u/SmilingFrogBrewing

You want to check your mash pH approximately 20 minutes into the mash, because the pH drops during the mash. While the mash is not complete (saccrification) in that time, the drop in the pH is close. Unfortunately, by this time, it is too late to make any adjustments that will have any effect on the mash.

So, why check it at all, if you can't make adjustments, you may ask. The reason to check it is that You may need to adjust the minerals and/or acid prior to mash-in so the mash will finish at the desired pH. You should have done this prior to strike. The pH check is to make sure your adjustments (based on your grain-bill, initial water chemistry, and overall objectives) are adequate. If you are off, you should know what you will need to do next time to hit the desired pH.

IMHO, a week in the fridge is a bit excessive. Won't hurt anything, but one day is probably all is needed for the CO2 to come to equilibrium.

As far as clarifying while in the bottle, one week, again IMHO, is not long enough. I have noticed that after two or three weeks, the sediment on the bottom has formed a very tight film and the beer is noticeably clearer. Of course, this is yeast dependent.

The beer itself would have finished off at 6%, I pitched in pectin enzyme with the puree to break it down a bit more.

Pectic enzyme is denatured by alcohol. It must be added prior to pitching the yeast for it to be effective.

I guess I misstated that a bit. If you rewire a receptacle for you Euro 240 plug with NA wiring, the plug will be expecting 240 Hot, a Neutral, and a ground. You will be giving it two hots with 240 volts, and a ground. In all likelihood, the electronics in the Grainfather has assumed the neutral and ground are at the same potential, but with the power you will be giving it, there will be 120 volts between the neutral and ground. Again, it depends on the specifics of the design, but it is possible that such a modification would apply 120 volts to components that were not designed to be given a voltage above ground.

What are you trying to do? As has been mentioned, a mixture of just sugar and water, fermented with yeast, is going to taste pretty bad. The also will have a rough job of fermenting, as the need more than just sugar to thrive. Under those conditions, you are not going to get very good results if you are trying to make something like a hard seltzer.

EC-1118 is a high-alcohol tolerant wine yeast. It will ferment glucose, fructose, and sucrose very well. It doesn't do well with maltose or more complex sugars. Whenever you ferment above 6 or 7 percent alcohol, the yeast is likely to produce much more higher alcohols than just ethanol. These will give the product a "paint thinner" taste and produce legendary headaches. At higher concentrations, these higher alcohols can cause other health problems (including death), but you would probably have to distill the alcohols to get the concentrations high enough for that.

Decide what you are trying to do, then seek the appropriate forum for discussing how to best achieve that goal. This forum is for homebrewing beer (using sugars that come from malted grains). As mentioned, if you want prisonhooch, r/prisonhooch is where to look. If you are wanting a wine, then r/winemaking might be better. Most of the contributors here are very knowledgeable when it comes to beer, but that expertise drops off quickly as you move away from malt beverages.

Contact Grainfather and see what they recommend. Tell them the model number of what you have and ask them what you need to do to run it in the US. They may have a simple solution, since I doubt you are the first person to run across this.

There really is too much misinformation in this thread to clean it up. Most of the advice given seems just wrong and likely to either cause a dangerous situation or damage your unit.

EU 240v is not the same as NA 240v. With EU 240v you have one hot wire that is 240v 50 hz AC to ground. With NA 240v, you have two hot wires that are 120v 60hz AC to neutral, but are 180 degrees out of phase, so they are 240v 60hz AC to each other. The frequency makes little difference, either to the electronics or the heating elements, but the 240v to ground vs 120v to neutral (which is typically at ground potential) will in all likelihood fry the electronics.

I'm confused. EZ caps are a brand-name of flip top bottles. I have seen some Chinese imitation EZ caps, and other brands (Grolsch, for one). They all use a plastic or ceramic stopper held on by a wire cage, with a rubber or silicone gasket between the stopper and the bottle. You can bottle condition in them, although if you use rubber gaskets, the rubber is only suitable for a few uses. I have not had a silicon gasket wear out, yet.

I say go for the mill. Grinding your own grain adds more dimensions to your brewing experience, from building an inventory of bulk grains to customizing your crush for individual batches (and being able to control the crush). While a stainless fermenter is a nice addition, it really doesn't do anything you can't do with a plastic bucket.

Type 304 Stainless is the benchmark material for the food industry. As long as you keep the chlorine levels low, it's pretty much corrosion-free. Of course, in the new condition, it likely has a film of oil on it from the manufacturing, so you would have to give it a good washing, but other than that, it should be fine,

This is what I do, too. Usually, you use two cups water to one cup of rice. For mashing, I use 4 cups water per cup of rice. Put it on low, barely boiling and covered. Even with twice as much water, the rice seems to absorb it all. The reason for the 2:1 ratio for rice to eat is to keep it firm. With a 4:1 ratio, it is pretty mushy, For a mash though, this is preferred. I start it when I start heating my strike water and take it off the heat after about 30 mins. After dough-in, I just add the rice. Usually, it's a little hotter than my mash, so I might have some water to cool things off, if necessary.

Rice really makes the wort taste sweet, though. I did some research and it seems that the starch in rice produces much more glucose (and less maltose) that the starch in barley, which accounts for this observation. It also doesn't drop the pH as much as a all-barley grain bill would.

Prices and policies at individual locations seem to vary, so the only way to know is to ask them. For me, the local facility charges about $14 for a 5 pound exchange (including taxes, HAZMAT charges, recert charges, etc...). I think a 20 Lb tank would be around twice that. My local place does not care if the tank has a valid date or not, they will swap them no questions. When I went to the place in Texas, they wouldn't accept my tank until I paid for a hydro test. Seeing how they handle things here, I suspect that in Texas, they saw me coming. The takeaway, call them on the phone first and straight up ask them the prices. If it seems too high, call another place.

I guess I don't understand. It was my understanding that StarSan was NOT a cleaner, but a sanitizer.

I have washed yeast from a previous batch is StarSan mixed at one ounce per 5 gallons (normal strength). I let it settle for about an hour in the StarSan. I poured off the liquid, then washed twice with RO water (letting it settle for about an hour each time).

After I poured off the liquid from the last rinse, I added a quart of DME starter (1.040 SG) and the yeast took off like mad. StarSan does not do a very good job of killing yeast.

Personally, I would let it go another week before I did anything. Well, I might take a gravity sample (then, taste it). It will settle more, and it will get clearer. What doesn't settle in your primary will settle in the secondary.

With cider using Premier Blanc, a starter is neither needed nor beneficial. The yeasts are doing well. The only real question is, are they done? Your final gravity should be 0.998 or so.

If the store manager doesn't know why the previous batch was recalled, does she know if what you bought was part of the recall? I doubt the question of recall has anything to do with what you are seeing.

My guess is that it came from the bag. (Bad bag ;) )

You don't need the bag, particularly if you are going to dry hop in your primary. Just throw them in and rack to your bottling bucket/keg when ready.

You're fine.

It is hard to get cider infected with anything other than yeast, at least an infection that will be apparent in 4 weeks. That is what makes it perfect for people starting out. Cider, yeast, and wait. It's not complicated at all.

What you are seeing is just yeast and other solids dropping out. If you wait, they will compact on their own (you don't have to chill it). Or, you can drink it, these solids are not harmful, since it is only yeast and proteins from the apples. If their appearance is troubling, you can try using pectic enzyme on your next batch (be sure to add it BEFORE fermentation) or using a fining agent made for wines.

Are you using glass bottles? That is very dangerous. Exploding bottles is a real thing. I suspect you know this, but the people you are giving it to may not, and if they just take the bottle and put it in their kitchen, and wait a week or so, it could be a problem.

A better solution is to used cleaned and sanitized plastic soda pop bottles. One, you can tell how carbonated they are by how hard the bottle gets. Two, if they do over-pressurize, they will leak before they explode and if they do explode, you won't have shards of glass everywhere. It will still make a mess, but people will not get cuts.

If you are just using the yeast to carbonate, the alcohol will be very low, below the limit for an alcoholic beverage, so as far as I know (I am not a lawyer, I am not your lawyer, I am not even allowed to practice law, and my knowledge on the laws of your city, county, state, country, or planet is zilch, nada, zippo. It wouldn't even fill Thubelina's thimble. It is recommended that you consult a qualified Lawyer licensed in your area, which I am not), you would not be breaking any laws.

Even if what you do is perfectly legal, realize that you could be held liable for civil damages if someone is harmed by your actions

I would expect the boiling water killed off any wild yeast, bacteria, mold, or anything else. But, as has been said, you're fine, just wait for the SO2 to dissipate.

The best solution for removing labels I have found is powdered automatic dishwashing detergent. Not the liquid stuff or the pods, but the big box of powder that is next to the box of Cascade at the store. The cheaper the better. It generally has a light lemon scent, but it will rinse clean. Two tablespoons per gallon of hot water. Labels (and interior gunk) generally are gone in 30 minutes. Be sure to run a brush through them (turning it both clockwise and counter-clockwise) and rinse three times with clean, hot water. This works as good as Oxyclean or PBW and is much cheaper.

For labels that this doesn't work on, I use mineral spirits. Works as good as acetone, but doesn't evaporate as quickly. Don't get the 'environmental friendly' kind as it is the standard stuff that has been emulsified with water so it will dissolve in water if you pour it down the drain. Don't pour it down the drain and you'll be OK. I just use a little on a paper towel and wipe the label to remove the glue. Of course, wash with the detergent and rinse well when the label is gone. I throw the paper towel in the outside garbage can (wife gets upset if I use the kitchen garbage can).

You're not going to grow mold in a mead must. The pH is too low. Yeast will grow, but it needs more nutrients and is considerably slower than with fermenting beer.

Yes, you could do that. You might cause some problems by oxygenating it at this point, so you would probably want to be careful with the transfer. If you like what it tastes like, though, I would just drink it. You only have a gallon, so, what 10 of fewer bottles?

I think I'd give it a day or two, then chill one and taste it. If it is OK and at the carbonation level you are looking for, put the rest in the fridge and drink them within a week or two.

If you are using 2 liter plastic soda bottles (PET), that is not a bad way to do it. You can tell by how hard the bottle is when it gets carbonated, and by putting it into the fridge, you slow the fermentation. Of course, you will have some sediment, you just have to learn how to deal with that.

It is wise to consume it without too long of a delay. Many people think the lower temperature will stop the fermentation. It doesn't, it just slows it. Even in the refrigerator, they might still blow. Fortunately, in plastic they are much more likely to just start leaking than turning into shrapnel.

IME, you bottled too soon. Most ciders will take nearly a month for the fermentation to complete. If you tasted sweetness when you thought it was done, it wasn't.

Concerning the "vinegar-y" taste, I find many people confuse the tartness of fully fermented cider with vinegar. They are similar, but different. Fully fermented cider naturally has acid and tannin in the juice. Without any sugar to balance these, it will have a tart, somewhat puckering taste. Vinegar is also tart, but also has an acetic flavor (from the acetic acid) that most people find disagreeable. They are different and if you would take a sip of apple cider vinegar when you taste your cider, you would agree.

Vinegar takes a long time to form. Six months or more. And it must be constantly aerated during that time.

As for your cider, refrigerate it and consume it in the next few weeks. If you leave it at room temperature, you will get bottle bombs. On your next batch, let it ferment completely. That will usually take 3 or 4 weeks for a cider. If you want it sweet, you can do like they did in colonial times and drink it before the yeast eat all the sugar, but you won't have it carbonated. If you want it sweet and carbonated, well, you will have to either use artificial sweetener, or kill the yeast via pasteurization once it is carbonated to the level you want. To me, the better options are to either learn to like it dry and carbonated or learn to like it sweet and still.

I only picked on NB because that was who produced the videos the OP quoted, not because I have any direct experience with their crushed grains, and I was wrong to do that. I probably should have said "if you buy your grains online pre-crushed" and left NB out of it. If you go to a LHBS, you can usually get them to tailor the crush to your needs. A BIAB crush, when used in a conventional mash and lauter system, will often lead to stuck (or, at least very slow) runoff, so a coarser crush is typically standard.

I do totally agree with this:

You don't need to maintain a stable mash temp. Once you are within +/-4°F, just let it ride even if the mash temp was falling.

The three most important things to correct for that, when doing BIAB, is stir, stir, and stir. After that, stir some more. I think too many new brewers, seeing folks touting only "one degree drop in and hour" get the impression that such control is needed, which it is not. Get the mash to stabilize at your target, than let it sit. If it drops more than 2 degrees in the first 15 minutes, you weren't stable in the first place. If you're stable to begin with, you will get complete conversion.