Topic: Build It Yourself
Outdoor Ventilation Fan
If you are put off by the loud noise of a ventilation fan in your basement brewery, install the fan outside the basement and brew in peace.
Barcodes for Your Homebrew
This column is going to be about how to make barcodes for your beers and make it easy for people to rate your beers on Untappd, it should be noted that you can use different styles of barcodes to go to a specific website, which is good if you want to use something instead of Untappd, promote your homebrew club, or maybe for a homebrew competition advertisement.
Build a Peristaltic Pump
Build a peristaltic pump to pull liquids from one place and push them to another; no priming needed.
Fermentation Heater
Fermentation temperature control can mean a world of difference in the quality of beer. One of my early hurdles in homebrewing was keeping my carboy cool enough through the warmer months. Too
Immersion Lid Temperature Controller
I’d seen that some of the popular fermenter manufacturers make relatively costly drop-in immersion chilling setups for their conical fermenters. I knew I had to attempt to do this, so I began researching how I could create an immersion chilling system for my fermenter. I’m by no means a “handy” man, but I was able to put together a very nice custom system that actually works amazingly well, and was much less costly than an off-the-shelf system.
Build a Hop Bine Wreath
Rather than becoming landfill fodder, those withered dry hop bines can be recycled into a center of attention for the coming holiday season when they are formed into wreaths that welcome visitors into your homebrewery.
Build a Mash Paddle
If you are an all-grain brewer, a mash paddle is a critical piece of brewing equipment to ensure that any “dough balls” are busted apart, that the mash temp is evenly distributed throughout the mash tun, and to generally just keep things stirred up. Here’s how to build your own.
Build a Recirculating Wort Chiller
Given that there are so many places in the world where fresh, potable water is a scarcity, I think the least we can do as enthusiasts of a water-intensive hobby is minimize
Build a Spice Infuser
Make this “suspended spice infuser” which will allow you to add spice additions to, and remove them from, your beer with ease — and without requiring you to rack the beer.
Build a Hop Trellis
Don’t have somewhere your hops can climb 20-feet (~ 6-m) tall? Consider building a hop trellis for your bines to climb this season.
Build a Budget Big Fermenter
You can reuse yeast multiple times, go in on a group purchase with other local brewers for hops or grain, or even consider lowering the target starting gravity on your recipes. With
Build a Cider Press
A small cider press can cost hundreds of dollars. It is not difficult, however, to build your own press using inexpensive materials.
