: Ben,

: We're in the same setup (lots of drafts in the basement), so epoxying hasn't
: been an issue (MAS). But the beer brewing was enough of an issue that I
: came home with the ingredients for a batch and my lovely wife met me at
: the door with a spanking new propane burner and told me to boil outside. I
: was secretly thrilled.

: I suppose I deserved grief about brewing. When I was still fermenting in the
: coat closet, I decided to try to dry hop a batch. So I threw in some leaf
: hops, put in the stopper and the 3/8" blowoff tube, and let it go. I
: got a great karusen, huge cap, and those hop leaf floated up to the top.
: Hop flower leafs are somewhat wider than 3/8" (at least the variety I
: was using), and plugged up the blowoff tube. The yeast kept going, the
: pressure built up until BANG! the stopper blew up and foam spewed 6 feet
: up the wall and all over our coats. That batch finished the secondary
: fermentation in the basement.
Whenever you dry hop you should always use a hop bag. I even use them in the boil, as I like a clean wort. The cleaner it starts the cleaner it finishes. Brewing I guess is like boat building, Sure you can by it cheaper already made but where is the fun in that. Does'nt your wife just love the smell of boiling up a fresh batch? I think mine would rather I glassed right in the front room instead of having to smell the aroma of fresh hops and Malted barley.
Cheers, Elliott