10 Gallon Brew System
5 Gallon All-Grain
Brewing
Beer
Log
Brewing Tips & FAQ
Brewzilla System &
Mods
Build a Keg Washer
Concentrated Brewing
Exhaust Fan/Vent
Hood
Extract w/ Grains Brewing
Fermentation Fridge/Freezer
Fermzilla Conical
Hard Cider
Recipe
Hard Seltzer
(MikeClaw)
Monster Mill
Parti-Gyle Brewing
Saving
& Reusing Yeast
Sour & Funky Beers
Wine
& Mead
Chest Freezer Kegerator
Fridge Kegerator
Sanyo Kegerator
Custom Tap
Handles
Keezer Compressor
Fix
Quick & Easy Drip Tray
Bread & Sourdough
Fermented Food
Gun Pictures
Hunting
Smoking Meat
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Welcome to MikeBeer! |

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I've always liked the idea of brewing inside, but I've never
wanted to really dedicate a room or large space to a brew
stand. With more and more portable electric brew
systems coming out each year, and with winter fast
approaching, I decided it was time to try one out. I
settled on the Brewzilla (formerly the RoboBrew) 35L 110v
system. I got everything I needed for around $450,
which is a pretty good deal considering what's included.
Along with the new brew system, I decided to install a vent
in the basement so I could brew down there year round if I
wanted to. This system doesn't put off a ton of
moisture, but if I decide to use this in the middle of
summer, I didn't want all that extra humidity floating
around the house. Check out more detailed info on both
projects using the links below: |
Brewzilla Electric System |
Exhaust Fan/Vent
Hood |
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I've always liked the idea of a conical fermenter, but the
stainless options available to homebrewers were just too
expensive for me. So when I saw several good reviews
of the Fermzilla Conical fermenter, I decided to give it a
try. I've only put a couple batches through it so far
and haven't had a chance to put them on tap yet, so the jury
is still out on how it performs to reduce esters in lagers &
allow for the addition of hops via a CO2 flushed vessel on
the bottom, but I look forward to testing it out more in the
future.
Fermzilla Conical Fermenter & Stand |
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I've been baking bread a off and on for several years, but
during the time of our lord COVID-19, I decided to try out
the sourdough process. After doing some research
online, I realized that sourdough wasn't some mystical &
magic process. It's just a mixture of wild yeast and
lactobacillus that is naturally found in flour. I
decided to purchase an established sourdough starter online
at Breadtopia.com to
act as kind of a control starter. Shortly after I had
that starter built up, I also created my own starter so I
could compare the two later down the line. I decided
to start create a few pages so I can document and share my
sourdough journey and experiments. There is a lot of
info online, so I have included some links to resources and
products in the link below that I have found helpful over
the last several months.
Bread & Sourdough Baking
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Hard Seltzer (AKA MikeClaw) Recipe & Process |

As much as I want to say I can drink super
juicy IPAs & NEIPAs all day long, it's just not true. I used
to have a hard cider or something lighter after a couple
more robust beverages, but lately I've been trying more
brands & flavors of hard seltzer instead. What I
really don't like is the $15 per 12-pack price tag,
considering it's just sugar, yeast, and flavoring.
After doing a little research and trying a few different
batches, I think I have the process down. While my
seltzers may not have a perfectly clean fermentation
profile, I can knock out a 5-gallon batch for less than the
cost of a 12-pack at the store. I'll call that a win!
Check out the link below for more info on my process, along
with a few recipes and ideas for future batches.
MikeClaw - Hard Seltzer Process & Recipes
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Fruit Wine Experiements |

With being at home a lot more with COVID-19,
I got a little stir-crazy and started thinking about random
things I could ferment. It started with dandelions
from the yard one day before I mowed. That was an extremely
time-consuming process to pick and then squeeze the
dandelion petals out of the stems. As that batch was
fermenting, I stumbled across an Orange/Citrus wine recipe,
so I figured I'd give that a shot as well. Check out
more info with recipe and brewing process at the link below:
Wine
Experiments
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How to
Build a Keg/Carboy Washer |

UPDATED 6/10/2020 - I decided to make the top of
my keg washer a little more sturdy so I wouldn't have to
hold it while being cleaned and sanitized. This turned out
to be pretty easy by modifying the base a little bit, adding
a PVC reducer, and a couple pieces of scrap wood on top of
the lid for stability and to provide clearance for the quick
disconnects.
Cleaning kegs has always been a labor-intensive task for me.
Every time I clean I keg, I completely disassemble
everything in order to clean and sanitize all parts (posts,
poppets, dip tubes). After a long day of cleaning 7 or
8 kegs, I decided I was ready for a more automated process.
Looking at commercial (homebrew) keg washers, they just
didn't seem to be built very sturdy or have strong pumps, so
I started looking into building my own. After doing
some research and a few trips to the hardware store, I was
able to build my own more powerful keg washer for around the
same price as the commercial model. Check out the
build process HERE for more info
and pictures.
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When I first started brewing, I would write down all my
recipes in spiral notebooks. After starting to develop my
own recipes, and especially after moving to all-grain, I
decided to test out the various brewing software packages. I
really liked the usability of BeerSmith, and I've stuck with
that over the years. It also happens to have a nice HTML
output that looks pretty good on the website. Check out the
Beer Log link below or on the top navigation bar.
Check out my Beer Log HERE.
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During the
winter or when I'm feeling lazy, I can't/don't want to brew
on my 10-Gallon Brewing System. This got me thinking
of a way that I could produce ten gallons of beer on my
5-gallon system without having to do a double brew day.
This method is really geared towards brewing lower gravity
session-type ales or lagers and has worked out great the
several times I've used it. More info can be found
HERE. |
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I received an
email from someone who was building a chest freezer
kegerator (keezer) asking about what I used for a drip tray.
I realized that I hadn't put together any information on
what I came up with for a drip tray without having to drill
into the freezer. Check out the link
HERE or on the
left navigation bar for more info. |
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Being an active
member of three different homebrew clubs, I have a chance to
talk with a lot of different brewers at different stages of
their brewing evolution. I really enjoy talking with
the guys that are just getting started, because I feel like
I can save them time and effort by not necessarily doing the
things that were considered necessary several years ago.
I was going to just post the information on the main page
here, but there was a little too much to include, so I
decided to make a separate page HERE.
I'll try to keep this updated as I hear different questions
and other topics that people seem to ask about frequently. |
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Contact Information:
MikeYoungHB
at gmail.com
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases*
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