jimcoffey,

I use a short piece if 1/2" ID silicone hose on the spigot, just stretch it a bit to slide it on.

I have an immersion chiller I use so there's no worry about this pot fitting in my sink....I just set it on the counter next to the sink and run the chiller.

---Todd

Update on the beer itself:

It's got a great pellicle on it, still in the primary and getting nice and sour/funky, thinking about racking it on to some local sour cherries (they're in season here now) and letting it go another 6 months (perhaps add some oak chips too?).

Hmmm, that looks like it might be infected! You should throw it out

I had a beer with cherries in it once, was a really nice beer. They should help set it off nicely.

HC

Beer update #2: Still aging in the carboy, it smells wonderful so I decided not to muck it up by adding fruit or oak. I'll bottle it at its first birthday in a couple of weeks.

Equipment update: Sadly all of the magic smoke leaked out of the control unit the last tme I tried to use it (manufactured by Lucas Electric?).

I have been doing 1.5 gallon batches on the stovetop but really miss my 3 gallon batches (as I have several 3 gallon kegs), so I decided to resurect this kettle. I punched a hole and installed a 1500 watt water heater element in it this afternoon. I then simply wired an extension cord directly to the element as the element alone is not enough to boil 5 gallons of water so there is no need for a controller. A test run with 5 gallons of water, stove burner set on high and element plugged directly in gets me from 80F to a full rolling boil in 35 minutes. I can then regulate the boil intensity by adjusting the stove burner only and leaving the element running full throttle.