As a father of a five year old daughter, I get to immerse myself in playtime with several toys that I would have never touched as a kid myself. It's nice to finally be able to take some of that playtime and turn it in to a usefully homebrew application.


The Easy Bake Oven for instance... If a light bulb can bake a cake, why can't it warm up my fermenters in the winter months? more »

I am a long time homebrewer and have always strived to produce the very best product that I can, given the variables inherent in any hobby that involves nature and science.

One of the most difficult to control and most important to the finished product is temperature. Keeping close control of the fermentation process yields big rewards in consistency, clarity, finish and flavor profile.more »

I have a passion, a "sickness", my wife calls it. I love beer - and I love to make it. I have been homebrewing beer for about 11 years - ever since my friend, Ross, showed me how to do it on his stove back in South Carolina. It is the perfect hobby.more »

After building a Son of a Fermentation Chiller and using it for a while.

I found the following problems:
· It would only hold one carboy
· The analog thermostat sucked
· It is a PIA to deal with the ice in deep narrow ice chambers

So I redesigned the controller first to use a digital remote sensing thermostat for under $25.
more »

In 1997 Ken Schwartz published plans for the Son of Fermenation Chiller, an ice & fan based chilling chamber for fermenting wort.

After building a Son of a Fermentation Chiller and using it for a while I found the following problems:
more »