the homebrew kegerator.  Once the stainless steel tap shanks are tightened in to place, you can install the beer taps – faucets on to the front of your kegerator. They make an actual wrench specifically for doing this but if you do not have one, you can simply hand tighten them. Next, attach your beer tap handles.  All that is left is to connect the kegs, test for leaks and you are ready to enjoy a nice cold beer!

I really enjoyed this project and my hope is that some of this information will help a fellow home brewer or beer lover. If you have any questions or suggestions about converting a beer fridge in to a kegerator, please feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment on the blog.

 

Building a kegerator!

Building a kegerator!

Save 10% at MoreBeer.com with this More Beer Promo Code

More Beer Promo Code

More Beer Promo Code

 

Limited time and quantity promo code from  More Beer
Promo Codes for the Month of December, 2016
Coupon Code Date: 12-20-2016
Promotion Details: Save 10% Site Wide at MoreBeer!
Promo Code: LASTCHANCE10

 

Coupon Description:  Save 10% Site Wide at MoreBeer! This is a one day sale, so act fast to take advantage of this deal.  Do not forget about free shipping for any order over $59! Click the link for all of the details on this MoreBeer promo code.

 

Save 10% Site Wide at MoreBeer.com

 

Save 20% On Wort Chillers During Day 1 of the MoreBeer.com 12 Days of Christmas Home Brewing Sale!

Save 20% on Counterflow and Plate Wort Chillers during the MoreBeer.com 12 days of Christmas Home Brewing Sale #homebrewing #christmas #gift #sale #promo #code #coupon

Save 20% on Counterflow and Plate Wort Chillers during the MoreBeer.com 12 days of Christmas Home Brewing Sale #homebrewing #christmas #gift #sale #promo #code #coupon

Limited time and quantity promo code from  More Beer
Promo Codes for the Month of December, 2016
Coupon Code Date: 12-1-2016
Promotion Details: Save 20% on Counterflow and Plate Wort Chillers
Promo Code: Counterflow20

 

Coupon Description:  During Day 1 of the MoreBeer 12 Days of Christmas homebrewing sale, you save 20% on More Beer counterflow and plate wort chillers plus get free shipping on any purchase over $59! Use More Beer promo Code Counterflow20.

 

Click Here for this MoreBeer.com Promo Code

 

 

Holiday Homebrewing Sale Extended!

Adventures In Homebrewing Holiday Sale Continues - Save 60% plus Free Shipping Offers

Adventures In Homebrewing Holiday Sale Continues – Save 60% plus Free Shipping Offers

 

Sale from Adventures In Homebrewing – November  2016
Sale Date: 11-29-2016 to 12-2-2016
Promotion Details: Save up to 60% on Homebrewing Gear
Homebrewing Sale Code: HOLIDAY SALE

 

Sale Description: The Adventures in Homebrewing Cyber Monday Sale has been extended! is going on now! Right now you can save up to 66% on popular home brewing gear like the GrainFather home brewing system, homebrewing kegs, homebrew grain mills, beer making kits, homebrewing kettles, draft beer towers, draft beer taps and much more! You can also receive free shipping on select items during this Adventures in Homebrewing Holiday Sale

 

Homebrewing.org Cyber Monday Sale

 

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