Category Archives: Review Updates

Hands on Review: Tubby “The Lifetime Glassware” Ultimate Beer Pint – New 11 Ounce Cocktail Size Now Available

It’s not often that I add to my collection of beer glasses. I’ve been a homebrewer and craft beer lover for a good number of years now and have many opportunities to pick up beer glassware. When I ran across these they looked cool and sported some unique features so I wanted to give them a try.

Hands on Review Tubby The Lifetime Glassware – The Ultimate Beer Pint Glass

Front of the box. It reads… Tubby Two hand-blow 16oz glasses

Back of the box. It reads… While on the journey to find the perfect beer glass, our eureka moment hit us – wider and shorter is better for beer. With a Tubby you can smell your beer like you’re standing next to an ocean of craft brew. You can confidently put down your beer wherever you want since it won’t tip over like those silly tall & skinny pint glasses. Our personal favorite part? The rolled rim for ultra-comfy drinking. We hope the Tubby becomes your favorite glass for every beverage. Let us know what you’re drinking @whatsinyourtubby. Cheers, Same and Craig Founders of Tubby


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Hands on Review: FLOTit 2.0 Floating Dip Tube w/DFI, Double Filter Inlet – Limited Time DEAL

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.

FLOTit Floating Dip Tube

Floating dip tubes are a hot commodity in the homebrewing world lately.  Many people are ditching their fixed steel tubes and replacing them with a length of silicone tubing attached to a stainless ball float.  If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know the point of the floating dip tube, it’s pretty simple.  It floats on top of your beer so that as you draw out beer, you get clear beer from the top while everything else precipitates out and makes its way to the bottom

Limited Time Deal FREE Max Headroom Dip Tube

FLOTit 2.0 - No Beer Left Behind Floating Dip Tube with Double Filter Inlet (DFI) of 500/300 micron for always clear beer, less beer waste and no clogging. Made in USA.

FLOTit 2.0 – No Beer Left Behind Floating Dip Tube with Double Filter Inlet (DFI) of 500/300 micron for always clear beer, less beer waste and no clogging. Made in USA

More Info
Highlighted Features
  • NO-ARM-IN-KEG - connections are made outside the keg
  • NO DRY HOPPING BAG or TUBE needed - The Double Filter 500 & 300 micron mesh keeps the poppet unclogged
  • NO BEER WASTE - The Double Filter Inlet of 500 & 300 stainless steel micron mesh let you enjoy the very first pour instead of dumping it
  • NO ADDED WEIGHT is needed to keep it from sucking in foam
  • NO BEER LEFT BEHIND - little beer is left on the yeast cake at the end

 

For a limited time Homebrewer Lab is throwing in a free max headroom dip tube with the purchase of FLOTit 2.0. This low profile dip tube increases keg capacity by giving you more usable space. The product page doesn’t really explain this too well, but you can see it on the updated picture. No coupon code required. Shipping is also free to many US addresses. Prices, promotions and availability can change quickly.  Check product page for current info – More About Prices

FLOTit 2.0 – No Beer Left Behind Floating Dip Tube with Double Filter Inlet (DFI) of 500/300 micron for always clear beer. Made in USA – 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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A version is also available that works as an upgrade to traditional ball float floating dip tubes

FLOTit 2.0 – Double Filter Inlet (DFI) with 500/300 micron mesh for floating dip tube with a ball float for always clear beer, less beer waste, and no clogging. Best upgrade for pressure fermenter – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

Related:


Related: Fermenting Under Pressure!


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Hands on Review: NukaTap FLOW CONTROL Faucets + Limited Time DEAL

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 shankReview – 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.


Limited Time Deal:

Nukatap Flow Control Keg Faucet

Nukatap Flow Control Keg Faucet

More Info

There is nothing more convenient than a keg faucet when you have ball lock kegs. This Nukatap Flow Control Keg Faucet fits any ball lock keg, and provides foaming control as well as dispensing. Flow control is especially important in a keg faucet, which does not have 4′ of 3/16″ interior diameter tubing to minimize foaming.* Just dial back the lever to provide more flow resistance in case of excess foaming during dispense. Like all Nukatap faucets, this is also forward sealing, to prevent the faucet body from drying out between pours.

Now resdesigned with a one piece ball lock shank, which eliminates the tendency of a keg faucet to swivel. The faucet cannot swivel as the splines on the ball lock shank hold it securely in position.

*Flow control is most valuable when you have an overcarbonated or agitated keg, which typically happens more with commercial kegs. If you are dispensing home brew you probably have control over the carbonation level, and the keg probably has not been shaken up by a trip to the liquor store, making flow control less valuable.


 

  • William’s has this combo is on sale for $54.99.
  • Shipping is free or reasonably priced flat rate to addresses in the contiguous US depending on your order size for most items.

Nukatap Flow Control Keg Faucet


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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: Ss Brewtech Brew Bucket Fermenter! + BrewBucket Classic for $149.95

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.

Ss Brewtech Brew Bucket

Right from the start I knew there was something special with the Ss Brewtech fermenter as I opened the box it came in. Having received some gear that came out of torn and collapsing boxes recently, it stood out to me how the box was completely together. While you might chalk that up to how careful the delivery guy was, I could tell this box was designed with purpose. The thickness of the layers, and the construction of the layers were clearly designed to handle both scrapes and crushing loads. All this might seem trivial, until you unbox that new shiny piece of equipment you’ve spent your hard-earned dollars on and find it scratched, scuffed, or slightly out of round. With the thought and purpose Ss Brewtech put into their packaging, you can tell that they wouldn’t accept those careless things to happen to their equipment. And that counts.


Limited Time Deal:

MoreBeer has 7 gallon Brew Bucket Fermenters for $149.99.

SS Brew Bucket – Stainless Steel Fermenter – 7 gal. FE800


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Hands on Review: Northern Brewer Anti-Gravity Transfer Pump + Limited Time DEAL

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.

Northern Brewer Anti-Gravity Transfer Pump

Some homebrew gear has a wide range of use, and some fills a very specific purpose. Those that fill a specific purpose typically become a critical piece in your process that you wonder how you managed before you had it. For me, that was the Anti-Gravity Transfer Pump from Northern Brewer. This pump is specifically intended for use in transferring beer or wort from vessel to vessel during your fermentation and/or kegging processes.

Closeup of Pump Head

The Anti-Gravity pump is a diaphragm pump, which is different than your typical wort pump. Wort pumps are usually an impeller design with a pump head inside with rotating blades that push little bits of fluid along from the inlet to the outlet as they spin. A diaphragm pump has a flexible membrane inside that oscillates back and forth like a trampoline. When the membrane is pushed in one direction, it compresses the fluid and forces it to the outlet. And when the membrane is pulled in the opposite direction, it creates a vacuum in the pump chamber which draws fluid in. A set of check balls ensures flow only goes in one direction.

Hose Connection on Inlet and Outlet


Limited Time DEAL:

17% Off at AIH! – use coupon code LUCK17

This deal makes this pump $49.79 when you using coupon code LUCK17

Self-priming Anti-Gravity Transfer Pump


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Hands on Review: VineCo Winemaking Equipment Kit from MoreBeer!

Thank you to HBF Contributor Aaron Nord for this hands on review!  Aaron is an advanced award winning brewer, a long time reader and a serial tipster!

Winemaking Equipment Starter Kit Review

There are many ways for someone to enter a hobby like beer and winemaking. One of the more common avenues is by way of an equipment starter kit. This is how I made my foray into the world of homebrewing in 2009 and in retrospect I am glad for the experience. Buying an off the shelf kit that had nearly everything I needed was a great place to start since I really didn’t know what I was getting into. It helped me avoid the analysis paralysis that would likely have ensued in trying to figure out what I needed, in what quantity, size or quality all on my own. Thankfully, there were experienced minds who put thought and effort into packaging a collection of gear for the nascent homebrewer to be able to focus on the task of making beer. Let the analysis paralysis come later when the brewer decides to advance in the hobby.

An opportunity arose recently for me to start down a new path with winemaking by way of Winemaking Equipment Starter Kit. Since I had fond memories of a similar kit helping me get started in a hobby that became a passion (and near obsession at times), I was excited for the chance.

This review will cover the contents of the Winemaking Equipment Kit for VineCo Concentrate Kits from MoreBeer which consists of the following items:

  • 7.9 gallon food grade bucket and lid with airlock hole
  • 6 gallon plastic carboy for aging
  • Airlock and stopper
  • 7/16″ Siphon assembly
  • Bottle brush
  • Sample taker/thief
  • Triple scale hydrometer
  • Bottle filler with removable spring
  • Bottle corker
  • 100 Corks – 1 3/4 in.
  • One Step Cleanser

Make Your Own Wine!

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Hands on Review: Torpedo Hand Held Stainless Steel Picnic Faucet + Limited Time DEAL

Torpedo Stainless Steel Picnic Tap!

If there’s been one constant in homebrewing over the years that I’ve been a homebrewer, it’s been… the cobra/picnic tap. 🙂  These things have not changed in years. They’re basic and generally cheap. There have been a few newer options, but the picnic tap itself has received no love.


Limited Time Deal

Limited Availability Deal of the Day: As of this posting, this on sale as as a MoreBeer Deal of the DayShipping is also free to addresses in the contiguous US with most $59 Orders. Availability: This is available today only, while supplies last. Quantities are limited. Check the MoreBeer’s Deal of the Day to check today’s offering.

Product Description – Here – Use coupon code BEERDEAL to get this discount.

Deal is valid 3/12 only while supplies last.

Torpedo Keg Hand Held Stainless Steel Beer Faucet D1264


Enter… The Torpedo Handheld Stainless Steel Faucet!  Finally a stainless steel option!  Here’s a hands on look.

The box. This is a “hand held” stainless steel faucet. It could also be called a stainless steel picnic faucet or stainless steel cobra faucet. It’s manufactured under MoreBeer’s Torpedo Brand. Of course, Torpedo manufactures kegs – Hands on Review –  but Torpedo brand kegs are not a requirement to use this faucet. It faucet works with any homebrew keg. One side of the faucet. It features a 1/4″ OD outlet barb that will work with 1/4″ or 3/16″ ID draft tubing.

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Hands on Review: Ss Brewtech FTSs2 Heating and Cooling System + Limited Time DEAL

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.

Brewtech FTSs2 Heating and Cooling System

From multiple accounts, the temperature at the start of fermentation is key in controlling the flavor nuances of various yeast strains. Even if you have an elaborate system of heat pads, blankets, towels, water buckets, etc. that allows you to hone in on your desired temperature, it can’t react to changes in your fermentation. If things start to really heat up overnight while you’re sleeping, or during the day when you’re at work, you’re out of luck. Once you start caring about fermentation temperature, it doesn’t take long before you conclude you need something that has its own control to adjust and react to temperatures in real time.


Limited Time Deal:

Chronical FTSs Heating and Chilling Package – 7 gal. FE850

Why are deals on Brewtech gear are rare?

This is a MAP item. MAP = Minimum Advertised Price.  It’s an agreement between sellers and manufacturer’s not to sell an item below a certain price.  This gear generally sells for about the same price no matter where you purchase it from and is rarely discounted.


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Hands on Review: FermZilla All Rounder Fermenter + Rare DEAL

Thank you to HBF Contributor Aaron Nord for this hands on review!  Aaron is an advanced award winning brewer, a long time reader and a serial tipster!

FermZilla All Rounder

Fermenting under pressure has been a technique I have had my eye on for some time now and have felt the urge to experiment with it more and more lately. To me the most appealing benefit of pressurized fermentation is that at the end of fermentation the beer is fully carbonated and ready to drink (not accounting for beers that benefit from a period of conditioning). Other benefits include a potentially quicker fermentation, a higher retention of desirable aroma compounds that otherwise might be off gassed (e.g. hop aromas), and the ability to ferment at warmer temperatures without a high presence of unwanted esters.


Limited Time Deal (Rare!)

Deals on FermZilla are relatively rare. This is a MAP item. MAP = Minimum Advertised Price.  It’s an agreement between sellers and manufacturer’s not to sell an item below a certain price.  This gear generally sells for about the same price no matter where you purchase it from and is rarely discounted.

(Workaround)… Get a FREEBIE

Top Draw Corny Keg Lid via William’s Brewing

More Info

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

Do you want to drink the clearest beer possible from your keg as quickly as possible? The Top Draw® Keg Lid Beer Pick Up Tube fits any homebrew keg with an oval lid, and includes a beer ball lock with a Top Draw Beer Pick Up Tube in the lid. As the level of the beer in the keg drops, the pick up tube remains 1″ below the surface, always drawing the clearest beer all the way until empty. The stainless float ball itself is 1.75″ in diameter.

Installs in a few seconds – just switch out keg lids. For shorter kegs, cut the silicone tube to length.

Includes 22″ of tubing, 304 grade stainless float with attached pickup tube, and oval keg lid with both a pressure relief valve, and a beer ball lock fitting welded into the center.


 

Top Draw Corny Keg Lid

Get One FREE w/Qualifying Order!

  • Use coupon code X05 with an order of $89.99 or more and you’ll get one for free.
  • No need to add it to your cart.  Just use the coupon code at checkout.

 

 

This works with FermZilla fermenters including the All Rounder!


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Related Reviews:

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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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Hands On Review: Insulating Neoprene Kegerator Tower Wrap – Fight the First Foamy Pint!

The idea behind a Neoprene insulating tower wrap is to help insulate the tower to help keep beer in your lines cold.  Warming of beer in the lines is a leading cause of first foamy pints.  The beer warms up and CO2 comes out of solution more easily.  When you vend this warm beer it has a tendency to foam.  Keeping lines as cold as possible reduces or eliminates this effect.  The additional insulation could also help you save some electricity.

Here’s a hands on look at Redwood City Brew Supply‘s (via Amazon) Neoprene wrap.  Multiple sizes and configurations are available.  I have a two tap KOMOS Kegerator – Hands on Review – so I went with the two tap 3″ version.

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Hands on Review: Nukatap Counter Pressure Bottle Filler! + Limited Time Freebie

Thank you to HBF Contributor Aaron Nord for this hands on review!  Aaron is an advanced award winning brewer, a long time reader and a serial tipster!

Nukatap Bottle Filler

As with many homebrewers, my experience with the hobby began with making a boxed kit on my stovetop with about 50 bottles of drinkable beer when all was said and done. It was enough to keep me coming back, advancing in skill and acquiring equipment as time went on. I realized quickly that bottling was my least favorite part and was looking forward to ditching the bottles and getting into kegging. This change was one that made a big impact as far as increasing enjoyment of the hobby for me – that and getting out of stovetop brewing and into an electric brewing setup.

Inevitably, I found myself in the situation where I still needed to fill a few bottles from time to time, mainly for competitions. Now that I was kegging all my beer, I wanted an option that wouldn’t interrupt that practice too much. At the time, the most prevalent options for homebrewers were complicated counterpressure systems or the Blichmann Beer Gun. I opted for the latter and used that for several years to successfully bottle my competition beers. It has its pros and cons (discussed more later), and I always kept my ear to the ground on other options.


Limited Time Deal – Great Price at William’s Brewing AND FREEBIE

Nukatap’s Counter Pressure Bottle Filler

+ Get a Free TopDraw Lid!

Top Draw Corny Keg Lid via William’s Brewing

More Info

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

Do you want to drink the clearest beer possible from your keg as quickly as possible? The Top Draw® Keg Lid Beer Pick Up Tube fits any homebrew keg with an oval lid, and includes a beer ball lock with a Top Draw Beer Pick Up Tube in the lid. As the level of the beer in the keg drops, the pick up tube remains 1″ below the surface, always drawing the clearest beer all the way until empty. The stainless float ball itself is 1.75″ in diameter.

Installs in a few seconds – just switch out keg lids. For shorter kegs, cut the silicone tube to length.

Includes 22″ of tubing, 304 grade stainless float with attached pickup tube, and oval keg lid with both a pressure relief valve, and a beer ball lock fitting welded into the center.


 

Top Draw Corny Keg Lid

Get One FREE w/Qualifying Order!

  • Use coupon code X05 with an order of $89.99 or more and you’ll get one for free.
  • No need to add it to your cart.  Just use the coupon code at checkout.

Check Current Pricing & Availability:

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Hands on Review: FermZilla Tri-Clamp Conical

fermzilla conical fermenter review

Thank you to HBF Contributor Aaron Nord for this hands on review!  Aaron is an advanced award winning brewer, a long time reader and a serial tipster!

FermZilla Tri-Clamp Conical

There have been some exciting new offerings over the last five years or so in the homebrewing fermenter market. With loads of offerings from companies like Spike, Ss Brewtech, Blichmann Engineering, Kegland, as well as from a product line called BrewBuilt developed by MoreBeer, a home brewer has a lot to choose from when considering upgrading or replacing an existing fermenter. One of the features that is becoming more common on new fermenter offerings is the ability hold pressure, either to enable pressure transfers or to allow fermenting under pressure – both of which enable low-oxygen brewing along with other advantages. If a brewer wanted to upgrade to a pressure fermenter there are a range of prices and options to consider. For those who want to try pressure fermentation before investing many hundreds or even thousands of dollars, thankfully there are some excellent newer plastic options that perform the job admirably.


Related: Fermenting Under Pressure


Kegland is a noticeable leader in the pressurized fermenters market. With their line of FermZilla fermenters, a brewer can experiment with pressure fermentation without investing a ton of money to see if this method fits into their brewing operations. I have been a satisfied user of the FermZilla All Rounder fermenter for nearly three years now. Before that I was using a Chronical from Ss Brewtech. While both have their advantages, forced to choose between the two I would choose the All Rounder for its flexibility, cost, and higher pressure rating (the Chronical only held a few psi to allow for transfers). One thing that the Chronical has that the All Rounder is missing is the ability to dump trub and collect yeast. Thankfully there is another option from Kegland that combines the flexibility of the All Rounder with the trub and yeast management of a conical fermenter.

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Hands on Review: Jaybird Ball Lock Canning Jar Hop Randall from NorCal – convert a Mason Jar into a Hop Randall

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.

NorCal Canning Jar Randall

The original intent of the Randall was to infuse beers with additional hop flavors and aromas, but it can be used to infuse your beer with a variety of flavors. In addition to hops, fruits are often used, but also things like vanilla beans and cocoa nibs. The beauty of the Randall is that you can experiment with these different additions without dedicating the whole keg of beer to it. If it isn’t just right, you can change it up, and you haven’t ruined a whole keg of beer with what “seemed like a good idea at the time”.



With all of your additions, the flavor impact is fairly minor. Think of it more like adding complimentary flavors, not making a flavor showcase. For hops, the flavor and aroma addition are different than other hop additions due to the temperature you add them. There’s no boiling isomerization so you’re not getting bitterness. And it’s not like dry hopping where you’re soaking them in ~70 degree beer for a couple of days. With the Randall, the hops have a couple seconds of contact time at 35 degrees (or whatever you like to keep your keezer serving pressure set to).

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Hands On Review: Nite Ize DoohicKey Stainless Multi-Tool and Bottle Opener

review Nite Ize KMT-11-R3 DoohicKey Multi-Tool, Stainless

I’m a big fan of Nite-Ize Gear.  I have… the S-Biner Ahh Caribiner Clip Bottle Opener (standard equipment for me when traveling), KBB9-03-01 KnotBone Adjustable BungeeSBL-03-11 S-Biner GetLit, StainlessC9L-02-01 Large Figure 9 Carabiner and Gear Tie Clippable Twist Tie.  In my opinion… they make some really well thought out, innovative and quality stuff.

Here’s a look at their DoohicKey Stainless Multi Tool

Hands on Review Nite Ize DoohicKey

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Hands on Review: Anvil Bucket Fermentor!

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.

Anvil Stainless Steel Bucket Fermentor

It’s well known that you don’t have to just ferment in that plastic bucket that came with your homebrew beginner’s kit. When you are ready to upgrade there are multiple material options, and varying levels of size/features. As it goes with most homebrew gear, brewers love stainless steel. So, of course you can get your fermentor in stainless steel, too.

Stainless provides a better oxygen-proof barrier than the plastic brew buckets and is easy to clean. The easy cleaning not only makes the worst job in homebrewing (brew day clean-up) slightly better, it also means you don’t have to worry about things hiding in crevices to sneak out and do funky things to your beer. Stainless is also durable and long-lasting, meaning you can look at it like a longer-term investment. Typical price tags on steel fermentors also make you consider it from a longer-term investment perspective as well.

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Hands on Review: Thermapen ONE Thermometer + Limited Time DEAL

thermapen one hands on review

The Thermapen is a thermocouple thermometer produced by ETI, Ltd and sold by ThermoWorks. It’s used by restaurants, home cooks, homebrewers, grillers, bbq-ers and more


Limited Time DEAL:

thermapen one deal

Thermapen One by ThermoWorks

With full readings in ONE second or less, Thermapen ONE approaches the speed of thought—allowing you to focus exclusively on the quality of your work. Never has an instrument been able to achieve such speed and accuracy without sacrificing durability and usability…until now.

  • ONE. Second. Readings.
    Thermapen ONE almost moves at the speed of thought…allowing you to focus exclusively on the quality of your work.
  • More Accurate
    With an improved accuracy spec of ± 0.5°F (± 0.3°C), you’ll know your lightning fast Thermapen ONE readings are always accurate, as well.
  • Brighter Backlight
    The automatic backlight is brighter and the light sensor is more sensitive to changes in ambient lighting conditions.
  • 5-Year Warranty
    The newly designed rugged, waterproof case features a 5-year warranty against defects.

ThermoWorks the Thermapen One by a whopping 40% as part of a limited private open box special. Note that you must use the link below, the standard product page will show full price.

Open box units are said to be like new and include a full warranty. ThermoWorks says… In most cases, you won’t be able to differentiate these from new stock.

Private Open Box Sale << You must use this link to get the deal


Check Current Price, Models & Availability:

My Thermapen ONE Review is hosted on my BBQ site BBQ Finds – it covers use for homebrewing and more.

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Hands on Review: FermZilla Tri-Clamp Conical

fermzilla conical fermenter review

Thank you to HBF Contributor Aaron Nord for this hands on review!  Aaron is an advanced award winning brewer, a long time reader and a serial tipster!

FermZilla Tri-Clamp Conical

There have been some exciting new offerings over the last five years or so in the homebrewing fermenter market. With loads of offerings from companies like Spike, Ss Brewtech, Blichmann Engineering, Kegland, as well as from a product line called BrewBuilt developed by MoreBeer, a home brewer has a lot to choose from when considering upgrading or replacing an existing fermenter. One of the features that is becoming more common on new fermenter offerings is the ability hold pressure, either to enable pressure transfers or to allow fermenting under pressure – both of which enable low-oxygen brewing along with other advantages. If a brewer wanted to upgrade to a pressure fermenter there are a range of prices and options to consider. For those who want to try pressure fermentation before investing many hundreds or even thousands of dollars, thankfully there are some excellent newer plastic options that perform the job admirably.


Related: Fermenting Under Pressure


Kegland is a noticeable leader in the pressurized fermenters market. With their line of FermZilla fermenters, a brewer can experiment with pressure fermentation without investing a ton of money to see if this method fits into their brewing operations. I have been a satisfied user of the FermZilla All Rounder fermenter for nearly three years now. Before that I was using a Chronical from Ss Brewtech. While both have their advantages, forced to choose between the two I would choose the All Rounder for its flexibility, cost, and higher pressure rating (the Chronical only held a few psi to allow for transfers). One thing that the Chronical has that the All Rounder is missing is the ability to dump trub and collect yeast. Thankfully there is another option from Kegland that combines the flexibility of the All Rounder with the trub and yeast management of a conical fermenter.

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Hands On Review: Stanley Classic Vacuum Insulated Growler! – Includes Temperature Trials

cln_0-64-out

Stanley’s Stainless Steel vacuum insulated growler features vacuum insulated body and foam insulated lid to keep beer cold for 16 hours.  Made of 18/8 stainless steel and BPA free.  The heavy duty handle makes it easy to carry and allows you to pour smoothly with one hand.  Steel inner lid means no plastic is in contact with your beer.

It’s available in multiple colors and sizes, both 64 ounce/2 Quart/Half Gallon capacity as well as in a smaller 32 oz size.  It’s also part of a Gift Pack Set that includes the growler along with stacking pints.  Stanley makes a non-insulated version version as well.


Check Prices and Available Models, Review Continues Below:

Note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at these links

Since this review was published, additional models have become available.  Search Amazon for “stanley vacuum insulated growler” to see what may be available.  Note that specifications and colors may vary from the model reviewed in this post.

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Hands on Review: Maple Landmark Solid Red Oak Tap Handle – Made in Vermont

Maple Landmark hand makes hardwood tap handles (and more)  in their shop in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. They make tap handles out of both Oak and Maple woods. Each product page has a number of size and shape options.

Here’s a hands on look at Maple Landmark’s Solid Red Oak Tap Handle.

Hands on Review: Maple Landmark Tap Handles

In the package
Other side includes the description and ASIN number



Check Current Pricing, Review Continues Below:

  • Straight 5″ Solid Red Oak Tap Handle – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link
  • More options in Oak and Maple woods. Each product page has a number of size and shape options.

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