How To Start a Home Craft Brewery
Home Decor

How To Start a Home Craft Brewery

- by Avery James

Beer lovers take their brews seriously. If you’re ready to try your hand at making craft brew, you need a few pieces of equipment, the right materials and a persistent attitude. Making your own beer has its own tasty rewards once you learn how to do it. Once you get a good recipe going, you can upgrade to a microbrewery and make money on your hobby.

How To Start a Home Craft Brewery

Beer Making Equipment

Many first-time homebrewers cut their teeth on a starter kit. These starter kits feature instructions, a recipe, and fermenters. You still need ingredients and a kettle to brew the beer. Take your beer making to the next level with wort chillers and a volumetric filling machine to fill your kegs and growlers. Racks, thermometers, bottles and hydrometers all help in the brewing process.

Necessary Ingredients

Hops, malt and beer yeast are all necessary ingredients to the brewing process. Healthy yeast is essential for the fermentation process that creates the alcoholic content of the beer. Ensure enough oxygen is available at the start of the fermentation process for the health of the yeast. Malt is sweet while hops balance the flavor. The more hops used, the more bitter the flavor. All these ingredients come as dry or wet and depend on the brewer’s preference.

Additional Ingredients

Customize your brew with your own additional ingredients. Grains are needed to make wheat beers. Add some fruity extract to change up the flavor with peach, strawberry, raspberry and watermelon. Sweet orange peel, grapefruit peel, coffee and cacao nibs can all add a unique flavor to any beer. The combination of flavors is what makes your recipe uniquely yours.

Making your own beer lets you taste the finished product. You can create your own unique combinations to satisfy your taste buds. The options are endless …

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Questions to Ask When Having a Sprinkler System Installed
Plumbing Services

Questions to Ask When Having a Sprinkler System Installed

- by Avery James

You need to protect your business from the possibility of being burned down in a fire. The obvious way to do this is by installing a sprinkler system. These have saved thousands of business owners from complete disaster. It is a worthwhile investment. You will be very thankful that you paid to have sprinklers installed in the event that a fire does occur inside your business. You should never just randomly hire a company to install your sprinkler system. Here are a few of the questions that you will need to pose to any company you are thinking about hiring for this project.

1. What type of sprinkler system would you recommend that I install in by business?

You would be wise to get the opinions of professionals regarding the sprinkler system that you will be using to protect your business. There are many different sprinkler systems on the market. Some are much better at protecting certain types of businesses than others. Therefore, it is crucial that you have a firm understanding of the type of sprinkler system that will be right for you. Call a company that performs fire sprinkler installation California and ask for their opinion regarding the sprinkler system that you should use.

2. What sort of warranty will you give me on the work that you perform?

All of the most reputable companies in the sprinkler installation industry will give you some sort of warranty. The length of the warranty and the specific things it will cover are going to vary depending on the company that you are dealing with. You should never hire a company to install your sprinkler system if they refuse to give you any warranty on their work at all.

3. How long will the installation take?

Ask the company that will …

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Caring for a Hardwood Floor
Hardwood Tile

Caring for a Hardwood Floor

- by Avery James

While farmhouse hardwood floors are more durable than many other kinds of flooring, you still need to know how to care for them if you want them to look their best. Here are some tips that will help you.

Caring for a Hardwood Floor

Cleaning a Hardwood Floor

One of the best parts of having hardwood flooring in your home is that you don’t have to vacuum your floors every week. On the other hand, you will have to take a dust mop to your floors regularly. This will pick up the dirt and debris that may have accumulated over the last week without leaving scratches in your floor.

Once you’ve swept up all the dust, your next step will be to go over the floor with a liquid cleaner that is designed for wood surfaces. If you don’t have a store-bought wood cleaner, you can always make some with one part vinegar and 10 parts warm water with a few drops of liquid soap. The solution can be applied to your floor with a regular mop.

Avoiding Scratches and Gouges

Scratches and gouges are common in hardwood floors, but they can be avoided as long as you are careful. First of all, avoid moving furniture without placing pads underneath the legs. In fact, try to avoid furniture that doesn’t have wheels or casters that can roll smoothly across the surface. If you must move any furniture that doesn’t have casters, you should carefully lift it and move into place.

You can also avoid scratches and gouges to an extent by placing some area rugs in places that will have a lot of foot traffic. You might even consider placing these rugs underneath coffee tables or TV stands if you’re really afraid of your furniture leaving unsightly scratches in your floor.

Refinishing Your Hardwood Floor

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Kitchen Updates: Two Options That Make a Big Difference
Kitchen Backsplash Tile

Kitchen Updates: Two Options That Make a Big Difference

- by Avery James

The kitchen is a well-used, popular place in any home. It’s where we eat, gather and spend a lot of our time. If your kitchen is showing its age or displaying signs of heavy wear it may be time to update it. Here are two options that give you the most bang for your buck when it comes to livening up your space.

Kitchen Updates: Two Options That Make a Big Difference

Flooring

The flooring you have in your kitchen should be practical and beautiful. The kitchen is prone to seeing spills and messy clean-ups so you want to choose flooring that can stand up to the demands of your home life. Vinyl flooring is one of the hottest trends in flooring right now. Not only is vinyl flooring durable, but it is also available in numerous styles, colors, and designs. If you want the look of natural stone or rich hardwood but don’t want to spend that kind of money, vinyl flooring is your answer. Manufacturers have developed methods to create vinyl that looks just like expensive marble or solid hardwood at a fraction of the cost.  So whether you want vinyl flooring in Orlando, FL or Anchorage, Alaska, there is a style to match your taste. 

Cabinets

The color of your cabinets can really liven up the mood in your kitchen. If you have a large budget you could have a cabinet company design a whole new layout for your space. However, a fresh coat of paint can also work magic in your kitchen. Whether you want the clean look of white cabinets or you want to make a statement with bold navy blue, painting can be a great economical choice. If you prefer the look of wood for your cabinets, consider restaining them. A painter can usually sand down the current stain and either add a fresh …

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The Right Broker Can Help You Find the Right Home
Contractor

The Right Broker Can Help You Find the Right Home

- by Avery James

When you are looking for the right house, having a good broker can make all the difference. Someone with the right certifications, experience and local advantage can show you homes you may not have been able to find on your own and get you a better deal for them.

The Right Broker Can Help You Find the Right Home

The Right Certifications

Your broker should be certified to buy and sell homes in your area. This can help you have more confidence in the search and sale as well as get you the best deals possible. You can usually see the certifications for a real estate broker Spring TX company by visiting their website. With a certified broker, you can be confident that he or she knows all of the applicable laws as well as how to best negotiate a deal.

The Right Experience

The more experience a broker has, the more likely you are to get the best deal possible. This can be especially true when you are listing a home of your own. If you go with a novice, you can be in for a bumpy learning curve. However, if you go with someone more experienced, then you can have access to the working relationships he or she has developed along the way.

The Right Local Advantage

When you choose a broker, it is a good idea to find one with local experience. This can give you an advantage in buying property in a new location or selling your current home. Local agents will know other local brokers and can have a working relationship with them to get you into homes new to the market as well as hidden gems.

Having a broker can make all the difference in buying and selling property. He or she can bring the right certifications, experience and local advantage to your …

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