# Home Brew Questions



## Voley (Mar 16, 2009)

I've decided to enter the bearded and chunky-jumpered world of home brewing.

Can those of you in the know tell me whether this is a good starter kit. It reckons it's got everything you need but I'd like to hear that from someone impartial.

What do you reckon?


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## AnnaKarpik (Mar 16, 2009)

I DO NOT have a beard young man, nor a chunky jumper!

I don't make beer either but that kit looks reasonably priced and I can't immediately spot any glaring omissions.


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## Voley (Mar 16, 2009)

Cheers. 

You _should _have a beard and a chunky jumper, though. 

You're letting the side down frankly.


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## Stig (Mar 16, 2009)

That kit sounds really good for the money, and really has everything you need, in fact I'm very impressed!

The fermenting bin and the pressure barrel alone are 20 quid each from Wilkos, and the actual kit itself with the malt extract is another ten to twenty quid. Another two or three quid each for all the bits and bobs and you've got a good deal there.


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## Stig (Mar 16, 2009)

I'd recommend getting at least one extra hydrometer, for when you drop the fecking thing after a couple of ales to steady the brewing process. 

I've been through four already and only started last august.  

BTW What is is with the chunky jumpers? There's nothing at all wrong with a good cardigan, I'll have you know.


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## aqua (Mar 16, 2009)

wherry is lush mate you'll enjoy it 

looks good to me


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## Stig (Mar 16, 2009)

You even get a C02 injector, mine was over a tenner just for that I think....


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## TopCat (Mar 16, 2009)

Is the taste ant better than in the long ago past?


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## berniedicters (Mar 16, 2009)

Excellent choice of beer kit in there - for starting out, using a complete kit rather than the traditional "kit'n'kilo" approach is a great idea.

You get all the useful gear in there (ok, thermometer's probably a bit technological), without unnecessary guff. If you decide to "cask-condition", you won't even need the CO2, or at least not until you've drunk half the brew and need to gas it up a bit.

If you go into this seriously, you may need to consider additional bits. If you go for another fermentation vessel, go for one of the screw-capped ones that lets you use an airlock - just that they're more convenient to use, especially for slower-fermenting brews, as the risk of contamination is lower, and you get to see if the brew is still underway.

The other thing to ponder on is whether you are going to start bottling your output. This has the advantage of keeping longer (with decent hygiene, you can keep bottled brews for 3-6 months, and I've drunk brews of mine after a year which have, if anything, benefited from the maturation). But it does require an extra investment in kit - you'll need a capping tool, crown caps, and a good supply of bottles, plus a suitable syphon and cleaning kit.

Oh...that is one thing that looks like it's missing from your kit: sterilisation/cleaning stuff. I use VWP for cleaning and sterilisation, but you need to rinse well afterwards, as it leaves a slight chlorine taint. If you want to go for a no-rinse option, then iodophor is a great steriliser (but doesn't clean), or you can go all technological and use sodium percarbonate - also called "oxygen bleach", which sterilises but leaves no taint.

It pays to sterilise very carefully - you don't want to wreck a brew thanks to substandard hygiene, though in practice I've found beer brewing pretty forgiving.

And www.howtobrew.com gives you all you need to know, albeit from a slightly US-centric position. It's available in book form, too - I thoroughly recommend it.


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## Voley (Mar 16, 2009)

Cheers, Stig. Sounds like a pretty good deal, then. Ta.

I doubt mine'll turn out like proper Wherry but it sounds like it's quite a good one to start off with. Low gravity (I think that's the right phrase) so easier to brew, apparently. 

Quite looking forward to having a go at this. Only ever made some lager many, many years ago and the first batch was really quite nice. The second one was rank, mind, because I didn't have enough bottles to put it in and it fermented for ages too long. Shouldn't have that problem with the keg that comes with this one.


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## Voley (Mar 16, 2009)

Thanks for all that, agnesdavies. I'll have a look at some sterilisation stuff. I seem to remember from last time that there's these soluble tablets that do the trick. Or have I imagined that?  Another hydrometer's a good idea, too, Stig, I agree.

TopCat - I guess a lot's down to how much effort you put into it. Homebrew can be seriously rank, I know, but I've had some good results once before - and that was as a teenager and when I didn't really have the right kit, even - so I'm hoping if I pay a bit of attention this time and with the benefit of decent equipment it might turn out alright. We'll see.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Mar 16, 2009)

Top tip - when brewing stuff from the kits use two tins worth of gunk, but only make up one tins worth of beer iyswim.

Gives you a nice strong, full flavoured tasting brew


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## Voley (Mar 16, 2009)

I might give that a go after I've followed the instructions to the letter first, bees. The memory of the foul second batch I brewed is still strong.


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## beesonthewhatnow (Mar 16, 2009)

NVP said:


> I might give that a go after I've followed the instructions to the letter first, bees. The memory of the foul second batch I brewed is still strong.



You can play around with honey as well - use 1.5 times the amount of honey as they say to use sugar


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## berniedicters (Mar 16, 2009)

NVP said:


> Cheers, Stig. Sounds like a pretty good deal, then. Ta.
> 
> I doubt mine'll turn out like proper Wherry but it sounds like it's quite a good one to start off with. Low gravity (I think that's the right phrase) so easier to brew, apparently.
> 
> Quite looking forward to having a go at this. Only ever made some lager many, many years ago and the first batch was really quite nice. The second one was rank, mind, because I didn't have enough bottles to put it in and it fermented for ages too long. Shouldn't have that problem with the keg that comes with this one.


If you get it mostly right, your Wherry shouldn't be all that far off what you'd get in the pub. The nice thing about those full kits (where you get 3kg of wort and don't have to faff around adding malt or sugar) is that they're very reliable. A lot of homebrews fall down because people use sugar, which gives a rather thin, cidery characteristic to the beer that you don't get with malt.



NVP said:


> Thanks for all that, agnesdavies. I'll have a look at some sterilisation stuff. I seem to remember from last time that there's these soluble tablets that do the trick. Or have I imagined that?  Another hydrometer's a good idea, too, Stig, I agree.


There's a few things you can use to sterilise if you don't want to go the whole hog: in particular, Milton tablets (or the TESCO equivalent), which contain another chlorine source (sodium dichloroisocyanurate) can be handy - and as tablets, they're convenient. Sniff'n'rinse afterwards, to be sure.

I've seen it often recommended to avoid using washing-up liquid for the cleaning process (as opposed to sterilisation), as it tends to leave a taint that's very hard to remove. This is true in spades if you're washing bottles - at the risk of sounding like a breathless advert, you can _feel_ the difference on a bottle washed in VWP (and rinsed) compared to one washing in washing up liquid: apparently the washing up liquid residue can have an effect on your beer's attempt to hold its head once poured.



beesonthewhatnow said:


> Top tip - when brewing stuff from the kits use two tins worth of gunk, but only make up one tins worth of beer iyswim.
> 
> Gives you a nice strong, full flavoured tasting brew


Ah, that won't apply here, because it's a gunk-only brew...in effect already doing what you're recommending! But, if he wants to save £££ later and go for kit'n'kilo, I would very strongly advise using spray-dried malt instead of sugar, or even buying in cans of LME (Light Malt Extract) to do it with. I'm most of the way through a 25kg drum, though I suspect it's probably starting to oxidise a bit now and might not be so lovely to brew with any more...


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## Stig (Mar 16, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> Excellent choice of beer kit in there - for starting out, using a complete kit rather than the traditional "kit'n'kilo" approach is a great idea.
> 
> You get all the useful gear in there (ok, thermometer's probably a bit technological), without unnecessary guff. If you decide to "cask-condition", you won't even need the CO2, or at least not until you've drunk half the brew and need to gas it up a bit.
> 
> ...



I don't think the thermometer's too technological, you do need to ferment at the right temperature, as we found when our central heating packed up and I had to stick the beer in front of the fire wrapped in a duvet. 

Also, the kit already comes with an airlock, it says on that ad? (something I don't have yet and I'm on to all grain beer now...)

I think bottling is the way forward, for sure, as we used to waste quite a lot of each barrel, but you only need a cheap capper and a few caps, as the actual bottles, well they just sort of appear round the house as if by magic 

You'll soon learn to distinguish between an excellent bottle for re-using, like a good old Timothy Taylor's Landlord, and a complete arse to re-cap, like some of the Youngs ones.

Once you start selecting beers in the off licence on the basis of how easy it is to get the label off the bottle, you'll know there's no hope for you.


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## berniedicters (Mar 16, 2009)

Stig said:


> Once you start selecting beers in the off licence on the basis of how easy it is to get the label off the bottle, you'll know there's no hope for you.



Heh, and there was me thinking I was the only one who did this!

I'm boycotting Badger now, because they changed their bottle neck from the standard profile to one which my winged capper thing won't clamp around. Bastards. So now I select beer on the basis of that...


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## Stig (Mar 16, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> But, if he wants to save £££ later and go for kit'n'kilo, I would very strongly advise using spray-dried malt instead of sugar, or even buying in cans of LME (Light Malt Extract) to do it with. I'm most of the way through a 25kg drum, though I suspect it's probably starting to oxidise a bit now and might not be so lovely to brew with any more...



I always used to buy two pots of syrup and forget the sugar completely. In fact, even the for bottle conditioning I'm using glucose powder instead of sugar, i think it works better.

If you want to save £££ later, forget the syrup and buy sacks of malted grain. The chocolate malt smells delicious straight out of the bag before you even do anything with it.


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## rich! (Mar 16, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> Heh, and there was me thinking I was the only one who did this!
> 
> I'm boycotting Badger now, because they changed their bottle neck from the standard profile to one which my winged capper thing won't clamp around. Bastards. So now I select beer on the basis of that...



We're a bit worried by those new thin glass bottles Adnam's are using. Doesn't sound like the best thing for using under pressure...


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## Zachor (Mar 16, 2009)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> You can play around with honey as well - use 1.5 times the amount of honey as they say to use sugar



Thanks for the info about the sugar/honey ratios.  I'm planning to make an apple and honey cider for a religious festval later this year and people like my apple and honey crumble so why not an apple and honey cider.  

So if you need 2.0kg of sugar you replace it with 3kg of honey?  Am I correct?


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## Stig (Mar 16, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> Heh, and there was me thinking I was the only one who did this!
> 
> I'm boycotting Badger now, because they changed their bottle neck from the standard profile to one which my winged capper thing won't clamp around. Bastards. So now I select beer on the basis of that...



I'll have to add at this point my primary selection criteria is tasty beer, but some of them do go straight into the recycling, especially the ones with the plastic labels where the bottles never ever stop being sticky 

What you were saying about sterilising, I just use the bog standard stuff from Wilkos, because I've heard that bleach and chlorine tablets etc can lead to all sorts of beer flavour disasters if not rinsed manically, so I've been steering clear of them.


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## berniedicters (Mar 16, 2009)

rich! said:


> We're a bit worried by those new thin glass bottles Adnam's are using. Doesn't sound like the best thing for using under pressure...


The thing is, they'll have precisely calculated the strength of the bottle for the pressure they're using, and for single use. They'll also not factor in anything to cover fatiguing or stress cracks already in the glass (this is a huge issue when I bottle to champagne bottles - a good 10% or so of mine break off around the crown cap when I open them).

It's a shame, really - one would think that, given the huge energy input involved in making glass bottles, they'd make them so they could be re-used, rather than recycled. Ah well.

Anyway, on a related tack, I find that cider bottles, as beloved of Magners, for example, are excellent, too. May be worth chatting up local pubs.



Stig said:


> I'll have to add at this point my primary selection criteria is tasty beer, but some of them do go straight into the recycling, especially the ones with the plastic labels where the bottles never ever stop being sticky
> 
> What you were saying about sterilising, I just use the bog standard stuff from Wilkos, because I've heard that bleach and chlorine tablets etc can lead to all sorts of beer flavour disasters if not rinsed manically, so I've been steering clear of them.


I'll have to have a look at what Wilko bog-standard is, then, because I thought they only sold chlorine-based ones. I find that using VWP or Milton (compatibles) and rinsing seems to be fine at removing any residual chlorine, though...it's just a faff making it a two-stage process, so bottles I've previously used I generally rinse after use, and then just "wash" in steriliser.


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## Voley (Mar 16, 2009)

Stig said:


> I don't think the thermometer's too technological, you do need to ferment at the right temperature, as we found when our central heating packed up and I had to stick the beer in front of the fire wrapped in a duvet.



 Were you tearful ?


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## Stig (Mar 16, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> Anyway, on a related tack, I find that cider bottles, as beloved of Magners, for example, are excellent, too. May be worth chatting up local pubs.



Westons at least are the same as Landlord bottles. They use the same ones. 
I've had a few from our local, but tbh we arely need any emptied by random strangers, we  get through enough on our own.


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## Stig (Mar 16, 2009)

NVP said:


> Were you tearful ?



No but I did get Comments about how it must be love, tucking the beer up snug every night and putting the heater on for it .


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## Voley (Mar 16, 2009)

Stig said:


> No but I did get Comments about how it must be love, tucking the beer up snug every night and putting the heater on for it .



I've got visions of you fussing over it, muttering 'my poor, poor baby' and the like.

It's what I'd do, tbf.


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## Voley (Mar 16, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> If you get it mostly right, your Wherry shouldn't be all that far off what you'd get in the pub. The nice thing about those full kits (where you get 3kg of wort and don't have to faff around adding malt or sugar) is that they're very reliable.



That's reassuring. I like draught Wherry.


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## rich! (Mar 16, 2009)

NVP said:


> I've got visions of you fussing over it, muttering 'my poor, poor baby' and the like.
> 
> It's what I'd do, tbf.



Yep, that's exactly what was happening.

Even the cats were looking jealous...


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## Stig (Mar 16, 2009)

Most of the people on my home brew forum  swear by the Wherry kit as being the best of the lot. (they like coopers too, bizarrely...)


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## lighterthief (Mar 16, 2009)

Another vote for Wherry, wonderful kit.


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## Otters (Mar 16, 2009)

My parents bought that very same kit for my husband for christmas. My Dad's been homebrewing for 40 odd years so he knew what he was buying. The Wherry was lush, we had a party and polished the whole lot off in an evening. By about 10pm actually...

Our second batch was lovely too, the kit was one of the double tin ones, the brand was Yorkshire something or other... Third batch is fermenting as I type. 

We were talking to the man in the home brew shop the other day, and he was saying that plastic fizzy water bottles (the two litre ones) are brilliant for bottling, as they have a bit of stretch in them so you get plenty of warning as the pressure builds up. If glass is going to go pop, it will just go without any warning. Probably in the middle of the night and scare the crap out of you


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## Stig (Mar 16, 2009)

Otters said:


> My parents bought that very same kit for my husband for christmas. My Dad's been homebrewing for 40 odd years so he knew what he was buying. The Wherry was lush, we had a party and polished the whole lot off in an evening. By about 10pm actually...
> 
> Our second batch was lovely too, the kit was one of the double tin ones, the brand was Yorkshire something or other... Third batch is fermenting as I type.
> 
> We were talking to the man in the home brew shop the other day, and he was saying that plastic fizzy water bottles (the two litre ones) are brilliant for bottling, as they have a bit of stretch in them so you get plenty of warning as the pressure builds up. If glass is going to go pop, it will just go without any warning. Probably in the middle of the night and scare the crap out of you



I've been told never to use plastic bottles as the beer will be flat.

Carbonation only works if the Co2 is forced into the liquid. So if the bottle expands to accommodate the Co2, or the gas is allowed to sit in the space above the beer instead of being forced into it (like in a half-full barrel or a bottle not full enough) it will not work.

That's why I found it impossible to re-carbonate old flat beer halfway down a barrel and ended up chucking it, last autumn, and decided to use glass bottles instead.


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## Stig (Mar 16, 2009)

Also you're only supposed to store beer in brown, never clear or green, or it will become skunked.

Check 'Light-struck beer' here


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## berniedicters (Mar 16, 2009)

Stig said:


> I've been told never to use plastic bottles as the beer will be flat.
> 
> Carbonation only works if the Co2 is forced into the liquid. So if the bottle expands to accommodate the Co2, or the gas is allowed to sit in the space above the beer instead of being forced into it (like in a half-full barrel or a bottle not full enough) it will not work.
> 
> That's why I found it impossible to re-carbonate old flat beer halfway down a barrel and ended up chucking it, last autumn, and decided to use glass bottles instead.



Nah, I bottle to 2l PET bottles all the time, no question of the beer being flat.

The only real snag with them is that you need to pour the beer pretty much in one hit, as each time you up-end the bottle again, you disturb more of the yeast on the bottom. Best to decant to a jug at the beginning of the sesh...

Just make sure you're using bottles that were for carbonated drinks. And don't be tempted to go mad with the priming sugar, or you'll end up with a ton of foam in your lap and no beer! 

The reason you found it impossible to recarbonate the beer was more to do with having so much headspace above it that it needed vast amounts of CO2 just to get the headspace pressurised to the point where enough gas would be forced into the beer, what with there being so much room for (compressible) gas above the (incompressible) liquid.


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## Otters (Mar 16, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> Nah, I bottle to 2l PET bottles all the time, no question of the beer being flat.
> .



Yeah I've definitely had homebrew from a plastic bottle and it was fine. I didn't know about having to use brown plastic though, presumably if you keep it in the dark this isn't strictly necessary though?


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## berniedicters (Mar 16, 2009)

Otters said:


> Yeah I've definitely had homebrew from a plastic bottle and it was fine. I didn't know about having to use brown plastic though, presumably if you keep it in the dark this isn't strictly necessary though?


That's right. I tend to just stick a binliner over mine.


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## Stig (Mar 16, 2009)

Otters said:


> Yeah I've definitely had homebrew from a plastic bottle and it was fine. I didn't know about having to use brown plastic though, presumably if you keep it in the dark this isn't strictly necessary though?



That's true, I've always done at least one bottle of each brew in a clear bottle, just so I can see if it's cleared or not. Seems fine, but I wouldn't want to leave it on a window ledge for the afternoon just in case.


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## aqua (Mar 16, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> Heh, and there was me thinking I was the only one who did this!
> 
> I'm boycotting Badger now, because they changed their bottle neck from the standard profile to one which my winged capper thing won't clamp around. Bastards. So now I select beer on the basis of that...


or you make friends with a local landlord (my case a wetherspoons) and they save their bottles for you


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## berniedicters (Mar 16, 2009)

aqua said:


> or you make friends with a local landlord (my case a wetherspoons) and they save their bottles for you


I keep meaning to talk to the girlie at the golf club we have our after-lodge-meeting dinners at and ask her to start stashing the Magners bottles. And then keep forgetting to...

This year will be the year I put the brewery in up in the shed at the bottom of the garden. It's gone on too long...


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## Voley (Mar 16, 2009)

Very reassuring to hear all these good things about the kit I've bought, thanks.


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## rich! (Mar 16, 2009)

Stig said:


> Most of the people on my home brew forum  swear by the Wherry kit as being the best of the lot. (they like coopers too, bizarrely...)



*reports post for starting board war*


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## berniedicters (Mar 16, 2009)

NVP said:


> Very reassuring to hear all these good things about the kit I've bought, thanks.


I've got a brew of that on the go at the moment - I'm kegging it for draught this time, as we have a bunch of French people coming over in early April as part of a twinning visit. I've dry-hopped the brew with a big handful of Fuggles (tends to make it slightly grassy, but gives it a lovely extra-refreshing bite), and will be rebranding it for their benefit as "Entente CordiAle" *cheesy grin*...it's that good that if I'm going to put my homebrewing reputation on the line, I'd rather do it with Wherry than pretty much anything else.

And if you have a taste for the stronger brews, give serious consideration to having a crack at Woodforde's Headcracker, a 7.5% barley wine. It's the basis for my annual seasonal Christmas brew, once I've added a fistful of various spices, ginger, herbs and orange essential oil...


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## berniedicters (Mar 16, 2009)

rich! said:


> *reports post for starting board war*


*wonders who stig is on that board, because I'm on there too!*


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## Voley (Mar 16, 2009)

I do like the idea of chucking some ginger in. When do you do this? Before fermentation? 

Alcoholic ginger beer is awesome - I had a pint at a beer festival this Summer.


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## berniedicters (Mar 16, 2009)

NVP said:


> I do like the idea of chucking some ginger in. When do you do this? Before fermentation?
> 
> Alcoholic ginger beer is awesome - I had a pint at a beer festival this Summer.


All the herbs, spices and ginger go in at the same time as I pitch the yeast. Because it's a high-gravity beer it tends to ferment pretty slowly - I usually give it 2-3 weeks in primary, then rack it off the trub and let it go for another week or so until it's gone as dry as it's ever going to, then rack to bottles. The hop bag with all the adjuncts in stays in the brew right up to bottling time.

It's a bit "in yer face" for about 3 months afterwards, but after that the flavours are starting to blend nicely. After the Spring Lager I'm about to put on next (when I can be arsed), I'll probably put the Xmas brew on...just waiting for it to be warm enough that it'll ferment happily at ambient temperatures: I don't tend to bother with heating bands and so on. That'll give it 9 months' maturing (well, 8 after brewing), which should be just lovely. Trouble is, it's a 24 pint brew, and it's getting famous enough now that I usually only get about 8 left for..."personal consumption"


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## Voley (Mar 16, 2009)

Sounds ace.


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## Voley (Mar 17, 2009)

Also 'Fuggles' is an ace word.

Was it worth bumping the thread for that?

Yes. Yes it was.


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## berniedicters (Mar 17, 2009)

NVP said:


> Also 'Fuggles' is an ace word.
> 
> Was it worth bumping the thread for that?
> 
> Yes. Yes it was.



Definitely. If there were a prize for best-named hop, Fuggles would definitely win. Although I quite like the trying-to-be-exotic-but-actually-very-mundane East Kent Goldings, too...


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## Voley (Mar 18, 2009)

Well it's all arrived, and it includes sterilisation stuff. Gonna have a crack at getting it all going this evening.


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## Stig (Mar 18, 2009)

NVP said:


> Well it's all arrived, and it includes sterilisation stuff. Gonna have a crack at getting it all going this evening.



Brilliant. That was quick.  I can't wait to hear how you get on  

I thought of something else this morning.

Calibrate your Hydrometer before you start, very important if you want an accurate percentage measurement*.

Basically it's just a glass tube with a bit of paper inside, so the chances are the paper won't be *exactly* where it should be. So float it in tap water at room temperature. It should read 1.000. If not the paper will have shucked up or down a bit, so note the difference between where it is and 1.000 and adjust each measurement of beer accordingly.

*NB I did say IF. I haven't bothered doing this, I keep meaning to, but I'm more from the  'no I don't know the exact percentage it's just beer you measurement obsessed freak do you want it or not then' school tbh


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## berniedicters (Mar 18, 2009)

Stig said:


> *NB I did say IF. I haven't bothered doing this, I keep meaning to, but I'm more from the  'no I don't know the exact percentage it's just beer you measurement obsessed freak do you want it or not then' school tbh



Heh, yes, I think this is somethign our colonial cousins get much more het up about than we do. As far as I'm concerned, I use the hydrometer to measure "points difference" for when I'm sugaring up a brew (ie aiming for some kind of rough ABV, and - if I'm not using an airlock - to determine if a brew is about ready.

When you consider that it wasn't until about 150 years ago that we actually knew that yeast was involved in brewing, we haven't got too much of an excuse for making a lot of fuss...


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## Voley (Mar 18, 2009)

OK. It's all in the fermentation bin and went reasonably smoothly. The kit seems like a good 'un but it's a bit lacking in instructions, tbh. It assumes you know a lot already - a bit daft for a beginners kit, imo.

Anyhow, I've muddled through and I've got a couple of questions - the fermentation bin's got a hole in the lid and after fannying about with all the bits and bobs I figured this is for the airlock. Is this right? It's got a rubber seal and two plastic thingies that plug into it. You take the top placcy bit off and you can peek inside without having to get the whole lid off. Is that what that's for?

Second question that leads on from this. I'm presuming taking the lid off the fermentation bin's bad news generally. Is this right? Does the whole thing have to be strictly airtight? Sorry if these are dumb questions but the 'instructions' that come with it are a bit lacking.

That's about it for now I think. I'll no doubt have more questions when I get to the secondary phase in 4-6 days time.

Thanks for all your help so far.


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## tommers (Mar 18, 2009)

I've got a load in a fermentation barrel at the moment actually.  It's due to be siphoned over but the hydrometer is saying 1,030.  It might be a bit cold in my kitchen to be going well enough... does it matter if I leave it in there for a few days till it's finished?

Where do people put the barrel / container when it is supposed to be warm enough to brew?  And where does it move to once it needs to be cooler?  My house doesn't really have different temperatures in it...


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## Spion (Mar 18, 2009)

NVP said:


> Second question that leads on from this. I'm presuming taking the lid off the fermentation bin's bad news generally. Is this right? Does the whole thing have to be strictly airtight?


It won't be airtight and doesn't need to be. Fermentation will generate gas and that will escape slowly from the bin. In answer to the first part of your question, it's best to avoid taking the lid off for as long as possible to avoid contamination (cleanliness is next to <insert highest virtue of your choice> in brewing). It's been a while since I brewed but IIRC up to 2 or 3 weeks (you can't let it ferment for too long, but too short a time is potentially ruinous) and by that time you can take an SG reading and it'll probably be down to what it should be.


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## mattie (Mar 18, 2009)

tommers said:


> I've got a load in a fermentation barrel at the moment actually.  It's due to be siphoned over but the hydrometer is saying 1,030.  It might be a bit cold in my kitchen to be going well enough... does it matter if I leave it in there for a few days till it's finished?
> 
> Where do people put the barrel / container when it is supposed to be warm enough to brew?  And where does it move to once it needs to be cooler?  My house doesn't really have different temperatures in it...



I put ours in the airing cupboard, hence our sheets smell a bit manky now.


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## Voley (Mar 18, 2009)

tommers said:


> Where do people put the barrel / container when it is supposed to be warm enough to brew?  And where does it move to once it needs to be cooler?  My house doesn't really have different temperatures in it...



Yeah, I've got a question about temperature, too. Mine's showing as 24 atm which I gather is a bit warm. The kit reckons 18-20. Is this a problem? Should I move it somewhere else?



Spion said:


> It won't be airtight and doesn't need to be. Fermentation will generate gas and that will escape slowly from the bin. In answer to the first part of your question, it's best to avoid taking the lid off for as long as possible to avoid contamination (cleanliness is next to <insert highest virtue of your choice> in brewing).



Excellent. Thanks for that. My kit's meant to be ready to be siphoned off in 4 to 6 days.


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 18, 2009)

NVP said:


> OK. It's all in the fermentation bin and went reasonably smoothly. The kit seems like a good 'un but it's a bit lacking in instructions, tbh. It assumes you know a lot already - a bit daft for a beginners kit, imo.


There's not much to say - though I agree they could be a bit more informative. I usually open the cans of gunk and warm them in a pan of boiling water (and use pliers to carry/tip them), as it makes it runnier. You'll develop a technique of making sure it doesn't all end up stuck to the bottom of the bin! (I usually put a few pints of warmish water in first, and stir well as the stuff is going in).



NVP said:


> Anyhow, I've muddled through and I've got a couple of questions - the fermentation bin's got a hole in the lid and after fannying about with all the bits and bobs I figured this is for the airlock. Is this right? It's got a rubber seal and two plastic thingies that plug into it. You take the top placcy bit off and you can peek inside without having to get the whole lid off. Is that what that's for?


Well, it's for shoving the airlock in, but as a general rule I'd avoid doing too much peering in, even though a first batch is bound to be an object of curiosity! 



NVP said:


> Second question that leads on from this. I'm presuming taking the lid off the fermentation bin's bad news generally. Is this right? Does the whole thing have to be strictly airtight? Sorry if these are dumb questions but the 'instructions' that come with it are a bit lacking.


Not strictly airtight, no. But it wants to be well enough on that there's no risk of stuff floating in on air currents, etc. This is not so much a problem during initial fermentation, when the brew will be chucking out carbon dioxide at a rate of knots, but can be more of an issue at the later stages.



NVP said:


> That's about it for now I think. I'll no doubt have more questions when I get to the secondary phase in 4-6 days time.
> 
> Thanks for all your help so far.


You're welcome. And welcome to the homebrew gang. Aqua will be along soon with pints of homebrewed scrumpy and a few links to specialist homebrewing websites...

And here's one to be going on with: http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/index.php


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## Voley (Mar 18, 2009)

Ace info, agnes, ta. 



agnesdavies said:


> Heh, yes, I think this is somethign our colonial cousins get much more het up about than we do. As far as I'm concerned, I use the hydrometer to measure "points difference" for when I'm sugaring up a brew (ie aiming for some kind of rough ABV, and -* if I'm not using an airlock - to determine if a brew is about ready*.



Am I right in saying you'd know it was ready because it had stopped bubbling?


----------



## tommers (Mar 18, 2009)

Spion said:


> It's been a while since I brewed but IIRC up to 2 or 3 weeks (you can't let it ferment for too long, but too short a time is potentially ruinous) and by that time you can take an SG reading and it'll probably be down to what it should be.



aaahhh, OK.  That explains the last batch...


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## Voley (Mar 18, 2009)

Also, is it possible to read this thread without getting a strong craving for a pint?


----------



## tommers (Mar 18, 2009)

NVP said:


> Am I right in saying you'd know it was ready because it had stopped bubbling?



yep.


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## berniedicters (Mar 18, 2009)

NVP said:


> Ace info, agnes, ta.
> 
> 
> 
> Am I right in saying you'd know it was ready because it had stopped bubbling?



Well, all other things being equal, yes. Stopping bubbling can mean a "stuck" fermentation (eg the brew got too cold and the yeast went to sleep, or something weird has upset it), but if it's been brewing nicely for a week or two, and tailed off nicely, you can be pretty sure it's fermented out. Absent a hydrometer, one way of checking is to fling in a bit of sugar-in-boiled-water and see if fermentation restarts...


----------



## Stig (Mar 18, 2009)

I'd say it's ready because the hydrometer reading hasn't changed for three days, but then I measure mine every day. I strongly disagree with only taking one after 2 or three weeks, most beer takes 4-6 days to finish! Then you have to get it off the yeast quick to prevent infection.

AS far as leaving it airtight and using the airlock though I'm a little more slack than those above, in fact my first ever batch, rich! hovered over the open barrel with a dustpan full of dirt and said what's in there then? 

I only went a tiny weeny bit ballistic   but the beer was fine.
 I've never had a bad batch yet, but I've been lucky, as sometimes all it takes is a speck of something getting in.


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## Voley (Mar 18, 2009)

The thing that's really confusing me is that everyone on this thread (and John Palmer in his book) say that I should be leaving everything to ferment for at least a couple of weeks, whereas the instructions say I should be sticking it in the keg with some sugar after 4-6 days. 

Which is right? Or have I got it all horribly back to front?


----------



## Stig (Mar 18, 2009)

NVP said:


> The thing that's really confusing me is that everyone on this thread


Except me! I say 4-6 days, anything else is madness! 

I'm just emptying a Taylor's Landlord bottle ready for re-filling, this recycling is a bloody hard job but someone has to do it.


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## Voley (Mar 18, 2009)

Ahh, sorry Stig. 4-6 days it is then. 

Do yours come out as good as something you'd get in a pub?


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## Stig (Mar 18, 2009)

Basically, your rehydrated wort should start at something like 1.030- 1.050 on the hydrometer, and it should take about 4-6 days to get it to 1.008 - 1.014, when it's done. you really should take it off the yeast then, even if you just move it to a different bin to settle for a few more days. 
I wouldn't bottle it before 1.014 for a thick stout or 1.008 for a light golden ale, or you're risking exploding bottles.


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## Stig (Mar 18, 2009)

NVP said:


> Ahh, sorry Stig. 4-6 days it is then.
> 
> Do yours come out as good as something you'd get in a pub?



OH yes. 

The first few didn't, they were perfectly drinkable, but they tasted of home brew. Still drank them though. 
The next few I took down the pub, and ours is a good pub with 8 or so good ales on, and the guy who owns the chain said they weren't bad but pointed outy a couple of flavour faults.

The next few were nicer than most of the beers in the pub, and I'm currently considering being brave enough to take one or two down to the London Amateur Brewers club meets, where they are Very discerning indeed


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## Voley (Mar 18, 2009)

Splendid. 

Basically, as long as this lot doesn't taste like flat Special Brew I'll be happy. If it comes out alright I might be a bit more adventurous with fuggles and ginger and whatnot.


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## Stig (Mar 18, 2009)

NVP said:


> Splendid.
> 
> Basically, as long as this lot doesn't taste like flat Special Brew I'll be happy. If it comes out alright I might be a bit more adventurous with fuggles and ginger and whatnot.



You can't go wrong with a load of hops, to my mind. Careful though, it becomes like a collectors fetish, I have a briefcase full that I like to sort through and go pwhoooar. That's probably too much information.  

I've never tried ginger, but I've tried putting coffee in stout, it's not bad at all.


----------



## tommers (Mar 18, 2009)

I started mine on Friday (I think) and I checked on Monday and it was 1030, today it's about 1015... should I be siphoning it into the pressure barrel tomorrow?


----------



## badseed (Mar 19, 2009)

I have found that mine improved a lot when I started racking.
After about a week you empty the fermenter into a clean one leaving behind the yeast cake (Trub) makes a big difference to the clarity and eliminates the sediment.
I have an old fridge with an external temperature control so I can control the brewing temperature. Temperature control is the best thing you can do to for your beer.
Lager yeast should be brewed at  around 8-12 degrees & Ale yeast should be about 15-18 degrees.
Also, throw away the kit yeast and buy quality yeast.

This is my usual method.
Primary Fermenter at 12 or 17 degrees for 1 week
Secondary Fermenter at 12 or 17 degrees for 1 week
Turn fridge down to 1 degree for 1 week and then empty into a keg and force carbonate.

My beer is far better than 90% of stuff you can buy.


----------



## Voley (Mar 19, 2009)

Those temperatures are quite a bit cooler than the other ones I've been hearing about. I thought it needed a reasonably warm temperature at the beginning to get the primary fermentation to kick in?


----------



## badseed (Mar 19, 2009)

NVP said:
			
		

> Those temperatures are quite a bit cooler than the other ones I've been hearing about. I thought it needed a reasonably warm temperature at the beginning to get the primary fermentation to kick in?



Depends entirely on the yeast. Most kit yeast is a blend for higher temperatures to make it easier for the average homebrewer. If you buy good yeast (costs me about AU$3 for a pack) it will have a temperature guide on the packet.
If your brew starts off too hot it can develop a bit of a weird after taste. It's true that it takes longer to start fermenting but I brew it for 2 weeks before it gets cold conditioned anyway. It is worth the extra effort. 
Hmmm beer


----------



## Voley (Mar 19, 2009)

Ah, that makes sense. Mmmmm ... beer, indeed. 

Quick check on mine this morning shows that it's at a very healthy 20 degrees with a decent head on it so everything's kicked off nicely. I've not bothered with the hydrometer or anything yet as I'm happier with the lid safely on atm.

It's a bit worrying how much I'm enjoying doing this, tbh. I resisted the urge to kiss my beautiful baby goodnight though so I'm doing well I reckon.


----------



## tommers (Mar 19, 2009)

NVP said:


> Ah, that makes sense. Mmmmm ... beer, indeed.
> 
> Quick check on mine this morning shows that it's at a very healthy 20 degrees with a decent head on it so everything's kicked off nicely. I've not bothered with the hydrometer or anything yet as I'm happier with the lid safely on atm.
> 
> It's a bit worrying how much I'm enjoying doing this, tbh. I resisted the urge to kiss my beautiful baby goodnight though so I'm doing well I reckon.



the way the world is going it's going to be homebrew all the way.  In the future you'll probably be some kind of king.


----------



## Voley (Mar 19, 2009)

tommers said:


> In the future you'll probably be some kind of king.


----------



## badseed (Mar 19, 2009)

tommers said:
			
		

> the way the world is going it's going to be homebrew all the way.  In the future you'll probably be some kind of king.



and I, for one, welcome our new beer making overlords.


----------



## Stig (Mar 19, 2009)

NVP said:


> It's a bit worrying how much I'm enjoying doing this, tbh. I resisted the urge to kiss my beautiful baby goodnight though so I'm doing well I reckon.



Just go with it, it's unhealthy trying to hold it in


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 19, 2009)

NVP said:


> Yeah, I've got a question about temperature, too. Mine's showing as 24 atm which I gather is a bit warm. The kit reckons 18-20. Is this a problem? Should I move it somewhere else?
> 
> 
> 
> Excellent. Thanks for that. My kit's meant to be ready to be siphoned off in 4 to 6 days.



The higher the brewing temperature, the greater the likelihood of "fusel alcohols" being produced in the fermentation process. Your brew will still work (actually, it'll brew even faster), but if you end up with too much of these high-order alcohols, you'll have a beer with off-flavours, and one which is more likely to produce hangovers.

Some level of fusel alcohol is a normal part of ale brewing (it's one of the things that characterises ale flavours as different from lager ones), but you do probably want to get that temperature down a bit if you want the brew to be as nice as possible.


----------



## Voley (Mar 19, 2009)

It's down to 20 now, agnes. That should be pretty good, shouldn't it?


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 19, 2009)

Stig said:


> I'd say it's ready because the hydrometer reading hasn't changed for three days, but then I measure mine every day. I strongly disagree with only taking one after 2 or three weeks, most beer takes 4-6 days to finish! Then you have to get it off the yeast quick to prevent infection..


I'd be wary of checking it that often, but I may be overcautious - I've managed not to bugger up a batch yet, and I'm keen to keep my record clean 

On the question of leaving the brew on the trub or racking it - the big problem isn't really infection, but that the dead yeast cells start to autolyse (eat themselves, effectively) over time. This can result in some pretty rank off-flavours - typically described as "meaty" - getting into the beer.

That said, I've left beer on the trub for 2 weeks without any major problems, but yes - I'd agree with your conclusion that, once fermentation has finished, racking the beer off is a very good idea.


----------



## Voley (Mar 19, 2009)

Stig said:


> Just go with it, it's unhealthy trying to hold it in



I might just give him a friendly pat on the head and a quick 'I'm proud of you, son' before bedtime.


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## berniedicters (Mar 19, 2009)

NVP said:


> It's down to 20 now, agnes. That should be pretty good, shouldn't it?


Yeah, 20 is going to be no problem for an ale.

Wait until you start brewing lagers - you'll be looking for an old fridge to ferment in!


----------



## badseed (Mar 20, 2009)

Here is a link to a very useful sticky thread on a HB site which I frequent.
Good info for anyone interested in the home brewing caper.

www.homebrewandbeer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1966

*Not trying to start a cross board war*


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## Voley (Mar 20, 2009)

I'm glad it's not just me that's thinking about beer at 10:30 in the morning.


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## Voley (Mar 20, 2009)

Great thread, that, badseed. Concise and has given me a few good pointers for my second batch. A secondary fermenter is my next purchase, I think.


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## tommers (Mar 20, 2009)

mine is still at 1015.  It's been like that for a few days... and it's been about 7 days since I started it.  

Is it too cold?  I bought a thermometer today and it was showing it was at 15 degrees, but it's up to about 20 now.


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 20, 2009)

tommers said:


> mine is still at 1015.  It's been like that for a few days... and it's been about 7 days since I started it.
> 
> Is it too cold?  I bought a thermometer today and it was showing it was at 15 degrees, but it's up to about 20 now.



15C is lowish for ale yeasts - IIRC, they will stop fermenting at 12C. Check to see if it's going again after a day or so at 20C, and if not, consider repitching another batch of yeast (get Safale and use that if you can - it seems more robust, and better quality)


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## tommers (Mar 21, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> 15C is lowish for ale yeasts - IIRC, they will stop fermenting at 12C. Check to see if it's going again after a day or so at 20C, and if not, consider repitching another batch of yeast (get Safale and use that if you can - it seems more robust, and better quality)



there's always a sort of light foam on top of it, so I guess it is going, albeit slowly.

How do you all manage the temperature?  Mine is in the kitchen, which I thought would be the warmest room in the house, but maybe not...


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## Voley (Mar 21, 2009)

Mine's in the kitchen, too. Luckily this seems to be about 18-20 degrees most of the time but it's just a total fluke. Atm it's bang on 19, purely through luck.


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## aqua (Mar 21, 2009)

tommers said:


> there's always a sort of light foam on top of it, so I guess it is going, albeit slowly.
> 
> How do you all manage the temperature?  Mine is in the kitchen, which I thought would be the warmest room in the house, but maybe not...


brewing needs consistant temp - kitchens have a tendency to go colder than other rooms over night and get really hot when you're cooking

I used to have mine in the spare room where the extremes didn't happen in the same way


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## Voley (Mar 21, 2009)

Is cider more difficult to brew than ale? I might have a go at that next.


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## aqua (Mar 21, 2009)

cider from kits no, cider from cartons of apple juice hell no 

I have shared with you my cider thing haven't I? you can make it flat/fizzy, strong (and I mean strong ) or weaker, with sugar or honey

tis lush and takes about 4 days


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## aqua (Mar 21, 2009)

I haven't done *real* cider though


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## Voley (Mar 21, 2009)

aqua said:


> I have shared with you my cider thing haven't I?



Don't think so, no. is it like the one doggy does with Lidl apple juice?


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## berniedicters (Mar 21, 2009)

NVP said:


> Don't think so, no. is it like the one doggy does with Lidl apple juice?


Thassit.

It's a brilliant way to learn basic brewing principles at low cost and really rapidly


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## badseed (Mar 22, 2009)

tommers said:
			
		

> there's always a sort of light foam on top of it, so I guess it is going, albeit slowly.
> 
> How do you all manage the temperature?  Mine is in the kitchen, which I thought would be the warmest room in the house, but maybe not...



That white foam is called Krausen and is a sign that the yeast is working. Condensation on the inside of the lid is another sign that all is well.

I have on old fridge with one of these attached for temp control. http://mashmaster.com.au/p/365439/fridgemate-mkii-digital-temperature-controller-kit.html

It makes the fridge operate at higher temperatures so I set it to the temperature I need and tape the probe onto the side of the fermenter.

When fridges break and start to freeze everything then it is a perfect way to recycle them.
I am a homebrew geek


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## psycherelic (Mar 22, 2009)

I was drinking some woodford's werry in the pub yesterday and it was bloody lovely, makes me really want to give this kit a go, people saying not to use the kit yeast, where do you get your fancy yeast from? I can't find any homebrew shops in vaguely central london and I don't really fancy travelling miles just to get yeast.


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## Voley (Mar 22, 2009)

The online shop I bought my kit from sells a few, psycherelic.

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Beer_Yeast.html


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## psycherelic (Mar 22, 2009)

NVP said:


> The online shop I bought my kit from sells a few, psycherelic.
> 
> http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Beer_Yeast.html



Yeah I noticed that just after I posted, cheers


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## Voley (Mar 22, 2009)

I'm interested how much difference it makes, too. That stuff's described as making the beer much clearer etc. Do those in the know reckon this is a big deal? It doesn't seem like much to spend if it's going to make a huge difference.


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## badseed (Mar 22, 2009)

NVP said:
			
		

> I'm interested how much difference it makes, too. That stuff's described as making the beer much clearer etc. Do those in the know reckon this is a big deal? It doesn't seem like much to spend if it's going to make a huge difference.



Big difference and the easiest thing to change.
Safale and Saflager are both good, liquid is supposed to be even better but I have never tried it.


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 22, 2009)

psycherelic said:


> I was drinking some woodford's werry in the pub yesterday and it was bloody lovely, makes me really want to give this kit a go, people saying not to use the kit yeast, where do you get your fancy yeast from? I can't find any homebrew shops in vaguely central london and I don't really fancy travelling miles just to get yeast.


If you just want to go one step up from the kits, then you can do worse than sticking with the Safale brand - it's a dried yeast, but very good quality. Alongside Safale S.04, there's the Saflager S.23 for lager brewing (warning, that latter stuff makes a very traditionally lagery sulphurous stink while fermenting - I was brewing a California Common in the room here, and it was rank for about a fortnight...)

If you want to be truly hardcore about it, consider getting the "smack packs" of yeast, which you activate by, er, smacking them (it crushes some kind of vial inside), and then use to start a yeast culture which you then pitch.

There's as many different yeasts as there are types of hop, types of grain, and styles of brewing - it's one of the things that makes the whole business so fascinating and varied.

Generally, I'd say that trying to exactly reproduce a commercial brew is pretty close to impossible - especially to do it consistently - but that's not to say it isn't great fun and well worth trying. Chances are that the result, even if it isn't identical, will still be an excellent drink...


----------



## Voley (Mar 22, 2009)

I've just bought some chocolate malt after Stig's glowing description earlier in the thread. I'd intended it to be for a later brew but was wondering whether it might be a good idea to give it a go on the Wherry I've currently got going.

That thread of badseed's reckons malt over sugar every time. Is this right?


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 22, 2009)

NVP said:


> I've just bought some chocolate malt after Stig's glowing description earlier in the thread. I'd intended it to be for a later brew but was wondering whether it might be a good idea to give it a go on the Wherry I've currently got going.
> 
> That thread of badseed's reckons malt over sugar every time. Is this right?


I'd start out not messing around too much. That Wherry is a good kit, so get a feel for what your technique can do with a kit "as is" before you start getting too creative!

After that, try out a kit and kilo one - and yes, badseed is 110% correct - use malt over sugar any day of the week, it'll make a huge difference.

Then you may want to start doing some extract brewing, but mashing a few adjuncts (like your chocolate malt) and doing your own hops.

Then, finally, the big one is to go for the all-grain brew. You'll need a fair bit of kit to do that, so it's not one to rush into...


----------



## psycherelic (Mar 22, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> I'd start out not messing around too much. That Wherry is a good kit, so get a feel for what your technique can do with a kit "as is" before you start getting too creative!
> 
> After that, try out a kit and kilo one - and yes, badseed is 110% correct - use malt over sugar any day of the week, it'll make a huge difference.
> 
> ...



Do you think it would be worth replacing the yeast in that kit with the Safale or just do it exactly as it comes?


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 22, 2009)

psycherelic said:


> Do you think it would be worth replacing the yeast in that kit with the Safale or just do it exactly as it comes?


Well, my experience of Woodforde's yeasts has been that they haven't been too bad at all. I think they pick them well, and I've never had one that's been slow to start or misbehaved yet.

You want yeast that works fast, because all the time the brew is sitting there not fermenting, it's running the risk of infection. I've tried various techniques to get a fast kickoff with Woodforde's kits - eg making up a yeast "batter" with nutrient and a bit of diluted wort, but my experience has been that there really isn't any better way of doing it than making sure the wort's at the higher end of the brewing temperature range (so about 18-20C), scattering the dry yeast over the surface, putting the lid on, and letting it cool down to ambient while the yeast gets going. It's good lively yeast. And the chances are, especially if you're buying it from a reasonably well-used provider, that the kit hasn't sat around for months going stale, anyway. Be a bit more careful with corner-shop brewing outfits, especially with the kit-and-kilo brands - often they'll only stock one or two of the full kit brews, which means they (probably) go out of the door that bit faster. But when you go to Wilkos, where there'll be four or five different k&k tins on the shelf, ask yourself how long they've been hanging around for - I usually use Safales for them. I've never bothered with the smackpack yeasts, yet, because I've not got a decent full grain setup going yet, and it seems a bit of a waste to be spending the money on them just to chuck into a kit...


----------



## Voley (Mar 22, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> I'd start out not messing around too much. That Wherry is a good kit, so get a feel for what your technique can do with a kit "as is" before you start getting too creative!



Yeah that sounds sensible. I'll stick with sugar for the first one, then. Sorry to keep bugging you with questions but does it matter what sort of sugar you use?


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 22, 2009)

NVP said:


> Yeah that sounds sensible. I'll stick with sugar for the first one, then. Sorry to keep bugging you with questions but does it matter what sort of sugar you use?



Erm, the Wherry kit is complete! You get two tins of concentrate. To which you need to add enough water to make it up to 40 pints. Plus yeast. That's yer lot. You don't need to add any sugar, or starch!

ETA: a tip. do warm your concentrate tins by standing them in hot water (open them first!). Also worth putting a few pints of 50:50 boiling and cold water into the fermentation vessel to pour the concentrate into - that way it won't stick implacably to the bottom of the FV and be murder to dissolve. Stir it in (use a bit more hot water to rinse out the tins, too), then make the brew up with cold water.

But - and this is quite important - when you're working with hot water and concentrate, *don't splash it around too much*. The one thing you can do to really screw up a kit brew is "hot side aeration" (HSA), which will give you all kinds of unwelcome oxidised flavours in your brew when you're done. So don't splash it around while it's hot. If you're not confident of avoiding doing this, don't bother warming the concentrate - you'll just have to do a bit more stirring to get it all to dissolve, is all.


----------



## Voley (Mar 22, 2009)

On the box it says add a little sugar to each bottle or the pressure barrel (half a teaspoon per pint).


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## berniedicters (Mar 22, 2009)

NVP said:


> On the box it says add a little sugar to each bottle or the pressure barrel (half a teaspoon per pint).


Ahhhh, OK, that's priming sugar (to give you a little fermentation to gas the beer up a bit).

It doesn't really matter what you use for that - I generally just use granulated sugar. There's so little of it that it's not going to affect the flavour.


----------



## Voley (Mar 22, 2009)

Demerara OK? I take it I shouldn't be replacing this with malt, then? (I was going to, tbf.)


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 22, 2009)

NVP said:


> Demerara OK? I take it I shouldn't be replacing this with malt, then? (I was going to, tbf.)


Demerara's fine - as I say, the amounts involved are going to have a trivial effect on the end product - all you're doing really here is to "use" the yeast to carbonate your beer instead of installing a massive CO2 plant to do it industrial-style!


----------



## Voley (Mar 22, 2009)

Excellent.

I've bought one of those 'Headcracker' kits for my next brew, btw. Might try adding a few hops to that. Good fun this, innit?


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 22, 2009)

NVP said:


> Excellent.
> 
> I've bought one of those 'Headcracker' kits for my next brew, btw. Might try adding a few hops to that. Good fun this, innit?



Heh, definitely. And the easiest way to hop is to "dry-hop" - get the Mrs to give you a pair of laddered tights, and cut the foot off one. Wash it (!), and remember to sterilise and rinse it when you clean your FV, then stick a handful of hops in the toe, make a little noose from some (sterilised) string, and drop it into the brew.

A word of warning - you will probably want to let your brew mature much longer than you usually do, as the dry-hopping will give the brew quite a "grassy" flavour (think Shepherd Neame Spitfire) for quite a while until it blends. And that kind of in yer face hoppiness isn't something we usually associate with a 7% brew - it's usually something we do with lighter brews, like Spitfire or maybe Young's Ordinary...


----------



## Voley (Mar 22, 2009)

Thanks again for all your help on this, agnes. It's been a real help.


----------



## aqua (Mar 22, 2009)

NVP said:


> Don't think so, no. is it like the one doggy does with Lidl apple juice?



yes because I TOLD HIM ABOUT IT  he goes around claiming it as his


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 22, 2009)

aqua said:


> yes because I TOLD HIM ABOUT IT  he goes around claiming it as his


You told me about it, too. Or at least pointed me to the website it was on...


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## Voley (Mar 23, 2009)

It's just apple juice, yeast and sugar isn't it?


----------



## Stig (Mar 23, 2009)

Why has farting been added to the tags?  

I started a brew off yesterday, it's a porter, made with the chocolate and the black malt, in with the Maris otter. I Left it outside overnight for a cold break after the boil, so I woke up at 5am Monday morning shouting 'Beer!' ran outside and brought it in. It's in the bedroom right now wrapped in a duvet. 


Agnes, that bit about dry hopping giving a grassy flavour, do you mean like with Deuchars IPA, where the aftertaste is very reminiscent of that very crumbly slate you used to get in the olden days? I quite like that.

I've not tried dry-hopping yet, must give it a go next time! I don't have a hop bag, I have a hop strainer in my boiler so I just chuck my hops straight in for maximum flavour. Surely they'd just fall to the bottom with the yeast if you just lobbed them straight in the fermenter?


----------



## badseed (Mar 24, 2009)

agnesdavies said:
			
		

> But - and this is quite important - when you're working with hot water and concentrate, *don't splash it around too much*. The one thing you can do to really screw up a kit brew is "hot side aeration" (HSA), which will give you all kinds of unwelcome oxidised flavours in your brew when you're done. So don't splash it around while it's hot.





Stig said:


> Why has farting been added to the tags?
> 
> Agnes, that bit about dry hopping giving a grassy flavour, do you mean like with Deuchars IPA, where the aftertaste is very reminiscent of that very crumbly slate you used to get in the olden days? I quite like that.
> 
> I've not tried dry-hopping yet, must give it a go next time! I don't have a hop bag, I have a hop strainer in my boiler so I just chuck my hops straight in for maximum flavour. Surely they'd just fall to the bottom with the yeast if you just lobbed them straight in the fermenter?



Agnes, I had never heard that about HSA. Deffo something to be aware of though. I used to (up until now) rinse the can out with boiling water and then stir it a lot in the fermenter to dissolve and oxygenate before adding the rest of the stuff.

Stig, I think the farting tag comes from the old gag about liking your own home brew is like enjoying the smell of your own farts.

IPA is heavily hopped and hops are a close relative of cannabis (but no psychoactive properties) so the taste you are thinking of is hops. Dry hopping gives you the flavour, boiling gives you bitterness.
Be aware that there are a lot of different types of hops with different properties.
I like making American style pale ales so I use Cascade in the boil and add Chinook for aroma, these are both very citrusy and not to everyones taste.
For Pils I always use Saaz in the boil and to dry hop (and a few more in secondary) but I love hops.


----------



## tommers (Mar 24, 2009)

you don't have to put sugar in with the wherry kit????

*facepalm*

that explains it.


----------



## Voley (Mar 24, 2009)

Only a bit of priming sugar, tommers. The kit's not very clear about this, it's got to be said. It was agnes that pointed out the difference for me.

My brew's due for the secondary ferment now - it's been fermenting for 6 days - but I'm waiting for a secondary fermenter to arrive (today/tomorrow) so it'll stay there for a bit yet. This shouldn't be a problem given that some (most?) let the primary fermentation run for a couple of weeks, I'm hoping.

My family all think I've gone mad. I've started dropping phrases like 'racking off the trub' into my everyday conversation just to piss them off.


----------



## Stig (Mar 24, 2009)

NVP said:


> Only a bit of priming sugar, tommers. The kit's not very clear about this, it's got to be said. It was agnes that pointed out the difference for me.
> 
> My brew's due for the secondary ferment now - it's been fermenting for 6 days - but I'm waiting for a secondary fermenter to arrive (today/tomorrow) so it'll stay there for a bit yet. This shouldn't be a problem given that some (most?) let the primary fermentation run for a couple of weeks, I'm hoping.
> 
> My family all think I've gone mad. I've started dropping phrases like 'racking off the trub' into my everyday conversation just to piss them off.



    Great! We can have conversations about how for lack of a sparge arm, I'm having to hand sprinkle on the mash, etc.    

Mine has started fermenting, despite there being no central heating AND the builders have removed the only gas heater. Phew! Go, porter! Go!


----------



## Jessiedog (Mar 24, 2009)

Superb thread.

Utterly sublime.





Woof


----------



## Stig (Mar 24, 2009)

badseed said:


> IPA is heavily hopped and hops are a close relative of cannabis (but no psychoactive properties) so the taste you are thinking of is hops. Dry hopping gives you the flavour, boiling gives you bitterness.
> Be aware that there are a lot of different types of hops with different properties.
> I like making American style pale ales so I use Cascade in the boil and add Chinook for aroma, these are both very citrusy and not to everyones taste.
> For Pils I always use Saaz in the boil and to dry hop (and a few more in secondary) but I love hops.




Right, I'm going to be dry-hopping my next brew for sure, to recreate that slatey goodness.
I do put mine in at various stages, 90 mins or 60 mins boil for bitteness and 15 mins, 5 mins for aroma, but I've never dry-hopped yet.

I know a vague bit about the different types of hops, (this book has a little bit of info - check top-right of page for rest of Hops chapter). Hop shopping is one of my favourite pastimes.  Cascade is indeed great and is the only hop used in Darkstar Hophead. I also currently have Northdown, Aurora, Bobek, Susan, First Gold, WGV and Boadicea in the freezer, and I'm thinking I might just need to get a couple more types once my German Red malt has arrived.


----------



## Voley (Mar 24, 2009)

Stig said:


> Basically, your rehydrated wort should start at something like 1.030- 1.050 on the hydrometer, and it should take about 4-6 days to get it to 1.008 - 1.014, when it's done. you really should take it off the yeast then, even if you just move it to a different bin to settle for a few more days.
> I wouldn't bottle it before 1.014 for a thick stout or 1.008 for a light golden ale, or you're risking exploding bottles.



Just checked mine. 1.012. Secondary fermenter's just arrived and I'm sort of impatient to use it.  Get it off the yeast now or leave it a bit longer? What do you think?


----------



## Voley (Mar 24, 2009)

Also, it's still got fucking big lumps of stuff floating around in it! Is this normal?


----------



## tommers (Mar 24, 2009)

Mine's still 1015, but it's been stuck on that for about 4-5 days...

I might just syphon it into a barrel anyway and see what it's like...


----------



## Stig (Mar 24, 2009)

NVP said:


> Just checked mine. 1.012. Secondary fermenter's just arrived and I'm sort of impatient to use it.  Get it off the yeast now or leave it a bit longer? What do you think?



OOh, brilliant!  Good job, that man. 

It'll probably be ok for a few days yet, although schools differ on the subject. The chairman of the brewers club shouts Get it off! Get it off the yeast! while others have a more relaxed approach... 

ETA: just checked, and yours has been going for 6 days. I'd say it's high time to rack it off the trub, old chap. What.


----------



## Stig (Mar 24, 2009)

NVP said:


> Also, it's still got fucking big lumps of stuff floating around in it! Is this normal?



Absolutely normal. I wouldn't be at all happy if it didn't have fucking big lumps of stuff floating around in it. 
*adjusts chunky jumper*


----------



## Voley (Mar 24, 2009)

Stig said:


> I'd say it's high time to rack it off the trub, old chap. What.



Spiffing, Stig, old bean.


----------



## William of Walworth (Mar 24, 2009)

NVP said:


> Also, is it possible to read this thread without getting a strong craving for a pint?



No!! 

Just starting to catch up with this thread for the first time.

Lots of technical stuff , and I've never brewed at home before, but I bet I could have a crack at it with all the advice posted so far. Will have a chat with Debbie soon ... her house has space!

Now that I erm 'have time on my hands' ... 

Still looking forward to tasting Stig Special at EIID in August mind  
And agnes's soon, too ... in the area!

And we're going to Brum in April (bees!)
And do I feel a Cornwall trip coming on?


----------



## William of Walworth (Mar 24, 2009)

Jessiedog said:


> Superb thread.
> 
> Utterly sublime.


----------



## Voley (Mar 24, 2009)

I see what you mean about the smell of chocolate malt, too. Bloody lovely.


----------



## Voley (Mar 24, 2009)

Right. All my kit's sterilising as I write.

Time to give my trub a jolly good racking off, don'tcha know.


----------



## William of Walworth (Mar 24, 2009)

You'll end up in no time with a 10 barrel a week local brewery plant with a string of local pubs to supply to ...  

You'll need to devise your own recipes with some suitably 'eccentric' ale names 

We visited one of that size in Aberdare the other week. The man was fizzing with enthusiasm as he showed us round, and he'd started off as a home brewer as well ...

If you start getting really serious, Stig knows about some brewing course, it's up North somewhere though


----------



## Voley (Mar 24, 2009)

Trub racked. 

Secondary fermentation underway. 

Fucking mental, all this, innit?


----------



## Stig (Mar 24, 2009)

NVP said:


> Trub racked.
> 
> Secondary fermentation underway.
> 
> Fucking mental, all this, innit?



You haven't even started drinking it yet


----------



## Voley (Mar 25, 2009)

How long do you think I should leave it in the second bin for? I was thinking a week / ten days or so then transfer it across to the keg with a bit of priming sugar.

I have been reading about finings too. Gives the beer more clarity apparently. Any thoughts?

Once again I thank you all, gentle piss-artist folk of Urban 75.


----------



## badseed (Mar 25, 2009)

week - 10 days is ok as you are bulk priming anyway it will stand another couple of weeks before carbed. I force carb mine with a co2 bottle. Ready to drink after an hour in the keg, but much better if you can lay off it for a few weeks.
I have never used finings, probably not required if you have racked.


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 25, 2009)

Me, I've never used finings either.

I think we have to remember that a lot of what we might perhaps see as "best practice" is driven by the commercial imperatives of industrial scale brewing, where consistency and appearance of the product takes precedence over all else, quite possibly including quality.

I would say it's perfectly feasible, if you're being careful, to brew without needing finings, which by and large are used to remove components from the drink which wouldn't be there if it weren't for some deficiency in the brewing process (usually occurring at the mashing stage, though sometimes the result of getting things wrong in the boil).

If you're brewing from kits, you've buggered things up quite comprehensively if you've got a cloudy brew - and it's debatable whether finings will help then! - so you're not likely to need them. If, on the other hand, you're doing extract or grain brews, then it may be worth keeping a small stock of finings to recover from an emergency...but remember that finings won't make a beer that's somehow damaged as well as being cloudy any less damaged...just clearer!

With wines, it's a bit more of an issue, as a lot of the things we use to make wine will come with long-chain sugars and/or starches which can lead to haziness, and wine is something which people have a very high expectation of in terms of appearance.

Oh, and hello again, everybody, and thanks for the nice messages over in community. I'm Back


----------



## Stig (Mar 25, 2009)

I have some finings, but never really use them. They're bentonite which is veggie, basically clay. 
You're supposed to mix it for a long while in very hot water to get the clay dissolved before pouring it in, but I didn't know that, did I? Oh no. I just threw it in and gave it a good mix. So I ended up with great clods of clay in the bottom of each bottle. 

If you start getting into the vast and varied world of yeasts, some of them take bloody ages to clear, Safale 05 for example, so you'd want to use finings then, perhaps, to save waiting months.


----------



## Voley (Mar 25, 2009)

Glad you're back, agnes. Hope you're feeling better.


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 25, 2009)

Stig said:


> If you start getting into the vast and varied world of yeasts, some of them take bloody ages to clear, Safale 05 for example, so you'd want to use finings then, perhaps, to save waiting months.


Cor, I didn't know that! I thought there were some strange and obscure yeasts that didn't flocculate (fnar) well, but not "mainstream" ones.

And yeah, the bentonite thing looks like a faff - I've never done it, but aren't you supposed to make up a paste first with a little water, then build it up to half a litre or so before pouring it in?


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 25, 2009)

NVP said:


> Glad you're back, agnes. Hope you're feeling better.


Easily tired, but no more slurred speech (nobody's letting me near any alcohol, either ) and my face doesn't look like it's dropping off any more...


----------



## Voley (Mar 25, 2009)

Good stuff. Take it easy, won't you?


----------



## Voley (Mar 26, 2009)

It's just occurred to me that I could get my Headcracker kit underway now, too. On the box it says that 4-6 days is, again, a reasonable time for the primary ferment but I know agnes thinks that a couple of weeks is better for a stronger brew like this.

If I leave it a couple of weeks, I'll have transferred my Wherry into the keg by then so it'll be free for the secondary ferment, iyswim. But will it have developed problems from being on the yeast too long?

Now. I know this'll be a* deeply controversial* issue  so please no flaming  but what does the group think to me cracking on with the second batch?


----------



## Stig (Mar 26, 2009)

Hold your horses! Don't forget that you'll end up with 40 pints of beer and then another 40 pints about a week later. Of course that may not necessarily pose _too_ much of a problem... but I like to kind of schedule mine for a beer coming ready every two to three weeks roughly, even out the whole thing.

Saying that, I have turned the whole big airing/linen cupboard in the bedroom into a beer cupboard with a different type on each shelf, it's a beautiful sight to behold, I can tell you.


----------



## Voley (Mar 26, 2009)

Agnes reckon the whole process takes about a month with Headcracker, though, because it's high gravity. And it's only a 24 pint kit, this one. I see your point, though. I'm just being a bit impatient.

Maybe I should get some bottles...


----------



## Voley (Mar 26, 2009)

Stig said:


> Saying that, I have turned the whole big airing/linen cupboard in the bedroom into a beer cupboard with a different type on each shelf, it's a beautiful sight to behold, I can tell you.



Pics?

We could start a Homebrew Porn thread.


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 26, 2009)

NVP said:


> It's just occurred to me that I could get my Headcracker kit underway now, too. On the box it says that 4-6 days is, again, a reasonable time for the primary ferment but I know agnes thinks that a couple of weeks is better for a stronger brew like this.
> 
> If I leave it a couple of weeks, I'll have transferred my Wherry into the keg by then so it'll be free for the secondary ferment, iyswim. But will it have developed problems from being on the yeast too long?
> 
> Now. I know this'll be a* deeply controversial* issue  so please no flaming  but what does the group think to me cracking on with the second batch?



One question: are you planning to bottle or keg?

Because you need to plan for consumption, too - it won't last forever in a keg. I'd consider bottling some of your output of each batch to at the very least 2l PET bottles... (and keep them in a dark place if they're clear bottles).


----------



## Voley (Mar 26, 2009)

I'd definitely have to bottle it if I was going to get the second batch going now.

There won't be any problem getting rid of the first batch straight from the keg, though. My brother lives in the flat upstairs.


----------



## Stig (Mar 26, 2009)

NVP said:


> Pics?
> 
> We could start a Homebrew Porn thread.



Now, funny that you mention it because I might just have one or two pics... 

I might post a pic of my current brew fermenting too later.


----------



## Voley (Mar 26, 2009)

Bring it on.


----------



## William of Walworth (Mar 26, 2009)

Stig said:


> Now, funny that you mention it because I might just have one or two pics...
> 
> I might post a pic of my current brew fermenting too later.



Homebrew Porn indeed! Monitoring ...  

Already, Debbie and I really are starting to discuss the homebrewing thing. It'll take a while before we get going I think, and we'd need to buy kit, but there's enough info/advice in this thread and in some of the links put up to make it a goer, Deb has plenty of space in her house too, and I have time at present ...

Thanks for the encouragement and facts folks.


----------



## Voley (Mar 26, 2009)

A word of warning, William. 

*IT STARTS TO RULE YOUR WHOLE LIFE.*


----------



## Stig (Mar 26, 2009)

hey hold on a minute! I remember thinking about brewing some 5 or 6 years ago and being told it was a terribly silly idea and would never work. 

*shakes fist*

Luckily I now have a more tolerant and forward-thinking landlord.


----------



## Voley (Mar 26, 2009)

Heh! 

Right. The Headcracker's gone on, along with a hop bag for good measure.

Pure impatience on my part.  Now I'm gonna need a load of bottles and a capper.

*IT'S TAKEN OVER MY WHOLE LIFE*


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 26, 2009)

NVP said:


> Heh!
> 
> Right. The Headcracker's gone on, along with a hop bag for good measure.
> 
> ...


Do yourself a favour, and save yourself some grief: don't bother buying one of those horrible things you hit with a hammer.

If you're on a budget, get one of these:-







But the ultimate (and it caps recalcitrant bottles like the new Badger style ones) is...






A bench crown capper, which will set you back £25 or so, and be worth every penny whenever you have to do 47 bottles of beer...


----------



## rich! (Mar 26, 2009)

Stig said:


> Luckily I now have a more tolerant and forward-*drinking* landlord.



I don't think the Truck Acts cover rent, do they?


----------



## Voley (Mar 26, 2009)

I'm going to have a go at some of your turbo cider, too, agnes. Just ordered a demijohn today.

*HOMEBREWING HAS TAKEN OVER MY LIFE*


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 26, 2009)

NVP said:


> I'm going to have a go at some of _your turbo cider, too, agnes_. Just ordered a demijohn today.
> 
> *HOMEBREWING HAS TAKEN OVER MY LIFE*


*points at aqua* Nuffin to do with me, mate, the turbo cider was her idea!

I am researching ways in which I might produce fizzy turbo cider that isn't as dry as a bone! Ideally without using sweeteners...


----------



## Voley (Mar 26, 2009)

Didn't aqua say there was one you can do in about 4 days rather than a few weeks? I'm keener on that one, tbh.


----------



## Voley (Mar 26, 2009)

Also, medium-dry is my preferred drop so I'd be glad to hear of any decent ways of sweetening it, too.


----------



## William of Walworth (Mar 26, 2009)

Stig said:


> hey hold on a minute! I remember thinking about brewing some 5 or 6 years ago and being told it was a terribly silly idea and would never work.
> 
> *shakes fist*



  

Life moves on -- I was wrong then and right now ....


----------



## William of Walworth (Mar 26, 2009)

NVP said:


> A word of warning, William.
> 
> *IT STARTS TO RULE YOUR WHOLE LIFE.*


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 26, 2009)

NVP said:


> Didn't aqua say there was one you can do in about 4 days rather than a few weeks? I'm keener on that one, tbh.



Well, it's all the same gear. You may find that there are faster yeasts. I tend to use champagne yeast, as that works well with apple juice, but - more importantly - my supplier was doing a deal on some nearly out-of-date stuff!   should confess that I brew my turbo cider in 25 litre batches, so they do take a bit longer.

As for sweetness - it's a tricky one, but easy if you don't mind flat cider. Brew your cider in the normal way, then add a couple of campden tablets (these are sodium metabisulphite, which produces sulphur dioxide in acidic conditions, which is fatal to yeast). Leave that for a while, then add sugar to taste - I suggest drawing off half a pint and adding it half a teaspoon at a time until you've got it where you want it, then multiplying up and adding the rest to the batch.

The easy way to have fizzy cider then would be to force-carbonate it (if you get a beersphere, they have a fitment for injecting CO2, but I have been disappointed with mine, as it leaks around the tap and I haven't fixed it yet).


----------



## Stig (Mar 26, 2009)

mmm beer


----------



## berniedicters (Mar 26, 2009)

Stig said:


> mmm beer



Ooooh, swing tops!


----------



## Stig (Mar 26, 2009)

agnesdavies;8926321
 said:
			
		

> Ooooh, swing tops!


good old freecycle. :d someone still had fifty - odd old grolsch bottles from when they were still brown instead of green,  I was. Pretty lucky there
.


----------



## Stig (Mar 26, 2009)

Omg stig posts on my phone! Omg!! Lolzor!!! (Rich! Postin)

A


----------



## Voley (Mar 26, 2009)

I thought the punctuation was homebrew related.


----------



## Stig (Mar 27, 2009)

I'm not going to post on a phone again, that was very underwhelming. No carriage return, as pressing return/enter will randomly either go one line down or post the post. Punctuation is like trying for the best goldfish at a dodgy fairground, too.

Anyway, I've racked my new beer off the yeast cake tonight.   It's going to sit in the pressure barrel (with airlock) for the weekend while we're away and we'll bottle it in the week.

No photos because my camera seems to have died, dammit.

I'm still waiting for my order of red malt to arrive.  I want to brew red beer! I've done hoppy, coffee stouty, very hoppy, porter, now I want red beer.  Hurry up postie...


----------



## Stig (Mar 27, 2009)

NVP said:


> .
> 
> *HOMEBREWING HAS TAKEN OVER MY LIFE*



Me, down the pub, rich's newfangled internet phone, what's the one thing I try to do?  POST ABOUT MY BEER  

*goes to bed*


----------



## chainsaw cat (Mar 27, 2009)

Has anyone referenced the great Ken Shales yet?



Ahhh, Kenneth, but that you still did live.


----------



## Voley (Mar 27, 2009)

Stig said:


> Me, down the pub, rich's newfangled internet phone, what's the one thing I try to do?  POST ABOUT MY BEER
> 
> *goes to bed*



Tbf, Stig, this is the best thread ever in the history of the Internet.


----------



## badseed (Mar 28, 2009)

Homebrew porn?
I have posted this before but it I still love it.


----------



## Stig (Mar 29, 2009)

Blimey.

That beats my plastic bucket and tube system by a long chalk. 

People keep going on about these cornelius kegs, are they really worth it? What are the advantages?

And shall I start pestering rich! to get a beer fridge installed in the house?


----------



## Voley (Mar 29, 2009)

Bloody hell, badseed! Impressive stuff. I don't feel *quite* as obsessed now.


----------



## rich! (Mar 29, 2009)

Stig said:


> Blimey.
> 
> That beats my plastic bucket and tube system by a long chalk.
> 
> ...



We've got a beer fridge.

Occasionally we put a vegetable or a jar of pickle in it.


----------



## Voley (Mar 31, 2009)

Just put my first batch of cider on. Yeast's doing some fairly explosive things at the bottom of the demijohn but no glugging from the airlock as yet ...

1. Is it about to explode?

2. WILL I DIE ?


----------



## Voley (Mar 31, 2009)

Ooh. It's glugging now all right.


----------



## AnnaKarpik (Mar 31, 2009)

You're going to keep visiting it, aren't you, just to witness the magic that is fermentation. I find that stroking the sides of the fermentation vessel helps.*

*I am not claiming this helps with fermentation, just ...well...it helps the brewer, I feel.


----------



## Voley (Mar 31, 2009)

Keep visiting it? I can't leave it.


----------



## Voley (Apr 1, 2009)

*Home Brew Porn. Oh yes.*







My brew. 

From left to right:

8 pints of cider (it's not that red IRL, the camera flash made it a bit odd-looking). Behind that, 40 pints of Wherry on it's secondary ferment. To the right in the foreground 24 pints of Headcracker with added hops also on it's secondary ferment.

This is my life. This is what I've become.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 1, 2009)

NVP said:


> My brew.
> 
> From left to right:
> 
> ...


I like it! Is that Headcracker going on in an old watercooler bottle, by any chance? (I think they're usually just over 21L - almost exactly the right size for a batch of beer!

And you've got a good krausen going on that, too!


----------



## Voley (Apr 1, 2009)

No it's one made specifically for fermentation. A tenner off Ebay. Those water cooler bottles would be ideal though, thinking about it.


----------



## Voley (Apr 1, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> I
> And you've got a good krausen going on that, too!



I have?!  What's one of them, then?


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 1, 2009)

NVP said:


> No it's one made specifically for fermentation. A tenner off Ebay. Those water cooler bottles would be ideal though, thinking about it.


Yeah, I tried to blag one from one of my workplaces (well, they were just sitting there, empty), but got caught, oops 



NVP said:


> I have?!  What's one of them, then?



It's the foam on the top of an enthusiastically fermenting brew...


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 1, 2009)

I have a half-built wort chiller up in the shed, plus a Baby Burco water boiler I'm in the process of converting to a wort boiler. I need to get these projects to some state of photogenicness and do some homebrew pr0n of my own...


----------



## Voley (Apr 1, 2009)

Ahhh, right. Well, that's mainly because I'd just transferred it across from the first fermenter so it got a bit churned up. It does look good, though - it's a lovely colour. I got a bit of a mouthful when I was doing the siphoning and it tastes pretty good already.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 1, 2009)

NVP said:


> Ahhh, right. Well, that's mainly because I'd just transferred it across from the first fermenter so it got a bit churned up. It does look good, though - it's a lovely colour. I got a bit of a mouthful when I was doing the siphoning and it tastes pretty good already.


Well, if it tastes good now, you have a _very_ nice surprise coming to you a couple of months down the line...


----------



## Voley (Apr 1, 2009)

I can't see it surviving untouched for a couple of months, tbh.


----------



## Stig (Apr 1, 2009)

NVP said:


> This is my life. This is what I've become.



Looking good NVP 

I'm starting to feel competitive now. 

I'd get my hop collection out for photos, but I'm going down the pub straight after work so the chances of getting a photo sorted out this evening are slim to none, frankly. 
(the reason I am going is to drop my bottles of beer off at the pub early to give it a chance to settle before the Amateur Brewers meet next week. Slighty cheaty, but I need all the help I can get.)

I got my red malt and amber malt! I have a _fine_ malt and hop collection going on now. 
Just spent a fruitful lunchtime ordering a sparge arm, a bottling stick, a bench capper and a copper cooling spiral thingy. woohoo!


----------



## Voley (Apr 2, 2009)

Stig - just having a look at that pic of yours again. Am I right in saying you've even *made your own bottle labels*?


----------



## badseed (Apr 2, 2009)

NVP said:
			
		

> even *made your own bottle labels*?


----------



## Voley (Apr 2, 2009)

Heh heh!  That looks like a nice drop, badseed. Lovely colour.


----------



## rich! (Apr 2, 2009)

NVP said:


> Stig - just having a look at that pic of yours again. Am I right in saying you've even *made your own bottle labels*?



guess who gets castigated for cutting them out not-neatly-enough?


----------



## MightyAphrodite (Apr 2, 2009)

the tags on this thread are fabulicious.  

thats all really


----------



## Voley (Apr 2, 2009)

rich! said:


> guess who gets castigated for cutting them out not-neatly-enough?



Quite right, too!  

Another quick question. Does it matter if you make turbo cider in a fermenting bin rather than a demijohn? I'd like to make a colossal batch of a good few gallons.


----------



## aqua (Apr 2, 2009)

doesn't make a difference no


----------



## Voley (Apr 2, 2009)

Splendid. 

<heads off to Lidl>


----------



## Stig (Apr 3, 2009)

NVP said:


> Stig - just having a look at that pic of yours again. Am I right in saying you've even *made your own bottle labels*?



 
We have a huge xerox at work just laying about, and all these packs of a4 stickers - it would be rude not to, really. 


I've even named my brewery.  Well everyone else on Jim's Beer Kit seemed to have a brewery name, like Mouse Hole Brewery or Leaky Shed Brewery. I felt I ought to get down with the, er, kids*. 



*Worryingly, everyone on there seems to be exactly my age group. Is this brewing a mid-late 30s thing?


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

Midlife crisis, innit?

Well that's what I'm blaming mine on. It's better than saying 'chronic alcoholism'. 

First brew of Wherry goes into the keg today. I couldn't resist and gave it a taste last night. Not at all bad for a first attempt. Still got a way to go (it's a bit gassy atm) but a couple of weeks in the keg should sort that, I reckon.


----------



## Stig (Apr 3, 2009)

NVP said:


> Midlife crisis, innit?
> 
> Well that's what I'm blaming mine on. It's better than saying 'chronic alcoholism'.




Have you named your brewery yet, NVP?


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

Stig said:


> I've even named my brewery.



I live in Brea Farm (pronounced 'bray') so mine's got to be 'Brea Brewery' really. Nice bit of alliteration. 

My sister has been casting aspersions on my cleaning/sterilising technique, alleging that I use the incorrect tools for the job so the first batch has been duly named 'Bog Brush Beer'.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 3, 2009)

Stig said:


> I've even named my brewery.  Well everyone else on Jim's Beer Kit seemed to have a brewery name, like Mouse Hole Brewery or Leaky Shed Brewery. I felt I ought to get down with the, er, kids*.
> 
> 
> 
> *Worryingly, everyone on there seems to be exactly my age group. Is this brewing a mid-late 30s thing?


I think it might be.

I do my own beer labels, too. Alarmingly, quite a few people I've given beer to as presents have thought it was commercial, though I think that's more down to their gullibility than anything else...









(brewery name b0rked to protect the innocent)


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

I toyed with 'Lands End Ale' for a bit, too, but EVERYTHING's called Lands End-something or First And Last-something-or-other down here so that got ditched.

Also, we're not on the mains water here - we've got our own well - so the beer's been made with Cornish spring water. I was trying to find a way of getting that into the title somehow but drew a blank.

Quite why the fuck I've wasted any time whatsoever on this futile gesture is another, deeply impenetrable question.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 3, 2009)

NVP said:


> Quite right, too!
> 
> Another quick question. Does it matter if you make turbo cider in a fermenting bin rather than a demijohn? I'd like to make a colossal batch of a good few gallons.


It's how I always make it. 14 cartons of Lidl 1.5l apple juice and half a kilo of sugar. Rocket fuel.


----------



## Stig (Apr 3, 2009)

Ooh, made with Cornish spring water, eh? That should definitely go somewhere on the labels. People set great store by their water you know.

Mine's called the Happy Bat brewery. No reason, it just popped in there one day.

Agnes, I love the Weedy ale, sounds delicious.


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

Yeah I thought that, too. I can't think of any crap puns on Cornish Spring though. Anyone help me out?

The Isles of Scilly have a good micro-brewery and I've always liked the way they name theirs. They have a nautical/pissed theme: Scupper'd, Three Sheets and Rollocked are three of their brews. They also do one called Natural Beauty which is a really good pint.

Weedy Ale sounds excellent agnes.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 3, 2009)

Stig said:


> Agnes, I love the Weedy ale, sounds delicious.





NVP said:


> Weedy Ale sounds excellent agnes.



You know what? It really was a fairly rubbish batch. I think it was my first kit-and-kilo, and I used sugar and a cheap (Youngs?) kit. I left it on the trub too long, and it was a hot summer. Then I had some kind of bottling fuckup and had to rebottle it into 2L PETs - that it was drinkable _at all_ was remarkable! I usually label the brews just for identification, so I did a really negative label, and marked it up: I didn't want to throw it away, because it was tolerable and "worked" (ie it contained alcohol) Then we had a party, and people were going "hey, what's that stuff, then?" after trying the proper brews, and drinking the bloody stuff. AND LIKING IT!?!?!? 

Mostly, it has to be said, lager drinkers who hadn't particularly gone a bundle on the ale...


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

All beer's drinkable after 5 pints. Even if mine turn out to be a complete disaster, they'll still get drunk, I know it.


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

Another question I've been meaning to ask. Can you work out the ABV from a gravity reading?


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 3, 2009)

NVP said:


> Yeah I thought that, too. I can't think of any crap puns on Cornish Spring though. Anyone help me out?
> 
> The Isles of Scilly have a good micro-brewery and I've always liked the way they name theirs. They have a nautical/pissed theme: Scupper'd, Three Sheets and Rollocked are three of their brews. They also do one called Natural Beauty which is a really good pint.
> 
> Weedy Ale sounds excellent agnes.



Heh, I did a brew called Three Sheets for a sailing event round these parts. Another k&k, made up this time with extra malt to get it to about 5.5% - so it tasted like a fairly average sesh bitter, but had that extra kick...

As for your Cornish Spring...I'm thinking perhaps a play on the whole beam engine/tin mining thing? A Cornish Spring could be a big fuckoff lump of rusty metal 

Alternatively, if your weather is as inclement as ours is, about 100 miles due north of you, there's room for some kind of play on the weather...so perhaps work with "Cornish Rain" rather than the spring angle. "Cloudburst Ale", "Downpour Porter", "Drizzle Bitter"...actually, don't use those, because I think I might


----------



## Stig (Apr 3, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> You know what? It really was a fairly rubbish batch. I think it was my first kit-and-kilo, and I used sugar and a cheap (Youngs?) kit. I left it on the trub too long, and it was a hot summer. Then I had some kind of bottling fuckup and had to rebottle it into 2L PETs - that it was drinkable _at all_ was remarkable! I usually label the brews just for identification, so I did a really negative label, and marked it up: I didn't want to throw it away, because it was tolerable and "worked" (ie it contained alcohol) Then we had a party, and people were going "hey, what's that stuff, then?" after trying the proper brews, and drinking the bloody stuff. AND LIKING IT!?!?!?
> 
> Mostly, it has to be said, lager drinkers who hadn't particularly gone a bundle on the ale...



There's no accounting for taste. 

My first ever all-grain brew has just become ready to go, and it is ridiculously over-hopped, so much that on tasting it I fell about shouting "My Tongue! It's shrunken!" etc. I know people will love it.


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> "Cloudburst Ale", "Downpour Porter", "Drizzle Bitter"...actually, don't use those, because I think I might



'Cloudburst Ale' sounds good. The Headcracker with extra hops I've got on right now is just crying out to be called 'Hophead' but there's a few of them knocking about already, I think.


----------



## Stig (Apr 3, 2009)

NVP said:


> Another question I've been meaning to ask. Can you work out the ABV from a gravity reading?



Only from the difference between the original reading and the subsequent ones. The difference, divided by 7.5 (ish?), is the ABV.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 3, 2009)

NVP said:


> Another question I've been meaning to ask. Can you work out the ABV from a gravity reading?


Yes, but you need a start and a finish reading. Wikipedia offers this:-







Ideally, the gravity should be taken at the same temperature each time, once before brewing commences (OG), and once when it finishes (FG). The usual temperature is 14 or 15C.

Alternatively, take the readings off the hydrometer. I'm never quite so sure about that...


----------



## aqua (Apr 3, 2009)

I got moose to design my bottle labels


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 3, 2009)

*Other ramblings*

I probably like to make life difficult for myself, but I decided to build my own wort chiller. I did go with one of the standard ideas, which is to run 10mm copper tubing down a bit of hosepipe, but that got awkward about a third of the way in, when I couldn't get the bloody thing to move.

So the revised version is using 25mm HDPE waterpipe and the same bit of 10mm tubing. That's done now, I'm just trying to sort out the plumbing at each end which allows the tubing to go in while providing a connection for the cooling water jacket: getting some kind of sensible, pressure- and watertight fit between the HDPE and the copper pipe fitting is proving...interesting 

As I mentioned earlier, I'm also converting a Baby Burco boiler to boil wort, I picked up a couple of temperature controllers off eBay, so I just need to wire that lot together and test it. At some point I'll have to plumb the whole lot in, plus provide a fresh water supply to the shed, not to mention sorting out some kind of racking to enable me to put it all together.

That's this summer sorted out, then 

You guys up to any Heath Robinson craziness?


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

I'm glad there's girls on this thread. If it was just me and agnes wittering away  it'd go way beyond the normal bounds of real ale sadness.


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> I probably like to make life difficult for myself, but I decided to build my own wort chiller. I did go with one of the standard ideas, which is to run 10mm copper tubing down a bit of hosepipe, but that got awkward about a third of the way in, when I couldn't get the bloody thing to move.
> 
> So the revised version is using 25mm HDPE waterpipe and the same bit of 10mm tubing. That's done now, I'm just trying to sort out the plumbing at each end which allows the tubing to go in while providing a connection for the cooling water jacket: getting some kind of sensible, pressure- and watertight fit between the HDPE and the copper pipe fitting is proving...interesting
> 
> As I mentioned earlier, I'm also converting a Baby Burco boiler to boil wort, I picked up a couple of temperature controllers off eBay, so I just need to wire that lot together and test it. At some point I'll have to plumb the whole lot in, plus provide a fresh water supply to the shed, not to mention sorting out some kind of racking to enable me to put it all together.



I have all of this to look forward to when I graduate from kits.

My God! What have I done?


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 3, 2009)

NVP said:


> I'm glad there's girls on this thread. If it was just me and agnes wittering away  it'd go way beyond the normal bounds of real ale sadness.



I taught the Teenager how to brew, and sent her away to university with the wherewithal to brew one gallon batches of turbo cider. Not sure she actually has, though...

(I did suggest it as a handy grant-enhancing way of surviving financially, if she flogged it to fellow students at a quid a litre, but not to get caught  )


----------



## aqua (Apr 3, 2009)

NVP said:


> I'm glad there's girls on this thread. If it was just me and agnes wittering away  it'd go way beyond the normal bounds of real ale sadness.


I loved brewing beer, but didn't have the time or space really so gave it all up 

I live through you guys


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## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> (I did suggest it as a handy grant-enhancing way of surviving financially, if she flogged it to fellow students at a quid a litre, but not to get caught  )



Would've gone down a treat at my Halls of Residence, that.


----------



## Stig (Apr 3, 2009)

I quite like designing mine. They are only a pic nicked off google with a bit of word formatted text dumped over the top in excel.

I just did NVP a sample one but can't upload it, dammit.


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## rich! (Apr 3, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> I probably like to make life difficult for myself, but I decided to build my own wort chiller. I did go with one of the standard ideas, which is to run 10mm copper tubing down a bit of hosepipe, but that got awkward about a third of the way in, when I couldn't get the bloody thing to move.
> 
> So the revised version is using 25mm HDPE waterpipe and the same bit of 10mm tubing. That's done now, I'm just trying to sort out the plumbing at each end which allows the tubing to go in while providing a connection for the cooling water jacket: getting some kind of sensible, pressure- and watertight fit between the HDPE and the copper pipe fitting is proving...interesting
> 
> ...



You want push-fit or speed-fit connectors for joining pipe. They completely changed pneumatics when they were invented. 






As long as your pipe's outside diameter matches one of the standard sizes, you can use them and they Just Work. People do them up to water-pipe (25mm) sizes, and down to about 4mm or less. There's a wide range of adapters from one size to another as well...


----------



## Stig (Apr 3, 2009)

NVP said:


> I'm glad there's girls on this thread. If it was just me and agnes wittering away  it'd go way beyond the normal bounds of real ale sadness.



There's girls?  

On a related note, when I go to my Amateur Brewers meetings, I quite like that It's just me and a load of blokes round a table twirling our moustaches, I feel like I'm an honourary member of the boy's club or something. So when a lady turned up to the last meet I couldn't help feeling a bit 'er, hold on a minute, there's a lady in here! I'm not sure that's quite right and proper! - oh, wait..."


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

Stig said:


> There's girls?
> 
> On a related note, when I go to my Amateur Brewers meetings, I quite like that It's just me and a load of blokes round a table twirling our moustaches, I feel like I'm an honourary member of the boy's club or something. So when a lady turned up to the last meet I couldn't help feeling a bit 'er, hold on a minute, there's a lady in here! I'm not sure that's quite right and proper! - oh, wait..."



Heh!  That's when it's time to retire to the smoking room with a cigar and a brandy. They're delicate things, these 'ladies'. Or so I'm led to believe.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 3, 2009)

rich! said:


> You want push-fit or speed-fit connectors for joining pipe. They completely changed pneumatics when they were invented.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I did look at those, although I could probably look again: I'm one of those blokes you find standing in front of the pipe fittings in Homebase, looking pensive.

Currently, the way I'm "solving" the problem is to use 15mm compression pipe tees at each end. I have discovered that, by removing the nut from one end of the tee, I can screw the fitting inside the HDPE (ok, I know this won't be a watertight fit...bear with me  ). Then the 10mm internal pipe feeds straight through the bar of the T, and is sealed by using a 15-10mm adapter which fits into the compression fitting on the other end of the T from the HDPE, and is soldered to the 10mm pipe. The cooling water passes in through the "upright" of the T one end, and out of the corresponding one the other end.

As far as watertight seals go, I'm looking at either gently heating the HDPE around the fitting thread, or (better), using epoxy resin on the fitting thread to provide a spigot seal, then using one of the various sealing compounds (this doesn't need to be food-safe at this point) for fluid seal and probably some jubilee clips for mechanical strength. Fingers crossed that it'll work...!


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## badseed (Apr 3, 2009)

This thread is made of awesome.
I am currently drinking a lovely pale ale made from a pilsner kit, liquid malt with Cascade in the boil and 25g of Chinook in secondary. 
Fermented at 17 degrees with Safale yeast.
I am currently brewing a Lime, Coriander and Honey Lager which is one I often do and really good (but strong 9-10%)
Someone should start a beer recipe thread.


----------



## Stig (Apr 3, 2009)




----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

Stig said:


>



Wahey! 



agnesdavies said:


> It's how I always make it. 14 cartons of Lidl 1.5l apple juice and half a kilo of sugar. Rocket fuel.



Do you increase the amount of yeast proportionately, too? If the yeast I ordered recently arrives today I might get a bin of one of these on the go this afternoon.


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## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

badseed said:


> This thread is made of awesome.



6 pages, 235 posts, over a thousand views. And it's called 'Quick Home Brew Question'.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 3, 2009)

badseed said:


> This thread is made of awesome.
> I am currently drinking a lovely pale ale made from a pilsner kit, liquid malt with Cascade in the boil and 25g of Chinook in secondary.
> Fermented at 17 degrees with Safale yeast.
> I am currently brewing a Lime, Coriander and Honey Lager which is one I often do and really good (but strong 9-10%)
> Someone should start a beer recipe thread.


Lime, Coriander and Honey?

Yums. I reckon even Herself would probably have a go at that. Yeah, get a recipe up for that! I'd probably have to do it as an extract brew, but feh.


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

Lime coriander and honey does sound good, doesn't it? I had an ale with a hint of coriander in it at a beer festival this summer and it was really nice. Refreshing. _Really _made you want a curry, though.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 3, 2009)

NVP said:


> Wahey!
> 
> 
> 
> Do you increase the amount of yeast proportionately, too? If the yeast I ordered recently arrives today I might get a bin of one of these on the go this afternoon.


Nah, the stuff breeds readily enough. If you're really paranoid about it, start off a culture (half a litre of apple juice, bit of sugar, and pitch the yeast, let it brew away for a day or so under cover, so it gets to rehydrate and breed like little rabbits, then pitch that into your main vessel full of apple juice.

Random interesting tip: www.hopandgrape.co.uk sell PROPER MICROBREWERY METALWARE!! 






12 gallon, £492. Get in!!


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> Nah, the stuff breeds readily enough.



Excellent, ta. I'll just sling a sachet in as usual, then.


----------



## badseed (Apr 3, 2009)

*Lime, Coriander and Honey
*
Generic Lager or Belgian ale kit
1 kg ldme*
500 g Maltodextrin*
100g Coriander Seeds
3 limes
50g Halertau
250g Honey
Saflager Yeast

*1.5kg of ldme would be a reasonable substitute

*If you do not rack you will need a brew bag for the Coriander and maybe the hops. I would avoid any flavoured (eucalytus etc) honey and use pure clear stuff*

Zest and juice limes
Crack Coriander seeds
Boil 2 litres water with Lime zest for 20 minutes
Add ldme, maltodextrin and half the hops boil for another 20 mins
Add Coriander, lime juice and Honey and boil for further 5 minutes.
Turn off heat and steep for 15 minutes.

Add everything including the kit, seeds and the remaining hops to the fermenter and top up to 23 litres.
Primary ferment 1 week 11 degrees*
Secondary ferment 1 week 11 degrees*
Cold Condition/lager 1 week at 1 degree*

The first few times I madew this I couldn't control the heat so it was just left out, still tasted great.

This is a cloudy and strong beer with a beautiful smooth texture, strong citrus flavours and a slight honey finish.

Gets you really fucked up too....


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## berniedicters (Apr 3, 2009)

badseed said:


> *Lime, Coriander and Honey
> *


I'm gonna need to get an old fridge and set it up in the shed for these brewing temperatures - I've always brewed my lagers as "california common" (aka "steam") beers, ie using lager yeasts and recipes at room temperature, but I think that has to change...


----------



## Stig (Apr 3, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> Nah, the stuff breeds readily enough. If you're really paranoid about it, start off a culture (half a litre of apple juice, bit of sugar, and pitch the yeast, let it brew away for a day or so under cover, so it gets to rehydrate and breed like little rabbits, then pitch that into your main vessel full of apple juice.
> 
> Random interesting tip: www.hopandgrape.co.uk sell PROPER MICROBREWERY METALWARE!!
> 
> ...



Don't! 

You'll start me off.


----------



## rich! (Apr 3, 2009)

Stig said:


> Don't!
> 
> You'll start me off.



Oi! We're not getting rid of the lodger for one of those!


----------



## Voley (Apr 3, 2009)

That sounds great, badseed.


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## moose (Apr 3, 2009)

'Quick question' my arse.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 3, 2009)

moose said:


> 'Quick question' my arse.



These things, like beer, have to be savoured to be properly appreciated.


----------



## Stig (Apr 3, 2009)

moose said:


> 'Quick question' my arse.



It_ was _a quick question. How was poor NVP to know there was a secret heaving undercurrent of chunky-jumpered brewers lurking the forums?


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## Stig (Apr 3, 2009)

Home from work.

ahh, home brew. 






Ahem. Could have given the glass a bit of a wipe.


----------



## Stig (Apr 3, 2009)

Annnnd... A lovely pint of coffee stout.


----------



## Funky_monks (Apr 3, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> I probably like to make life difficult for myself, but I decided to build my own wort chiller. I did go with one of the standard ideas, which is to run 10mm copper tubing down a bit of hosepipe, but that got awkward about a third of the way in, when I couldn't get the bloody thing to move.



Try a milk chiller - for dairying. May'aps you can get one on e-bay.


----------



## Voley (Apr 4, 2009)

Great stuff, Stig. That bitter looks lush - that's _the _perfect colour for ale for me. What's gone into it?


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## Stig (Apr 4, 2009)

NVP said:


> Great stuff, Stig. That bitter looks lush - that's _the _perfect colour for ale for me. What's gone into it?



That was the last but one of my kit brews, so it started with the two tins of Brewpaks Fixby Gold (highly recommended) and boiled that up with Susan hops.

My mistake was that the whole 100g of susan hops (at three intervals during the boil) was 9.8 alpha acid which is pretty damn high, so on reflection I probably shouldn't have bunged in the whole pack of hop pellets that came with the brupaks kit aswell for good luck.  I like it hoppy though dammit, and I'm the one who has to drink it. 

It is a lovely colour, innit. (Gold my arse. Should be called fixby amber.)


----------



## Stig (Apr 4, 2009)

Actually having said that has prompted me to do a quick review of all the kits I've used. Here's the site I got them from:

http://www.art-of-brewing.co.uk/acatalog/AoB_OnLine_Catalogue_Beer_kits___Premium____________9.html


EDME SUPERBREW STOUT 40p 1.8kg
Not bad, it's one of the better ones that needs sugar added. All the others below were 3kg no sugar ones which was a vast improvement, but this stood up to those ok

AoB PREMIUM DRAUGHT BITTER 40p 1.8kg
Meh. Wouldn't throw it away, but it tastes of... home brew.

BRUPAKS BIRKBY BITTER 3Kg  Ref: 1430
Not bad at all. Definitely use the extra hops. All of them.

BRUPAKS SCAMMONDEN DARK 3Kg
Sort of porterish, homebrewy tinge though.

BRUPAKS FIXBY GOLD 3Kg 
So good I bought it twice

MUNTONS PREMIUM GOLD MIDAS TOUCH ALE 3.6kg
Very tasty but it was not gold, it was amber, as was the lying fixby gold.

MUNTONS GOLD IMPERIAL STOUT 40p 3kg
Very nice indeed with a few litres of freshly brewed freshly roasted coffee poured in after the boil. That's the one in the other photo, above.

I think that's my complete history of brewing.

Apart from the very first two: 

Youngs generic lager; came with bucket and spoon etc when all the kit was originally bought:
Most excellent for ridding the garden of slugs. do not drink.

Tom Caxton Real Ale from Wilkinsons.
Tastes of the very essence of home brew. A bit like the taste of plastic buckets


----------



## Voley (Apr 4, 2009)

You read my mind. I was just about to ask for a bit of advice on which kit to go with next. I was going to go with this:






Sounds nice. Anyone tried it?

I'm being swayed by Stig's description of Brewpaks Fixby Gold though. Really full-flavoured _bitter _bitter is what I'm after. Dunno if Fixby Gold's meant to be like that but it looks like it from Stig's photo.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 4, 2009)

Yeah, I'd agree with you on the Youngs kits. My "weedy lager" was a Young's kit, though I bought a few more as I believed the weediness of the brew to be down to my brewing skills (or lack of them) rather than the quality of the kit. I know different now.

I was also unimpressed when one of their bitter kits started "fermenting" in the can - I phoned them up, and they insisted point blank that there could be nothing wrong with their kit; it must be something I'd done.

I rate Edme, but haven't tried any of the Brupacks ones - I think I will, now.


----------



## Stig (Apr 4, 2009)

I think the most highly rated generally on Jim's are brewpaks, Muntons, Coopers and Woodfordes.
Muntons have a reputation for 'sticking' half way through the ferment, where you have to do all sorts of wizadry to get them going again, but I've never had this problem.


----------



## Voley (Apr 4, 2009)

'Quick'  cider question. If I'm not too bothered about it being 8% and just want it a bit sweeter and palatable to the ordinary human being, would diluting it by a third with apple juice work?


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 4, 2009)

NVP said:


> 'Quick'  cider question. If I'm not too bothered about it being 8% and just want it a bit sweeter and palatable to the ordinary human being, would diluting it by a third with apple juice work?


Yes, but.

If you do that, any live yeast left in suspension (count on it, there will be some) will simply start fermenting the sugars in that, too!

The trick is to kill the yeast with a few campden (sodium metabisulphite) tablets, THEN add the apple juice. If you can manage to keep it all carbonated at the same time, brilliant, otherwise you'll have to drink flat cider or force-carbonate it.


----------



## Stig (Apr 4, 2009)

Or you could just wait till you want to drink it, add apple juice to taste, and call it 'cider squash'.


----------



## Voley (Apr 4, 2009)

Cheers. Reckon I'll go for the Campden tablet method then. I'm not arsed about it being fizzy. Still and cloudy is how cider should be, imo.


----------



## badseed (Apr 5, 2009)

NVP said:
			
		

> 'Quick'  cider question. If I'm not too bothered about it being 8% and just want it a bit sweeter and palatable to the ordinary human being, would diluting it by a third with apple juice work?



Try adding lactose, it is perfect for this. It is non-fermentable, don't add too much though try about 100g, taste it and add another 100 if required.


----------



## Voley (Apr 5, 2009)

Lactose, eh? Never heard of that before, badseed, cheers.

Right. My big batch of cider doesn't seem to be doing anything. I poured all the apple juice in yesterday afternoon, pitched the yeast and left it overnight. I didn't add the sugar as I thought it might overflow. I was expecting it to be bubbling away merrily this morning but there's nothing going on.

Can you advise whether a couple of things that I've done might have affected this? I've also pitched in 40g of mulled wine spice (dried cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and a few others). Also, I use vodka in the airlock and a decent glug or two managed to find it's way in while I was getting the lid on. Do you think either of these things will have made a difference?

Or does it just take a long time to get going when you're doing such large amounts?

ETA: I've added the sugar this morning in an attempt to get things moving.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 5, 2009)

NVP said:


> Lactose, eh? Never heard of that before, badseed, cheers.
> 
> Right. My big batch of cider doesn't seem to be doing anything. I poured all the apple juice in yesterday afternoon, pitched the yeast and left it overnight. I didn't add the sugar as I thought it might overflow. I was expecting it to be bubbling away merrily this morning but there's nothing going on.
> 
> ...


Mine typically took at least a day to get going.

The mulled spices will make a slight difference, but nothing to worry about, same for the vodka. I think the bigger brews DO take longer to get going (hence why people often make up a small yeast starter batch and pitch that once it's got going), but it's almost certainly no problem.


----------



## Voley (Apr 5, 2009)

Cheers, agnes. Thought as much but it was the vodka that worried me - I wondered if the alcohol in that might have had a negating efffect.


----------



## Voley (Apr 5, 2009)

It's still not doing anything.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 5, 2009)

NVP said:


> It's still not doing anything.



How warm have you got it? How warm was it when you pitched the yeast?

And do you have any more yeast handy?

I'd leave it another 24 hours, then make up about a pint of water 3:1 cold:boiling (so the water's at about 25-30C. Add a couple of teaspoons of sugar (I put it in the boiling water before I add the cold to sterilise it and dissolve it easier), dissolve them, then pitch the yeast into that. Cover, and let it brew up a bit - maybe for 4-6 hours - before pitching into the cider.

Consider buying some tronozymol from your homebrew merchant for the next order you place - that's something I've occasionally used as a "magic spell" when brews get stuck (other people's, usually  ).

It is possible that the acidity of the apples is upsetting the yeast and making it slower to start, and if it's quite cold that might be holding it back, too. What yeast was it you used? I usually use a champagne yeast for ciders, though I've had success with Saflager S.23 too (stinks like a bastard while it's going, though, phwoaar), but they're bother lower temperature yeasts, and of course a champagne yeast won't mind an acidic must.


----------



## Voley (Apr 6, 2009)

It's 19 degrees C right now and was about the same when the yeast went in.

Reckon I'll leave it overnight and follow your advice tomorrow if nothing's happened. The yeast I've used is Young's Ale Yeast - this stuff:






The gallon I got going in the demijohn is bubbling away very happily and that's right beside it at the same temperature. If I poured that into the currently inactive one, might that kick it off?


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 6, 2009)

NVP said:


> It's 19 degrees C right now and was about the same when the yeast went in.
> 
> Reckon I'll leave it overnight and follow your advice tomorrow if nothing's happened. The yeast I've used is Young's Ale Yeast - this stuff:
> 
> ...


Almost certainly. There might be a slight pause (so don't panic!). Then, once it's going nicely, you can draw off a gallon for the demijohn again...


----------



## Voley (Apr 6, 2009)

I'll do that rather than pitch some new yeast, then. Cheers.


----------



## Voley (Apr 6, 2009)

Ha! No sooner had I written that than the airlock just glugged for the first time! 

I'm leaving it well alone for another day or so now.


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## Voley (Apr 6, 2009)

Glug, glug, glug ...


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## berniedicters (Apr 6, 2009)

NVP said:


> Glug, glug, glug ...


Ah yes. Yeast responds well to threats, too


----------



## Voley (Apr 6, 2009)

I'm not very good at this 'patience' lark, I must admit.

It's got a good thick head on it now and even smells nice with the cinnamon / cloves etc mingling in with it. 

Still half-tempted to sling the demijohn of bubbling cider in anyhow, yeast and all. I could do with the demijohn. It wouldn't do any harm, would it?


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 6, 2009)

NVP said:


> I'm not very good at this 'patience' lark, I must admit.
> 
> It's got a good thick head on it now and even smells nice with the cinnamon / cloves etc mingling in with it.
> 
> Still half-tempted to sling the demijohn of bubbling cider in anyhow, yeast and all. I could do with the demijohn. It wouldn't do any harm, would it?


No, no harm at all.


----------



## tommers (Apr 6, 2009)

I just tasted the batch that's been sitting in the barrel for the past 2 (or maybe only 1.5, I forgot) weeks... and it's OK!  It's a little bit cloudy but nothing too terrible and, more importantly, it actually tastes alright.  

Oh well, there goes the next couple of weeks.  If I can sort out how to regulate the temperature when it needs to be warm then I reckon we might be on to a winner....


----------



## Voley (Apr 6, 2009)

That's good to hear, tommers. It was fermenting really slowly before, wasn't it? It's reassuring to hear that it's still turned out OK. Even though I've been pretty careful with mine, I know there's a few things I could've done better. Good to hear that yours has been fairly forgiving - I can imagine it must be pretty disheartening to wait all that time for a brew to turn out undrinkable.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 6, 2009)

tommers said:


> I just tasted the batch that's been sitting in the barrel for the past 2 (or maybe only 1.5, I forgot) weeks... and it's OK!  It's a little bit cloudy but nothing too terrible and, more importantly, it actually tastes alright.
> 
> Oh well, there goes the next couple of weeks.  If I can sort out how to regulate the temperature when it needs to be warm then I reckon we might be on to a winner....



You can buy little heating belts. They're designed for demijohns, but they'd probably work for 25litre vessels if they weren't in TOO cold a room...


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 6, 2009)

NVP said:


> That's good to hear, tommers. It was fermenting really slowly before, wasn't it? It's reassuring to hear that it's still turned out OK. Even though I've been pretty careful with mine, I know there's a few things I could've done better. Good to hear that yours has been fairly forgiving - I can imagine it must be pretty disheartening to wait all that time for a brew to turn out undrinkable.



Assuming you've kept fairly good hygiene, and aren't doing anything *too* far out with a recipe, I think you've got to be really unlucky to end up with an undrinkable brew! If all else fails, usually maturing the stuff for a couple of months in bottles does the trick


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## badseed (Apr 7, 2009)

Here are some more brewing related pics
Brewing with temperature control, the temperature probe is taped to the fermenter with the control unit on top.







Racking


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## badseed (Apr 7, 2009)

Kegging (nearly there..)





And finally   hmmmmmmm


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## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

I need to get one of those racking cane thingies. Siphoning to the secondary fermenter generally involves me wiping down the walls, floor, ceiling etc after.


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## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

Typing it into google gets this result, though:



> #
> Spanking Cane Sale
> 50% off Spanking Canes, Whips,
> Floggers, Paddles & Crops. Free P&P


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## berniedicters (Apr 7, 2009)

NVP said:


> I need to get one of those racking cane thingies. Siphoning to the secondary fermenter generally involves me wiping down the walls, floor, ceiling etc after.



Top tip. Siphons fall into two sizes. Unless finances are a HUGE problem, get a wide-bore one for siphoning between fermenters (get the one you pump to start - it's easier and more hygienic than sucking on tubes),  and a narrow one for bottling.


----------



## Stig (Apr 7, 2009)

I've started off my Red Brew:
















One slight hiccup:

It's not red! It's brown.   *shakes fist*


----------



## badseed (Apr 7, 2009)

They change colour. Some of my pilsners start off really dark at first, It may still turn red.


----------



## badseed (Apr 7, 2009)

NVP said:
			
		

> I need to get one of those racking cane thingies. Siphoning to the secondary fermenter generally involves me wiping down the walls, floor, ceiling etc after.



I just use a length of syphon hose attached to an old bottler pipe thing. No need to syphon just push the pipe into the tap on the fermenter. Gravity will do the rest.
I always discard the first 1/2 a cup or so as it is a dead yeast/hop plug.

Stop it before it gets too low, don't let it suck air in as this can oxidise your beer.
Although, co2 is heavier than air and should be sitting on top of the beer forming a nice cushion, but you can't be too careful. It's beer for Christs sake.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 7, 2009)

badseed said:


> I just use a length of syphon hose attached to an old bottler pipe thing. No need to syphon just push the pipe into the tap on the fermenter. Gravity will do the rest.
> I always discard the first 1/2 a cup or so as it is a dead yeast/hop plug.
> 
> Stop it before it gets too low, don't let it suck air in as this can oxidise your beer.
> Although, co2 is heavier than air and should be sitting on top of the beer forming a nice cushion, but you can't be too careful. It's beer for Christs sake.



Some of my fermenters don't have taps (!) - so it's possible that NVP has the same issue. The other thing is that, especially if I've brewed using a yeast that isn't quite so prone to settling (flocculation), I find that the current of the inflow into the tap, right above the surface of the trub, does tend to encourage rather more yeast than I'm happy with to make its way into the tube. This might be part of the reason why people prefer syphons...


----------



## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

Yeah, no taps on either of my fermenters.

That top photo of Stig's looks fucking precarious!


----------



## badseed (Apr 7, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> Some of my fermenters don't have taps (!) - so it's possible that NVP has the same issue. The other thing is that, especially if I've brewed using a yeast that isn't quite so prone to settling (flocculation), I find that the current of the inflow into the tap, right above the surface of the trub, does tend to encourage rather more yeast than I'm happy with to make its way into the tube. This might be part of the reason why people prefer syphons...



Makes sense.
You can get a sediment reducing tap use one in the primary basically it stops the tap from taking anything below it's level, but with no tap this is useless.

That beer that Stig is making looks pretty good, but too much air contact for my liking.


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## Stig (Apr 7, 2009)

badseed said:


> Makes sense.
> You can get a sediment reducing tap use one in the primary basically it stops the tap from taking anything below it's level, but with no tap this is useless.
> 
> That beer that Stig is making looks pretty good, but too much air contact for my liking.



The first pic is aeration prior to pitching the yeast, but the second one you're probably right, I should keep it closed with an airlock rather than taking the lid off to see how it's going and take pictures. 

My fermenter doesn't have an airlock though  I have one that I'm going to modify the lid to take, straight after this brew is moved out of it.


----------



## badseed (Apr 7, 2009)

Stig said:
			
		

> The first pic is aeration prior to pitching the yeast



I thought it was some kind of dodgy racking technique 

I just stir mine vigorously with my massive spoon until I get froth on the top.


----------



## Stig (Apr 7, 2009)

badseed said:


> I thought it was some kind of dodgy racking technique
> 
> I just stir mine vigorously with my massive spoon until I get froth on the top.



Nah, I'm moving it from the boiler to the fermenter now it's down to temp, so might aswell aerate it at the same time. I do have a Big Spoon for emergencies too though.


----------



## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

Conclusive proof that I have waaaay too much time on my hands.


----------



## Stig (Apr 7, 2009)

NVP said:


> Conclusive proof that I have waaaay too much time on my hands.



That is fantastic 

Have you just given all the lurkers your address though?  

*plans trip round for tea*


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## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

It's not my proper address.


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## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

You are welcome for tea, though, I should add.


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## berniedicters (Apr 7, 2009)

NVP said:


> It's not my proper address.



False addresses are probably a wise idea, especially if 'er Majesty's Customs should happen on any of your brews that aren't on the premises, and decide they want to come looking to find someone to collect the duty off, hem hem hem...


----------



## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

Should be safe from Customs. I'm buggered if I'm _selling _ any of this after all the effort I've gone to!


----------



## Stig (Apr 7, 2009)

I've used my afternoon at work usefully...

I wonder which one to use?


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## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

Communist one, top right gets my vote.


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## Stig (Apr 7, 2009)

NVP said:


> Should be safe from Customs. I'm buggered if I'm _selling _ any of this after all the effort I've gone to!



Heh. I have been asked if I would sell mine. You must be joking, there's only 40 pints! There are two of us, you know!  



At the brewers meet last night the head guy said my beer might be very good after a few months.  I didn't like to point out there were only ten bottles left and counting.


----------



## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

Stig said:


> Heh. I have been asked if I would sell mine. You must be joking, there's only 40 pints! There are two of us, you know!



Exactly. Thing is, I've got a total of 64 pints of beer and at least * 44 pints of cider on the go atm.  But my brother lives upstairs. I should be OK. 

* More if I dilute the cider with apple juice to taste.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 7, 2009)

NVP said:


> Should be safe from Customs. I'm buggered if I'm _selling _ any of this after all the effort I've gone to!



You don't have to sell it!

I don't remember the exact wording, but the 1963 Act is very specific in permitting you to brew for consumption on the premises by members of your household. The minute it goes off the premises, or you supply it to anyone other than members of your household, you've committed a criminal act. Obviously, in practice, it's highly unlikely that you'd get caught if you're offering your guests a cheeky pint of homebrew, but you do need to have a care if you're transporting your product anywhere, because that is, technically at least, illegal.

I'll try and look up the law again and get some references.


----------



## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> but you do need to have a care if you're transporting your product anywhere, because that is, technically at least, illegal.



FFS!  So you make some of your own beer at home, take it to a mate's party and you're meant to pay duty on it! Fucking ludicrous!


----------



## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

Am I right in saying that if you offer a beer to someone that's not a member of your family in the privacy of your own home, that's illegal?


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 7, 2009)

NVP said:


> FFS!  So you make some of your own beer at home, take it to a mate's party and you're meant to pay duty on it! Fucking ludicrous!





NVP said:


> Am I right in saying that if you offer a beer to someone that's not a member of your family in the privacy of your own home, that's illegal?


As I understand the law, both of the above are true, yes. From a legal point of view, homebrewing is a _concession_, granted in 1963, that allows people to brew at home for their own personal use.

One interesting thing, though, is that there are operations which are effectively "rental breweries" which you are legally allowed to brew at, so there is _some_ provision for being able to transport beer around...


----------



## Stig (Apr 7, 2009)

Right, that's it. I'm jealously hoarding all my beer from now on. you can't have any, it's _illegal! _  (said in whiny school voice)


----------



## Stig (Apr 7, 2009)

Hold on, that means the brewers meet up where we all get to try each others beers and comment on how disgusting it is and what we think went wrong, to the poor brewers horror, is illegal too.


----------



## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

I take it it's OK for my brother to drink some, then. But what about my Mum's partner? I'm not related to him by blood or marriage. He'll have to go without. I'm not getting a criminal record. 

Anyhow, I've just had a tenner voucher arrive from Brew-It-Yourself and I've put it towards a Brupak Fixby Gold kit after Stig's fine-looking pint of beer earlier in the thread.


----------



## Voley (Apr 7, 2009)

Stig said:


> Right, that's it. I'm jealously hoarding all my beer from now on. you can't have any, it's _illegal! _  (said in whiny school voice)



If you're not married to rich!, Stig, he can't have any! 

<ducks>


----------



## Voley (Apr 8, 2009)

Blimey. The cider's pretty, um, _fragrant_. I've only got a little flat. The whole thing smells of apples and cinnamon. Very nice.


----------



## berniedicters (Apr 8, 2009)

NVP said:


> Blimey. The cider's pretty, um, _fragrant_. I've only got a little flat. The whole thing smells of apples and cinnamon. Very nice.



In that case, never, *ever* use lager yeast in your flat. Everybody will think you've got Fart Disease.

(still drawing a blank on the whole legal thing, though have managed to fit in a quick batch of Elderflower Wine - from a kit - meantime...  )

Anyone using Beerspheres, btw?


----------



## Voley (Apr 9, 2009)

Is that right? I had thought of brewing some lager but it needs cooler temperatures so I'd probably leave it out in the garage. It can smell as farty as it wants out there.


----------



## Voley (Apr 11, 2009)

I've seen what you said about adding ginger beer to the cider to make it a bit more palatable on the other thread, agnes. That might be the way forward for me, too. I can imagine the two going together quite well. Mine's still pretty volatile - happily fizzing away at a rapid rate of knots.

My first batch of Wherry should be ready midweek. If you see a photo of a rank looking cloudy brew posted on Tuesday / Wednesday time, that'll be mine.


----------



## Stig (Apr 11, 2009)

NVP said:


> My first batch of Wherry should be ready midweek. If you see a photo of a rank looking cloudy brew posted on Tuesday / Wednesday time, that'll be mine.



Brilliant! I'm really looking forward to it.   And I can't even taste it. 

Hmm. Getting excited about someone else's home brew. That's a bit wrong, really, isn't it.


----------



## Voley (Apr 11, 2009)

Yes. Deeply, deeply wrong. But also right somehow, too. 

I really feel like I should at least offer you all a pint after all the advice I've had here. 

 A U75 home-brewer's meet could be fun, if messy.


----------



## Voley (Apr 12, 2009)

I gave the Wherry a cheeky taste last night. It's not meant to be ready until Tuesday but I fancied a look.

First off, I think I've overdone the priming sugar. The keg was under *a lot* of pressure; so much so that the beer flew out at a rate of knots that gave you a pint of foam. Fiddled about with the tap a bit to try and get it to pour more smoothly but to no avail - the stuff was dying to get out so eventually I released the cap on the top and let the pressure escape. After this, it poured more smoothly and although there was still a lot of head it settled after a bit.

First impressions are it's a bit cloudier than I'd expect it to be but I'm putting this down to the extreme pressure it's been under - it's really been carbonated a lot, I'd imagine. Taste-wise it's really not too bad at all. It's very hoppy but I rmember Wherry being like that on draught so that's not a bother. Everyone that's had a taste reckons it's good - I'm probably the most critical of the lot, tbh. Comments have ranged from 'that's a really nice pint' (brother in law) to 'I wouldn't send that back if I was served it in a pub but I'd probably go onto something else after' (me).

Now, the question I've got is about the pressure in the keg. Now that I've let that go, I'm conscious that the beer's not going to keep forever but at the same time I don't really want to get the CO2 bulb thing going and have 40 pints of foam coming out of it.

Any ideas on this? Currently I'm of the opinion to just let it settle a bit and see what it's like next weekend. I should have enough bottles by then if bottling it's the best option, too.


----------



## Stig (Apr 12, 2009)

Hmm, not sure on this one. 
If you were going to bottle it I'd suggest bottling it right now, since you've let the pressure go, rather than leaving it a week.

Did the keg have a lid with a pressure release in it? I'm surprised about the amount of pressure tbh.

The cloudiness is because you haven't left it long enough. You have to wait for it to drop bright, (or clear, in normal peoples. vocabulary,) or put finings in if you want to hurry it.


----------



## Voley (Apr 12, 2009)

The keg's one of these:






It doesn't have a pressure release (as far as I can tell) just the CO2 bulb thing on the top. I haven't even used the bulb yet, btw, all this pressure was from the priming sugar. Unless it's still fermenting or something.


----------



## Stig (Apr 12, 2009)

NVP said:


> The keg's one of these:
> 
> It doesn't have a pressure release (as far as I can tell) just the CO2 bulb thing on the top. I haven't even used the bulb yet, btw, all this pressure was from the priming sugar. Unless it's still fermenting or something.



Looking at my own one of those, I'm sure it's got a pressure release. Probably the rubber bit round the base of the outside thread. The normal lids without the co2 injecting nozzles do, so I'm sure those ones must do.  It's Health and Safety gone mad, I tell you.

It certainly is still fermenting, that's why you put the sugar in, to use up the yeast that's inevitably still in suspension to do the job of carbonating for you. Yours might have had a little more fermenting to do than you thought.  

I think basically all you need is Patience, man, Patience!


----------



## Voley (Apr 12, 2009)

Stig said:


> Looking at my own one of those, I'm sure it's got a pressure release. Probably the rubber bit round the base of the outside thread. The normal lids without the co2 injecting nozzles do, so I'm sure those ones must do.  It's Health and Safety gone mad, I tell you.



Ahh, right. Yes, it's got that all right. Do you just open it a wee bit if the pressure's getting a bit fierce then? Bit late for me, like, but I'll remember it for next time.



Stig said:


> It certainly is still fermenting, that's why you put the sugar in, to use up the yeast that's inevitably still in suspension to do the job of carbonating for you. Yours might have had a little more fermenting to do than you thought.



Ahh, right. It just seemed that it's doing a bit too much fermenting for this stage, though, bearing in mind that it's already had a secondary ferment. Still it's not really an exact science this. I'll leave it alone for a bit. I don't think I have to worry about the beer going off - I'd imagine the pressure's going to build up again pretty quickly if it's still this lively.



Stig said:


> I think basically all you need is Patience, man, Patience!



You're right of course. I won't be so bad once I've got one on the go that I can actually drink. I spent twenty quid on beer yesterday and it just felt like a waste of money when I've got loads of the stuff almost ready that I've made myself. Iyswim.


----------



## Voley (Apr 12, 2009)

Right. I've just poured a little bit off to see if the pressure's built up again overnight and it's flying out again. Hard to pour it without it being 50% foam and that's after letting the pressure go 24 hours ago! Is this right?  If it carries on like this the bloody keg'll explode!


----------



## Voley (Apr 12, 2009)

_*SHE CANNAE TAKE ANY MORE, CAP'N !!!*_


----------



## Stig (Apr 12, 2009)

NVP said:


> Right. I've just poured a little bit off to see if the pressure's built up again overnight and it's flying out again. Hard to pour it without it being 50% foam and that's after letting the pressure go 24 hours ago! Is this right?  If it carries on like this the bloody keg'll explode!



It's absolutely fine.

Leave it alone! 

I've had a better look and on the inside of the lid, the metal underside of the nozzle has a little hole.

This goes through the lid completely but is stopped by the rubber ring mentioned earlier. I peeled that back a bit and there was indeed, a little hole. 
If there was too much pressure, the air would make it's way out through that, no problem.

But you need a lot of that pressure within the liquid for the beer to be nice and lively. The problem you'll more likely face is flatness, if you keep letting it out. It's like opening a big bottle of fizzy drink, the first glass might be bubbles all up the nose, but the last one days later will be sad and minging.


----------



## Stig (Apr 12, 2009)

NVP said:


> . I won't be so bad once I've got one on the go that I can actually drink. I spent twenty quid on beer yesterday and it just felt like a waste of money when I've got loads of the stuff almost ready that I've made myself. Iyswim.



I completely understand this, on my first day I bought three kits at once, and along with all the kit itself, thought to myself one day a couple of weeks later -'hang on, this is supposed to be cheap booze ffs, I've spent sixty quid here and I've not had a beer yet!'

But since then I've had hundreds of good beers, and not really spent all that much more since.
Also I think of it more as a hobby with perks  so spending money on it is the same as someone who collects things or makes stuff, a money pit, but mine has the advantage of a houseful of beer.


----------



## Voley (Apr 12, 2009)

This makes total sense. Fuck I'm impatient though!


----------



## Voley (Apr 14, 2009)

Been bottling and kegging today (with 'minimal' sampling *cough*). It's got a bit to go yet but I don't think I'm exaggerating by describing the Headcracker as absolutely delicious - I think the added hops were a good idea. Really very pleased with it already and it's only going to get better with time.

The Wherry still needs some time - it tastes too 'homebrewy' for my liking so I've bottled the lot and will start trying it when the Headcracker's finished.

Now. The Cider.  It is *fucking evil*.  I got a couple of mouthfuls siphoning it across and it's pretty, um, spectacular. Dry as a bone but all the mulled wine spices I put in have helped give it a bit of sweetness. It looks like orange juice, smells like the cider bus at Glastonbury and is so strong that two mouthfuls made me feel like I'd had a couple of pints. 

A success overall, then. I'm really very pleased with all of this.


----------



## Voley (Apr 16, 2009)

Home Brew Porn anyone?






This is the end result of all your advice: a pint of Woodforde's Headcracker. Very tasty and I'm really pleased with it for a first attempt. I'll post a pic of the Wherry when it's calmed down a bit - it's still pretty cloudy atm.


----------



## MightyAphrodite (Apr 16, 2009)

i want to drink some of your homemade alcohol  please


----------



## Stig (Apr 16, 2009)

Very good looking pint. It has a lovely head on it.

I can't see much through it though 

right, what to brew next!  I'm browsing recipes this evening, as my Red Brew that is not Red was bottled Tuesday, so all my vessels are empty. Which doesn't seem right.


----------



## Voley (Apr 16, 2009)

MightyAphrodite said:


> i want to drink some of your homemade alcohol  please



Bit of a sod to stick in the post, I reckon. Sorry. 



Stig said:


> I can't see much through it though



Yeah, it's still a wee bit cloudy but patience can fuck off as far as I'm concerned!  Tastes just fine and at 7% has a good old kick to it, too. The Wherry's too cloudy to even be considered right now. It's gonna stay bottled for as long as is necessary.



Stig said:


> right, what to brew next!  I'm browsing recipes this evening, as my Red Brew that is not Red was bottled Tuesday, so all my vessels are empty. Which doesn't seem right.



Indeed. Empty bottles, nay empty _fermenters _ are plain wrong imo. I've gone for another Woodforde's Kit. Admirals Revenge. Looks good. Should get that on the go tomorrow. And there's a Fixby Gold in the post, too. Addictive, this, isn't it?


----------



## badseed (Apr 19, 2009)

I just kegged and gassed my Lime, Coriander & Honey Lager. Beautiful.

I just cooked up a (hopefully) nice pilsner
3kg Light Liquid Malt
500g Light Dry Malt Extract
75g Saaz bolied with all malt for 1 hour
15 g Saaz chucked into the wort at flame out and left for 15 mins.
Pitched Saflager at 12 degrees

After a a week I will rack and chuck in 10 g of Saaz dry.

Another week at 12 degrees and then dropped to 1 for a week.

Then kegged and refrigerated until I drink it.
Then on to my next one, why leave a fermenter empty?


----------



## Voley (Apr 19, 2009)

Sounds good, badseed. Empty fermenters are an abomination that should be stamped out. I'd quite like to do a lager with Summer upon us but I'd need an old fridge, I think.

I've just had my first weekend where I didn't buy any beer in years; just drank my own.  The Headcracker goes down a treat but lives up to its name the next morning.


----------



## badseed (Apr 19, 2009)

NVP said:
			
		

> The Headcracker goes down a treat but lives up to its name the next morning.



Funny that, I never get a hangover from my beer. I am allergic to the preservatives used in Beer and Wine and if I drink generic lagers I get flu symtoms the next day. White wine is worse than Red. I can drink a lot of red with not much problem. Sulfites innit.

Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, Beer good.


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## Stig (Apr 19, 2009)

I was going to start one off today, but I'm not sure what to brew next! 
I'll do one in Wednesday instead as I have the day off.

I'll have to research into what I can brew with my biscuity brown malt and the amber malt.


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## lighterthief (Apr 19, 2009)

My last two batches before Christmas was Munton's Mild: http://www.muntons.com/homebeer/countries/uk/prem_mild_ale.htm - a cheap kit but turned out really well, some dark spraymalt really helps it along too.


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## berniedicters (Apr 19, 2009)

Well, I don't know what went wrong, but I've just had my first FAIL batch of beer! I was going to do a batch of Wherry for the French thing, and I couldn't seem to get it to drop bright. In desperation, I used my solitary packet of beer finings, and that didn't do it, either. It's full of yeast in suspension, and just doesn't seem to want to settle. It tastes fine, albeit a little yeasty, but I've never had such a recalcitrant brew.

I think I'd better get on, quickly, and do another batch, or I'll start fearing my mojo's left me!

(Admittedly, there have been a few delays throughout the brewing process caused by minor trivialities like strokes and stuff, but even so...PAH!)


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## Stig (Apr 20, 2009)

Where is this fail batch, is it in a pressure barrel? Can you bottle it, and leave it another month?

I'm sure it'll be fine given more time.


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## berniedicters (Apr 20, 2009)

Stig said:


> Where is this fail batch, is it in a pressure barrel? Can you bottle it, and leave it another month?
> 
> I'm sure it'll be fine given more time.



Yes, it's in a pressure barrel. I am thinking that this is exactly what I'll do! MEanwhile, I'd better get another batch on...


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## Voley (Apr 20, 2009)

I've started getting requests now. My sister has asked that I try and make an alcoholic ginger beer for her birthday (mid July). What does everyone think would be the best kit for this? I was thinking of maybe an IPA and add a good bit of ginger to that during the first ferment. Or maybe something lighter, a golden ale, perhaps? She prefers the lighter, less bitter ales.

Stig - a couple of days have made all the difference with the Headcracker - nice and clear now and absolutely delicious. So much so that half of it's gone already. Very pleasant to quietly sup on a Spring evening out in the garden.


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## berniedicters (Apr 20, 2009)

NVP said:


> I've started getting requests now. My sister has asked that I try and make an alcoholic ginger beer for her birthday (mid July). What does everyone think would be the best kit for this? I was thinking of maybe an IPA and add a good bit of ginger to that during the first ferment. Or maybe something lighter, a golden ale, perhaps? She prefers the lighter, less bitter ales.
> 
> Stig - a couple of days have made all the difference with the Headcracker - nice and clear now and absolutely delicious. So much so that half of it's gone already. Very pleasant to quietly sup on a Spring evening out in the garden.



No wonder it's giving you a headache!

On the ginger beer front - I'd never known GB as being ale-based.

Here's a recipe from t'internet. You'll need to scale it appropriately.

http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m063001.htm


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## Voley (Apr 20, 2009)

Skinners do one down here - Ginger Tosser - that they put honey in, too. It's very nice, quite refreshing. 







Didn't you say you put ginger in your Mince Pie Ale? I'd like to do something along those lines. Not with Headcracker though - it needs to be a light Summery drink.


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## berniedicters (Apr 20, 2009)

NVP said:


> Skinners do one down here - Ginger Tosser - that they put honey in, too. It's very nice, quite refreshing.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes, ginger and a whole load of spices. I see where you're coming from, yes.

TBH, I think if you're getting to that stage, you're probably ready to start thinking about doing some extract brews of your own. You'll need something to boil it in (I'm converting one of those tea urns) and a wort chiller (budget £70 or so).

Alternatively, use a lager kit, which will give you a paler, lighter brew, but substitute ale yeast and go for adding all your gingerness and goodies. You'll need a LOT more ginger than I used - mine (about 50g for 15 litres) gave an "edge-of-perception" hint to it, rather than any serious gingeriness.


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## Voley (Apr 20, 2009)

Yeah I was wondering whether this might be better to try with lager. I n which case I'll need to find somewhere cooler to let it ferment - my flat's the perfect temperature for ale but I could really do with a free fridge if I want to do lager. 

Getting the amount of ginger right will be very important, I'd imagine as it's quite a strong taste. I put a 40g mix of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg etc into the cider and you can really taste it - it's blended quite well.

Extract brews would be the logical progression, you're right - I'm a little wary of running before I can walk, though. Also, I've spent more than enough on kit already and the 'brewery' corner of my flat is rapidly expanding to take over the kitchen. And my life.


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## berniedicters (Apr 20, 2009)

NVP said:


> Yeah I was wondering whether this might be better to try with lager. I n which case I'll need to find somewhere cooler to let it ferment - my flat's the perfect temperature for ale but I could really do with a free fridge if I want to do lager.


Actually, I was thinking more of using a lager wort but brewing it as an ale at normal ale temperatures. What used to be called "california common" or "steam" beer.



NVP said:


> Getting the amount of ginger right will be very important, I'd imagine as it's quite a strong taste. I put a 40g mix of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg etc into the cider and you can really taste it - it's blended quite well.


Another option might be to use a ginger concentrate? There's an outfit called Corrykinloch in Oldham who are claimed to sell it, but I don't see it on their website.



NVP said:


> Extract brews would be the logical progression, you're right - I'm a little wary of running before I can walk, though. Also, I've spent more than enough on kit already and the 'brewery' corner of my flat is rapidly expanding to take over the kitchen. And my life.



 Yes, there's no way I could consider moving onto the next phase of having dedicated brewing kit if I didn't have a substantial shed at the end of the garden into which I could install it! I need to do some structural stuff to the shed first, though, as some bastard rodent has already had a good nibble at a couple of packs of spraymalt I had up there. Bah.


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## Stig (Apr 20, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> Yes, there's no way I could consider moving onto the next phase of having dedicated brewing kit if I didn't have a substantial shed at the end of the garden into which I could install it! I need to do some structural stuff to the shed first, though, as some bastard rodent has already had a good nibble at a couple of packs of spraymalt I had up there. Bah.



I'm quite lucky in one respect. All the people on Jim's beer kit forums seem to have a family member called She Who Must Be Obeyed. Well, in out house, that's me.  My brewing kit has taken over the spare room, the kitchen, the bedroom cupboards and a bit of the garden.  This makes me happy.


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## Stig (Apr 20, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> Another option might be to use a ginger concentrate? There's an outfit called Corrykinloch in Oldham who are claimed to sell it, but I don't see it on their website.



Could you just add ginger beer to the beer?


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## berniedicters (Apr 20, 2009)

Stig;9026793][QUOTE=agnesdavies said:


> Another option might be to use a ginger concentrate? There's an outfit called Corrykinloch in Oldham who are claimed to sell it, but I don't see it on their website.



Could you just add ginger beer to the beer?[/QUOTE]

"Yo, dude, I herd you likes ginger beerz so I put ginger beer in your ginger beer..."

OK, sorry... 

*gets coat*


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## rich! (Apr 20, 2009)

Stig said:


> I'm quite lucky in one respect. All the people on Jim's beer kit forums seem to have a family member called She Who Must Be Obeyed. Well, in out house, that's me.  My brewing kit has taken over the spare room, the kitchen, the bedroom cupboards and a bit of the garden.  This makes me happy.



*ahem*

Can I has house back, plz?


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## Voley (Apr 20, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> Actually, I was thinking more of using a lager wort but brewing it as an ale at normal ale temperatures. What used to be called "california common" or "steam" beer.



Now there's an idea I hadn't considered. Thanks. I think that might be the way forward. Any particular pitfalls to watch out for brewing it at a higher temperature? Doesn't the yeast start doing weird things and adding unwanted flavours?


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## berniedicters (Apr 20, 2009)

NVP said:


> Now there's an idea I hadn't considered. Thanks. I think that might be the way forward. Any particular pitfalls to watch out for brewing it at a higher temperature? Doesn't the yeast start doing weird things and adding unwanted flavours?



That's why you use ale yeast instead of lager yeast. Yes, brewing with lager yeast at higher temperatures might have unexpected results...


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## Voley (Apr 20, 2009)

Right. I think that's what I'll do, then. Cheers. Is this Muntons Gold a good lager kit? Anyone tried it? They get good reviews, generally, Muntons.






Or is there another one anyone can recommend for me to do all sorts of gingery weirdness with?


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## badseed (Apr 21, 2009)

NVP said:
			
		

> I've started getting requests now. My sister has asked that I try and make an alcoholic ginger beer for her birthday (mid July). What does everyone think would be the best kit



I made one with 2kg fresh ginger peeled(with a spoon) and minced
2 KG Light Malt Extract
2 Lemons
500 g Honey

From what I recall I just boiled it all up and pitched an ale yeast

It was nice and gingery, really hit your throat but was watery and lacked body.


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## Stig (Apr 21, 2009)

badseed said:


> I made one with 2kg fresh ginger peeled(with a spoon) and minced
> 2 KG Light Malt Extract
> 2 Lemons
> 500 g Honey
> ...



2 KILOS of ginger?  

So you used as much ginger as base malt? 

I'd have guessed at 4kg malt and 500g ginger for 40 pints.


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## Voley (May 2, 2009)

*How To Make Cider From Apple Juice*

For DotCommunist:

I think 20 litres of Lidl apple juice comes to twelve quid.  apart from that you need some yeast, a bin to ferment it in and some plastic bottles.

Here's a big cut n paste from agnesdavies who gave me the heads up. It makes a *very *dry cider that's not to everyone's taste, it's gotta be said, but I've made mine a bit sweeter and more palatable to ordinary human beings by diluting it by a third with apple juice after killing off the yeast. His instructions are for one gallon but I made five, figuring I might as well do it properly if I was going to bother at all, like. 

It's a piece of piss to make and is really fucking good value.

_
You will need...
Equipment

    * 4.5l demijohn
    * bung and airlock to suit above
    * tube for syphoning with
    * bottles (see below)

Ingredients

    * 4.5l apple juice
    * yeast
    * sugar (optional)


Clean (remove crap, detritus from last brew, dead insects) the demijohn, bung and airlock, then sterilise them.

A Brief Rundown on Sterilisation Procedure.

Cleaning and sterilisation are different. Cleaning is getting rid of the crap you can see; sterilisation is getting rid of the bugs you can't. Crap is a good place for moulds to live, and these can mess up your brew. Same with the sterilisation: there's always a risk of wild yeasts or other bacteria getting in and spoiling everything. If nothing else, it might just stop your brew from keeping so long.

If you use a combined cleaner-steriliser like VWP, you're doing both at the same time, but VWP is chlorine-based, so you will have to rinse everything out afterwards to avoid the taint it might give. There are other ways, but that's probably the simplest. Generally, it's an idea to avoid washing up liquid, as this leaves a residue on whatever it touches that will play havoc with head, etc.,so you really MUST rinse carefully afterwards. Washing up liquid, if you must use it, will only clean, not sterilise. So, if you do that, and you don't want to get into buying brewing chemicals just yet, use well-diluted bleach to sterilise afterwards, then rinse with fresh water to remove the chloriney taint.

You can, also, shove everything in the dishwasher to sterilise it, as dishwashers get up to 90-odd C. In my experience, though, they make lousy bottle washers, so stick to hand washing for that. And don't use rinse aid - it has the same effect on head as washing up liquid does...only worse.

All this applies to the bottles, when you get to that bit, too...

Brewing

OK, now to brewing the cider.

Having cleaned your demijohn, bung and airlock, put the bung and airlock down on something clean (a bit of kitchen towel does nicely here.

Take about 2/3 of your apple juice - if you're buying in 1.5l cartons, use 2 of them, otherwise just take 3 one-litre cartons, and decant them into the demijohn. The reason we do it this way is that initial fermentation can get quite lively, and with a full demijohn, froth ends up filling up the airlock.

Now add a good teaspoonful of yeast. Ideally, you're going to use a brewer's yeast, probably by preference an ale one, as they tend to drop to the bottom when finished and aren't so easily stirred up, but I often use cheap wine yeast from Wilkinson's, with perfectly good effects. At a pinch, baker's yeast will work, but it may not function too well at the higher strengths, and can sometimes leave a bit too much of a "yeasty" taste.

Now put the bung and airlock on, and swirl the demijohn around a bit just to make sure the yeast is well distributed.

The airlock needs some liquid in to work properly (its job is to let the carbon dioxide out without allowing anything back in - DO NOT ON ANY ACCOUNT SEAL THE DEMIJOHN - they WILL explode). I use a little tap water with a bit of Campden tablet (steriliser), but some people use vodka - it just wants to be something that's sterile and won't let mould grow, but won't harm the brew too much if some ends up in it.

Now, leave it to ferment. What you should notice is that the juice will go all cloudy as the yeast gets going - the cloudiness is a combination of yeast in suspension and millions of tiny CO2 bubbles. You can tell it's working because a) you'll be able to see the bubbles rising to the surface, and b) the airlock will go "blup" twice every second or so. As the fermentation progresses, it'll slow down a bit.

Now, strength. Made just with apple juice, like this, you should end up with a brew of around 3.5-4.5%. That's fine for most people, but if you want it a bit stronger, you need to add some sugar, and doing this at the end of the initial fermentation is probably a good time. I would add between 100-200g of ordinary granulated sugar. Depending on how lively your brew is, you may want to do this in two batches. I suggest using a funnel or making a cone out of paper to get the sugar into the demijohn, ideally without leaving it all encrusted around the neck. If you're adding 200g (which will give you cider of around 7.5-8.5%), you may want to do it in two batches, allowing the fermentation to settle down a bit in between times.

If you're not adding sugar, or after you've added it and the fermentation has settled a bit, you will need to add the last of the apple juice. Do this carefully, as the cider will fizz up quite a lot just as a result of the CO2 in solution. Recork, and allow the fermentation to complete.

You'll know when fermentation is done (which should take 1-3 weeks, depending on temperature, how much sugar you've added, yeast strain, etc) when the rate of bubbling in the airlock slows down to nothing, and the cider slowly begins to clear as the yeast stops fermenting, the bubbles of CO2 disappear, and the yeast drops to the bottom.

Once that has happened, it's time to bottle. I'm going to assume that you want to have carbonated cider...

Bottling

You can bottle your cider into anything that will take the pressure. 2l PET bottles that Coke, etc., come in are good, although I think the one litre soft drink bottles are a more useful size. You can, of course, always go down the luxury road and re-use beer bottles. Do remember, though, that you'll need crown caps and a tool for putting them on.

Clean and sterilise all your bottles (don't forget the caps), and your siphon.

Now, the reason your cider has stopped fermenting is because the yeast has turned all the sugar into alcohol. We want it to have a bit more sugar so that it can make some carbon dioxide to make your cider bubbly, and the best way to add that in these quantities is just to pop a little into each bottle. A couple of medium teaspoons per litre is plenty, so make a little paper cone and put an appropriate quantity into each bottle.

Then, using your syphon (and taking care not to stir up the settled yeast in the bottom too much, though we want a little yeast to get into the bottles, so as to carbonate them), decant the cider into your bottles. Cap them, and give them a good shake to get the sugar dissolved.

Useful hint: even if you DO bottle to glass beer bottles, it's dead handy to use one plastic one, even if it's just one of those little half-litre Coke bottles. That way, you can tell by the hardness of the bottle just how well carbonation is going.

Put your bottles somewhere warm but out of the way of direct sunlight, and leave them for a week or two, which will be plenty of time for them to have got carbonated.

That's it! Your "turbo cider" is ready._


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## Stig (May 3, 2009)

I brewed the SS Minnow English Dark Mild Ale– All Grain Recipe yesterday for International Homebrew Day (formerly American national homebrew day but it's got a bit out of hand.)
It needed a wierdy yeast that came in a smack-packet with liquid inside, but I'm not sure it's working. It's sitting there looking like 5 gallons of gravy at the moment.


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## badseed (May 5, 2009)

Sounds interesting, I have not taken the all grain plunge yet but I am thinking about it.
Did you break the inside of the smack packet and wait for it to puff up before pitching?


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## Stig (May 5, 2009)

badseed said:


> Sounds interesting, I have not taken the all grain plunge yet but I am thinking about it.
> Did you break the inside of the smack packet and wait for it to puff up before pitching?



Oh yes, it was puffed up like a very puffed up thing.

Then I pitched it into a litre of wort and left it in the aring cupboard as instructed.

Put the whole lot in the beer a day later, and it sank like a stone and did absolutely nothing.

I've re-pitched with S04 now, so it's going for it, but this will of course drastically affect the flavour of the brew, and I am officiaslly now brewing  something completely different. 
Still, at least I managed to source all the right grains, so I'm doing better than some others who are doing the same. We all have slight variations, it will be more interesting to see how they all turn out, that way.


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## Voley (May 5, 2009)

More action this end, too. 

The Headcracker is finished leaving only a trail of wrecked braincells and broken furniture in it's wake. The Wherry is now a very quaffable Light Summer Ale having conditioned in the bottles for a few weeks. It's not too strong so a good session ale. The cider is best described as 'an acquired taste' but I diluted it by a third again with apple juice and I like it now. I'm the only one that does, mind, most turn their nose up at it. Suits me.  The cinnamon and cloves were a good idea. I've got 5 gallons of Admiral's Reserve on a secondary ferment and I've just put a pack of Munton's liquid gold Pilsner Lager on to ferment, too. If that wasn't enough (and it surely is, by anyone's standards) I've got a Muntons IPA kit to get cracking on once some bottles become available.

It's a great feeling having some genuinely good beer in the house that you've made. I like trying the beer out on people and seeing how pleasantly surprised they are by the quality. Good fun this new hobby of mine.


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## badseed (May 23, 2009)

Thread should not die.
Anyone made spirits? my wife has expressed interest in me making my own vodka


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## berniedicters (May 23, 2009)

badseed said:


> Thread should not die.
> Anyone made spirits? my wife has expressed interest in me making my own vodka


It's trickier: needs lots more kit.

And it's very illegal. Though not quite as likely to poison people as "the authorities" would have you believe. But you have to make a lot of mash to get not a vast amount of spirit, so it doesn't really lend itself to domestic scale production.


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## Sir Belchalot (May 23, 2009)

You can make a small, cheap still to experiment with out of a pressure cooker & tubing from the back of an old fridge (clean it with caustic soda first though).  The tubing's the ideal size to fit through the rubber ring on the pressure cooker.
Don't drink the 1st 10% of spirit produced though.  10 litres of mash will produce a litre or so of spirits (minus the 100ml that you discard).  Made some years ago using this method & was potent but safe.


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## berniedicters (May 23, 2009)

Sir Belchalot said:


> You can make a small, cheap still to experiment with out of a pressure cooker & tubing from the back of an old fridge (clean it with caustic soda first though).  The tubing's the ideal size to fit through the rubber ring on the pressure cooker.
> Don't drink the 1st 10% of spirit produced though.  10 litres of mash will produce a litre or so of spirits (minus the 100ml that you discard).  Made some years ago using this method & was potent but safe.



To be on the safe side, you may want to discard the last 10%, too.

The first 10% will be heavy on methanol, which is Seriously Bad Shit and makes people go blind. The last 10% will tend to have a lot of the higher alcohols and fusels, which are what tends to make the spirit a bit heavier and more prone to causing hangovers.

This is particularly the case with a bodged-up still like a pressure cooker.

Do remember that you are combining flame (or at least heat) with a highly inflammable substance. It's not coincidence that distilleries often burned down...

Remember also that, when bodging up stills, the worst things are often not methanol but impurities collected off the equipment: there was a spate of serious poisonings some years ago in the Deep South in the US, which were traced to people using car radiators as part of their distillation setup. These had been soldered with lead solder, which the hot distillate was bringing very neatly into solution and concentrating. Bad news all round.

So I'd be tempted to make sure I was using pristine tubes, and knowing exactly what I was doing...


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## Sir Belchalot (May 23, 2009)

Just a note on safety.  Make sure that the vapour/spirit are well away from naked flames when doing the run.  Check the purity of your spirit by lighting some in a spoon.  It should burn with a blue flame, if it doesn't don't drink it!  
Just seen the post above, all good advice.


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## badseed (May 30, 2009)

I was thinking about one of these air stiller thingies, makes it a bit easier and safer I think.
It looks a bit more complicated than I thought though and Smirnoff Red Label is on special at my local bottle shop so I might wait a while.







http://stillspirits.com/wa.asp?idWebPage=6149&idDetails=137

Put it on my to do list along with the all grain set up.

I just made  a lovely ale with:
lager kit
1 can pale liquid malt
500g wheat malt extract.
250g Carapils (cracked and steeped for 30 minutes)
15g Amarillo and 15g Saaz dry hopped at the end
Safale yeast.


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## Stig (May 30, 2009)

I'm going to set off a new brew tomorrow, as I haven't done one for a good few weeks now, but not sure what to do.

I probably want a golden ale, as my last few have been dark ones; mild and porter etc, but I can't find any good recipes out there, just slightly boring ones. 

I've found a timothy taylor's landlord recipe, but I really want something like an Oakham JHB recipe.

PS this scary stills stuff, it it the same with freezing cider off to get applejack brandy, regarding the meths and fusels?


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## Griff (Jun 1, 2009)

Went into Wilkinsons on Saturday for some gardening stuff and came away with a Yorkshire Bitter kit, 5 gallon tank, hydrometer, syphon, bottles and caps.

Got it all bubbling away in the houthouse now.


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## badseed (Jun 2, 2009)

Griff said:


> Went into Wilkinsons on Saturday for some gardening stuff and came away with a Yorkshire Bitter kit, 5 gallon tank, hydrometer, syphon, bottles and caps.
> 
> Got it all bubbling away in the houthouse now.




Is this your first time?
If you haven't, you really should read this thread


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## Stig (Jun 2, 2009)

Mine is having trouble getting down to pitching temperature, damn this hot weather. 
I don't have a wort chiller either, not for want of trying, I'm still arguing with hop and grape about that having paid them 100 quid for some stuff on April the fecking 5th!  They've 'gone on holiday' now.


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## Voley (Jul 4, 2009)

If I've had a batch of beer in a fully pressurised keg fermenting away for weeks and I now want to bottle it, do I still need to stick some sugar in the bottles?


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## berniedicters (Jul 4, 2009)

NVP said:


> If I've had a batch of beer in a fully pressurised keg fermenting away for weeks and I now want to bottle it, do I still need to stick some sugar in the bottles?


Yes, probably.

When you decant to bottle, you'll certainly keep some of the CO2 in solution, but you'll lose most of it. You're also going to find you may have a problem with foaming up, if you're decanting carbonated beer...

I was just thinking about this thread. I'm going to get married in 11 months or so, and it strikes me that it might make some sense to brew up a nice nuptial ale. So I should start to think about something special I might do for the occasion. Probably something fairly high-gravity and exotic.


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## Voley (Jul 4, 2009)

Thanks, agnes. I thought as much. 

I agree with your suggestion about a wedding ale, too. A one-off for the reception would be a nice touch.

Just finished brewing some Admiral's Reserve which is a nice hoppy Summery brew. Took a long time to clear but was worth waiting for.  It's going into bottles today and I'm getting a batch of Munton's Fixby Gold on tomorrow.


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## berniedicters (Jul 4, 2009)

NVP said:


> Thanks, agnes. I thought as much.
> 
> I agree with your suggestion about a wedding ale, too. A one-off for the reception would be a nice touch.
> 
> Just finished brewing some Admiral's Reserve which is a nice hoppy Summery brew. Took a long time to clear but was worth waiting for.  It's going into bottles today and I'm getting a batch of Munton's Fixby Gold on tomorrow.


Heh, that pint on the pack image looks like it had a spot of bother clearing, too!


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## Voley (Jul 4, 2009)

Mine's a hell of a lot cloudier than that.  Tastes good though. Light and refreshing. Just right for this weather, really. not too strong so you can get a few down you fairly happily, too.


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## DotCommunist (Jul 4, 2009)

Sterilising me demijohns:

can I just use generic baby bottle sterilising stuff or is it essential to buy specialist brewers stuff?


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## Voley (Jul 4, 2009)

I would've thought that was alright.

Agnes? What do you reckon?


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## berniedicters (Jul 4, 2009)

DotCommunist said:


> Sterilising me demijohns:
> 
> can I just use generic baby bottle sterilising stuff or is it essential to buy specialist brewers stuff?


I user baby stuff. You need to rinse well afterwards - the Milton type products tend to be chlorine-based disinfectants such as sodium hypochlorite or dichloroisocyanutate (I just went and read that off the box  ), which will tend to leave a bit of a taint. So clean, sterilise and rinse and the job's a good 'un!


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## DotCommunist (Jul 4, 2009)

sweet, I can get some of that free


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## berniedicters (Jul 4, 2009)

General tip, which probably won't apply to most of us...don't soak stainless steel vessels in chlorine-based disinfectants. It destroys the steel surprisingly quickly. So if you do use bleaches (for example) to clean SS utensils, don't soak them, and rinse them quickly afterwards.


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## mr steev (Jul 4, 2009)

My mate has given me some 'videne' which he's been raving about. 
You can get it from chemists. dilute 1ml to a litre of cold water and just spray it on what needs to be sterilised. No need to rinse as it evaporates. It just needs to be in contact with the surface for 20 seconds


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## berniedicters (Jul 4, 2009)

mr steev said:


> My mate has given me some 'videne' which he's been raving about.
> You can get it from chemists. dilute 1ml to a litre of cold water and just spray it on what needs to be sterilised. No need to rinse as it evaporates. It just needs to be in contact with the surface for 20 seconds


Right, well, that's an iodine-based steriliser, so you don't have quite the same problem with taint. We lesser mortals can also get iodophor, which is a kind of demilitarised version of videne  But I will look at costs, because iodophor can be quite pricey (yonks since I bought mine, though), and if the videne is cheaper I'll go for that.

One thing I do notice - it has a few additional ingredients, viz. Alkyl Phenol Ether Sulphate (Ammonium Salt), Glycerin BP, Citric Acid, Anhydrous Sodium Phosphate, Purified Water BP. 

I don't know what effect some of those might have on the brewing process - but it's possible they might. And a 10% solution goes for about £6/500ml, which is a fair bit pricier than iodophor, but I'm not sure about concentrations with the iodophor.

For completeness, we should probably also mention the oxygenating bleaches, which don't have the taint problem, but are more expensive. Look for stuff containing sodium percarbonate.


----------



## lighterthief (Jul 12, 2009)

Quick question: just starting to brew a batch of beer and have discovered 2 bags of Young's 'Body Bru', ie 1kg of malto dextrin.

Is this stuff used as a substitute for sugar?  For example, I'm going to add 1kg of spray malt to this batch instead of 1kg sugar, but next time round could I add  the Body Bru instead?

Ta


----------



## berniedicters (Jul 12, 2009)

lighterthief said:


> Quick question: just starting to brew a batch of beer and have discovered 2 bags of Young's 'Body Bru', ie 1kg of malto dextrin.
> 
> Is this stuff used as a substitute for sugar?  For example, I'm going to add 1kg of spray malt to this batch instead of 1kg sugar, but next time round could I add  the Body Bru instead?
> 
> Ta


Nonononono!! 

Body Bru is a non-fermentable sugar - maltodextrose - that is added to increase the "body" of a beer by not getting fermented to alcohol. Although it's not as sweet as sucrose or glucose, it does leave a residual sweetness and weight to the brew.

So it will be no good as a substitute for spraymalt! You want smaller quantities of that, added to a medium to high gravity beer to give it a bit less of the old loopyjuice factor and make it taste a bit "bigger" (along with all the nice hops and quality yeast  ).

When barley is malted and roasted at quite high temperatures, one of the effects is to produce similar "higher" sugars as a result of the roasting, which are non- (or at least less) fermentable, so it's no surprise with the kind of beers you're looking at brewing from such malts are usually quite high gravity and very much full-bodied ales (Stout being a particularly good example - brewed with very roasted malts = medium to high gravity, lots of body).


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## lighterthief (Jul 12, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> You want smaller quantities of that, added to a medium to high gravity beer to give it a bit less of the old loopyjuice factor and make it taste a bit "bigger"


Ah.  I see!

So...when and in what quantities might Body Bru make a pleasing difference?

For example, next batch will be Munton's Mild, which has turned out very nice in the past with 1kg of dark spraymalt substituted for the 1kg sugar required - could Body Bru be put to some use here, albeit in smaller quantities?


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## berniedicters (Jul 12, 2009)

lighterthief said:


> Ah.  I see!
> 
> So...when and in what quantities might Body Bru make a pleasing difference?
> 
> For example, next batch will be Munton's Mild, which has turned out very nice in the past with 1kg of dark spraymalt substituted for the 1kg sugar required - could Body Bru be put to some use here, albeit in smaller quantities?



Here's a bit of detail about dextrins in brewing.

As far as quantities go, you're probably looking at a *maximum *of 500g per batch, and that'd have to be for a seriously robust beer. Typically, you might be adding 25, 50g. Best probably to dissolve it in boiling water, thus sterilising it and making it easier to dissolve - I hear it's a bit difficult to get it to - before adding it to the brew.


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## lighterthief (Jul 13, 2009)

Thanks for that agnesdavies - useful to know for next time.  Heard my batch blooping away under the stairs this morning which is such a pleasing sound to the ear


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## mr steev (Jul 18, 2009)

I'm going to start a batch of festive cider over the weekend by adding some cinnamon and cloves etc. Anyone got any ideas of how much spice I should use for a gallon?


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## berniedicters (Jul 18, 2009)

mr steev said:


> I'm going to start a batch of festive cider over the weekend by adding some cinnamon and cloves etc. Anyone got any ideas of how much spice I should use for a gallon?


There's not really an amount. I often add a light fistful of cinnamon, which is just about enough to give the cider a slight cinamonny edge. My guess is that you'd probably not want that much cloves, though. I think this one's definitely down to trial and error!


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## Funky_monks (Jul 19, 2009)

mr steev said:


> I'm going to start a batch of festive cider over the weekend by adding some cinnamon and cloves etc. Anyone got any ideas of how much spice I should use for a gallon?



None. Add it when you mull it.


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## Voley (Jul 19, 2009)

mr steev said:


> I'm going to start a batch of festive cider over the weekend by adding some cinnamon and cloves etc. Anyone got any ideas of how much spice I should use for a gallon?



I bought 40 g of mulled wine spice off Ebay for a brew of 5 gallons. It was just right - you could taste the cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg  etc but it wasn't overpowering. It gives a nice flavour to the dry as a bone stuff you end up with if you're making it from apple juice. Well worth doing, imo.


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## mr steev (Jul 19, 2009)

NVP said:


> I bought 40 g of mulled wine spice off Ebay for a brew of 5 gallons. It was just right - you could taste the cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg  etc but it wasn't overpowering. It gives a nice flavour to the dry as a bone stuff you end up with if you're making it from apple juice. Well worth doing, imo.





That's what I'll do then, cheers


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## lighterthief (Jul 19, 2009)

Nom, just racked off last weekend's batch of Premium Bitter to my barrel, just put 40 pints of Midland Mild on to ferment under the stairs - I'll probably bottle this lot next weekend.  I love home brewing


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## Funky_monks (Jul 19, 2009)

I have my first batch of beer that I made with malt and hops as opposed to tins of malt extract fermenting in a bucket. I'll barrel it when the SG gets to 1 and post some pics. I'm quite pleased with it so far.


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## Griff (Jul 20, 2009)

Going to start my second batch this week. 

The first lot were actually very drinkable, I was quite surprised on just how much they looked and tasted like a pub pint of bitter. 

Just one question though, how does the hydrometer work?  I got one for doing the first batch, but didn't really use the thing, just kept an eye on it and stirred it until bottling time.


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## berniedicters (Jul 20, 2009)

Griff said:


> Going to start my second batch this week.
> 
> The first lot were actually very drinkable, I was quite surprised on just how much they looked and tasted like a pub pint of bitter.
> 
> Just one question though, how does the hydrometer work?  I got one for doing the first batch, but didn't really use the thing, just kept an eye on it and stirred it until bottling time.


Hydrometers work by measuring the density of the liquid they've been put into.

That density can be varied by dissolving things into it, varying its temperature, or using different liquids (eg alcohol).

Mostly, when we use a hydrometer, we're using it to determine how much sugar is dissolved into the solution, as from this we can work out what the alcohol content will be if all the sugar is fermented. It's a bit more complex than that, in that we really need to know a starting gravity (OG) and a finishing gravity (FG), from which we can calculate how much has been fermented into alcohol. The complication is increased even more by the fact that the alcohol will itself tend to make the overall solution less dense - winemakers get used to fermenting down to _negative_ gravities (wrt pure water), as the final product is a) so sugarfree, and b) of sufficiently high alcoholic content that it ends up less dense than pure water.

In practice, hydrometers are usually calibrated in terms of "points", that being the ratio of the density of the liquid to water, which is calibrated as 1.000 (or 1000) - this is the "specific gravity"


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## Griff (Jul 20, 2009)

Cheers.


----------



## Funky_monks (Jul 20, 2009)

Also, in beermaking - it tells you when to barrel/bottle, ie when it reaches 1 or thereabouts.


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## haZe36 (Aug 20, 2009)

Fantastic thread!

Just found it, 6 days after putting on my first brew - a Dudley & Gornal Bitter kit now sitting at 1.010 which I'll probably syphon off at the weekend 

Loads of inspiration off here, gagging to get another one on the go!


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## lighterthief (Aug 21, 2009)

lighterthief said:


> Nom, just racked off last weekend's batch of Premium Bitter to my barrel, just put 40 pints of Midland Mild on to ferment under the stairs - I'll probably bottle this lot next weekend.  I love home brewing


Having been on holiday and working away from home I had completely forgotten about this barrel I put away a month ago - should have cleared by now 

*looks forward to tasting session tonight*


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## mr steev (Aug 21, 2009)

My cider is coming along great 

I amalgamated agnesdavies's turbo cider recipe with another one. 
I added 150g of sugar at the start with some champagne yeast and some pectin enzyme, then added 3 litres a day to make it up to 3 gallons. Put a bubble air lock on it and left it in the bucket to ferment, then racked it off into demijons.

I tasted it when I put it in demijons and it it was very promissing and quite drinkable. I'd say medium/medium-dry rather than bone dry, but there was still a bit of sugars left according to the hydrometer. The reading I took at the start gave a potential of 6% (so slightly weaker than The Turbo) and there was still a possible 1% when I racked it off (missus)


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## Voley (Aug 24, 2009)

Muntons kits are very good, I've found. Their IPA got a thumbs up from the U75 crew I had staying at the weekend.

Just put a kit of Pilsner lager on (Muntons again) today. I get the feeling I probably could've done with waiting for the weather to get a bit cooler for lager but you know what it's like when a fermenting vessel's just sitting there empty. It's just not right, dammit.

Brupak's Fixby Gold came out well, too, if not particularly golden. I think Stig said she had the same outcome. Tastes fine, mind.

I've done seven brews since the beginning of this thread, now. The only one that went a bit wonky was the cider - trying to kill off the yeast to dilute it buggered the flavour a bit, sadly.


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## lighterthief (Aug 24, 2009)

NVP said:


> I get the feeling I probably could've done with waiting for the weather to get a bit cooler for lager but you know what it's like when a fermenting vessel's just sitting there empty. It's just not right, dammit.





My Munton premium bitter is still cloudy in the barrel after a month sat quietly under the stairs.  Should I leave it for a bit longer?  Also, can beer in a white pressure barrel get 'light struck', ie should I keep it out of daylight?


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## Voley (Aug 24, 2009)

Not totally sure about that lighterthief but it can't hurt to stick it away in the dark. General rule of thumb is as dark as possible is the best way forward.

I've had beer that's still cloudy after a month or so. Bottling it and forgetting about it usually does the trick.


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## Voley (Aug 25, 2009)

Well the lager's certainly taken pretty quickly - it's bubbling away fairly manically right now.

A bit warm for it, maybe?


----------



## nicksonic (Aug 25, 2009)

i've been reading this thread with avid interest. i've gone from being under the misapprehension that home brew is rubbish to really wanting to try it.

the woodford's wherry kit was mention at the start of the thread; what's the difference between wherry and bitter?


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## berniedicters (Aug 25, 2009)

nicksonic said:


> i've been reading this thread with avid interest. i've gone from being under the misapprehension that home brew is rubbish to really wanting to try it.
> 
> the woodford's wherry kit was mention at the start of the thread; what's the difference between wherry and bitter?


Nothing. Wherry is just Woodforde's name for a particular brew.

It's a damn fine ale, and probably the best way to get started. Feel free to ask for any assistance - there's loads of people on here who will be happy to help!


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## nicksonic (Aug 25, 2009)

cheers 

i didn't realise that a world of beer creativity was at the tips of my fingers.


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## Voley (Aug 25, 2009)

Yeah, the Wherry kit's a really good one to start with. Really straightforward to brew and a very nice pint at the end of it.


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## mr steev (Sep 4, 2009)

I've just bottled my lidl juice cider. Sampled some and it's very drinkable! 

I've primed the stuff I made using just apple juice, but I did another gallon with some mulled spices in which I've left as it tastes fine enough as it is and I think will be better still than sparkling


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## Griff (Sep 7, 2009)

Bottled my second brew yesterday and got a healthy 36 bottles done.

Ony a Geordie Bittler from Wilkinsons, but I have to say it tasted rather good, even before sitting in the bottles for a while. 

Will have to have a good read through this thread and order something a bit special next time.


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## haZe36 (Sep 7, 2009)

Got my second brew on at the weekend, a Fixby Gold.

Frothing out of the FV within 15 hours has done little to halt my infection paranoia, particularly as it smelt a tad sharp this morning.

I'm led to believe this could be a healthy nostril full of Co2 or even the result of a high temperature fermentation.

Anyone offer any thoughts or am I worrying too much? (as I suspect!)


----------



## berniedicters (Sep 7, 2009)

haZe36 said:


> Got my second brew on at the weekend, a Fixby Gold.
> 
> Frothing out of the FV within 15 hours has done little to halt my infection paranoia, particularly as it smelt a tad sharp this morning.
> 
> ...


You're almost certainly worrying too much! Ale yeasts will normally happily ferment up to at least 24C without any ill-effects, and there can be all kinds of early fermentation products that can smell quite strange.

Don't be tempted to check the FV _too_ often or you WILL end up with an infection, but the best thing you can do right now is let it ferment out and see how things look once it's calmed down a bit.


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## haZe36 (Sep 7, 2009)

Cheers Agnes, I sorta guessed that was the case but it stinks so much more than my previous success.

I've got some big ideas since catching the homebrew bug, will probably learn to chill out a bit once I've got a few more under my belt


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## berniedicters (Sep 7, 2009)

haZe36 said:


> Cheers Agnes, I sorta guessed that was the case but it stinks so much more than my previous success.
> 
> I've got some big ideas since catching the homebrew bug, will probably learn to chill out a bit once I've got a few more under my belt


This is true. When I started, I was doing the hygiene shit like a hospital that's just had its tenth case of C.difficile. Now it's a good wash and scrub of everything, and a quick rinse with some iodophor if it's already clean...I'm positively blase now!

And someone (you know who you are  ) has asked me what quantities I can supply on an occasional basis for beer festivals...so anyone out there with a couple of metal firkin casks, do get in touch  Wood would do at a push, too...

That should answer her question, too...though I'd just aim for the one firkin for now, I don't think I can manage an 80 litre batch just yet.


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## Voley (Sep 7, 2009)

haZe36 said:


> Got my second brew on at the weekend, a Fixby Gold.



Good choice. I'm drinking my way through a nice batch of that atm. It's not particularly _gold_, it has to be said, but it's a really nice lighter ale. Mine's come out sort of IPA-ish. Not a bad thing at all, imo. 

And everyone frets over their first couple. See my fevered posting earlier on in the thread.  I've now learned that bottling it and leaving it for a couple of months will cure most ills.


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## haZe36 (Sep 7, 2009)

Feeling much better now, thanks folks 

Next up (!) I'm thinking of a Coopers IPA with a few hops thrown in, before tampering with another kit for a winter warmer/Christmas beer - any recommendations?


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## berniedicters (Sep 7, 2009)

haZe36 said:


> Feeling much better now, thanks folks
> 
> Next up (!) I'm thinking of a Coopers IPA with a few hops thrown in, before tampering with another kit for a winter warmer/Christmas beer - any recommendations?



My traditional Xmas brew is based on a Headcracker kit - nice hefty barley wine, good high gravity that'll stand a few herbs and spices being thrown at it. I may bulk it out with a kilo and a half of crystal malt, and the usual spice additions are: ginger, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, cardamoms and a teaspoonful of orange oil. People say the ale tastes like mince pies, so I renamed it last year...


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## haZe36 (Sep 8, 2009)

Sounds interesting!

The Headcracker looks like a good base to start from then, maybe I'll get one on the go as soon as I've kegged the Fixby. That should give it ample time before setting it on unsuspecting friends and family!

I'll have 80 pints sat in the garage so the IPA can wait for now...


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## Stig (Sep 8, 2009)

NVP said:


> Good choice. I'm drinking my way through a nice batch of that atm. It's not particularly _gold_, it has to be said, but it's a really nice lighter ale. Mine's come out sort of IPA-ish. Not a bad thing at all, imo.
> 
> And everyone frets over their first couple. See my fevered posting earlier on in the thread.  I've now learned that bottling it and leaving it for a couple of months will cure most ills.



I never said it would be gold, tbf 



I've had a very disappointing few brews recently - it's almost put me off a bit. 

A couple were really horrible tasting, and the last three just will not clear. They've been there a couple of months already and still cloudy and not-ready tasting. Arse.


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## haZe36 (Sep 18, 2009)

Kegged the Fixby this afternoon and took a cheeky sample - tasted fine, knew there was nothing to worry about 

Onto a Coopers IPA next, thread must not die...


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## Funky_monks (Sep 18, 2009)

Stig said:


> A couple were really horrible tasting, and the last three just will not clear. They've been there a couple of months already and still cloudy and not-ready tasting. Arse.



Stronger brews clear more quickly than weak ones. If you have nothing else left to try and the ferment is not stuck, sling some sugar in and hope that does the trick, and even if it doesn't, after a few you'll be too pissed to care.


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## badseed (Sep 19, 2009)

I haven't had a beer for about 8 weeks due to a Thai kickboxing show tomorrow afternoon, so my beer stocks have grown to fantastic proportions.
I have 20 L of Pilsner (heavy on the Saaz), 20 L Pale Ale (American Style Cascade & Clusterhops) and 20 L of Australian Bright Ale plus 20 L of Pilsner conditioning in the brewing fridge.
I am thirsty.
Got some friends coming round for a curry tomorrow evening, the rest can write itself...


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## Voley (Sep 19, 2009)

Impressive, badseed. 

I've got about 5 or 6 bottles of IPA left, 40 pints of bitter bottle conditioning after that and five gallons of bitter fermenting now. Despite all this, I still bought some lager the other day in Tesco's. 18 bottles of Stella for a fiver. Couldn't be passed up. My obsession knows no bounds.


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## mr steev (Sep 30, 2009)

My cider was a success! 
It tastes great and I will continue to make more 

I'm also delving into the world of wine making now. I've got some elderberries in the freezer and intend to go out at some point this week and pick the few extra pounds I need.

I started some damson wine last night. I put 6lbs of fruit with 6lb of sugar and 2 gallons of boiling water into a bucket with the plan to pitch it and add nutrients etc this morning when it had cooled.
Unfortunately I bought the wrong yeast (and it's only enough for 1 gallon) I have also discovered that the few local homebrew shops all seem to be shut on Wednesdays and I don't want to have to drive 15miles to find one that's open! 
I presume the must will be ok until tomorrow?

The recipe says to strain the wine into demijons, leave to ferment, then rack into more demijons. I've got a fermenting bucket with an airlock. Does anyone know any reason I shouldn't strain the wine into that first, then into demijons later?


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## berniedicters (Sep 30, 2009)

mr steev said:


> My cider was a success!
> It tastes great and I will continue to make more
> 
> I'm also delving into the world of wine making now. I've got some elderberries in the freezer and intend to go out at some point this week and pick the few extra pounds I need.
> ...


On the yeast front, I shouldn't worry - it might be a little bit slower to start its fermentation, but you'll soon know if it's failed. THEN get more yeast 

It's always a good idea to chuck some campden tablets in when you're setting up the must for winemaking - wine's usually a somewhat slower fermentation, and you don't want wild yeasts or bacterial infections to get a hold. If you didn't, don't worry about it now, but worth remembering for the future.

Pectinase is quite good at breaking up fruit - but again I'm not sure I'd worry about adding it now. Presumably you mashed/cut up the fruit anyway?

As for straining into the bucket - no, absolutely no reason why not at all. In fact, given that it has an airlock, I'd be inclined to avoid the risk of infection of moving it from that - let the fermentation complete in it, then bottle from there. It might just be a bit trickier to tuck away/move around, and now your fermentation vessel's out of commission for a few weeks


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## Griff (Sep 30, 2009)

Gave a bloke at work a bottle of my second brew which has been in a bottle for a month and a bit now. He loved it. 

My latest (a Paxton Real Ale) hasn't taken so well, but is drinkable enough.


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## mr steev (Sep 30, 2009)

Cheers agnesdavies. 
I've got sterilised stuff drying as I type... the ease of videne


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## del (Sep 30, 2009)

After sampling various home-brews at the weekend, Mr Steev's fine cider included, I have to say that home-brewing has come on a long way.  All tasted great and were dangerously quaffable.  As for Steve's cider, 6% my arse, judging by the wobble.


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## Funky_monks (Sep 30, 2009)

I've never bothered sterilising the must when making homebrew wine, I just trust a good starter bottle will ensure my saccromyces of choice will win the bacteriological arms race. 

Sterile equipment, yes, sterile must, no.


(except for beermaking when I don't sterilise anything cos you boil the stuff)


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## mr steev (Oct 1, 2009)

Funky_monks said:


> I've never bothered sterilising the must when making homebrew wine



I don't sterilise the must, just the bucket it goes in and any implements like hydrometer, spoons etc.

I was wondering whether I'd need to sterilise the spoon I'll use for stirring it every now and again. But following a mate's suggestion, I now have some diluted videne in a plant sprayer. So all i have to do is spray the surface and wait for it to dry. It's no hassle at all and better to be safe than sorry I guess


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## ringo (Oct 31, 2009)

Just got round to ordering one of those Wherry kits, looks good.


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## nicksonic (Nov 1, 2009)

ringo said:


> Just got round to ordering one of those Wherry kits, looks good.



i also plan to do this in the near future.


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## retribution (Nov 2, 2009)

My first batch of the Wherry kit (inspired by this thread ) turned out great, and the second batch is a week into its primary fermentation, so ready to switch to the barrel soon.

I've got a capper and caps now, so was hoping to bottle some of this batch (I've collected a dozen or so bottles). Anyone got any tips on how to do this? I was thinking of mixing the sugar in as per usual into the barrel, and then immediately siphoning some off into bottles, will this work?

I'm right in thinking that the beers condition in the bottle if you do it this way, yeah? If so, what about the gas it'll produce? Do I fill the bottles only say 3/4 full to avoid them exploding?

I've acquired a spare demijohn now so a batch of cider might also be called for 

Thanks


----------



## berniedicters (Nov 3, 2009)

retribution said:


> I've got a capper and caps now, so was hoping to bottle some of this batch (I've collected a dozen or so bottles). Anyone got any tips on how to do this? I was thinking of mixing the sugar in as per usual into the barrel, and then immediately siphoning some off into bottles, will this work?


With a dozen or so bottles, you're obviously not planning on bottling the whole batch?

In which case, I'd keep the handling down to a minimum, so what I'd do is to make a little paper cone to use as a funnel, and use it to put about half a teaspoon of sugar into each bottle before filling them.



retribution said:


> I'm right in thinking that the beers condition in the bottle if you do it this way, yeah? If so, what about the gas it'll produce? Do I fill the bottles only say 3/4 full to avoid them exploding?


Definitely not! Yes, the beer will carbonate in the bottle (and at half a teaspoonful shouldn't be too fizzy), but you must fill the bottle up properly. Leave a little headspace - say, 1 - 1.5cm between the top of the beer and the top of the neck. Any space you leave in there is space in which oxygen will be, and the more oxygen you've got in your bottle, the more the beer will oxidise, and oxidised beer is stale beer. All of the carbon dioxide produced by the secondary fermentation should go into solution to make your beer a bit fizzy.

Conditioning is really what happens after the secondary fermentation - it's where your "green" beer matures and its flavours blend and develop to give you a rounded, even flavour more like what you'd get in a commercial brew (only better, because this one's yours), and less like what people generally associate with "homebrew" (that and the fact that they expect it to have been brewed in a galvanised dustbin).

Good luck, and enjoy!


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## badseed (Nov 10, 2009)

Just put down an American style pale ale heavy on the citrussy hops (Cascade, Cluster & Chinook)
This is one of my favorites and I usually have a keg of it on the go, this one will go down well on a hot xmas morning.


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## Stig (Nov 10, 2009)

I've just put a few more brews on since a very bad summer. where 6 in a row had to be thrown away. 

I had a phenolic infection and I just couldn't get rid of it.

I've ended up replacing nearly my entire kit. 

On the positive side, I now have a nice enamelled steel boiler with a hidden element, some stainless stove top pots, and two new fermenters, so I can brew more than one at a time 

I've got a lovely coffee stout conditioning in bottles which has 4 litres of very good coffee in it. an amber ale, with cascade hops in riight at the end, APA-style,  A light citrussy one with poineer hops, and I'm going to do a porter tonight, as I want to use up the Bramling Cross, and I think they'd go nicely in a Porter. 

Back in the saddle, then.


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## c8600 (Nov 10, 2009)

Quick question. It's been nearly a year since my last brew, which was also my 1st. I just ain't had time to do it since. I posted asking for help which I got and was greatly received.

Main problem I have is that when my beer keg was pressured and the beer fermented, whenever I took a glass full from it, the tap seemed to let out a bit of beer after it had been closed. this was a brand new keg mind. Also when the pressure had fallen away and most of the beer had been drank, I think there was a worse leak. I don't know weather it was knocked or what. It may just need the tap tightening or have a dodgy seal. I know anything about these things.

How can I test the keg for leaks b4 I put precious beer in it?

Cheers.


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## c8600 (Nov 10, 2009)

Oh yeah I didnt mention. I bought a second keg which has a gasser on the top which my current one doesnt.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160373703338&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123

£5. Winner 

P.s I havent collected this yet. It looks a bit grubs but I don't see why it wouldnt scrub up ok. Not literaly scrub, I know this can make cleaning harder, you know what I mean


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## c8600 (Nov 10, 2009)

I am hoping to get brewing on Friday. I am going to do one of the more recomended stout kits, and a good bitter.

Do you think i have left it too late for it to be ready for xmas??


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## mr steev (Nov 17, 2009)

This may be a daft question, but can you cork screw top wine bottles?


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## Stig (Nov 17, 2009)

johnc86 said:


> I am hoping to get brewing on Friday. I am going to do one of the more recomended stout kits, and a good bitter.
> 
> Do you think i have left it too late for it to be ready for xmas??



Nah, not at all. a week to ferment >28th November, then three weeks conditioning in bottles or barrel, takes you to the 19th december. Actually it's never quite ready on the day, IME, so another few days, and you're cutting it a bit fine! 
Oh no! 

*gets beer on*


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## haZe36 (Nov 27, 2009)

I've just sampled a Brewferm Abbey that I've had bottled for the last 3 weeks.

I was hoping to keep some of these back for Christmas, gonna be very difficult


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## berniedicters (Nov 27, 2009)

haZe36 said:


> I've just sampled a Brewferm Abbey that I've had bottled for the last 3 weeks.
> 
> I was hoping to keep some of these back for Christmas, gonna be very difficult



If it's lovely after 3 weeks, it'll be nectar by Christmas. Give half a dozen bottles to a teetotal (or beer-hating) friend, with strict instructions not to let you have them before Christmas Eve!


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## haZe36 (Nov 28, 2009)

I'm not sure I can do that, far too many of my closest friends have similar drink problems!

I am however, up for the challenge of holding out or at least moderating myself. There's plenty more beer in the garage to help me on the way.

And failing that, I've ordered a couple more just in case


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## temper_tantrum (Nov 28, 2009)

Just wanted to say, I'm a major fan of this thread!


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## Stig (Nov 28, 2009)

I'm going to do a new one tomorrow, and I'm going to do photos, specially for the thread. 

It'll be a plain maris otter with as much amber malt as I can get away with, I'll look up how much that is, probably 10%. And then whichever hops are the oldest, (but I only buy my faves), it'll be the fuggles or the cascade. So it'll be a Red beer, either a grassy red or a citrussy red, we'll see.


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## temper_tantrum (Nov 28, 2009)

Quick question, I have a hop vine growing up the side of my house. Would that be any use at all? I don't brew anything myself, but I'm interested on a theoretical basis.


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## Stig (Nov 28, 2009)

temper_tantrum said:


> Quick question, I have a hop vine growing up the side of my house. Would that be any use at all? I don't brew anything myself, but I'm interested on a theoretical basis.



If you don't brew it'll be fuck all use, to be honest. 

I don't understand the question? Are you thinking of taking up brewing? Or do you want to grow hops and send them to me? 

You could grow hops and dry them, and use them to fill little minature pillow cases like old ladies do with lavender, and keep them under your pillow and go to bed every night thinking mmmm beer....


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## tombowler (Nov 28, 2009)

temper_tantrum said:


> Quick question, I have a hop vine growing up the side of my house. Would that be any use at all? I don't brew anything myself, but I'm interested on a theoretical basis.



ver much so if you can download a clean copy of the self suffiency book there are instructions on what to do from start to finnish on making beer from scratch it dont look too hard


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## Stig (Nov 28, 2009)

tombowler said:


> ver much so if you can download a clean copy of the self suffiency book there are instructions on what to do from start to finnish on making beer from scratch it dont look too hard



If you're going down that road you want to be growing barley first, and then malting it, before looking at hops.

Being able to buy malted barley is the first sign of proper civilisation IMO.


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## temper_tantrum (Nov 28, 2009)

Heh. Nice idea.
I meant, would the hops be any cop?
The reason I was uncertain is that I'm aware that with some species of plants, unless they're very clearly cultivated for useage then they aren't necessarily useable.
Therefore I'm not sure whether this random hops vine which I've inherited is in any way related to the hops used for brewing, and even if it was, would it taste any good?!
Of course if you'd like to have a go then you're more than welcome ...

Edit: That was all @ Stig btw.


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## tombowler (Nov 28, 2009)

should be ok beer started off using wild hops then selective breeding to get variety etc im sure hfw used ferral hops growing in river cottage to make an acceptable brew.

go on try it you might like it!

yours are probably ferral ones


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## berniedicters (Nov 29, 2009)

temper_tantrum said:


> Heh. Nice idea.
> I meant, would the hops be any cop?
> The reason I was uncertain is that I'm aware that with some species of plants, unless they're very clearly cultivated for useage then they aren't necessarily useable.
> Therefore I'm not sure whether this random hops vine which I've inherited is in any way related to the hops used for brewing, and even if it was, would it taste any good?!
> ...


There are ornamental hop varieties, aren't there? I suspect you'd probably find that your hops sort-of worked but didn't lend much to the brew. I'd consider using them as an experiment, but don't set your expectations too high...


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## Spion (Nov 29, 2009)

agnesdavies said:


> There are ornamental hop varieties, aren't there?


This. I had a hop growing up the side of the house too. Absolutely no fragrance whatsoever, so useless for brewing. The one my ma had in her garden smelled lush tho. I pulled mine out after a couple of years as all it did was grow at a furious rate and was no practical use


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## temper_tantrum (Nov 29, 2009)

Ah ok, so scent is a sign of brew-ability? I'll have to have a sniff. Thanks!


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## retribution (Dec 5, 2009)

Just setup our third brew, gone for a Woodforde's Admiral's Reserve this time. Last batch of Wherry was great - so much better than our first brew, which at the time we were well pleased with! Got some of the second batch in bottles, which are even better.

Hoping to bottle all of this next batch, posted an ad on the local freecycle for beer bottles


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## c8600 (Dec 6, 2009)

Iv had my coopers ale kegged for around a week and a half. I Had a couple of pints pretty early on coz I had no other beer in the house and fancied a beer. It tasted a bit rough. I thought The longer I managed to keep it without drinking the more the flavor might improve.

Wrong!

I tried a pint yesterday and it tasted.....well, not bad exactly, just not good. It tastes sort of bitter/sweet. Hard to describe. perhaps the taste it homebrewy???

Is it just coz coppers kits are not one of the better brands or do I just need to leave it a bit longer to finish?


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## Stig (Dec 7, 2009)

You really want to leave it at least three weeks before it tastes ok.
I normally put a three week reminder in the calender when I've bottled a beer or barrelled it, and find I normally have to wait another week after that before it's entirely ready. 

If you are worried it is just genuinely bad, stick a bottle of it in the airing or boiler cupboard for a week. Getting it nice and warm will speed up the process and help you decide if the flavour will improve or get worse.


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## Voley (Dec 19, 2009)

God this Muntons IPA is bloody lovely! Probably my best brew yet, just in time for Xmas.


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## Stig (Dec 20, 2009)

Nice!  

I've got a porter which isn't at all bad, and a very pale one which I believe has avoided my flavour fault problem, so there's a few to take up to show the outlaws for xmas. 
Then I have a few bottlew of something I accidentally brewed at 7.8%, oops. That one tastes very malty indeed.


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## Voley (Dec 21, 2009)

7.8% ! 

This IPA has definitely benefited from just making four gallons instead of the usual five. It's got a slightly heavier taste and feels like it's around the 4.5% - 5.0% mark. Might have a quick one just now. It's important to keep checking it's OK, after all.


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## ringo (Jan 21, 2010)

Novice help please.

I started the first fermentation of my Wherry kit yesterday, doesn't seem to be doing much. There's still a couple of mil of froth on the top but no bubbles rising from the bottom. Should the yeast have started doing something yet? Temperature seems to be around 18-20. Ta.


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## ringo (Jan 21, 2010)

My airlock didn't come with instructions, just realised it needs to be half full of water. Haven't seen any bubbles through it yet


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## ringo (Jan 21, 2010)

Just fired the top off, all working fine. Should the top just sit on the bottom half of the airlock or should it be pushed shut?

It's one of these:


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## retribution (Jan 25, 2010)

ringo said:


> My airlock didn't come with instructions, just realised it needs to be half full of water. Haven't seen any bubbles through it yet



Does it? I've done three brews now (on my fourth) using what looks to be the same airlock, and I've never put water in it. Where did you read that?

Generally I've found the airlock doesn't get going (ie fermentation doesn't cause the airlock to 'go') until after about 48 hours, then after that it'll go fairly regularly for 24-48 hours, then reduce to next to nothing.

The Wherry is a fantastic kit - although if I were you I wouldn't take a reading on it for 10 days, then take one, then another a day or two after. If it's the same, move on (this prevents you wasting precious beer on lots of readings )

A question for others: My last brew ('Admirals Reserve') I bottled up in smaller bottles (350ml). It tastes gorgeous, but there's quite a lot of sediment in the bottles compared to my last batch (of Wherry), so I end up wasting a good eighth of a bottle so that my beer doesn't go cloudy. Why is that? Smaller bottles? Too much sediment drawn through the siphon when going from bucket to barrel?

Cheers, happy brewing!


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## ringo (Jan 25, 2010)

I thought all the brewers were ignoring my questions because they were stupid/obvious 

I didn't read about using water anywhere, but all the pics I found on the internet used water. I also read that water ensured a one way seal - the bubbles come through it but it prevents bacteria from entering the fermentation container. 

I've also found that water makes monitoring the process easier because you can watch the progress. After 2 days it was bubbling constantly, then after 4 days bubbles were every 2 minutes. Today (day 5) they're down to every 4 minutes. Do they actually stop completely to signal the end of 1st fermentation?

Do you mean day 10 of the first or 2nd fermentation? I assume the latter.


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## haZe36 (Jan 26, 2010)

Yep, drop of water in there up to just under half way.

You can also use vodka which (I think) is less prone to infecting your brew if it bubbles over and down the air lock into your wort. Although this is probably seldom practiced.

Fwiw I've done brews with airlocks which have never bubbled to my knowledge. I don't really feel they're necessary and only use mine now as part of my immersion heater set up.

But if you've got one and there's a hole for it then you may as well use it..they can be a confirmation that something is actually happening when they're working


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## ringo (Jan 27, 2010)

Cheers for your response.

Just sterilising my barrel to transfer it for second fermentation. The only place warm enough seems to be the airing cupboard, though oddly the barrel has a sticker on it warning not to put it in airing cupboards. Unless anyone shouts very loudly I'll stick it in there for a day or two before it goes in a cupboard to finish.


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## ringo (Jan 27, 2010)

Going into the 2nd fermentation it measures around the 1.014/1.016 mark. Sound OK?


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## haZe36 (Jan 27, 2010)

ringo said:


> Going into the 2nd fermentation it measures around the 1.014/1.016 mark. Sound OK?



Not bad, better to be a bit lower but I've kegged at that with no problems.

Highest I went was 1020, tried everything to shift it down but it wouldn't budge. Tasted a little sweeter than i'd have liked, but as it was a high OG anyway it still came out at around 5.5%


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## ringo (Jan 27, 2010)

Cheers, I'll try and wait a bit longer next time but as it's my first go I have the standard desire to start on it straight away 

Weird that the instructions suggest 4-6 for 1st fermentation and 16 for the second when everyone on this thread suggests much longer times.


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## haZe36 (Jan 27, 2010)

I've done a few now, anything between 10-14 days in primary usually works out best for me.

Then it's straight into the keg or bottled, left for a week at room temperature to prime and then into the cold garage for as long as I can wait.


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## Voley (Jan 27, 2010)

Sticking all these brews on before Xmas has worked well with me being unemployed right now. Despite not having a pot to piss in, I have yet to experience the horror of a hop-free weekend and still have 15 pints of bitter to go at and 20 or so pints of IPA. The bitter went on way back in October (if I can remember that far back correctly) and is truly bloody delicious now.

Too skint to get another batch on the go right now, though, sadly. I'd like to be putting a few Summery light ales on to brew right now if I had twenty quid spare.


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## Voley (Jan 27, 2010)

ringo said:


> Weird that the instructions suggest 4-6 for 1st fermentation and 16 for the second when everyone on this thread suggests much longer times.



I go for 4-6 days in primary on Stig's recommendation. Getting it off the yeast cake at the bottom of the bin when primary fermentation is complete is a good idea as the yeast can taint the beer if you leave it there too long.

Secondary fermentation I'm a bit more relaxed about. I had one that sat in the second bin for months due to a lack of bottles and it came out fine. Bottling  after a couple of weeks or so of secondary fermentation normally works for me but I've had good results when I've left it for lots longer.

Glad to see my 'quick' home brew question is still being answered almost a year after I asked it.


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## haZe36 (Jan 27, 2010)

I never saw any improvement using a secondary, so that's now been converted into a bottling bucket with one of those very handy bottling sticks. Recommended if you're not using one already 

I also had a blitz on brewing before Christmas so still have over 30 bottles of Milestones IPA, 1 keg of Fixby Gold and about 1/4 of a keg of Coopers IPA to get through.

I'll have 2 kegs empty very soon so it might be time to get the next ones on. Now I have a decent collection of bottles I might even get a summer brew on nice and early - thanks for the idea!


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## Stig (Jan 27, 2010)

I'm going to do a few summer brews next week. I took the liberty of buying 40-odd kilos of grain and a shedload of hops etc before leaving my job. 

NVP, I'm afraid since I told you that about the yeast I got a lot slacker at racking off the trub in a timely fashion.  A few of my beers were much the worse for it, but a few were perfectly clear on bottling, and ended up with virtually no sediment.

It's a risky game to play though  Now that I have more time I'm going to be a lot more rigorous with every brew.


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## Voley (Jan 27, 2010)

haZe36 said:


> Now I have a decent collection of bottles I might even get a summer brew on nice and early - thanks for the idea!



Yeah, now would be an ideal time to have some lighter ale brewing ready for late Spring / /early Summer.



Stig said:


> NVP, I'm afraid since I told you that about the yeast I got a lot slacker at racking off the trub in a timely fashion.





I am speechless.


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## Voley (Jan 27, 2010)

I'd forgotten it was called 'racking off the trub'. I'm going to try and incorporate this into my everyday speech.


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## haZe36 (Jan 27, 2010)

NVP said:


> I'd forgotten it was called 'racking off the trub'. I'm going to try and incorporate this into my everyday speech.



I find it puts visitors off drinking all my beer when I mention racking off into kegs


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## Stig (Jan 27, 2010)

haZe36 said:


> I find it puts visitors off drinking all my beer when I mention racking off into kegs



Have you ever admitted to dropping the sparge arm in it?


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## haZe36 (Jan 27, 2010)

Stig said:


> Have you ever admitted to dropping the sparge arm in it?



I'd need to convince them it could reach


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## ringo (Jan 29, 2010)

After 48 hours the second fermentation is now out to a cooler room to clear. Think I might see the point of a second primary barrel, I accidentally siphoned some of the yeats cake out too and now its sat at the bottom of the barrel. Im guessing now the sugar has acted it wouldnt be worth trying to decant the good stuff out and return it to the barrel cleaner?


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## ringo (Feb 13, 2010)

ringo said:


> Going into the 2nd fermentation it measures around the 1.014/1.016 mark. Sound OK?



2.5 weeks later and it again measures 1.014 

I suspect I've cocked up the measuring rather than brew a beer with no alcohol. Plenty of fizz in there, have to be careful to keep the tap almost shut to avoid getting pure head out of it. Anyway I had a couple of glasses and it's by no means clear but tastes like fairly decent beer, pretty palatable.

The cupboard might be a touch warm and there's a bit of yeast cake in there, I guess I'm best leaving it another week or two to see if it clears?


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## Funky_monks (Feb 13, 2010)

ringo said:


> 2.5 weeks later and it again measures 1.014



At what temperature? SG is temp specific. 

You can re-use your yeast by the way, just scrape up that yeasty sediment into a jam jar and stick it in your next brew. The head brewer up the road reckons a yeast is best on brew 2 or 3.

It'll clear if you get it colder. Try your garage.


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## ringo (Feb 14, 2010)

Thanks, glad to hear I haven't made non-alcoholic beer . Didn't know that about the yeast cake, would you put that in instead of the normal yeast or have both?

Err, the cupboard was about 18-20 degrees. I clearly need to do some reading here as I have no idea how temperature makes a difference or how to work this out.

I've moved the keg to my shed, will see how it looks in a few days.

Good this innit. All that lovely beer.


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## Funky_monks (Feb 14, 2010)

ringo said:


> Thanks, glad to hear I haven't made non-alcoholic beer . Didn't know that about the yeast cake, would you put that in instead of the normal yeast or have both?
> 
> Err, the cupboard was about 18-20 degrees. I clearly need to do some reading here as I have no idea how temperature makes a difference or how to work this out.
> 
> ...



You'd have to try pretty hard to brew non-alcoholic beer. You'll know the yeast is working by all tat fizzing in the first few days, you know, when you try to move the beer and it fizzes everywhere. SG readings should be taken at 20C. There is maths to factor in the temp if it isn't 20C or you could go here:http://dd26943.com/davesdreaded/tools/convert.htm. Beer ought to brew best at 18-ish C although, my brewing mate reckons theirs does best on a quick ferment at 22-24C. Much warmer than that an it will taste 'thin', colder than 16C and it will taste yeasty. 

Beer brewed at 20c ought to spend a week in the vat , a week in the barrel and a couple of days in the 'cellar' (around 10c), although I like to open ferment mine for nigh on 2 weeks before I barrel it for a week. 

Bottled beer takes longer to 'bottle condition' - up to a month. The best bit about making beer is that its so quick compared to wine.


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## ringo (Feb 15, 2010)

Cheers, should be OK after a few days in my shed then.


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## existentialist (Feb 15, 2010)

Tomorrow, this thread is one month shy of its first anniversary!

Great to see all the batches going on - I got a Milestones kit for Christmas which is fermenting furiously in the kitchen, while I'm taking advantage of the lower temperatures by putting a batch of lager on in the shed. I'm just waiting for the extract to arrive to get two brews of Special Wedding Ale on, in time for May, when the Special Wedding happens.


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## Funky_monks (Feb 19, 2010)

existentialist said:


> Tomorrow, this thread is one month shy of its first anniversary!
> 
> Great to see all the batches going on - I got a Milestones kit for Christmas which is fermenting furiously in the kitchen, while I'm taking advantage of the lower temperatures by putting a batch of lager on in the shed. I'm just waiting for the extract to arrive to get two brews of Special Wedding Ale on, in time for May, when the Special Wedding happens.



s'Wicked, innit?

I made up new recipes for my daughter's birthday and christmas. I think I'll do a lighter 'spring' beer next......


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## ringo (Feb 19, 2010)

After 3 days in the shed it was markedly clearer and tasted great. Had a couple of pints and then left it again. Reckon another day or two and it will be even better.


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## nicksonic (Apr 23, 2010)

*bump*

what's the best device to cap the bottles with?


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## Voley (Apr 23, 2010)

I've got one of these. It's very good:







Tenner off Ebay.

Getting some Wherry on the go this weekend.


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## nicksonic (Apr 23, 2010)

great, thanks NVP


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## existentialist (Apr 23, 2010)

nicksonic said:


> *bump*
> 
> what's the best device to cap the bottles with?


One of those things that NVP has linked to is fine...but beware bottles without the proper shaped neck - a lot of Badger Brewery beers are now coming in a bottle with a neck which lacks the big chunky edge that those cappers work on.

If you have lots of those bottles, you'd be better off with a stand capper, or perhaps (I don't like them) the sort where you put the cap on and hit the capper on top of it with a mallet.


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## tombowler (Apr 24, 2010)

i used to have an all metal hand capper it worked well but did chip the odd bottle i find the plastic one twists on use not sturdy enough imho

i went over to pressure kegs just need a fridge big enough to stick one in to get it below room/ warm cellar temp did consider the trick with wet towls but not got round to it yet


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## existentialist (Apr 24, 2010)

tombowler said:


> i used to have an all metal hand capper it worked well but did chip the odd bottle i find the plastic one twists on use not sturdy enough imho
> 
> i went over to pressure kegs just need a fridge big enough to stick one in to get it below room/ warm cellar temp did consider the trick with wet towls but not got round to it yet


I'm using a plastic lever capper, but it sounds as if it is a lot more robust than the one you're describing. I think I'd quite like to go over to a stand capper, but was wondering about sorting out some kind of attachment to my drill stand, already screwed to the shed bench, instead...


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## tombowler (Apr 24, 2010)

could you hack out the capbending magnet bit and weld it on to summat?
my plastic one looks like the one in the pick tbh i think the metal clamp part is part of the problem that or i am just cack handed


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## Stig (Apr 24, 2010)

I've got one of these, they're much better:






They cap anything. From the tiny mixer bottles I get from the pub to put 'testers' in, to the strange-necked bottles some breweries seem to use.

They're about £25 but well worth it IMO if you do a lot of bottling. Just google 'bench capper',


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## Voley (Apr 24, 2010)

That's not bad for 25 quid. My homebrew corner may well start take to over the entire flat if I start buying any more large pieces of kit, though. It's got designs on world domination, I know it.


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## Stig (Apr 24, 2010)

Ah but this isn't brewing kit, it sits permanently on the side looking like an object d'art, and you can put things on it when it's not in use.   Like, er, oh i don't know, a bottle of beer...


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## nicksonic (Apr 24, 2010)

existentialist said:


> One of those things that NVP has linked to is fine...but beware bottles without the proper shaped neck - a lot of Badger Brewery beers are now coming in a bottle with a neck which lacks the big chunky edge that those cappers work on.



i've been saving up youngs bitter bottles which look like they'll fit the bill.


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## mr steev (Apr 24, 2010)

I cracked open my damson wine a couple of weeks ago... it was fantastic!

We had a party and I was only intending to sample one bottle... we ended up getting through five! Friends were drinking it out of choice and going back for another glass rather than just drinking a little to be polite 

I must admit that I was very wobbly by the time I went to bed, but the next day I didn't feel too bad at all. It definately passed the test and I will be making some again later in the year.

I've got a big bag of the last parsnips I dug up from the plot the other day, which will be my next experiment. Anyone got a tried and tested recipe?


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## retribution (Apr 25, 2010)

Last brew messed up a bit in the bottling stage - we'd cleaned a load of Hobgoblin bottles out, filled them all up, then discovered the caps wouldn't go on properly  Had to then pour all the bottles out into the barrel and let them mature there, ended up not tasting as good as previous attempts.

We've got one of the cappers in that picture ^ - Does anyone know whether it's the caps themselves or the capper that we'd need to change to cap Hobgoblin bottles?

Thanks


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## Stig (Apr 25, 2010)

retribution said:


> Last brew messed up a bit in the bottling stage - we'd cleaned a load of Hobgoblin bottles out, filled them all up, then discovered the caps wouldn't go on properly  Had to then pour all the bottles out into the barrel and let them mature there, ended up not tasting as good as previous attempts.
> 
> We've got one of the cappers in that picture ^ - Does anyone know whether it's the caps themselves or the capper that we'd need to change to cap Hobgoblin bottles?
> 
> Thanks



It's the capper I'm afraid- the caps are all the same. The problem is getting them to grip the top of the bottle correctly.


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## existentialist (Apr 25, 2010)

Neither.

The caps are the same - it's the profile of the bottle's neck that has changed.

Traditional beer bottles have a shoulder below the rim of the bottle, and it is this that the capper clamps round and then compresses the crown cap onto the rim, viz:






With the hobgoblin (and Badger) bottles, that shoulder is a little bump, much like the rim again - the neck profile is like a number 3. A neck capper won't grip that, so you tend to find the lid isn't pushed on firmly (you can achieve this by leaning on the top of the capper, but it's dodgy).

A bench capper eliminates the problem, as you aren't using the shoulder to squash the cap down - you're pressing onto the whole bottle.


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## retribution (Apr 25, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. So at the moment we've got one of these, which just won't cap the Hobgoblin bottles:





If I get one of these, is that likely to work? 




Or is it just really difficult to use Hobgoblin bottles without a bench capper?


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## existentialist (Apr 25, 2010)

retribution said:


> Thanks for the replies. So at the moment we've got one of these, which just won't cap the Hobgoblin bottles:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Those are a bit harsh on bottles - if you clobber them too hard, you can chip the neck, if you don't clobber them hard enough you may not get the lid on right.

What would be really neat is if someone were to make an aftermarket plate for the lever cappers that would fit the skinny neck bottles (I bet they say they're doing it because it saves transport costs on 3 grams of glass, or something).

Hmm.... *goes to shed and thinks*


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## existentialist (Apr 25, 2010)

Meanwhile, I've been labelling the beer for the wedding.





Due to lack of time, I've cheated outrageously - this is actually a Woodforde's Headcracker kit, which as any fule kno is a 24 pint job.

So what I've done is to add to the recipe a kilo and a half of dark malt, and make it up to the full 21 litres, and then dry-hopped the hell out of it with some Goldings I had in the freezer and needed to use up soon. It's been fermented very slowly at lowish ale temperatures (average 10-12C), and took 4 weeks to ferment out - one of the slowest brews I've done.

It sampled a bit grassy off the barrel, but that's the dry-hopping. It's got 4 weeks in the bottle, which should mellow it off, but the chocolatey bitterness of the malt will cover that in any case.

There's a companion lager, too, which was likewise cheatily brewed from a pilsner kit-and-kilo kit, augmented with about two kilos of LME and also dry-hopped (to take off the sweetness of the malt and do a bit of disinfecting...because I put this brew on in the shed). When I saw we had a cold snap coming, I didn't want to miss a lager brewing opportunity, so it's been brewed for about 7 weeks at temperatures from zero to about 9 degrees - my first actual lager brew 

I'm currently "sampling" the lager - it's the sedimenty leavings from the barrel bottom which I've bottle-conditioned and settled out. It's fruitier than any lager has any right to be, and has a rather acquired-taste nose with classic sulphurous lager-yeast tones, but manages to be crisp and fairly clean on the palate. Yum. Sadly, it looks a little hazed, but they won't notice that in the dark. Not after 3 or 4, anyway...


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## Voley (May 3, 2010)

Just put the batch of Wherry into the secondary fermenter. Looks quite palatable already. Resisted the urge, mind.

Given that I've now got an empty fermenting bin and Summer's nearly here, I thought I might try some lager. Finding somewhere cool enough to do it's going to be the problem though - anyone know of a lager kit that's fairly forgiving / is difficult to fuck up?


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## existentialist (May 3, 2010)

NVP said:


> Just put the batch of Wherry into the secondary fermenter. Looks quite palatable already. Resisted the urge, mind.
> 
> Given that I've now got an empty fermenting bin and Summer's nearly here, I thought I might try some lager. Finding somewhere cool enough to do it's going to be the problem though - anyone know of a lager kit that's fairly forgiving / is difficult to fuck up?


What works quite nicely is brewing a lager kit at ale temperatures. Technically, it's called "California Common" or "Steam" beer (wiki is comprehensive enough about this), and you'll get an acceptable pint out of it.

The last lager kit I used was the Edme Pilsner one, though I substituted Saflager yeast for the kit one. I also flung in about a kilo of LME to beef up the strength a bit. Anyway, I kept it outside in the shed, which meant it got quite cool nights, at least, and it brewed up fine.


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## nicksonic (May 3, 2010)

with the wherry kit how long would you say it takes from starting the brew to being able to bottle it?


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## Voley (May 3, 2010)

Oh yes, I forgot about Steam beer. That's what I'll do, then. Ta. Might stick it in the garage just to give it a cool evening.

Nick - about a fortnight, give or take. Last time I did it, I had it in the primary fermenter for about 6 days, then when it had finished the initial ferment I got it off the yeast and moved it into a secondary fermenter for another week or so, then I bottled it. I'll probably do pretty much exactly the same this time round - it brewed really nicely last time. I had it in bottles for at least a month before I tried it though, and the ones towards the end of the batch were noticeably nicer.


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## nicksonic (May 3, 2010)

NVP said:


> Nick - about a fortnight, give or take. Last time I did it, I had it in the primary fermenter for about 6 days, then when it had finished the initial ferment I got it off the yeast and moved it into a secondary fermenter for another week or so, then I bottled it. I'll probably do pretty much exactly the same this time round - it brewed really nicely last time. I had it in bottles for at least a month before I tried it though, and the ones towards the end of the batch were noticeably nicer.



thanks, so useful to be able to tap into previous experience  

would you recommend i get anything else apart from the kit? it's priced at a shade under £65 and there's free delivery for orders over £65 (otherwise it's £6.50) so an additional purchase makes sense...


----------



## Voley (May 3, 2010)

Another fermenting bin's a good purchase - doing the fermentation in two stages is really worthwhile, imo. Makes for a much nicer pint. A pressure keg's also worth having.


----------



## nicksonic (May 3, 2010)

cheers (in a literal sense of course)


----------



## existentialist (May 3, 2010)

nicksonic said:


> with the wherry kit how long would you say it takes from starting the brew to being able to bottle it?


Hugely variable.

First phase is the primary fermentation. In a nice warm place, this could be over in not much more than a week (but don't assume warmer is better in terms of the finished product), but the more enthusiastic the fermentation the livelier the brew and the longer it'll take to flocculate (love that word  ). That could take (from experience) easily another week.

You can bottle before the yeast has settled out, but I tend to find the presence of too much yeast in the bottle a bit of a pain - when there's enough yeast just to "paint" itself to the bottom of the bottle, that's great, but having lumps of yeast floating around in your beer is no fun.

So that's the long answer. The short answer is 2-3 weeks minimum, and allow 4.

Remember, too, that the ale in the bottle will need a good 2 weeks to condition properly, and my experience is that it benefits greatly for a month or two in the bottle to mature...


----------



## nicksonic (May 3, 2010)

thanks.

i ordered the wherry kit today so i should be able to kick things off on friday. this'll be my first try at any type of brewing and i'm hugely looking forward to it


----------



## existentialist (May 3, 2010)

nicksonic said:


> thanks.
> 
> i ordered the wherry kit today so i should be able to kick things off on friday. this'll be my first try at any type of brewing and i'm hugely looking forward to it


Go for it! Reassurance and advice on this very thread, should you need it!


----------



## nicksonic (May 3, 2010)

existentialist said:


> Go for it! Reassurance and advice on this very thread, should you need it!



it'd never occurred to me that homebrewing could produce anything other than dodgy results until i bumped into this thread, so the prospect of being able to brew some quality beer is an exciting one


----------



## nicksonic (May 6, 2010)

the kit has arrived! after fully investigating i have to agree with NVP's comment just over a year ago - 



NVP said:


> The kit seems like a good 'un but it's a bit lacking in instructions, tbh. It assumes you know a lot already - a bit daft for a beginners kit, imo.



however all the replies here make things a lot easier of course.

i was going to wait until tomorrow to kick it off but i'm going to combine an election all-nighter with homebrewing


----------



## nicksonic (May 6, 2010)

first stupid question - do i need to sterilise the lid of the fermenting bin? i'm assuming not since the brew won't be touching it...

e2a: is using regular tap water ok or would filtered/mineral water be better?


----------



## haZe36 (May 7, 2010)

nicksonic said:


> first stupid question - do i need to sterilise the lid of the fermenting bin? i'm assuming not since the brew won't be touching it...



You'd probably get away without doing it, though sometimes the krausen (frothy head) will touch the underside before falling away again, back down into your beer.

For that reason alone I'd sterilise it to be certain. It's a far smaller inconvenience than waiting x amount of weeks for beer, only for it to fail due to taking unnecessary shortcuts.



> e2a: is using regular tap water ok or would filtered/mineral water be better?



I've had ok results using tap water treated with a campden tablet to remove chlorine/chloramines.

But I've had better results using bottled water


----------



## existentialist (May 7, 2010)

nicksonic said:


> first stupid question - do i need to sterilise the lid of the fermenting bin? i'm assuming not since the brew won't be touching it...
> 
> e2a: is using regular tap water ok or would filtered/mineral water be better?


Use tap water, unless your local water is too disgusting to drink, which isn't likely.

My policy is to sterilise EVERYTHING the brew might come into contact with. It's fairly unlikely, but if you (say) pick up some kind of infection off the lid, and transfer it to the beer, you'd regret it (or the beer would - you do hear sad tales of wild yeasts and mould infections, and that would be a bummer on your first batch.

I take the view that if I start out fussy about hygiene, I can afford to be slipshod here and there and get away with it; if I start out being a bit blase about it, I can only make a few mistakes before my sins will find me out...


----------



## nicksonic (May 7, 2010)

thanks folks.

it's all mixed and is now in the bin  

not sure what to do with the airlock thing. it's attached to the hole in lid, do i need to put water in it?


----------



## existentialist (May 7, 2010)

nicksonic said:


> thanks folks.
> 
> it's all mixed and is now in the bin
> 
> not sure what to do with the airlock thing. it's attached to the hole in lid, do i need to put water in it?


You need to fill it so water goes about half way up the middle bit of it. Some people use vodka or some other spirit, or stick half a campden tablet in, as the water could potentially pick up a bit of infection, but you don't want anything that'll taint the beer in the event that it sucks back for any reason.


----------



## nicksonic (May 7, 2010)

cool, nice one  

how long should i wait until i see what's going on? a few days...?


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## c8600 (May 7, 2010)

If it's beer your brewing you don't need to worry about an air lock. I have done about 10 or so, I have 3 fermentation buckets each without an airlock. The important thing is that the beer can 'breathe' because as it ferments it gives off c02. It is quite acceptable to just have the lid on loosely. I snap it on all the way around and then loosen it in a couple of places.


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## c8600 (May 7, 2010)

I would recommend the 2 can kits which you don't have to add any additional 'sugar' to. 

Th best kit Iv done (3 of them and 2 more fermenting at the moment) is Woodfordes Wherry. The 2 can kit's are generally a step up in quality and you normally pay a fiver or so more per 40 pints, BUT Wherry is on offer in Wilko's for £15 which is an absolute steal .


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## c8600 (May 7, 2010)

nicksonic said:


> cool, nice one
> 
> how long should i wait until i see what's going on? a few days...?



If you lift the lid and have a little peep it won't do any harm. Just be careful with it.


----------



## nicksonic (May 7, 2010)

righty ho. i know that quite soon i'll be getting restless wondering if anything's happening...


----------



## existentialist (May 7, 2010)

nicksonic said:


> righty ho. i know that quite soon i'll be getting restless wondering if anything's happening...


Allow a good 24 hours before starting to panic. Some  yeasts are decidedly leisurely about getting on with it...


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## nicksonic (May 8, 2010)

a cursory glance at the bin earlier furnished me with a view of plenty of plenty of foam plus co2 escaping from the airlock. exciting!


----------



## Voley (May 8, 2010)

Yeah, a bit lacking in instructions, those beginners bins, aren't they? Seems like you've muddled through, though. 

Just about to get my batch of Wherry into the pressure keg today and get some lager on the go tomorrow.


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## nicksonic (May 8, 2010)

NVP said:


> Yeah, a bit lacking in instructions, those beginners bins, aren't they?



yes, which is unfortunate because if you do something wrong you've messed it up.

so on your advice i bought a second fermenting bin; when should i transfer the brew to bin #2...?


----------



## Voley (May 8, 2010)

I'd give it a week or until it's stopped bubbling.


----------



## nicksonic (May 8, 2010)

NVP said:


> I'd give it a week or until it's stopped bubbling.



sounds like a good task for next weekend


----------



## nicksonic (May 9, 2010)

ok, took the lid off today and it's looking good  







does it need to be stirred? just wondering if the dark stuff on the left is yeast that didn't mix 100%...


----------



## Voley (May 9, 2010)

Looks good to me. I'd leave it well alone now. It looks like it's got going at a leisurely pace (not a bad thing, means your temperature's about right) and should happily ferment away now.  Once it gets a decent head on it those bits should get absorbed into the main brew.

The more you put spoons in it to stir it / take the lid off, the more chance there is of infection. I couldn't stop myself having a peek with me first batch every five minutes, though, I know what it's like. 

Kegging my Wherry today and it tastes really quite good already, surprisingly. It's clear and everything after a mere two weeks.

Got this on the go today. 






Only eight quid and it looks a bit rough n ready. The instructions weren't overly impressive - not much detail on sterilisation etc. It's an old skool kit and kilo thing. Anyhow, interested to see how it turns out. Buying beer kits because the name is similar to a record you like possibly isn't the best method tbf.


----------



## nicksonic (May 9, 2010)

NVP said:


> Looks good to me. I'd leave it well alone now. It looks like it's got going at a leisurely pace (not a bad thing, means your temperature's about right) and should happily ferment away now.  Once it gets a decent head on it those bits should get absorbed into the main brew.



ta for the reassurance.

i'm already thinking about the next brew, looking forward to making changes to see how they affect the taste. reading back through the thread it seems like reusing the yeast could improve things so i may just do that with another batch of wherry.



NVP said:


> Buying beer kits because the name is similar to a record you like possibly isn't the best method tbf.



well, as good as choosing a horse based on it's name, and we all know that sometimes it reaps rich rewards


----------



## Voley (May 9, 2010)

If it's shit beer, I'll have let Neil Young down.


----------



## nicksonic (May 9, 2010)

re switching to another fermentation bin, why would this help the brew? it's just a different container...(?)


----------



## Voley (May 9, 2010)

After the first ferment, you get a big build-up of yeast at the bottom of the bin - the 'yeast cake' - and leaving the beer on this for too long can taint the taste. That's the theory, I think. It's optional, not everyone bothers but mine are nicer when they've had secondary fermentation.


----------



## nicksonic (May 9, 2010)

NVP said:


> After the first ferment, you get a big build-up of yeast at the bottom of the bin - the 'yeast cake' - and leaving the beer on this for too long can taint the taste. That's the theory, I think. It's optional, not everyone bothers but mine are nicer when they've had secondary fermentation.



well it sounds sensible enough plus i've got the extra bin so i'll do that. since it's quite heavy i suppose syphoning the beer into the fresh bin is the best method?


----------



## Voley (May 9, 2010)

Yes, just make sure your siphon tube's been sterilised.


----------



## nicksonic (May 9, 2010)

NVP said:


> Yes, just make sure your siphon tube's been sterilised.



will do, realised after i'd mixed the brew i hadn't sterilised the spoon. hopefully i haven't impaired the beer...


----------



## Voley (May 9, 2010)

It'll probably be OK. I've forgotten to do the spoon before now.


----------



## existentialist (May 9, 2010)

NVP said:


> After the first ferment, you get a big build-up of yeast at the bottom of the bin - the 'yeast cake' - and leaving the beer on this for too long can taint the taste. That's the theory, I think. It's optional, not everyone bothers but mine are nicer when they've had secondary fermentation.


I usually don't bother, because most of my low-gravity non-adjuncted brews seem to ferment out well within the two weeks I consider to be the limit.

The issue with trub/yeast cake is that dead yeast can begin to autolyse (ie, "eat itself"), and this will contribute rather unpleasant "meaty" tones to the beer. The only time that's ever been detectable IME has been when brewing very high-gravity beers (>6%), or beers with loads of adjuncts - spices, herbs, dry-hopping, etc - which often do ferment more slowly. So I generally rack off my Christmas brews, for example, for a secondary fermentation, but don't bother with the session stuff.

It may also make a difference that I bottle most of my production, so it is effectively getting its secondary fermentation in the bottle, although that's not quite the same...


----------



## nicksonic (May 9, 2010)

existentialist said:


> The issue with trub/yeast cake is that dead yeast can begin to autolyse (ie, "eat itself"), and this will contribute rather unpleasant "meaty" tones to the beer.



how does that square with reusing yeast?


----------



## existentialist (May 9, 2010)

nicksonic said:


> how does that square with reusing yeast?


The yeast at the bottom has fallen there because of a shortage of sugars for it to digest - it's not actually dead, but it is dormant. As I understand it, yeast that is dormant is more likely to autolyse the longer it stays dormant. When you buy yeast, it's been dehydrated or otherwise deactivated, and needs to be rehydrated or reactivated when you want to use it.

I'm not too well up on the details, as my brewing cycle isn't constant, and Mrs E wouldn't be too pleased to have her fridge door full of yeast batches awaiting use, so I do it the lazy way, open a new sachet of Safale each time, and use the trub to wage war on the tide of slugs that threatens to overwhelm the garden every year.


----------



## nicksonic (May 9, 2010)

right, thanks for that explanation. i guess it will depend on when i make my next lot as to whether i reuse the yeast then.


----------



## Voley (May 11, 2010)

Three days since I got the lager on and it's not starting bubbling away yet.
Bit warm for it maybe?
Should I bung some more yeast in?

Ideas anyone?


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## Voley (May 11, 2010)

It's doing _something_ as the lid's bulging out a bit, but no bubbles from the airlock. Is that a lager thing? My ales would normally be gurgling away happily by now.


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## existentialist (May 12, 2010)

NVP said:


> It's doing _something_ as the lid's bulging out a bit, but no bubbles from the airlock. Is that a lager thing? My ales would normally be gurgling away happily by now.


Lager yeasts usually work fine at ale temperatures - it's just that the flavour profile will be different, with not such a "clean" taste.

Check (squeeze the FV gently) that air CAN actually escape through the airlock - if it's somehow got blocked, you could end up with an exploding brew!

It does sound as if it's taken a bit longer than it should, so perhaps adding another batch of yeast would allay your anxieties - you could always try running off a pint of brew and rehydrating/activating the yeast in that (perhaps even keep it a bit warm), then adding it to the main brew once it's started...?


----------



## nicksonic (May 12, 2010)

existentialist said:


> Check (squeeze the FV gently) that air CAN actually escape through the airlock - if it's somehow got blocked, you could end up with an exploding brew!



it turns out my dad used to do homebrew... apparently he put his first batch in the airing cupboard as he was concerned it wouldn't be warm enough, and yes, it duly exploded


----------



## nicksonic (May 17, 2010)

wherry kit update - i decided not to transfer the brew into another bin for a secondary ferment in the end. i'll do that next time and see if i can discern any difference.

so it's been going since friday may 7th, i have 40 bottles, a bench capper and some caps so i'll be bottling it this weekend


----------



## nicksonic (May 20, 2010)

can anyone recommend somewhere to get self-adhesive labels made...?

cheers!


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## nicksonic (May 23, 2010)

right, i'm ready to bottle! the thing is the kit didn't come with any sugar so i assumed you could just use regular granulated. is that right? should i get some actual brewing sugar...?


----------



## Stig (May 23, 2010)

nicksonic said:


> right, i'm ready to bottle! the thing is the kit didn't come with any sugar so i assumed you could just use regular granulated. is that right? should i get some actual brewing sugar...?



Yup, I use either demerera or bog standard white, it doesn't really matter too much. I use about half a teaspoon per normal size beer bottle.


----------



## nicksonic (May 23, 2010)

ok cool thanks, wish me luck!


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## Stig (May 23, 2010)

G'luck!

BTW, what are you using to get the beer into the bottles? 

I've messed around with all sorts of methods, most resulting in puddles and woe, and ended up with the two quid syphon-and-tap pack from Wilkinsons.


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## Stig (May 23, 2010)

nicksonic said:


> can anyone recommend somewhere to get self-adhesive labels made...?
> 
> cheers!



I paint mine on with milk. honestly, it doesn't smell AT ALL which was my main worry. I just print on normal paper, cut them out and use a pastry brush.

They stick on fine, and when you've finished they slide straight off the bottles so they're ready to be used again


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## nicksonic (May 23, 2010)

Stig said:


> BTW, what are you using to get the beer into the bottles?
> 
> I've messed around with all sorts of methods, most resulting in puddles and woe, and ended up with the two quid syphon-and-tap pack from Wilkinsons.



the syphon that came with the kit. it's the first time i've done this so it's slightly messy, although i'll improve with practice. the main awkwardness is having to have the fermenting bin in a relatively high place, it makes filling the bottles accurately a bit tricky.


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## nicksonic (May 23, 2010)

done it  

quite hard work, a certain amount of beer went on the floor but i managed to get 40 pints out of it. will leave it for a couple of weeks before i try any...


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## nicksonic (Jun 3, 2010)

i'll be having the first taste of this tonight - 








it's been conditioning for 11 days, should give it longer really but at least i'll be able to compare and contrast against bottles i leave for longer.


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## nicksonic (Jun 3, 2010)

hmmm. it's ok... has a bit of a fruity tang, but it's difficult to say a huge amount since i don't know what wherry's supposed to taste like and whether it's gone wrong at all. it's not awful, put it like that.

some expert feedback would be useful so if anyone fancies picking up a few bottles from the crystal palace area let me know


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## Addy (Jun 13, 2010)

Just put my first ever Turbo Cider brew on ghetto style.
2 x 2l 'westons scrumpy dj's'
2 fingers off a rubber glove
3l of Lidl apple juice
1l of Lidl red grape juice
1 cup of tea
1 tablespoon of brown sugar made in to a syrup
Tesco's bread yeast

1 dj is apple juice / 1/2 cup of tea and sugar syrup with 1/2 tsp of yeast
1 dj is aplle and grape / 1/2 cup of tea and sugar syrup with 1/2 tsp of yeast






2 hrs in and its started to foam


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## nicksonic (Jun 16, 2010)

looks like some serious brewing going on there addy  

my wherry is tasting a whole lot better than it did two weeks ago (admittedly it'd only been conditioning for about ten days at that point). still has a slight 'tang' about it but hopefully that should round off in the next week to ten days.


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## Addy (Jun 23, 2010)

hehehe
12 days after throwing together my first 'ghetto brew' I have this...






Chilled a bottle for 90 mins and then opened it with a good pfffttt! when cracking the bottle open, and a llight sparkle with bubbles rising all through the taste session... not fizzy but sparkling as expected (1/2tsp of sugar carbonation seems rignt for my taste)
Poured it in a glass and it was very clear but because I used a bread yeast and I didn't rack the brew off the sediment doesnt stay in the bottle well and comes out with the last bit of brew.

Taste - It is a little sharp on the initial gulp - a bit like biting in to a sharp apple, but its nowhere as dry as I expected it to be and it is quite a pleasant drink. I have definately bought worse in my time.

I'm guessing the ABV on this is around 6%, based on taste and headspace after drinking 1/2 pint.

All in all, I'm more than impressed by it!
This weekend i'll be racking off the 10 litres i have fermenting now in to clean dj's and i'll be putting on another 25 litres in the brew bucket.

Goodbye Scrumpy Jack ---- hello Turbo brews 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





Whats the Wherry like?
I'm looking at doing an ale soon and want something i'll really like - A honey and hops tasting brew.
The Wherry or NOG seem to be what I want but never tasted either so unsure which 1 to go for.
My fav. brews are:
Tanglefoot
Old Empire
Golden Glory
Cockahoop
etc.
Not realy keen on bitters, but I do like a good golden / pale ale.


----------



## Mrs Magpie (Jun 24, 2010)

I saw this job advert and thought of you lot.....

http://www.newscientistjobs.com/jobs/job/fermentation-scientist-london-london-1400843181.htm


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## nicksonic (Jun 25, 2010)

Mrs Magpie said:


> I saw this job advert and thought of you lot.....
> 
> http://www.newscientistjobs.com/jobs/job/fermentation-scientist-london-london-1400843181.htm



keywords: brewing


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## Voley (Jul 27, 2011)

Annoying things like employment have got in the way of my brewing for many many months but I'm pleased to say that this thread is being bumped. Just starting sterilising all my old equipment for a 40 pint brew of this stuff:


----------



## Voley (Jul 27, 2011)

Mmmmmm... beer. 5 gallons of ale gone on to ferment just now. Been so long since I did this I'd almost forgotten what you do.


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## Addy (Jul 27, 2011)

Fingers crossed you dont get the Montons 1020 stick.

1 of my last little brews went like this...  http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=42443

I have just done another 1 but added 26g of elderflowers to the boil .... that 1 will be kegged 2morrow.


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## Voley (Aug 1, 2011)

Some cracking homebrew porn on that thread, Addy. 

Primary ferment looks to have gone well with me Norfolk Nog.  Gonna get it off the yeast and into another fermenter today - let it sit there for a week or so before bottling. Amazing how quickly I'd forgotten what you do with all this - I've had to check this thread a few times to see what to do next.


----------



## badseed (Aug 9, 2011)

Having neglected my brewing for about a year I have jumped back in today.
European style Pilsner, heavy on the Saaz, s23 SafLager yeast. Sitting at a constant 11 degrees now.

I love the smell of hops in the morning.


----------



## Addy (Aug 9, 2011)

How are you controlling the temps for the larger yeast?


----------



## Voley (Aug 9, 2011)

badseed said:


> Having neglected my brewing for about a year I have jumped back in today.


Good stuff. I'm enjoying getting back into it too. My Norfolk ale's on its secondary ferment now due to be bottled at the weekend.

Addy -he's got a fridge with a temp control set up for it iirc.


----------



## badseed (Aug 9, 2011)

Here you are.....



badseed said:


> I have on old fridge with one of these attached for temp control. http://mashmaster.com.au/p/365439/fridgemate-mkii-digital-temperature-controller-kit.html
> 
> It makes the fridge operate at higher temperatures so I set it to the temperature I need and tape the probe onto the side of the fermenter.
> 
> ...



Using an old fridge, if you can, also stops the eggy fart smell emanating from lager yeast.

Awesome thread is still awesome.


----------



## Addy (Aug 9, 2011)

As soon as I have moved my shed in the garden i'll be after a couple of old fridges to convert in to fermenting boxes.

Then soon after i'm looking at going all grain, brew in a bag method.


----------



## Voley (Aug 9, 2011)

Yeah I'm on the lookout for an old fridge too. I'd love to make some really good lager.


----------



## badseed (Aug 10, 2011)

Addy said:


> As soon as I have moved my shed in the garden i'll be after a couple of old fridges to convert in to fermenting boxes.
> 
> Then soon after i'm looking at going all grain, brew in a bag method.



You can also attach the fridgemate to a heatpad for ales with a warmer temperature.
The old fridge is just an insulated box then, hopefully with a constant temp.
Temperature control and good yeast are the easiest things to improve for better results.

I thought about going all grain, but looked at all the stuff I had already and (for once) showed some restraint and stuck with what I do now.


----------



## Addy (Aug 10, 2011)

I currently use fishtank heaters in a waterbath during the cold months for brewing, but I have a couple of these in preperation for when I set up my temperature controled enviroment.
I'll be getting one of these to control it all.


----------



## badseed (Aug 16, 2011)

Just racked mine onto another 15g of Saaz. Tasted fantastic at 11 degrees, flat and half fermented.


----------



## mr steev (Aug 19, 2011)

I started some plum wine the other day. The recipe was for a gallon so I doubled it. It said to pour it in a demijon and top up to a gallon with cooled boiled water... but I seem to have made 2.5 gallons already. It's in a fermenting bucket at the moment but I'll need that soon for more brewing so I'm going to put it into djs soon. There was a lot of fruit used so I've decided to top it up to three gallons rather than having half a dj.
It's bubbling away nicely at the moment, but I just wanted to check that adding a couple of pints of water isn't going to mess up the fermentation. Would I be ok just to pour it in or should I add it over a few days?


----------



## porno thieving gypsy (Aug 19, 2011)

Great to see this thread still going. A few months back I searched and found this as I remembered NVP's experience's and at the time throught one day I'll do that.

So when I finally got the Woodfordes kits I found this thread really useful. Thanks to it I now have:






And some Admirals Reserve:






And plenty of these to sup:






So thanks all for the advice and help.


----------



## Voley (Aug 19, 2011)

I've brewed both of those with good results, ptg. The Admiral's Reserve was particularly nice if memory serves. Glad the thread was useful.

Got all my Norfolk Nog bottled up and conditioning now. Should be ready in time for when the dark nights draw in.


----------



## Gerry1time (Aug 19, 2011)

mr steev said:


> It's bubbling away nicely at the moment, but I just wanted to check that adding a couple of pints of water isn't going to mess up the fermentation. Would I be ok just to pour it in or should I add it over a few days?



Should be fine I reckon if it's just a couple of pints, but you might want to add a spot more sugar too it too to compensate.


----------



## Addy (Aug 19, 2011)

mr steev said:


> I started some plum wine the other day. The recipe was for a gallon so I doubled it. It said to pour it in a demijon and top up to a gallon with cooled boiled water... but I seem to have made 2.5 gallons already. It's in a fermenting bucket at the moment but I'll need that soon for more brewing so I'm going to put it into djs soon. There was a lot of fruit used so I've decided to top it up to three gallons rather than having half a dj.
> It's bubbling away nicely at the moment, but I just wanted to check that adding a couple of pints of water isn't going to mess up the fermentation. Would I be ok just to pour it in or should I add it over a few days?



If your gonna add water, try to pour it down the side of the demijohn so as not to introduce air in to the wine.

I have just this minute started a plum wine.
9lbs plums halved and stoned, 125g raisins, crushed campden tablet, 1/4oz root ginger, 4 cloves, 1/2tsp citric, 1/2tsp tartaric, gallon boiling water
covered and leave for 4.5hrs
Add a gallon cold water, 5g pectolase, cover and leave for 55 hours 
strain, boil and pour over 5lbs sugar, then split it across 3 demijohns.


----------



## mr steev (Aug 19, 2011)

cheers.

I used a simple recipe - 12lb plums, 3 kilo of sugar, 4 pints of water.
Dissolved the sugar into boiling water then poured over the fruit and mashed it up a bit. When it was cool I added some pectalose and left for 2 days.
Strained, pitched and airlocked.

I've made a similar one with damsons for the last couple of years, but using 3lb of fruit per gallon and it has turned out fantastic. The first years didn't last that long so last year we made 10 gallons so that we'd have some left by the time it had matured properly. Which was obviously the right thing to do as we've already got through about half of it. It's a nice feeling when friends have specifically asked me to open another bottle as it's very drinkable


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## Voley (Aug 19, 2011)

Home brewed wine, eh?


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## Addy (Aug 19, 2011)

NVP said:


> Home brewed wine, eh?



yeah, but beware that brewing off fruit takes a year or more to mature. Drinking it early is wastefull.
Elderberries will be ripening soon, so make sure you take advantage as they make an awesome wine.

If you want to try a cheap and easy wine thats drinkable as soon as its cleared try this...

1 5l bottle of water (under a quid from Asda/Lidl/etc)
tip out / drink 2.5 litres and then boil up 1 litre and add it back to the bottle along with 700g of sugar.
Shake it until the sugar desolves.
Add 1 litre of white grape juice
Add 1 litre of orange juice
Add 1 tsp of pectolase, 1 tsp of yeast nutrient, 1 tsp of wine tannin (or a mug of strong black tea) and 1 tsp of wine yeast.
let it ferment out, and then keep racking it until it clears.
Once cleared add a tsp of potasium sorbate (fermentation stopper) and back sweeten to desired taste with sugar and water (100g for med dry 200g for med sweet 300g for sweet)


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## Voley (Aug 19, 2011)

I can see a whole new world opening up before me ...


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## mr steev (Aug 19, 2011)

Addy said:


> Drinking it early is wastefull.



But so tempting! That's why I intend to make a shit load, so that I won't have time to get through it all and start building up a cellar 
If only I could grow/forage my own sugar


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## Addy (Aug 19, 2011)

A current peach wine brewing in a plastic water bottle...






And a keg of stout and several mini kegs of cider 

Ever thought of getting a beehive mr steev?

p.s. I'm in wolves too if ever you fancy swapping a bottle or need any help.


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## mr steev (Aug 19, 2011)

Addy said:


> Ever thought of getting a beehive mr steev?



I have, half-heartedly. I don't think it would be suitable at home though, and I'm not sure what the rules are up the allotment. I have a friend from years ago on fb who's just got herself a couple of hives, but she lives out in the sticks by Kinver so has the space. One day 

The idea of swapping a few bottles at some point sounds good.


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## aqua (Aug 19, 2011)

NVP you can make wine from cartons of fruit juice - I can recommend Welch's grape stuff - same as you make the cider 

It's a bit insanely drinkable and takes slightly longer but not much


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## Voley (Aug 19, 2011)

Oh fuck. And I thought ale brewing was obsession enough for one man.


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## aqua (Aug 19, 2011)

lol - it's ace isn't it 

Ribena wine is awesome, orange less so


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## Addy (Aug 20, 2011)

NVP said:


> Oh fuck. And I thought ale brewing was obsession enough for one man.



Stout and several mini kegs of cider..







Peach wine & plum wine...






Supplies for more wines...











Polish rasberry syrup that makes an excellent wine... and my elderberry wine maturing in the background...






Bags of dried malt and several kits of stout and APA awaiting brewing...


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## Voley (Aug 20, 2011)




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## Addy (Aug 22, 2011)

Plum wine, strained, sugar added and split between 3 DJ's...... 1/2 hr later...






Smelt awesome..


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## Addy (Aug 27, 2011)

Just made up a red grape wine from some juice from Costco... smells wonderful.

I also made another Coopers APA with added Challenger and East Kent Goldingds hops, Elderflowers, demerea sugar and dried malt extract.

I'm supprised my dog isnt dead withh all the co2 comming from the brew cupboard as his bed is opposite it


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## badseed (Aug 30, 2011)

First of the new season kegged, gassed and ready to go.

Second one in the fermenter already - Bright Ale:
1.5 kg IPA can
1.5 kg Blonde malt extract can
150 g Wheat malt
500g cracked carpalis steeped for 30 mins
15g Saaz & Amarillo at flame out
Safale yeast pitched at 16 degrees sitting at 18 now.

I thought the yeast may have been pitched when it was too cold, but it looks ok, there is some condensation forming and the water in the airlock looks like it is being pushed a little bit already.

Amarillo smelled like a nice bag of grass.


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## Addy (Aug 30, 2011)

Amarillo is a nice flavour / aroma hop..... excellent in an APA / IPA

I'm about to order a Bruferm Diabolo kit to get brewed and put away as an winter warmer ale. 7-8% abv and i'll add cinamon/cloves and cinder toffee to the mix while its brewing.


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## Balbi (Aug 30, 2011)

Payday tomorrow. Time for a Wherry kit, and finally get started. My cellars nice and warm, the tumble dryer's down there - possibly too warm?


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## Addy (Aug 30, 2011)

You want to keep a stable 20-22c .. if your fermenter goes too hot the yeast can throw off some funky and fruity esters that are not really welcom in your finished product ( airing cupboard brewers lol)

Beware that Wherry can be a great pint, but has its issues with some brewers....
Getting stuck at 1020 on the hydrometer, leading to a sweet and slow maturing beer, or taking an age to come clear.
I done a wherry once but changed the yeast for a safale yeast and it dropped to 1012 in no time and cleared in 2 weeks.

If you want a good kit that will give you good beer quick, then take a look at the Coopers kits and add a tin/bag od malt to it.


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## badseed (Sep 1, 2011)

Balbi said:
			
		

> My cellars nice and warm, the tumble dryer's down there - possibly too warm?





Addy said:


> You want to keep a stable 20-22c .. if your fermenter goes too hot the yeast can throw off some funky and fruity esters that are not really welcom in your finished product ( airing cupboard brewers lol)



A common mistake by new brewers is to brew the beer at too high a temp. In fact the yeast in kits is usually a blend of different types so it will start to ferment across a huge range of temperatures, but because of this it is usually low quality. Stable temperature control, if you can get it, makes a huge difference to your final beer as does replacing the kit yeast.

Airing cupboards or near a fluctuating heat source (tumble drier) should be a last resort.

A few years ago I was given a full Coopers HB kit (fermenter, bottles etc - everything for your first brew) by a neighbour as a thank you present for fixing his PC. I didn't really want it or have any interest in making beer.
I made up the kit (Coopers lager, white sugar) and put it in the fermenter. The instructions said to keep it warm.
So I put it in the spare bedroom and wrapped it in a sleeping bag (in Australia ) and then looked at it every 10 minutes for the next week.

Eventually I bottled it in the plastic PET bottles with a boiled sugar lump thing - tedious process.
I started drinking them after a week. I couldn't believe how good it tasted, or maybe I couldn't believe that it tasted ok and was drinkable at all. I developed a healthy obsession after that which culminated me looking at ridiculous grain milling machines online and trying to grow hops. I think I have it under control now though.

Hmmmm.... not sure what my point was here, I definitely had one when I started typing, maybe something to do with newbie brewing and temperature or airing cupboards. I think I just wanted to tell my story. 
I love beer, me.


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## Voley (Sep 1, 2011)

badseed said:


> I love beer, me.


Ya reckon? 

I used that Wherry kit as my first one, Balbi, and the results were really nice. The main threat to it all going wrong was my inability to stop peering under the lid and let nature take its course. The beginning of this thread is full of Stig's excellent advice telling me to leave it alone ffs.

Always been lucky with temperature here - kitchens aren't the best places usually due to it heating when the cooker's on but mine sits in the corner at a steady 19C and seems to get on very nicely.


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## mr steev (Sep 5, 2011)

I'm just about to start a stout kit. I've got a bucket which holds 40 pints (up to the brim) and intend to make 32 pints. How much action should I expect on the surface? There'll only be a few inches clearance on the top of the bucket and I'm wondering whether it's likely to get very foamy or not?


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## Addy (Sep 5, 2011)

What stout kit?
All my Coopers stout kits end up like this when made up to 20l instead of the 23l
That bucket is 25l capacity


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## mr steev (Sep 5, 2011)

Hmmm, I thought that was what would happen^^ Looks like I'll have to dig out one of my bigger barrels and give it a clean.

It's a John Bull kit I got given for my birthday. I got given 500g of spray malt too and was thinking of mixing that with 500g of brewing sugar... a good idea?


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## Addy (Sep 5, 2011)

sounds about right too me. ​


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## retribution (Sep 16, 2011)

After a one-year break, I started up a Blackwater Bitter kit yesterday, and the airlock is now bubbling away nicely. In the past i've just used ordinary sugar in the secondary fermentaion process, but the instructions on this one call for "either glucose powder or spray malt". Any idea what the difference is?


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## Addy (Sep 16, 2011)

Normal sugar can give a cidery ' homebrew ' taste to the beer and is normally responsible for raging hangovers.
Glucose / dextrose is a more refined sugar, which helps the yeast do its job better and gives a cleaner ethanol (alcohol) while fermenting.
Spray malt / DME / spray dried malt extract is a malted grain sugar, exactly whats in your beer kit (except your beer kit has hops too)
Using DME gives a fuller bodied beer, but doesn't fully ferment out all the sugars, so generally needs to be offset with more hops, unless your aiming for a malty finish to the ale.
BKE is a mixture of maltose and sucrose.

I would be dead against the Tate n Lyle houshold raw cane sugar in all instances, unless you start inverting it and seperating glucose and fructose molecules.
Brewing sugar (glucose powder) gives a cleaner finish, but its still not the best.
BKE - beer kit enhancer is a good step in to raising the ABV of the kit but also retaining body without it finishing too sweet.
DME if you want a full bodied beer.
Confused? 

I started a Breferm Diabolo kit today, 9 litres of Belgian 8%abv largerish ale 
For that I cooked up a bag of sugar, cup of water and a tsp of citric acid to make inverted sugars - aka candi sugar to try and keep it authentic to the bottled /casked version.

Got a brewferm Grand Cru to put on next week, but i'm currently trying to reculture the yeast from a bottle of Brakspears Tripple - bottle conditioned to use for that project (and to keep the yeast culture going for some extract / biab brews)


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## retribution (Oct 29, 2011)

I ended up using glucose powder from Holland and Barrett, which worked fine (although I put too much in - it's a bit too fizzy for my liking).

A couple of questions for my next brew: I've never racked my beer before - If I'm bottling it, can I rack it in the barrel, and then fill the bottles from the barrel? Or do I need to buy another tub to rack in?

Also, I fancy making my next beer a bit 'christmasy' - was thinking about putting some ginger or cinnamon in there. How would I go about doing that?

Cheers brewers!


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## Addy (Oct 30, 2011)

Racking the brew is just taking the beer/wine off the sediment cake left at the bottom of the fermenter, to give a brighter beer and carry less yeast in to the bottles.
Even if your beer is perfectly clear, there are plenty of live yeast cells still in the beer to give a secondary fermentation, although it might take a little bit longer.
So racking in to a barrel is fine, (add your priming sugar solution to the barrel before siphoning the beer across to help distribute the sugar evenly)  but you might find the tap is too fast for filling the bottles.

As for making an xmas ale, they are generally high ABV so I would use 1.5 kilo's of fermentable sugars at a ratio of 1kg of DME and 1/2 kg of Glucose. along with the beer kit (Coopers Dark Ale kit would be ideal), this should give you something around the 6 -6.5% abv
If you want to spice it up,  after the main fermentation has happened (first 4 days) I would add a stick of cinamon, 10 cloves, the zest of a couple of oranges and lemons and maybe 1/2 of a star annise... even a touch of corriander leaf might be nice too.
Put it all in to my stainless steel meshed spice ball and drop it in the fermenter for the next 10 days, then rack and bottle.


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## aqua (Oct 30, 2011)

Addy - where is my invite to your place for beer drinking?


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## Addy (Oct 30, 2011)

I did promise you a bottle of sloe gin, but unfortunately the sloes were used in an elderberry & sloe wine 

... but I will soon be bottling up about 22 litres of white wine, so I can stick your name on a bottle and drop it off next time i'm going to Ikea or something.

Whats your preference as I will be adding some flavours to the wine in batches?
Strawberry, Peach, Toffee or as is (not tried it yet so can't comment on how it tastes)
sweet, medium or dry?


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## aqua (Oct 30, 2011)

medium strawberry


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## Addy (Oct 30, 2011)

Noted


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## retribution (Nov 6, 2011)

Addy said:


> If you want to spice it up, after the main fermentation has happened (first 4 days) I would add a stick of cinamon, 10 cloves, the zest of a couple of oranges and lemons and maybe 1/2 of a star annise... even a touch of corriander leaf might be nice too.
> Put it all in to my stainless steel meshed spice ball and drop it in the fermenter for the next 10 days, then rack and bottle.



Thanks for that. Presumably there are issues of sterilisation with this? I was thinking of boiling it all up in a small amount of water first to sterilise, then pour the water + spice ball into the brew, would that work?

In the past I've always waited until the brew reaches the correct gravity before bottling/transfering to barrel, whereas in this instance you are suggesting I should wait a while longer - why is this? Could I just drop the spice ball in at the racking stage?

Thanks again


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## Voley (Nov 6, 2011)

Well the Norfolk Nog that I made a couple of months back has been sampled and very nice it is too. Still just the faintest homebrewwy tinge though so I'm leaving the rest to condition a bit more. Till Xmas I think. It's a proper full-bodied Winter Warmer type ale so it should be good for warming the cockles when the weather's colder.


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## Addy (Nov 6, 2011)

retribution said:


> Thanks for that. Presumably there are issues of sterilisation with this? I was thinking of boiling it all up in a small amount of water first to sterilise, then pour the water + spice ball into the brew, would that work?
> 
> In the past I've always waited until the brew reaches the correct gravity before bottling/transfering to barrel, whereas in this instance you are suggesting I should wait a while longer - why is this? Could I just drop the spice ball in at the racking stage?
> 
> Thanks again



I always leave my brews in the fermenter for 14 days, regardless of how fast the fermentation has gone to let the yeast drop out of suspension so I get minimal amounts in my kegs/bottles, but the first 4 days of fermentation is the most vigorous.
After the krausen has dropped, I would add the 'spice ball'
I have never sterelised hops etc when added as a dry hop to the fermenter, so I would only sterelise the spice ball itself ( I use thin bleach/water solution - 1/2 hr soak)


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## retribution (Nov 16, 2011)

After a hectic week at work and a busy weekend I missed the boat adding the spices when you said I should. Currently I'm at 11 days in the primary, spice-less (oh, and spice-ball-less!). I'm keen to get this ready for Christmas though so ideally want to get it in bottles on the weekend of the 26th November - does this look ok for a timetable?

Day 1: Started brewing
Day 2: Fermentation started.
Day 14: Rack to barrel with sugar and spices (free floating as I don't have the spiceball I thought I had!)
Day 21: Bottle

Apologies for not following your advice Addy!


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## Addy (Nov 16, 2011)

Yeah, it wont hurt to give that a go.... at worst the flavours will be subtle... stuff like this is always trial and error until you get your numbers right.
Although, dont add your priming sugar until the day you bottle it otherwise it will have secondary fermentation in the barrel and it will pour with too much fizz in to your bottles.
You really want the secondary ferment in the bottle to carbonate nicely. (although you will have to be carefull with sediment in the bottles)


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## wtfftw (Nov 23, 2011)

so.  If one were to get someone a kit for christmas what would you lot recommend? lager. sorry.


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## Voley (Nov 23, 2011)

wtfftw said:


> so.  If one were to get someone a kit for christmas what would you lot recommend? lager. sorry.


Has he made lager before wuffty? ? I'm assuming its a 'he' for sexist reasons obvs. Bitter's easier to do if he's a novice.


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## Addy (Nov 23, 2011)

NVP said:


> Has he made lager before wuffty? ? I'm assuming its a 'he' for sexist reasons obvs. Bitter's easier to do if he's a novice.



TBH, as its now the winter months, its an ideal time to be brewing a lager as you need to keep the *fermentation temperature around 13c which is not easy to do during the summer. (*providing your using a true bottom fermenting lager yeast)

But you would need to bottle the lager in good plastic PET bottles, or good thick glass bottles to allow for a good secondary fermentation to get the carbonation levels good.

As for recomending a kit, what does this person enjoy drinking?


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## wtfftw (Nov 23, 2011)

stella


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## Addy (Nov 23, 2011)

wtfftw said:


> stella



You might aswell just get him a case of Stella from Asda for xmas then  he wont appreciate what real beer is about.


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## wtfftw (Nov 23, 2011)

He might learn and evolve. I hope.


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## wtfftw (Nov 24, 2011)

Actually! He's mentioned being a member of camra once upon a time.


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## Addy (Nov 24, 2011)

A St Peters IPA is a good simple kit that will give good results without having to tinker with it.
Its a nice light, hoppy ale that could pursuede a lager drinker over to real ale.

The Coopers APA is also very lager like if made up with BKE or sugar, and Coopers kits are nigh on impossible to fook up.


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## Voley (Nov 24, 2011)

I made this one wuffty:







that you can get here for just over twenty quid. It was pretty nice but compared to the bitter I make it did taste a bit 'homebrewwy' (for want of a better word). Not awful, but if you'd been served it in a pub you'd probably switch to something else after. Probably due to not keeping it cool enough. I went back to making bitter after that.


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## wtfftw (Dec 5, 2011)

turns out he drinks dark ales in winter. and doesn't mind slightly bitter. and


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## Addy (Dec 20, 2011)

After a hard day bottling up 20 litres of wine, I decided to put on another Pale Ale

Gonna be saving this one until spring before I start on it.... to welcome in the warmer months.


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## wtfftw (Dec 22, 2011)

so, he loved it. and I'll be on this thread with questions.

Meanwhile. can we make marmite?


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## Voley (Dec 23, 2011)

Addy said:


> After a hard day bottling up 20 litres of wine, I decided to put on another Pale Ale
> Gonna be saving this one until spring before I start on it.... to welcome in the warmer months.





> 150g of crystal malt


 Do you drink this or do you need a glass pipe?


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## Voley (Feb 5, 2012)

Just put five gallons of cider on that should be nice and potent in time for warmer weather. A kit I got for Xmas instead of the usual shitloads-of-Lidl-apple-juice approach. Cider's the only thing that I've done that didn't come out that well so it'll be interesting to see how this one turns out. My flat smells incredibly appley just now.


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## Citizen66 (Feb 22, 2012)

I'm toying with the idea of making home brew. Any good suggestions for reading material before I take the plunge?

Was looking at this one: 

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Brew_Your_Own_British_Real_Ale-_By_Graham_Wheeler.html


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## Addy (Feb 22, 2012)

Its a good book but it is aimed at people brewing from all grain, I'm guessing your not going to be mashing grains and boiling hops if its a new interest?

Read up at http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/index.php and you will find that most of your anticipated questions have already been answered before.


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## Citizen66 (Feb 22, 2012)

Cheers. Yep, wouldn't want to go in at the deep end.


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## badseed (Mar 6, 2012)

Citizen66 said:


> I'm toying with the idea of making home brew. Any good suggestions for reading material before I take the plunge?
> 
> Was looking at this one:
> 
> http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Brew_Your_Own_British_Real_Ale-_By_Graham_Wheeler.html


 
This is often cited as the bible for home brewers - http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html


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## badseed (Mar 6, 2012)

Just made a Wheat Beer with Sazz (15g for 10 mins).
Using a Wheat Yeast for the first time (Safbrew WB-06) I pitched it at 19 degrees. Really looking forward to trying this one. It is sitting at 16 degrees now, the packet recommends 15-24 and I like a slower process.

Got a nice hoppy lager on tap at the moment which will last a few more weeks.


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## badseed (Mar 6, 2012)

Addy said:


> You might aswell just get him a case of Stella from Asda for xmas then  he wont appreciate what real beer is about.


 
Nothing wrong with a pint of Stella on a hot day


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## Addy (Mar 6, 2012)

Each to their own I guess, I'd rather have a ice cold pint Scrumpy Jack, or a semi frozen Special Brew Slush.


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## badseed (Apr 19, 2012)

Grotesque Horse

Light liquid malt extract
Wheat liquid malt extract
Galaxy Hops & US 05 Ale Yeast

Came out darker than I expected but a great beer. Galaxy hops have a great aroma and taste.
Pure smell of passion fruit, grapefruit, mangoes peaches.
Nicely balanced bitterness. One of the best I have ever made, easy to drink loads of it.

I think this will become one of my favourites.


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## ExtraRefined (Apr 19, 2012)

Foreground, 63 bottles of 9% old ale. 2 x Headcracker kits, invert sugar, molasses, 3 weeks in primary, 6 months in secondary
Middle, 4 gallons of BIAB oatmeal stout
Back, clean kit for the next brew (either an NZ Hallertau SMASH or a Worthington white shield clone)

Just opened the stout.


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## retribution (Apr 19, 2012)

Ok the above two pictures have just induced massive homebrew cravings (plus I'm running out of my last batch). I've yet to try an IPA and notice MVP enjoyed the Munton's. It seems many brew it with spraymalt, which I've never used before - could anyone give me a brief lowdown on what to do with it, when? Does it replace brewing sugar?

Also, top-tip   : I found my last two brews far too fizzy after bottling, to the extent that I couldn't open them without them fizzing everywhere. I found out that if you chill the beer first in the fridge, and then open it, it will no longer be so violent an opening! You do have to wait for it to get to the right temperature again, but if your beers are as gassy as mine were, this gives them time to become more palatable!


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## Addy (Apr 19, 2012)

Spray dried malt extract adds a lot of body to a kit but it is not 100% fermentable, so it does leave behind a slight malty sweetness. Nothing bad, but most brewers would offset that with a 'hop tea'

You add the malt as a sugar replacement, but be carefull on how you add it and to keep the water temperature tepid otherwise it clumps together and becomes a pain in the ass to desolve.

As for fizzyness, for an ale I would only add 80g of sugar for secondary, lagers or ciders about 150g and for stouts i dont secondary, just add a squirt of co2 to the keg.

That said, i'm awaiting delivery of 2 cornelius kegs so i'll be purely co2 injected based in the near future.


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## ExtraRefined (Apr 19, 2012)

retribution said:


> Also, top-tip  : I found my last two brews far too fizzy after bottling, to the extent that I couldn't open them without them fizzing everywhere. I found out that if you chill the beer first in the fridge, and then open it, it will no longer be so violent an opening! You do have to wait for it to get to the right temperature again, but if your beers are as gassy as mine were, this gives them time to become more palatable!


 
You might be adding too much sugar as Addy sugests, or you could be bottling too early before fermentation is complete. How long and at what gravity are you bottling?


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## badseed (Apr 19, 2012)

Addy said:


> That said, i'm awaiting delivery of 2 cornelius kegs so i'll be purely co2 injected based in the near future.


 
You will never look back, no more bottle washing and filling.


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## Addy (Apr 20, 2012)

badseed said:


> You will never look back, no more bottle washing and filling.


 
If your after any more cornies yourself, we have a contact who is selling refubished kegs for £20 + delivery costs (£8 for 1st and £5 for each extra keg)


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## badseed (Apr 20, 2012)

Addy said:


> If your after any more cornies yourself, we have a contact who is selling refubished kegs for £20 + delivery costs (£8 for 1st and £5 for each extra keg)


 
Thanks, I live in Australia


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## Addy (Apr 20, 2012)

hahaa, I never knew 
Postage might be a little more


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## Addy (Apr 25, 2012)

oh my, I just bought some beer taps...
















Looking forward to trying out the beer engine


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## badseed (Apr 26, 2012)

Addy said:


> oh my, I just bought some beer taps...


 
Very nice.


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## Addy (Apr 29, 2012)

I ended up with 2 beer engines, so i'm well pleased.... especially as the first one cleaned up nicely..


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## ExtraRefined (May 25, 2012)

Torygraph personal finance blog advoates homebrewing

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/financ...ll-and-how-to-cut-41pc-off-the-price-of-beer/



> Tax avoidance is generally regarded as only for the rich or those people wealthy enough not to need to spend everything they currently earn. But there is one ancient form of tax avoidance which is available to everyone – or at least anyone with a little patience, some room about the house and an understanding spouse.
> Now a new government initiative may have the unintended effect of renewing interest in this time-honoured means of avoiding tax and cutting the cost of living. Yes, I am talking about Home Secretary Theresa May’s madcap scheme to impose a minimum price on alcohol.


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## Addy (Jun 6, 2012)

A Breferm Grand Cru...












Its not cloudy at all, its warm glass, cold beer scenario 

8.4% of Belgian burnt caramel lager


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## butcher (Jun 19, 2012)

Burton Bridge Porter using beer enhancer, 15 days after secondary ferm from a pressure barrel, it's bloody lovely:


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 21, 2012)

well after reading this thread and only having crude brewing experience (ginger beer, ginger beer plants and very crude cider) but we go away camping a huge group of us every July and am planning what to brew for next year's trip. Does anyone have any suggestions? Would like a mix really of ales, cider and (unfortunately) lager


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## mr steev (Jun 21, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> Does anyone have any suggestions? Would like a mix really of ales, cider and (unfortunately) lager


 
How about wine?
The damson wine I make is excellent (other peoples words, not just my own ) Very drinkable, around 12/13% and doesn't give you a bad head the next day. If you can find a damson tree then the only cost is the price of the sugar and yeast.
If you're planning on drinking it next summer it makes an good sangria for drinking all day in the balmy sunshine


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 21, 2012)

ooo never thought of wine however dont have access to any fresh fruit but i suppose could get it from the grocers...


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## joustmaster (Jun 21, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> ooo never thought of wine however dont have access to any fresh fruit but i suppose could get it from the grocers...


its elderflower season at the moment..


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## butcher (Jun 21, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> well after reading this thread and only having crude brewing experience (ginger beer, ginger beer plants and very crude cider) but we go away camping a huge group of us every July and am planning what to brew for next year's trip. Does anyone have any suggestions? Would like a mix really of ales, cider and (unfortunately) lager


 

Just get everyone to chip in and get 3 kits, three pressure barrels and brew the cider last as it needs less conditioning, and then you have 120 pints of booze and 3 re-useable pressure barrels to auction at the end of the trip.

I like biggerjugs website for my homebrewing consummables 

Or just declare a competition with three groups making a brew each


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 21, 2012)

hmm, plenty to get me thinking....

butcher, like the idea of a competition think I may need more than 120 pints though as there are 24 of us  was thinking of making a start september time doing the ales first then down the scale. Obviously will need to cater for 'testing'


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## mr steev (Jun 21, 2012)

A few years ago me and some mates got into brewing by deciding we were going to have a 'beer festival' (but with any booze acceptable as long as it was homemade). We set ourselves a date for 9 months time and got brewing, had a tasting session/party and got pissed


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 21, 2012)

well with the amount of booze we get through in the week the home brew route could make things more interesting, especially if we get the competition element in to it. Also my home brew bug has been well and truly woken up  saw an xmas ale kit that I might have to give a whirl....


----------



## butcher (Jul 12, 2012)

Have just transferred my first Woodfords Wherry kit to secondary ferm, priming 40 pints with 125g golden syrup, initial sampling is fantastic, really nice and hoppy, roll on two weeks when I can see how she has progressed 

Next will be 40 pints Norfolk Nog in pressure barrel no.2, follwed by a 2x Brewferm Diablo for 36 pint bottles of Xmass-time 9% belgian stylee ale!


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## badseed (Jul 13, 2012)

I love it when this thread gets bumped....



Dovydaitis said:


> Would like a mix really of ales, cider and (unfortunately) lager


 
Don't confuse proper lager with the freezing cold tasteless drink you get in the local.
I make lager and pilsner often. It's malty and hoppy and has a lot of flavour. I always have one on the go.

Currently I am makeing a Belgian Wit Bier (Wheat malt, Coriander, Dried Orange Peel, Torrefied Wheat). I recently made a Hoegarden clone, which was a nice beer, but I wanted more citrussy flavours so I have increased the coriander load.
I have struggled to keep the temp up (16 C for the Wyeast Wit Bier smack pack) it is winter here and cold. I have the fermenter wrapped in a sleeping bag in my brewing fridge, it has been fermenting at 15 for about 10 days (racked after 8). I thought I would leave it in the brewing fridge as at least the temp is constant and 1 degree out is probably not really anything to worry about. It is fermenting well, just slow.


----------



## badseed (Jul 13, 2012)

Here is my favourite skulling beer, I am drinking this right now 

Laughing Dog Pilsner.
Plenty of Saaz Hops & made with harvested & washed Bohemian Pilsner yeast.
Wyeast smack packs cost a lot, but harvesting and washing the yeast makes it a bit less expensive.

Since I started using liquid yeast my beer has improved a lot, really noticeable difference.


----------



## butcher (Jul 19, 2012)

Wherry Kit is now maturing in the barrel, I might just have to have a go at this soon:

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Wurzels-Orange-Wine-(Wow)


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## Addy (Jul 20, 2012)

I often make the Wurzel wine, comes out very good but make sure you de-gass it well before bottling.

The xmas pudding wine is very nice too..

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=11696


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## butcher (Jul 21, 2012)

Addy said:


> I often make the Wurzel wine, comes out very good but make sure you de-gass it well before bottling.
> 
> The xmas pudding wine is very nice too..
> 
> http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=11696


 
OMFG!    I am on THBF too incidentally


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## badseed (Jul 22, 2012)

All the food groups, fuck yeah.


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## friedaweed (Jul 24, 2012)

OK you crazy feckers. Get me started 
I want to make this





My local dealer says he can do me all the shizzle and that kit for £70 including a barrel, Is that about right or should i go with the coopers DIY kit and bottles?

Your thoughts much appreciated.

Frieda


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## butcher (Jul 24, 2012)

Read this:  http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/

Lotsa kit reviews and friendly enthusiasts.

My experience so far is that two can kits are the nuts, if I was starting again, I'd get a start up kit from biggerjugs.co.uk and a king keg (bigger hand hole for cleaning).


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## friedaweed (Jul 24, 2012)

butcher said:


> Read this: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/
> 
> Lotsa kit reviews and friendly enthusiasts.
> 
> My experience so far is that two can kits are the nuts, if I was starting again, I'd get a start up kit from biggerjugs.co.uk and a king keg (bigger hand hole for cleaning).


Ta. I've been trawling through that forum and this thread. Totally inspired

I've just managed to get my hands on two 5 gallon pressure barrels that have been sat in a loft for about 7 years (One had some liquid in it ). The dude at my local brew store said he'd pressure test them if I got my kit from him but they look in pretty good nick. I assume letting these stand in a bleach solution for a while will clean them yeah?

Anyway cheers.

Off to be inspired....


----------



## butcher (Jul 24, 2012)

Lots of them in THBF use oxi cleaners, I just wash very well and then use an iodine based disinfectant at 1:1000 (cost £10 for 500ml and is non rinse).

My advice is us a Woodfords Wherry kit as a starting point, ferment for 14 days (lets the yeast clean up any left of ferm by products, condition for a minimum of 14 days.

Get a CO2 valve lid for your PB, the sparklet CO2 bulbs are cheap on ebay, and vaseline your rings before pressure testing.

First brew. I'd just put in the PB, and then get some more kit for bottling brew 2, ie a bottling stick and capper etc

Feel free to PM when your kit is clean.


----------



## sojourner (Jul 25, 2012)

Me Da's just put another barley wine brew on for us, bottled all the Chardonnay, and is putting a Merlot on for us too


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## friedaweed (Aug 15, 2012)

Ok we're off


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## friedaweed (Aug 16, 2012)

I see you baby, shake your little ass


----------



## butcher (Aug 16, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> I see you baby, shake your little ass


 
What size FV is that?


----------



## friedaweed (Aug 16, 2012)

butcher said:


> What size FV is that?


30ltr.


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## butcher (Aug 17, 2012)

Plenty of room for some head action!


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## friedaweed (Aug 17, 2012)

butcher said:


> Plenty of room for some head action!


I was amazed. It took off like a banshee. It's gone down considerably this morning but it looked like it'd push the lid off last night 
Got myself a load of 660ml brown bottles in Sunny Runcorn yesterday and some malt extract to batch prime it. How much dme should I prime 20ltrs with for bottling butch?


----------



## mr steev (Aug 17, 2012)

butcher said:


> then use an iodine based disinfectant at 1:1000 (cost £10 for 500ml and is non rinse).


 
That's the stuff I use and I'd thoroughly recommend it. Irrc the stuff I use is about a fiver for 500ml, and you just dissolve 2.5ml into a litre of cold water. It's called Videne and you can order it from the chemist.


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## badseed (Aug 17, 2012)

butcher said:


> Plenty of room for some head action!


 
Looks like he's gonna need that head space.


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## friedaweed (Aug 17, 2012)

badseed said:


> Looks like he's gonna need that head space.


It was kissing the lid all night but its gone down now thankfully


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## butcher (Aug 17, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> I was amazed. It took off like a banshee. It's gone down considerably this morning but it looked like it'd push the lid off last night
> Got myself a load of 660ml brown bottles in Sunny Runcorn yesterday and some malt extract to batch prime it. How much dme should I prime 20ltrs with for bottling butch?


 
80-100g I'd say, I had a brewing disaster today due to a leaky valve, but thankfully I put my FV in a big rubber bucket so fingers crossed my Better Brew IPA with pale malt extract will be hunky dory.  I generally use 125ml golden syrup to prime.


----------



## Addy (Aug 17, 2012)

Personally I wouldn't waste DME on priming, just use 80g of normal sugar.
DME is only about 85% fermentable and 6 times the cost of sugar. For how much you use to add fizz, you wont notice any flavours  by using sugar.


----------



## Addy (Aug 17, 2012)

Time now for me to start the autumn / winter collection of brews.
I have a John Bull IPA, a Coopers stout, a St Peters Ruby Red to put on and a couple of AG BIAB recipes to try - TT Landlord and a Hobgoblin.

Gonna have to buy a couple more cornies methinks.


----------



## badseed (Aug 18, 2012)

This is my fake Hoegaarden, I once read that if you try to make a clone beer you are setting yourself up to fail.
I think it's impossible to get the colour and cloudiness of the original without going all-grain, but this is pretty close.

The taste is very similar (about 90%), but not the same. It's still a great beer though, if you like the Belgian wit style, which I do.


----------



## butcher (Aug 19, 2012)

Addy said:


> Time now for me to start the autumn / winter collection of brews.
> I have a John Bull IPA, a Coopers stout, a St Peters Ruby Red to put on and a couple of AG BIAB recipes to try - TT Landlord and a Hobgoblin.
> 
> Gonna have to buy a couple more cornies methinks.


 
So how easy are cornies to use, and what are the setup costs, and will I need a (?) keggerator?


----------



## Addy (Aug 19, 2012)

butcher said:


> So how easy are cornies to use, and what are the setup costs, and will I need a (?) keggerator?


 
Cornies will cost you roughly £35 each, a gas regulator wil cost another £25, Disconnects about £10 a pair, Gas can be the tricky one, but if you can find a pub bottle supplier your looking at approximately £15 a refil which should last about a year, A beer tap and preferably a flow controller - about £20
You will need a kegorator or inline chiller to control the temperature otherwise you will have a lot of problems trying to pour a pint successfully.

Sounds like a big outlay, but its most definately worth it.


----------



## butcher (Aug 19, 2012)

Addy said:


> Cornies will cost you roughly £35 each, a gas regulator wil cost another £25, Disconnects about £10 a pair, Gas can be the tricky one, but if you can find a pub bottle supplier your looking at approximately £15 a refil which should last about a year, A beer tap and preferably a flow controller - about £20
> You will need a kegorator or inline chiller to control the temperature otherwise you will have a lot of problems trying to pour a pint successfully.
> 
> Sounds like a big outlay, but its most definately worth it.


 

Cheers  I might just start buying bits as and when then!  I take it you are on THBF then?  

BTW my next brew is a Brewferm Diablo x2 with golden syrup, hoping it will be drinkable in time for Xmass!!


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## Addy (Aug 19, 2012)

I 'watch' THBF, but I tend to offer out my advice and show off my beers over at http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/index.php

You'll find me under my Dj Name - Geezah

The Diabolo is a nice tipple, definately worth leaving it for 6 months to condition well... it gets better with age.


----------



## friedaweed (Aug 21, 2012)

As part of my post op recovery arrangements I shall mostly be bottling stout


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## butcher (Aug 22, 2012)

Addy said:


> I 'watch' THBF, but I tend to offer out my advice and show off my beers over at http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/index.php
> 
> You'll find me under my Dj Name - Geezah
> 
> The Diabolo is a nice tipple, definately worth leaving it for 6 months to condition well... it gets better with age.


 
Not acid techno/SUF Geezah?!?!  I am monkeybrew on THBF


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## Addy (Aug 22, 2012)

No, i'm a completely different geezah


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## butcher (Aug 22, 2012)

Addy said:


> No, i'm a completely different geezah


 
Well there also seem to be a few monkeybrews on HB fora too.  I might try one of your kit twists (honey etc) next brew.

I think I said before, I just had a brew f*ck up. I borrowed a FV with a tap, by the morning my Better Brew IPA was half in the semi-clean safety bucket thanks to a leaky vavle, a quick transfer to my clean FV, left for 10 days and it tastes OK, I am hoping I might get away with it and the yeasty beasties have kept it safe......40 pints is a lot to loose!


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## friedaweed (Aug 23, 2012)

"That's the Stout bottled son let's get the bitter bubblin"






Muntons Old English Bitter stirred by Micro Brewer.


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## butcher (Aug 25, 2012)

Better Brew IPA is kegged, 2x Breferm Diablo goes on tonight, bought-in Thornbridge Raven IPA is being supped now.


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## Addy (Aug 25, 2012)

Nice work butcher.
I just put a John Bull IPA in the FV


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## friedaweed (Aug 25, 2012)

butcher said:


> Better Brew IPA is kegged, 2x Breferm Diablo goes on tonight, bought-in Thornbridge Raven IPA is being supped now.


I'm thinking of having a go at the diablo next Have you done it before mate? If so what's it like? I'm looking at that or the grand cru.


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## Addy (Aug 25, 2012)

I have done both Diabolo and Grand Cru.

Both need 6 months conditioning to come to their best, they take a while to finish once they got to 1020 on the hydrometer, so if you bottle early you get a very lively bottle.

The wheat in the mix gives a very tight creamy head, so you need a bigger glass than expected.

Both are very drinkable high ABV brews.


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## friedaweed (Aug 29, 2012)

Addy said:


> I have done both Diabolo and Grand Cru.
> 
> Both need 6 months conditioning to come to their best, they take a while to finish once they got to 1020 on the hydrometer, so if you bottle early you get a very lively bottle.
> 
> ...


Cheers Addy. I've gone for the Grand Cru with a view to tasting a few at Criggy.

Gonna do a cheap Wilco job for everyday supping next.


----------



## butcher (Aug 30, 2012)

An initial taste of the Better Brew IPA (made with 1 tin Muntons LME) is bloody gorgeous, it will now stay untouched for a month, going to try a St Peters Ruby Red next I think..............


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## butcher (Aug 31, 2012)

Anyone fancy a fly agaric brew?
*http://www.brewgeeks.com/1/archives/03-2012/1.html*

*http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=27314*

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/alcohol/alcohol_brew.shtml


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## friedaweed (Sep 1, 2012)

butcher said:


> Anyone fancy a fly agaric brew?
> *http://www.brewgeeks.com/1/archives/03-2012/1.html*
> 
> *http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=27314*
> ...


Fuckin'ell

Quick question Butch, Addy et al.

I've got a mate who works for an Irish company that makes some kind of black beer  who has gone to extreme ends to encourage my new hobby and has supplied me with no end of assorted freebies including bottles, caps, and even 3 shiney silver kegs so I can think about building a AG brewery 'in me shed son' 

Anyway in return I said I'd brew him a batch and he's got me a kit and I fancy doing him something unique. He's given me a brown ale kit that makes 40 pints. (Brewmaker 1.8kg)

I have acquired some organic chocolate wheat, some boadicea hops, a hop bag and some dark spray malt. I've got little more than your average kit brewers set up but I have got some big pans. How could I go about making a half arsed extract kit with these ingredients and a big pan and my hob?

Cheers folk. 

ETA
Oh and I've got some biscuit malt/grain whatever. Chocolate biscuit brown ale?? can ya see where i'm coming from with this?


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## butcher (Sep 1, 2012)

That's a question for Addy and way beyond my experience!

Well done on getting into though! Have a look at this thread maybe:  http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=28721


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## friedaweed (Sep 1, 2012)

butcher said:


> That's a question for Addy and way beyond my experience!
> 
> Well done on getting into though! Have a look at this thread maybe: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=28721


Cheers matey, wouldn't have even bothered if it wasn't for you lot on this thread


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## butcher (Sep 1, 2012)

It's great isn't it, I am going to try a semi-extract POPS kit next.

eta: these have 2x Malt Extract, yeast, grain and hops.You boil the grain, plus hops at two different intervals, rinse out grain, mix with malt, water and ferment.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 1, 2012)

butcher said:


> It's great isn't it, I am going to try a semi-extract POPS kit next.
> 
> eta: these have 2x Malt Extract, yeast, grain and hops.You boil the grain, plus hops at two different intervals, rinse out grain, mix with malt, water and ferment.


 That sounds very much like what i want to do with this


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## Voley (Sep 2, 2012)

butcher said:


> Anyone fancy a fly agaric brew?
> *http://www.brewgeeks.com/1/archives/03-2012/1.html*
> 
> *http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=27314*
> ...




I put considerable thought into incorporating my annual poppy crop into my brewing at one point. Sadly, there's no getting over the fact that poppies taste like shit. The end effect might've been nice but it would've been the worst-tasting beer ever.


----------



## badseed (Sep 2, 2012)

I have often considered making a pale ale with an ounce of weed in the primary.
It's the cousin of hops anyway, should be quite nice.

I looked into ot a few times, but the information is so conflicting about how and when to add the buds I gave up.
It's easier to have a smoke.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 2, 2012)

badseed said:


> I have often considered making a pale ale with an ounce of weed in the primary.
> It's the cousin of hops anyway, should be quite nice.
> 
> I looked into ot a few times, but the information is so conflicting about how and when to add the buds I gave up.
> It's easier to have a smoke.


Pretty sure you would have to extract the resin through boiling as you do in canna butter as a cold wash would just see them end up in the yeast sludge. I've had hemp beer in some poncey wine bar in leeds and have to report it was gash. Not sure how the yeast would react to the resin Be a waste of good bud in my book.


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## ExtraRefined (Sep 2, 2012)

An ounce? That's going to be a pricey brew!

I'd suggest putting it in secondary, and doing a really high gravity barley wine / belgian quad. THC is soluble in alcohol but not meaningfully in water. I've made weed vodka before and that worked well enough, although the taste was questionable.


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## Voley (Sep 2, 2012)

ExtraRefined said:


> An ounce? That's going to be a pricey brew!


 
It's a lot to lose if it fucks up. I can see why badseed gave up on the idea.


----------



## Addy (Sep 2, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> Fuckin'ell
> 
> Quick question Butch, Addy et al.
> 
> ...


 

You need to be cautious of using wheat as it leads to good head retention but also makes a brew rather lively, so I would only use about 100g
In a 5 gallon kit, steeping 200g of biscuit / Crystal malt @ 67c in 4 litres of water for 30 minutes will give a nice biscuit flavour.
if you add 100g of your choc wheat and 200g of chocolate malt (about £2 for 500g) and do the same you will get the chocolate flavour in there too.
Boadicea hops are like the marmite of hops... some people love them, others dislike them, so i'd err on the side of caution and use 25g on a 10 minute boil in the wort once you remove your grains.

A bit of Gambrinus honey malt would sit well with this recipe i'm thinking 

The beauty of tinkering with recipes is the unique outcome, so whatever you do, log it all down incase its a big success.

Here is a rough guide I made for tinkering with a kit

Good luck and report back


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 2, 2012)

Addy said:


> You need to be cautious of using wheat as it leads to good head retention but also makes a brew rather lively, so I would only use about 100g
> In a 5 gallon kit, steeping 200g of biscuit / Crystal malt @ 67c in 4 litres of water for 30 minutes will give a nice biscuit flavour.
> if you add 100g of your choc wheat and 200g of chocolate malt (about £2 for 500g) and do the same you will get the chocolate flavour in there too.
> Boadicea hops are like the marmite of hops... some people love them, others dislike them, so i'd err on the side of caution and use 25g on a 10 minute boil in the wort once you remove your grains.
> ...


You sir are a gentleman and a scholar.

Fortunately I have some organic chocolate malt. Taking into account your offerings of wisdom I'm thinking.....

200g of biscuit malt
100g of choc wheat
200g of organic choc malt
In the oven for 30 mins in 4 ltrs of water at 65 degrees.

Drain off and give it a 40 min boil adding 20g of the Boadicea hops for the last 10.

Chill the mofo with some sterilised cooler blocks. 

500g of dark spray malt
500g of home made Belgian candy sugar

Add the Brown ale kit and make up to 23 ltrs.

= Big Pete's Chocolate Biscuit Xmas Brown Ale

Wadda ya think matey?


----------



## Addy (Sep 2, 2012)

Sounds like a winner


----------



## Addy (Sep 2, 2012)

28 hrs in and my Coopers Stout starts to spew...







I wouldn't want it any other way


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 2, 2012)

Been a busy night at the Freidaweed Brewshack too

Kegged my first Bitter. Muntons Old English Bitter.
So fucking chuffed when I tasted it and it tasted like real beer




and bottled my turbo Lady Juice






Elderflower and Strawberry Cider. 7.8%
So fucking scared when I tasted it and it warmed my cockles

Better get on with the washing up if i'm going to get my Chocolate Biscuit Brown Ale on tomorrow


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 2, 2012)

Addy said:


> 28 hrs in and my Coopers Stout starts to spew...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Is that a Ditch's formula Coopers stout? 

I'm making that next. After the Grand Cru, or maybe after the diablo or maybe after the liver transplant


----------



## Addy (Sep 2, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> Is that a Ditch's formula Coopers stout?
> 
> I'm making that next. After the Grand Cru, or maybe after the diablo or maybe after the liver transplant


 

Aye, Coopers Original Stout (19l brewlength), 1kg of Dark DME and a mug of organic brown sugar.

It's 1 of the easiest drinking and simplistic brews to do.
10 days in FV, keg, add co2 and drink. Doesn't get any better than that.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 2, 2012)

Addy said:


> Aye, Coopers Original Stout, 1kg of Dark DME and a mug of organic brown sugar.
> 
> It's 1 of the easiest drinking and simplistic brews to do.
> 10 days in FV, keg, add co2 and drink. Doesn't get any better than that.


I'll be reet onto this  I have the coopers in already after reading his thread. I did wonder if Ditch was possibly our very own  Rory. Similar beautiful turn of phrase


----------



## Addy (Sep 2, 2012)

Ditch is quite a charactor, I'd love to meet him for a pint or 10 and chew the fat.
Maybe next time I visit family in Eire i'll do it.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 4, 2012)

Did the old Belgian Candy sugar last night for my forthcoming Diablo and Grand Cru.





2 kilo of sugar, big pinch of citric acid and enough water to cover. Heated up to to 120c on a high heat.

Lower the heat and allow it to rise to 130 and then hold at 130c by adding about an egg cup full of cold water every so often.




After 25 mins it starts to go a nice yellow amber colour




Around the hour mark it's showing a nice ruby colour and the whole house smells like a sweet shop.

Once you get the colour you want crank it up to 150c, turn off the heat and pour into a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.




Voilà. Belgian Candy Sugar

Piss easy really innit


----------



## ExtraRefined (Sep 4, 2012)

Candi sugar works well in ESBs and barley wines too, and is cheap.

Make sure you don't add too much colour for the Diablo it's supposed to be straw yellow. Commercial tripel brewers such as Westmalle do just add plain sucrose as I understand it, as they want to add strength but no body or flavour.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 4, 2012)

ExtraRefined said:


> Candi sugar works well in ESBs and barley wines too, and is cheap.
> 
> Make sure you don't add too much colour for *the Diablo it's supposed to be straw yellow.* Commercial tripel brewers such as Westmalle do just add plain sucrose as I understand it, as they want to add strength but no body or flavour.


Ahhh! thanks for that. I actually thought it might be a darker beer than that. Mind you there's no saying you cant have a red diablo  I might start a craze. I do have the triple in though so might do that instead. Ohh decisions decisions 

Anyway I'm starting my chocolate biscuit dark ale and 500g is going in there.With a spare fermenting bin next to it it would be rude not to start one of the breferm kits to keep it company 

I must admit it was so much fun making it I might have to run off an pale amber batch as well for the diablo.

Red Diablo ? It has a nice ring


----------



## Dovydaitis (Sep 5, 2012)

really must get started on this soon, feel like I'm really missing out! will wait till I'm back down Bournemouth way as they have a tidy little brew shop that is nicely stocked and has friendly, knowledgeable staff.


----------



## og ogilby (Sep 5, 2012)

Just got the bug myself, partly thanks to this thread. I started about a month ago and I'm just about to put my sixth brew on.


EDIT. Seventh brew. I forgot the 23l of rose wine I did for my girlfriend.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 5, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> really must get started on this soon, feel like I'm really missing out! will wait till I'm back down Bournemouth way as they have a tidy little brew shop that is nicely stocked and has friendly, knowledgeable staff.


Do it you'll never look back 


og ogilby said:


> Just got the bug myself, partly thanks to this thread. I started about a month ago and I'm just about to put my sixth brew on.
> 
> 
> EDIT. Seventh brew. I forgot the 23l of rose wine I did for my girlfriend.



Great isn't it. Can't wait for Xmas and new year whereby I shall be spending two weeks drinking it all


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 5, 2012)

So got round to making my mate his well earned batch last night

*Saint Pete's Chocolate Biscuit Boadicea Brown Ale*

*The Swag*
1 Brewmakers 1.8kg Northumberland Brown Ale kit
500g Home-made Belgian Candy Sugar (Ruby ruby ruby ruby)
415g Dark Spay Malt (I’d used the other 85 to prime a barrel)
85g Dark Molasses (That 85g had to come back from somewhere and it was in the baking cupboard)
200g Biscuit Malt
200g Organic Chocolate Malt
100g Chocolate Wheat
22g Boadicea Hops (Apparently the Marmite of hops according to Addy )
A bottle of Cornish Knocker (To lubricate the brewer)





*The Swagger*
Grains Steeped in oven with 4 litres of water @ 67c in shiny pan for 45 mins
kit tin (Cleaned and Glue removed) warmed in boiling hot water in pan number 2.
Kit contents into FV.
Candy sugar into kit tin and topped up with boiling water, left in the pan of bubbling water to dissolve. Mucho stiro.
Dissolved candy sugar into FV.
DME into kit tin topped up with boiling water and dissolved.
DME into FV
Empty pan 2 and rinse
As if by magic the mash is ready.
Cover mash pan with hop bag netting and fix firmly in place with clean crepe bandage.




Empty upturned mash pan straight into pan 2, leave to drain and turn the boil on.
Remove mash pan once drained
45 minute boil
Boadicea Hops in hop bag number 2 for last 10 minutes.







Chill wort in sink full of all that shit that’s been clogging up the freezer. (Summer’s over kids the ice pops are surplus)
Put chilled wort into FV
Top up to 23 litres.
As if by magic it’s 20c
Pitch Yeast.
Put lid on and wait for it to be blown off in 24 hours
*OG 1042*




It's already got an inch of thick creamy foam on it and an airlock that sounds like a 50cc moped


----------



## og ogilby (Sep 5, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> Great isn't it. Can't wait for Xmas and new year whereby I shall be spending two weeks drinking it all


I'm just thinking of setting up a space in an outside building for storing/conditioning my beer, but I'm just wondering if we have a hard winter, like the last two, will that be a problem for the beer?


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 5, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> I'm just thinking of setting up a space in an outside building for storing/conditioning my beer, but I'm just wondering if we have a hard winter, like the last two, will that be a problem for the beer?


I've cleared out my garage and made a nice storage space for the bottles and a brewery in the making. Mines got lecky in so I have considered wiring up an old storage heater that's been left in there but I'll take a chance and see how winter progresses. I may end up using the loft for storage. As you say if we have another minus 12 job this winter I'd be using more lecky to heat the garage than the house.

Have you got any loft space?


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## og ogilby (Sep 5, 2012)

I do have loft space, but I don't think I fancy carting all this lot up there.


So you reckon -12 will harm the beer. So what if it's just a regular winter, down to something like -5?


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## friedaweed (Sep 5, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> I do have loft space, but I don't think I fancy carting all this lot up there.
> 
> 
> So you reckon -12 will harm the beer. So what if it's just a regular winter, down to something like -5?


No idea dude to be honest but i'm sure minus 12 would make it nice and solid. Addy and Butcher will know I would imagine 
There's not enough alc in beer to stop it freezing past zero I would guess so if it's a risk then I'd say either use a greenhouse heater or go with the loft, spare wardrobe, under the stair, etc.


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## friedaweed (Sep 5, 2012)

You could dig a cellar 

http://www.wikihow.com/Store-Beer


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## og ogilby (Sep 5, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> I'd say either use a greenhouse heater or go with the loft, spare wardrobe, under the stair, etc.


The trouble with all the indoor spaces, especially the loft, is that it's going to be pretty warm until the weather really gets cold.

I guess I'll go ahead with my plan to store in the outside building, then bring it in the house if we have a bad forecast.


One other thing. I bought a Brewferm Diabolo kit from my local HB shop and on the tin it says the OG should be 1075. When I checked mine it read 1060. I mentioned this to the lady from the HB shop and she said that they get loads of customers asking the same question and the reason the reading is lower is that you would have to stir the wort for ages and ages to get it all mixed up right so the reading would be correct. She assured me the brew would be 1075, even though I got a much lower reading. Is this right? and if so, what's the point in taking an OG reading?


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## friedaweed (Sep 5, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> The trouble with all the indoor spaces, especially the loft, is that it's going to be pretty warm until the weather really gets cold.
> 
> I guess I'll go ahead with my plan to store in the outside building, then bring it in the house if we have a bad forecast.
> 
> ...


Not sure but someone will know. To be honest I use the hydrometer because i'm a bloke and numbers are like that 'Gregory's Girl' thing with us aren't they but to be honest I don't really care what the ABV is so long as nature's done it job and then you get what you get innit 

I do like the idea of using the plasterers whisk and power drill to get a good aerated mix though


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## ExtraRefined (Sep 5, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> I do have loft space, but I don't think I fancy carting all this lot up there.
> 
> 
> So you reckon -12 will harm the beer. So what if it's just a regular winter, down to something like -5?


 
Very roughly, beer will freeze at its ABV below zero, so yeah -12 will freeze almost everything. You could always make an eisbock?


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## friedaweed (Sep 5, 2012)

ExtraRefined said:


> Very roughly, beer will freeze at its ABV below zero, so yeah -12 will freeze almost everything. You could always make an eisbock?


I have a plan for keeping my beer warm if there's a bad winter....


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## friedaweed (Sep 6, 2012)

An empty FV is a sad FV. The 40 mints of brown ale's now got a little Belgian sister sat next to him 
Brewferm Grand Cru with 550g of the ruby red candy sugar. Wish I'd done a double batch of this now


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## Dovydaitis (Sep 6, 2012)

has anyone done milestone old home wrecker? I can get it in a starter pack from bigger jugs and it sounds quite tasty


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## Addy (Sep 6, 2012)

Racked my IPA tonight and added finings ready to drop in the corny tomorrow.
Stout will be kegged on saturday, then its the St Peters ruby red and a Coopers APA (bastardised) to go on sunday.
Also got a peach wine kit to get going for the mrs.


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## badseed (Sep 7, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> You could dig a cellar









Sorry...


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## butcher (Sep 7, 2012)

Just transferred my Brewferm Diablo to a fresh FV for their two week cool conditioning phase prior to bottling, Admirals Revenge goes on Monday, then to set about a Ditchs Stout,

BTW check out the adapted recipes on the Coopers web page, they have one for a 10-12% Imperial Russian Stout using two kits plus two cans of malt


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## badseed (Sep 7, 2012)

I kegged a pale ale last night (heavy on the galaxy hops) and have just taken an Urquell yeast out of the fridge for tomorrows Czech Pilsner.
I am thinking about a fruit beer for xmas, maybe  a blonde with a KG of mixed berries in the secondary.


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## friedaweed (Sep 7, 2012)

Just had a taster of my Muntons Old English Bitter. Fackin gorgeous 

A bit early yet but I was concerned there'd be too much pressure in the barrel. Honest


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## badseed (Sep 8, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> Just had a taster of my Muntons Old English Bitter. Fackin gorgeous
> A bit early yet but I was concerned there'd be too much pressure in the barrel. Honest


 
I had about 4 pints of my new Pale Ale, just to get rid of any sediment that may have settled in the bottom of the keg.


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## friedaweed (Sep 11, 2012)

That's the Chocolate Biscuit Brown Ale bottled


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## friedaweed (Sep 16, 2012)

Wherry @ 15 sovs in wilkinson's 

You can order online and have it delivered to the store of your choice for freeeeee :S


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## ExtraRefined (Sep 16, 2012)

Did a double brew yesterday - 10 gallons of wort partigyled into a 1080 barley wine and a 1040 bitter. Was brewing from 9am to 7pm, far too much like hard work for a Saturday.


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## og ogilby (Sep 18, 2012)

I've just finished drinking the last few bottles from my first ever brew, a Richie's Simply Bitter. The beer didn't get long enough to properly condition, but, you know what it's like with your first one.

Of the forty odd bottles, two of them overflowed with foam when I opened them, but the rest were fine. I'm thinking I must have double sugared those two, or is there any other explanation why two would be like that?


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## Addy (Sep 19, 2012)

A 'Ditch's'  Coopers stout  20 days from starting the kit...






Propper session beer...


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## og ogilby (Sep 20, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> Wherry @ 15 sovs in wilkinson's
> 
> You can order online and have it delivered to the store of your choice for freeeeee :S


They've been out of stock since the weekend, but it's back in stock today.

I just ordered 4 kits. £60 plus £3.50 delivery.


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## friedaweed (Sep 20, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> I've just finished drinking the last few bottles from my first ever brew, a Richie's Simply Bitter. The beer didn't get long enough to properly condition, but, you know what it's like with your first one.
> 
> Of the forty odd bottles, two of them overflowed with foam when I opened them, but the rest were fine. I'm thinking I must have double sugared those two, or is there any other explanation why two would be like that?


Maybe they were last out the barrel and had a bit more yeast in them. Who knows but 40 bottles of home made beer is grand innit


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## friedaweed (Sep 20, 2012)

Addy said:


> A 'Ditch's' Coopers stout 20 days from starting the kit...
> 
> Propper session beer...


 
Looks fab.

I've done a stout called "Wheel in the Ditch"
Followed ditches recipe but added a steeped wort of
200g of malted oats
200g Biscuit Malt
100g Chocolate malt.
I'm sure he'd approve 

The volcano kept my kids happy for two nights 





og ogilby said:


> They've been out of stock since the weekend, but it's back in stock today.
> 
> I just ordered 4 kits. £60 plus £3.50 delivery.


I have 3 in the cupboard


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## butcher (Sep 20, 2012)

Ditchs is next o the list, finishing the Nog, Admirals Reserve brewed to 40 pints ready for transfer, Better Brew IPA conditioned and ready to drink, Brewferm diablo bottled, planning a Imperial Russian Stout in Jan for next Christmas using the recipe on the Coopers recipe page....

It's a great little hooby


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## og ogilby (Sep 22, 2012)

Even though I've only just started brewing I've already got loads of bottles stored outside, and the numbers are growing and growing. So, I'm thinking about how much trouble it's going to be bringing them all indoors if we get a really cold snap of weather.

What if I store all my beer in the house? Will the quality suffer much?


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## mattyjc (Sep 23, 2012)

Well, I ordered my kit on Friday, then today I discover this thread! Sounds great and Im looking forward to the experimenting (and the drinking) Im also on the HBForum and learning a lot, if not getting confused a lot too


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## Addy (Sep 23, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> Even though I've only just started brewing I've already got loads of bottles stored outside, and the numbers are growing and growing. So, I'm thinking about how much trouble it's going to be bringing them all indoors if we get a really cold snap of weather.
> 
> What if I store all my beer in the house? Will the quality suffer much?


 

once the bottles have had a week or so warm, then a couple of weeks cool to create and absorb the co2, then storage anywhere shouldn't be an issue providing its not VERY warm or below feezing point.


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## Dovydaitis (Sep 26, 2012)

those of you who have ordered off biggerjugs, does it come in plain packaging?


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## seeformiles (Sep 27, 2012)

Anybody doing cider? We tried out our new press last night - presses 3-4 stone of apples at a time - got 8 gallons of juice (v.proud!):


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## Dovydaitis (Sep 29, 2012)

so i have finally gotten my starter kit and using a cheap tin to see how it goes


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## badseed (Sep 30, 2012)

Time to embrace my inner hillbilly.
I have just purchased a still...




I am fermenting 10 litres of water and dextrose which will give me 1.6l of spirit. You then top that up to 2l with water.
It's remarkably simple to do compared to beer, no hops and bitterness levels to think about.

So I am in to the moonshine caper now.

"Although small distillation units are available and legal for the purpose of water purification and essential oil manufacture, turning your alcobase/turbo yeast fermentations into spirit via distillation is illegal under Australian law" Australian Customs Notice No. 97/98 (Section 10/11/11a).


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## Addy (Sep 30, 2012)

Just do some reading about losing the heads and tails off your runs so as not to take on too much Methanol.


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## friedaweed (Sep 30, 2012)

Oh my fucking god. I can not believe that I actually made this myself. 

This is my bastardised Oatmeal Ditch recipe I did. 12 days from pitch.





It's fucking goooooorgeous  The mouth feel from the oats is amazing. It's like a liquid meal. This one is definately being done again.


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## Addy (Sep 30, 2012)

Coopers stout is like 1 of my 5 a day 

It never fails to deliver.


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## butcher (Sep 30, 2012)

My Better Brew IPA + LME is 5 weeks in the keg and  just a damn fine pint 

I am doing a ditch Stout for xmass, what is the oat variation?


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## badseed (Oct 1, 2012)

Addy said:


> Just do some reading about losing the heads and tails off your runs so as not to take on too much Methanol.


yes, I have been reading about that. I think it will go something like
Ditch the first 50 ml, keep the second 800ml and ditch the rest.


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## friedaweed (Oct 1, 2012)

butcher said:


> My Better Brew IPA + LME is 5 weeks in the keg and just a damn fine pint
> 
> I am doing a ditch Stout for xmass, what is the oat variation?


It was my own butcher. I'm rather fond of Oatmeal stout so I beefed up the ditch with some malted oats (200g), some chocolate (100g) and biscuit malts (200g). Just steeped them in the oven for 45 mins. I added a tin of treacle to it as well. Other than that I did the full ditch including plasterers whisk and fish tank heater. The fish tank heaters currently bubbling a double batch diablo 

I couldn't believe how quickly the coopers fermented out. I went from 1048 to 1010 in four days. That's some mighty hungry yeast 

It's my best brew thus far. In fact I would go as far as to say it is outstanding and I've had that confirmed by a Dubliner


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## og ogilby (Oct 12, 2012)

Has anyone tried the Barons Premium Beer Kits?






They were selling at £29 a pop but when I went into my local HB shop yesterday they had them on at £14.99 as they were being discontinued. Apparently they were being shipped in from Canada which accounted for some of the high price, but I was told they are still top of the range.

I bought 5 kits.


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## badseed (Oct 13, 2012)

2 litres of grog 
I distilled 2 batches of 4 litres which gave me 2x700ml at 60%. It didn't have much taste, maybe a slight sweetness and a bit of heat.
I threw away the first 50ml from each run (nail varnish remover/poppers smell)

The final spirit I dilluted to make 2 litres at 46% but it smelled really bad, apparently this is a common problem with the kit yeast I used to make the wash. I had to filter it 4 times to get rid of the smell, but I did get rid of it.
I have added a vodka essence to one and a coconut rum (Malibu) to the other me and the Mrs hit them pretty hard last night. Great stuff.





I have now made a 25 litre wash using 5 kg sugar, 200g tomato paste, a bit of citric acid and pitched bakers yeast. This is apparently a tried and tested recipe for a great neutral spirit, no bad smell.
I should end up with 5 litres of proper ghetto hooch  .
I might get some oak chips and have a go at a bourbon.


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## butcher (Oct 15, 2012)

Just pitched my first Ditches stout, so it is t- 20 days untill the first little tasting


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 16, 2012)

My first batch of cider is ready for bottling so will do that tomorrow, then clean out the stuff ready to get my brewferm christmas in and off


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## og ogilby (Oct 17, 2012)

Having now done a good few kits I'm wondering how the manufacturers get away with the claim on the packaging that by following their instructions the beer will end up being the percentage they claim.

The Wherry kit claims 4.5% and I doubt mine have been anywhere near that. Maybe 4% at best. Same with the other kits I've tried too.


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## Addy (Oct 17, 2012)

Under lab conditions, where the temperature is controlled to 0.1degree, the water contains no impurities that might affect the yeast, the yeast is 100% viable and is pitched correctly  and you achieve the correct SG and FG then yes, the %ABV is spot on.

I have a brew fridge / heater controlled by a digital thermostatic controller, I treat my water prior to use, I generally make a starter from the yeast, I airate the wort well before pitching the yeast and usually brew to a shortened brewlength of 20l rather than 23 to get extra strength and body from a kit.
The kit instructions are merely a guidline, not gospel to most homebrewers.


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## friedaweed (Oct 17, 2012)

I've got 50 bottles of Diablo to fill and cap tomorrow and then it's a 30 bottle shiraz kit that's gonna be bubblin


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## friedaweed (Oct 17, 2012)

badseed said:


> I have now made a 25 litre wash using 5 kg sugar, 200g tomato paste, a bit of citric acid and pitched bakers yeast. This is apparently a tried and tested recipe for a great neutral spirit, no bad smell.
> I should end up with 5 litres of proper ghetto hooch  .
> I might get some oak chips and have a go at a bourbon.


What's the tomato paste do?


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## friedaweed (Oct 17, 2012)

butcher said:


> Just pitched my first Ditches stout, so it is t- 20 days untill the first little tasting


If it's anything like my oatmeal ditch it'll be bloody nectar. I'm doing a pure ditch to compare when we've drunk the last of this batch. Keep us posted


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 17, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> I've got 50 bottles of Diablo to fill and cap tomorrow and then it's a 30 bottle shiraz kit that's gonna be bubblin


diablo is on my project list, heard good reports about it


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## butcher (Oct 17, 2012)

Have tested a single Diablo after 1 month i the bottle, and it is a winner 

I'd guestimate 7-8%, carbonation good, cleared well, good tight head and nice toffee-ish note on the finish.

Only 15 pints to drink at Christmas tho'


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## friedaweed (Oct 17, 2012)

butcher said:


> Have tested a single Diablo after 1 month i the bottle, and it is a winner
> 
> I'd guestimate 7-8%, carbonation good, cleared well, good tight head and nice toffee-ish note on the finish.
> 
> Only 15 pints to drink at Christmas tho'


I have currently in the brewery.

10 ltrs of muntons Old English bitter kegged
15 ltrs of oatmeal stout kegged.
23 ltrs of Yorkshire bitter kegged

20 660ml bottles of muntons imperial stout
22 330ml bottles of oatmeal stout
15 1 ltr bottles of Strawberry and Elderflower Turbo cidre
50 330ml bottles of Diablo that are hoping to remaim untouched during the festive period.

Add to that a wherry on the way and 30 bottles of shiraz I think we may have a right merry xmas this year


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## badseed (Oct 17, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> What's the tomato paste do?


Just a nutrient for the yeast. There are a few different things you can use, this was the easiest as it was in the cupboard already.
Still fermenting hard. I have cling wrap over the top not an airlock but you can hear it.


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## og ogilby (Oct 18, 2012)

Addy said:


> Under lab conditions, where the temperature is controlled to 0.1degree, the water contains no impurities that might affect the yeast, the yeast is 100% viable and is pitched correctly and you achieve the correct SG and FG then yes, the %ABV is spot on.


I suspected that might be the case. Still, the instructions don't say you have to do all that. "Up to 4.5%" would be a more honest claim.

Has anyone tried the festival range of kits? My second ever brew was a Festival London Porter and it's the best pint I've ever had by a long shot.







The kits are £24 each, but well worth it imo.

I've also tried the Old Suffolk Strong Ale, which was also a top pint, and I've got a Pilgrims Hope in the FV as I type.


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 18, 2012)

well my first batch is now bottled and maturing, the fermenter has been sterilised and will be getting the brewferm christmas in it in the next hour


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## friedaweed (Oct 18, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> I suspected that might be the case. Still, the instructions don't say you have to do all that. "Up to 4.5%" would be a more honest claim.
> 
> Has anyone tried the festival range of kits? My second ever brew was a Festival London Porter and it's the best pint I've ever had by a long shot.
> 
> ...


Not tried that one but all the two can kits i've done have been stunning. My hb shop has got that one in. I think it may have to do a turn in Frieda brewery


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## friedaweed (Oct 18, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> well my first batch is now bottled and maturing, the fermenter has been sterilised and will be getting the brewferm christmas in it in the next hour


Ace choice. Let us know how it turns out


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 18, 2012)

will do! I'm making it for a July drinking date so will be a while till I get to sample it in it's full glory


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## og ogilby (Oct 19, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> Not tried that one but all the two can kits i've done have been stunning. My hb shop has got that one in. I think it may have to do a turn in Frieda brewery


You get two pouches of gunk, a kilo of brewing sugar, a pouch of hops, a bag that you put on the end of your syphon to help filter your beer, and a small bag of sugar for priming.

Of all the kits I've done so far, these kits not only shine through on quality, they're also the only kits I've tried where the beer is ready to drink after only 3 weeks in the bottle. The other kits where I've tried a bottle after 3 weeks, I've always found them to still be a bit flat with hardly any head.


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## friedaweed (Oct 19, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> You get two pouches of gunk, a kilo of brewing sugar, a pouch of hops, a bag that you put on the end of your syphon to help filter your beer, and a small bag of sugar for priming.
> 
> Of all the kits I've done so far, these kits not only shine through on quality, they're also the only kits I've tried where the beer is ready to drink after only 3 weeks in the bottle. The other kits where I've tried a bottle after 3 weeks, I've always found them to still be a bit flat with hardly any head.


Sounds great. I like the look of the porter


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 19, 2012)

wilkos own brand kits are currently going for a tenner complete with brewing sugar.... might have to nip down! don't like the idea of not having my next kit ready when the current one gets bottled


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## sunnysidedown (Oct 19, 2012)

Bottling 19 litres of a stove top Belgian ale tomorrow, looks like it should be around 9%, and I have a good feeling about this one.

We're heading into all grain next.


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## og ogilby (Oct 19, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> don't like the idea of not having my next kit ready when the current one gets bottled


I've got six beer kits and one wine kit all in the queue for when an FV comes empty.

I currently have five FV's all full.


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 19, 2012)

im off to buy beer kit(s) and a second fv


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## friedaweed (Oct 19, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> im off to buy beer kit(s) and a second fv


Get thee to wilco and get an £18 Wherry kit  Their FV's are cheap too. I got the wide neck one and banged a tap and bottling wand on it all done for £15


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 19, 2012)

my branch had sold out of the wherry, it was always a gap when it was £15 too. got a wilkos cerveza though with a kg of brewing sugar for a tenner  if its crap a tenner is not much to waste


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## friedaweed (Oct 19, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> my branch had sold out of the wherry, it was always a gap when it was £15 too. got a wilkos cerveza though with a kg of brewing sugar for a tenner  if its crap a tenner is not much to waste


I've heard good things about their cerveza. I was buying some corks last week and a bearded boaty was raving about it


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## og ogilby (Oct 19, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> got a wilkos cerveza though with a kg of brewing sugar for a tenner  if its crap a tenner is not much to waste


No. a tenner isn't much to waste (I'm sure it will be grand) but it's the time and effort wasted that would bother me.


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## Addy (Oct 19, 2012)

as long as it has an %ABV your winning, if it tastes good your the winner


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## friedaweed (Oct 21, 2012)

Homebrewing rule 267.
Never allow two drunk women to pour themselves a beer from a keg at 2am

It's up the walls, all over me new shiny washing machine, fuck knows if they managed to get any in the glass


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 21, 2012)

you guys have a lot to answer for!  I now have the bug.... I have a brew in the FV, one waiting to go in, a planned toffee apple recipe to go on the DJ tomorrow once I get the rest of the ingredients.....


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## Addy (Oct 21, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> Homebrewing rule 267.
> Never allow two drunk women to pour themselves a beer from a keg at 2am
> 
> It's up the walls, all over me new shiny washing machine, fuck knows if they managed to get any in the glass


 
Get some cornies, a fridge / chiller and a beer pull and you can let the ladies serve beer all night


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## og ogilby (Oct 22, 2012)

Bad news. There's a cold forecast for the end of the week. I'm fucked if I'm buying a heat belt for all my 5 FV's.

Just as I was starting to get ahead with my bottled beers having at least a month to condition.


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 22, 2012)

I heard somewhere fish tank heaters are pretty good and they are pretty cheap (nb. I may be wrong)


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## og ogilby (Oct 22, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> I heard somewhere fish tank heaters are pretty good and they are pretty cheap (nb. I may be wrong)


I've read that too.

I've also read you shouldn't put the heater directly into the FV as that would cause a hot spot around the heater??? So, instead you should put your FV in a 'bath' of water and put the heater in that.

Either way, 5 heaters and 5 baths still sounds like more expense/messing that I can be bothered with for a few months of cold weather.

I'll be more prepared for the winter next year by stocking right up in the warmer months.


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## badseed (Oct 22, 2012)

sunnysidedown said:


> We're heading into all grain next.


 
I would love to hear how this turns out.


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## sunnysidedown (Oct 22, 2012)

badseed said:


> I would love to hear how this turns out.


 
I'll keep you updated mate. We've been getting our stove top kits from Dave's in North Sydney, we did a Porter first which turned out lovely and currently have one of his Belgians & an IPA on the go, but we now want to move to the next step   My mate spotted this thread and suggested we give it a go.


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 22, 2012)

got the DJ soaking in some VWP along with the airlock and bung. Got all the ingredients for the toffee apple cider recipe I found..... my first non kit beer (well unless you count a ginger beer plant) 

this could be interesting.....


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## Addy (Oct 22, 2012)

I have a dedicated brewing cupboard that is thermostatically heated.
Cost me £25 to set up


----------



## friedaweed (Oct 22, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> Bad news. There's a cold forecast for the end of the week. I'm fucked if I'm buying a heat belt for all my 5 FV's.
> 
> Just as I was starting to get ahead with my bottled beers having at least a month to condition.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/AQUARIUM-SU...=A337BQOEKKT2Q7&ie=UTF8&qid=1350924459&sr=1-2


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## og ogilby (Oct 22, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> http://www.amazon.co.uk/AQUARIUM-SU...=A337BQOEKKT2Q7&ie=UTF8&qid=1350924459&sr=1-2


So, would I just drop it in the FV?

Would it need to be on a timer to take into account when my central heating is on and off?


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 22, 2012)

do love the smell in the kitchen when brewing


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## friedaweed (Oct 22, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> *So, would I just drop it in the FV?*
> 
> Would it need to be on a timer to take into account when my central heating is on and off?


Basically yes.
I paid a couple of quid more and got one from argos that has red indicators for the temp settings on it.

I drilled a one inch whole in my lid for an airlock bung and then put the cord through the bung so I can still keep the lid sealed but a lot of folk just leave the lead poking out.If you do that though you loose the airlock in ya bucket. I then sealed the bung with silicone. It's a bit fiddly to clean but it does the job. My stout brewed out to 1010 in 4 days at 24c. The only thing you've gotta watch out for is condensation if it's in too cold surroundings as this will build up at the top of the batch which I why I think there's some merit in having it poking out the lid.

It will be plugged into the mains and it switches itself on and off as it needs to via a built in thermostat.

Anyway it ain't rocket science here's a diagram of mine though I do like the idea of Addys cupboard


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## Addy (Oct 22, 2012)

Yeah I done the whole fishtank heater in the FV, then in a waterbath and decided a dedicated brew cupboard was the way forward.
I can get  4 fv's in there at any 1 time


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## friedaweed (Oct 22, 2012)

Addy said:


> Yeah I done the whole fishtank heater in the FV, then in a waterbath and decided a dedicated brew cupboard was the way forward.
> I can get 4 fv's in there at any 1 time


Where did you get the thermo Ads? I've got one of those barrel heaters and the ideal cupboard in my Brewery errr I mean utility room. Can't you tell I don't live with a lady 

I'll post up a video of my brewery room when i get the chance


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## Addy (Oct 22, 2012)

I got mine off Ebay

wasn't too dificult to wire up either, and it will controll a heater and cooler if you want to brew in a fridge for lagers etc.


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## badseed (Oct 23, 2012)

Addy said:


> I got mine off Ebay
> wasn't too dificult to wire up either, and it will controll a heater and cooler if you want to brew in a fridge for lagers etc.


 
Much the same as the one I use to control my brew fridge.


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## badseed (Oct 23, 2012)

Currently got a Pilsner and a Pale on tap, a witbier in a keg on stand by plus another Czech Pilsner in primary.
25l of wash ready for distilling and another 10l feremtning.

Happy days.


----------



## existentialist (Oct 23, 2012)




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## Dovydaitis (Oct 23, 2012)

that sounds gorgeous! Wish I'd discovered home brew sooner, the ultimate easy xmas gift


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## badseed (Oct 24, 2012)

sunnysidedown said:


> I'll keep you updated mate. We've been getting our stove top kits from Dave's in North Sydney, we did a Porter first which turned out lovely and currently have one of his Belgians & an IPA on the go, but we now want to move to the next step  My mate spotted this thread and suggested we give it a go.


That looks pretty cool, I am quite tempted.... Do you just use the same AG recipes as a trad AG setup?

I would need a kettle, chiller and burner which (from a quick google) would set me back about $300.
The bags are ready made in the lhbs for $10.

I am looking forward to hearing how this goes.


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## butcher (Oct 24, 2012)

Have just transferred my first Ditch stout to the Keg after 10 days in the FV, primed with 120g golden syrup, the sneaky tester was lush to say the least!  This one will be repeated without doubt.

NB was a tin of Coopers Stout plus 1Kg Medium DME plus a ginormous handfull of dark soft brown sugar, brewed to 23l drinking is now t- 7 days and counting!


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## Addy (Oct 24, 2012)

I reckon 120g of golden syrup is a bit heavy, just make sure your keg doesnt get too cold and make your stout fizzy.

I neve prime a stout, just add a squirt of co2 to keep it served with a head on top.


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## butcher (Oct 24, 2012)

Addy said:


> I reckon 120g of golden syrup is a bit heavy, just make sure your keg doesnt get too cold and make your stout fizzy.
> 
> I neve prime a stout, just add a squirt of co2 to keep it served with a head on top.


 

Ahhh, I was assuming thesame as an ale, ie 100g sugar = 120g golden syrup and right for 40 pints....

I might ease off the cap a bit then and let her vent.

Thanks for the advice


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## friedaweed (Oct 24, 2012)

I primed mine with a tin of treacle and it's grand, nae gas issues. Sadly though i've only about 8 pints left, happily though this means I can make another one


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## Addy (Oct 24, 2012)

butcher said:


> Ahhh, I was assuming thesame as an ale, ie 100g sugar = 120g golden syrup and right for 40 pints....
> 
> I might ease off the cap a bit then and let her vent.
> 
> Thanks for the advice


 
Don't vent it unless you find your getting a fizzy pint.
You have to keep the brew cold for the ale to absorbe the co2, which it then releases when poured and thus creates fizz...
If you pour a pint after secondary and its fine, then no need to vent.


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## Addy (Oct 24, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> I primed mine with a tin of treacle and it's grand, nae gas issues. Sadly though i've only about 8 pints left, happily though this means I can make another one


 
The Coopers stout soon becomes a regular session ale.... always good to have a keg with stout in it.

I need to brew another soon


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## Voley (Oct 24, 2012)

My 'quick question' that I asked in the OP three years ago has now been answered, thanks folks.


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## friedaweed (Oct 24, 2012)

Addy said:


> The Coopers stout soon becomes a regular session ale.... always good to have a keg with stout in it.
> 
> I need to brew another soon


I was amazed how quick it brewed as well. I'm thinking of toasted oats with this one, syrup of figgs and real cocoa


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## Addy (Oct 24, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> I was amazed how quick it brewed as well. I'm thinking of toasted oats with this one, syrup of figgs and real cocoa


 
Just make sure there are no 'fat's in the tin of coca ingredients as it might kill the head on your pint.

Others who have tried a chocolate stout have used a bottle of chocolate essence to add the flavour iirc.


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## og ogilby (Oct 25, 2012)

I've just bottled my Barons Amber Ale and the last bottle from the filling bucket only got filled up to half way but instead of having a sip then pouring it down the sink, I'm keeping it to drink tonight as it already tastes gorgeous with no carbonation or conditioning.

The real reason for my post is to ask if I'm doing the right thing by putting a half teaspoon of sugar in the bottle, then filling and capping, then I shake the bottle a few times to mix the sugar in. Is the shaking the bottle the right thing to do, or will the yeast find the sugar anyway?


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## og ogilby (Oct 25, 2012)

NVP said:


> My 'quick question' that I asked in the OP three years ago has now been answered, thanks folks.


Did you carry on brewing? Or did you get bored and end up back down the offy?


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## friedaweed (Oct 25, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> I've just bottled my Barons Amber Ale and the last bottle from the filling bucket only got filled up to half way but instead of having a sip then pouring it down the sink, I'm keeping it to drink tonight as it already tastes gorgeous with no carbonation or conditioning.
> 
> The real reason for my post is to ask if I'm doing the right thing by putting a half teaspoon of sugar in the bottle, then filling and capping, then I shake the bottle a few times to mix the sugar in. Is the shaking the bottle the right thing to do, or will the yeast find the sugar anyway?


Some people shake some say it introduces air into the brew which can alter taste but yeah the yeast will find the sugar anyway.

Personally I prefer to batch prime in a keg or spare fv and then you can mix all the sugar into the wort without introducing any air. I then have a bottle wand on the keg to save my ageing back whilst bottling.

If it tastes nice when you drink it you're doing it right 






21 ltrs of Merlot/shiraz beefed up to the max with a bottle of red wine concentrate and 3 ltrs of red wine juice. OG 1100


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## og ogilby (Oct 25, 2012)

I bought a FV just like yours as my first one because it looked like the fanciest one in the shop. But now I find it very difficult to work with compared to the others I have because it's harder to clean, take a gravity reading from and stir the contents when I'm mixing my brews. What advantages do they have, because I'm fucked if I've found any yet, apart from easier to carry.


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## existentialist (Oct 25, 2012)

The lidded ones offer better protection from infection, especially for slower brews. The taller ones with the small lids are a pain to clean out, but I like the extra height for headspace when the brew is krausening. 

You have fitted a tap?


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## friedaweed (Oct 25, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> I bought a FV just like yours as my first one because it looked like the fanciest one in the shop. But now I find it very difficult to work with compared to the others I have because it's harder to clean, take a gravity reading from and stir the contents when I'm mixing my brews. What advantages do they have, because I'm fucked if I've found any yet, apart from easier to carry.


It's a bit of a sore point actually but one which is sorted now.
I got this one for the daughter cos she's the one making the wine. I though "hmmmmm that looks a nice bucket" bought it for her and then drilled the hole and put the tap on. It was only after i'd drilled the hole I realised how far it was up the tank 

It's a right of a pain in the arse for sure compared to the straight forward buckets. I've remedied the tap problem though by fitting a tube and filter on the inside which makes it fine for bottling now. The only advantage I've found is it fits under the cupboard in my brew shack 

Anyway I had a whinge at the girl in Wilkinsons about the position of the tap hole when I was in there last week and she very kindly said "just help yourself to one of the straight ones and keep it" so daughters now got herself two buckets for her wine brewing. 3 for 2 on their wine kits atm too.


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## og ogilby (Oct 25, 2012)

existentialist said:


> You have fitted a tap?


No I don't, and I'm glad now after reading friedaweed's post.

Another question about apparently pointless kit. I bought a bucket with a black tap already fitted, but later I found out you can't connect a bottling stick to the black tap, you need a white one.

So what is the black tap for?


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## friedaweed (Oct 25, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> No I don't, and I'm glad now after reading friedaweed's post.


You could still fit a tap just do it lower down than where the imprint is on the tank. 



> Another question about apparently pointless kit. I bought a bucket with a black tap already fitted, but later I found out you can't connect a bottling stick to the black tap, you need a white one.
> 
> So what is the black tap for?


 
I got round that by using a piece of syphoning hose to create a connector which you stick over the bottling wand connector and then onto the tap. 

There's always a way round these things. To me that's half the fun with this hobby.

I'm making a micro brewery next from three Guinness kegs and my brothers unlimited supply of plumbing gear


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 25, 2012)

All this talk of a brewery puts my FV and DJ sitting next to the sofa/in the kitchen to shame  Have just sorted all my stuff into one blue Ikea bag though so it's getting tidier.

Put the xmas brew into second FV last night and had a little sup, very nice I must say! Just about to swill the FV as it's been soaking with VWP overnight before putting the next brew on 

This is waaaay too addictive....


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## Voley (Oct 25, 2012)

og ogilby said:


> Did you carry on brewing? Or did you get bored and end up back down the offy?


Still brewing, albeit in a less obsessive fashion. The amount of kit I had started to take over my whole flat (having already taken over much of my life) so I scaled it back to just the one FV and and just one shelf of bottles. Currently slowly getting through some very nicely conditioned strong dark ale that is about a year old. I've got back into wine lately though so that's taking up much of my living room/kitchen. It's just a matter of space, really. I've only got a studio flat.


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 25, 2012)

I have a studio flat too, but luckily I have secret storage space at work and the bloke that looks after it is a home brewer too so all good


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 25, 2012)

latest brew makes it 57 1/2 litres in a month...


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## og ogilby (Oct 26, 2012)

I've bought and made a few 23l wine kits in the last few months and the grape juice comes in gallon containers like this one.






Tomorrow, I was going to make a gallon brew of Wuzel's Orange Wine but I would need to buy a demijohn from my LHBS. Then it occurred to me that I could just use the empty gallon containers from my previous wine kits if I drilled a hole in the top and just bought an air lock. Would this be ok, or will the extra air where the handle is spoil my brew?


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 26, 2012)

as long as sterilised properly I would say OK, but will bow to those better in the know


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## Addy (Oct 26, 2012)

I use 5l water bottles from the supermarket @ 90p a bottle as demijohns.
I also use the water to make up the wine.
If you need any grommets for an air lock in the drilled hole let me know and i'll post you some.






Tomorrow is gonna be a brewday for me.
1. Youngs apricot wine
2. Woodfords Sun Dew
3. SG Peach wine
4. Xmas pudding wine

In the cupboard waiting
2 Coopers APA
Coopers Stout
Several bottles of Ribena & Vimto cordial


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## og ogilby (Oct 26, 2012)

Thanks, Addy, I think I might just do that myself.

It's also good of you to offer to send me some grommets, but the plan is for tomorrow to be the brew day, so I'll need to get some tomorrow, and I don't suppose they will cost me that much. Appreciated though.


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## Addy (Oct 26, 2012)

if you cant get any a bit of plumbers PTFE tape will suffice


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## og ogilby (Oct 28, 2012)

Here are my first attempts at home made wine, not made from a kit.

One is made with red grape juice and cranberry juice. The other is with white grape juice and orange juice.


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## Addy (Oct 28, 2012)

Looking good there og.

Be prepared for a huge amount of lees given off by the wurzle wine as it ferments, and make sure you de gass it well before bottling or it has a terrific eggy / homebrew smell to it.


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## badseed (Oct 29, 2012)

I just added 40g of Saaz to my Pilsner for it's second week.

I distilled my tomato paste wash into 4l of nice clean spirit.
I have 1 litre soaking on wood chips from a wild turkey barrel and half a vanilla pod. Another litre is sitting in a jar with 250 ml of strong espresso and the other half of the vanilla pod.

Another 26 litres of tp wash in primary already.

Next up is a Heffe Weizen which I am going to add 1kg of frozen mixed berries to the secondary.
A berry witbier for a xmas morning.


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## og ogilby (Oct 29, 2012)

Addy said:


> Be prepared for a huge amount of lees given off by the wurzle wine as it ferments.


That's what the yellow bath to the left is for. When the wine isn't showing off on the internet,  it sits in the bath.


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 29, 2012)

hmm, my toffee apple cider seems to have stopped fermenting after a week, the recipe says it takes 2-3 weeks, should I bung it in secondary ferment?


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## og ogilby (Oct 29, 2012)

Have you taken a gravity reading? It might have fermented out.


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## friedaweed (Oct 29, 2012)

Yeah take a gravity reading and see where it's at. My turbo brewed in 6 days but it still needed a week to clear. After 4 months bottled and stored in the cold it's ab fab now


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 29, 2012)

am going to do that tonight, am currently sterilising the second DJ just in case.


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 29, 2012)

well took a reading and it was down to 1.000 so have bunged it in second DJ. Smells good


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## existentialist (Oct 29, 2012)

I should brew less of these high gravity adjunct-laden brews - I don't think I've EVER seen a 1.000 gravity post-brew!


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## Addy (Oct 29, 2012)

existentialist said:


> I should brew less of these high gravity adjunct-laden brews - I don't think I've EVER seen a 1.000 gravity post-brew!


 
I've got some wines down to 0.996 in the past, but they do end up uber dry.


My xmas pudding wine had a SG of 1.140 if that gets down to 1.000 it will be 18% abv  Fingers crossed the yeast will come through. ( a high alcohol / pudding wine yeast)


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## friedaweed (Oct 29, 2012)

My turbo went 995 in six days. The yeast went through it like a balti from Wolverhampton 
I don't really like cider, I made it so the ladies had something to drink, though I had a sip of it at the weekend and it really does taste nice. The birds love it

Here's my recipe for Frieda's Lady Juice.






4 litres of Morrison's premium red grape juice
4 liters of ASDA chav apple juice
4 Litres of Tesco 'Oh so budget' Red grape juice
4 liters of ALDI Apple and elderflower juice bin end stock.
Quarter a bottle of Tesco Elderflower cordial.
What was left on the sideboard of a bottle of strawberry cordial
4 litres of pellegrino vasser 
a kilo of dextrose
a mash of tea, raisins, juniper berries and dates that boiled and brewed for 10 minutes
a pinch of yeast nutrient (A couple of spoonfuls i think)
Some pectose 
Half a jar of Sainsbury's cheap honey 
A voodoo spell
OG 1054
made up to 22 ltrs
Pitched with youngs cider yeast

Cleared using alcotech finings
Bottle primed spoonfull of sugar


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## friedaweed (Oct 29, 2012)

I see wilco are throwing in a bag of brewing sugar with all their own brand beer kits 
Time to try one of their lagers me thinks


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 29, 2012)

oi! I've had a decent balti in Wolverhampton 

I have one of their mexican lagers in at the mo and nit's going quite nicely


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## friedaweed (Oct 29, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> oi! I've had a decent balti in Wolverhampton
> 
> I have one of their mexican lagers in at the mo and nit's going quite nicely


I'm tempted to try one. I don't really drink lager and I'm sure as most of them use ale yeasts they're not really producing a real lager but a light ale for my mates who act like fucking sissys when you give them a stout and they ask for a knife and fork would be good to have in the brewery


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## friedaweed (Oct 29, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> oi! I've had a decent balti in Wolverhampton
> 
> I have one of their mexican lagers in at the mo and nit's going quite nicely


Oh and I had my first black country Balti this weekend and I must say I'm very impressed. It came with the biggest nan i've ever seen


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## Addy (Oct 29, 2012)

/me is from Wolves and although I know a couple of good Balti places, nothing beats Bristol Street in Birmingham.

That said, I do cook a mean curry myself and have my own bar so I have little need these days to have a take away.


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 29, 2012)

I'm brewing the lager for the punters but might bung a stout in too. Must admit can't wait to sample the xmas ale....

Have opened a bottle from my very first brew tonight, only a cider kit that came with the starter box but is going down very nicely 

I grew up in Wolves, so by the age of 8 we used to go to the local curry house for birthdays etc


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 29, 2012)

Addy said:


> /me is from Wolves and although I know a couple of good Balti places, nothing beats Bristol Street in Birmingham.
> 
> That said, I do cook a mean curry myself and have my own bar so I have little need these days to have a take away.


 
We used to go to a cracking one in Bilston. Been years since I've been there...


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## Addy (Oct 29, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> We used to go to a cracking one in Bilston. Been years since I've been there...


 
I was in Bilston last friday buying brewing supplies


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## friedaweed (Oct 29, 2012)

Addy said:


> /me is from Wolves and although I know a couple of good Balti places, nothing beats Bristol Street in Birmingham.
> 
> That said, I do cook a mean curry myself and have my own bar so I have little need these days to have a take away.


Your gaff for the brewers xmas curry then?


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## Addy (Oct 29, 2012)

anytime.

Beer & Curry


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 29, 2012)

now that looks good...... shall we say 6:30, 21st December?


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## friedaweed (Oct 29, 2012)

Yeah 21st is looking good for me too 

Joking aside we should have a brewers meet some time


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 29, 2012)

sounds good, although my efforts are still very much in the novice area


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## badseed (Oct 30, 2012)

Taste the rainbow.


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## stuff_it (Oct 30, 2012)

Ok, now you lot seem to have a handle on things - is there anything I can make where not being able to check on it for 2-3 weeks at a time will be ok?


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## friedaweed (Oct 30, 2012)

stuff_it said:


> Ok, now you lot seem to have a handle on things - is there anything I can make where not being able to check on it for 2-3 weeks at a time will be ok?


Depends on what sort of environment you're gonna be leaving it in i suppose. Will it be warm, cold?


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## stuff_it (Oct 30, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> Depends on what sort of environment you're gonna be leaving it in i suppose. Will it be warm, cold?


Dunno, probably fairly cold most of the time. I was thinking of getting a brew on in the cab.


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## friedaweed (Oct 31, 2012)

stuff_it said:


> Dunno, probably fairly cold most of the time. I was thinking of getting a brew on in the cab.


It it going to be in a cab that moves about stuffs? You need a fairly constant temp somewhere in the region of 18-28c. At this time of year the cab might be a bit cold.

An easy peasy to start with would be a turbo cider probably. In a 5ltr water bottle like in addys pic. You can knock it up from supermarket juice and some cider yeast.

Loads of youtube footage on prison brew/turbo cider/wurzels wine etc.

What do you like to drink?


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## stuff_it (Oct 31, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> It it going to be in a cab that moves about stuffs? You need a fairly constant temp somewhere in the region of 18-28c. At this time of year the cab might be a bit cold.
> 
> An easy peasy to start with would be a turbo cider probably. In a 5ltr water bottle like in addys pic. You can knock it up from supermarket juice and some cider yeast.
> 
> ...


No, it doesn't go anywhere. The temperature will in no way be constant as it's winter. I can't drink pre packed juice but I do like cider.


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## friedaweed (Oct 31, 2012)

stuff_it said:


> No, it doesn't go anywhere. The temperature will in no way be constant as it's winter. I can't drink pre packed juice but I do like cider.


It would take some doing then i think  A lot of boaties i know brew through the summer and stock for winter. Might be worth collecting bottles through the spring.


----------



## stuff_it (Oct 31, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> It would take some doing then i think  A lot of boaties i know brew through the summer and stock for winter. Might be worth collecting bottles through the spring.


So you could make it with fresh apple juice in a plastic bottle as well then? Sadly I can't drink cider from shops either, as they put additives in all of it that I'm allergic to.


----------



## friedaweed (Oct 31, 2012)

stuff_it said:


> So you could make it with fresh apple juice in a plastic bottle as well then? Sadly I can't drink cider from shops either, as they put additives in all of it that I'm allergic to.


Yup all you need is a yeast which will eat the naturally occurring sugars in the juice and turn them into alcohol. Voila scrumpy


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 31, 2012)

agree turbo cider is a doddle to make. Can you not hide it in your wardrobe in halls? 

*does not condone breaking hall regs, nor has a mini brewery in her halls accommodation


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## badseed (Oct 31, 2012)

Addy said:


> anytime.
> 
> Beer & Curry


 
Ketchup and Soup?


----------



## mr steev (Nov 1, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> The yeast went through it like a balti from Wolverhampton


 
I'll have you know that Wolverhampton has just come 3rd for the third year running in the 'Curry Capital' award, being beaten only by Bradford and Glasgow. We also, afiak, have the only curry house mentioned in the Michelin Guide 

I'm finally going to start my stout kit this evening, but I'm slightly concerned about the cold. The flat is fine most of the time but it does drop quite cold during the early hours. Any tips on keeping it warm? Unfortunately I can't afford to buy any heaters or the like.
I doubt that it gets cold enough to kill the yeast. Will it just take longer?


----------



## Addy (Nov 1, 2012)

badseed said:


> Ketchup and Soup?


 
yeah, it was for a chicken tikka masala


----------



## Addy (Nov 1, 2012)

mr steev said:


> I'll have you know that Wolverhampton has just come 3rd for the third year running in the 'Curry Capital' award, being beaten only by Bradford and Glasgow. We also, afiak, have the only curry house mentioned in the Michelin Guide
> 
> I'm finally going to start my stout kit this evening, but I'm slightly concerned about the cold. The flat is fine most of the time but it does drop quite cold during the early hours. Any tips on keeping it warm? Unfortunately I can't afford to buy any heaters or the like.
> I doubt that it gets cold enough to kill the yeast. Will it just take longer?


 
It will take longer and could potentially cause a stuck fermentatio if it gets too cold for too long.
I made some jackets for my fermenting buckets out of 10mm thick insulation (foam underlay) that your welcome to if you want them.


----------



## friedaweed (Nov 1, 2012)

mr steev said:


> I'll have you know that Wolverhampton has just come 3rd for the third year running in the 'Curry Capital' award, being beaten only by Bradford and Glasgow. We also, afiak, have the only curry house mentioned in the Michelin Guide
> 
> I'm finally going to start my stout kit this evening, but I'm slightly concerned about the cold. The flat is fine most of the time but it does drop quite cold during the early hours. Any tips on keeping it warm? Unfortunately I can't afford to buy any heaters or the like.
> I doubt that it gets cold enough to kill the yeast. Will it just take longer?


Aye what addy recommended. Something like a sleeping bag would do too i would guess. 
My wine batch had a lag so i just moved it into the heater cupboard it's like a jacuzzi again now


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 1, 2012)

mexican lager has fermented to a very pleasing 4% so it will be off to the bottles very shortly


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## mr steev (Nov 3, 2012)

Well, I decided to turn all the radiators off apart from the one in the room with the beer to keep the edge off as it's only going to be for a few days.
A mate has started a couple of brews too which are sitting next to mine. His are extremely foamy but mine is nowhere near as active and more bubbly that thick foam iyswim.
Should I be concerned or is it because I used half spray malt and half brewing sugar and a different yeast?


----------



## Addy (Nov 3, 2012)

Every brew is different so I wouldn't worry too much unless its been going 10 days and your hydrometer says 1020.

The key to a vigorous ferment imo is getting plenty of oxygen in the wort before pitching the yeast.


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## friedaweed (Nov 3, 2012)

Oh my fucking god!

Just opened my first taster bottle of the Diablo

It's fucking mint It's only been in the bottle for 3 weeks I can't wait to see what it's like when it's been in there for 3 months It really does have a wonderful flavor to it. Slight caramel taste and raisin like fruity smell to it. Lots of really fine champagne carbonation. It's certainly on a par with the Trappist beer i've been paying a lot more money for.

I made a double batch with a kilo of homemade belgian candy sugar. I ended up with 53 330 bottles 

For me this is exactly the sort of return I thought I was dreaming about for my brewing efforts  It's so nice I've got to open another one to make sure it's not just a lucky bottle 






It's fucking necta man


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## friedaweed (Nov 3, 2012)

mr steev said:


> Well, I decided to turn all the radiators off apart from the one in the room with the beer to keep the edge off as it's only going to be for a few days.
> A mate has started a couple of brews too which are sitting next to mine. His are extremely foamy but mine is nowhere near as active and more bubbly that thick foam iyswim.
> Should I be concerned or is it because I used half spray malt and half brewing sugar and a different yeast?


If the airlocks bubblin it'll be fine.  Like addy said it all demends on the individual brew. I had a stout that i thought was going to have to inform the environment agency about and then i've had a bitter that seemed to take a day or two to even look like it was playing ball with the yeast. Both have turned out to be very nice beers in their own right.

If it gets ya pissed it's worked


----------



## Addy (Nov 3, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> Oh my fucking god!
> 
> Just opened my first taster bottle of the Diablo
> 
> ...


 

Seriously, do your best to leave it alone for 3-4 months as it goes from great to fooking awesome.

I have 9 pint bottles of Brewferm Grand Cru in the beer cupboard that were brewed in april. i'll have 1 on xmas eve and see how it fairs


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 4, 2012)

I've heard good thins about diablo, I have the brewferm christmas ale in second FV at the mo, planning to bottle it pretty soon but will not be drunk till July. Should be nectar by then


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## mr steev (Nov 5, 2012)

Well my stout is bubbling away nicely 
When it comes to bottling is there a preferable sugar for priming? Or will normal granulated do?


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 5, 2012)

popped away for the weekend, came back to a minor issue of the water bottle falling of the hamster cage but a huge issue of my toffee apple cider going mental and overflowing! Cleaned it all back up, whacked the airlock back in and off it went, bubbling away quite happily. Just got to finish bottling my cevaza as I have a new kit for the FV. Curses to Dorset Hombrew store.......


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 5, 2012)

mr steev said:


> Well my stout is bubbling away nicely
> When it comes to bottling is there a preferable sugar for priming? Or will normal granulated do?


 
I have always used brewing sugar, I have a small bag that I keep just for that purpose


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## Addy (Nov 5, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> I have always used brewing sugar, I have a small bag that I keep just for that purpose


 
For secondary in the bottle, normal sugar is fine.
Just be caerfull how much you add as you dont want a fizzy stout, just enough co2 to give it a head when you pur it.
I always keg my stouts and use a co2 gas cylinder to serve, but if I was to guess a bottle priming value, i'd say 50-60g is plenty for the whole batch.

Keep it somewhere wrmish, only chill it just before you want to serve it as you dont want the co2 to be absorbed into the beer and make it fizzy.


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 6, 2012)

cervaza bottled, tasted quite nice considering it was a tenner kit from Wilkos. Now have the OTR Mixed berries cider in the FV. 



This will be my last beer/cider of the year.......


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## friedaweed (Nov 6, 2012)

I'm going to do a brewferm tripple this weekend


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## Addy (Nov 6, 2012)

This weekend i'll be filtering the xmas pudding wine ready for bottling, racking the Woodfords SunDew for clearing for the corny keg, starting a coopers Stout and a Coopers APA and making a peach wine.
The apricot wine is still glugging away.


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## existentialist (Nov 6, 2012)

I put two red local chillis into a Woodforde's Wherry kit, which has just finished primary fermentation.

There's a lovely gentle chilli-y burn left after the beer's gone down...yum.


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## friedaweed (Nov 7, 2012)

Popped into my HBS tonight on the way home and to pick up a can of Breferm Tripple so I can do a double batch and he chucked me a can of Brupacks Belgian Witbier cos it's going out of date next month. I've already got 2 cans of coopers wheat extract that i picked up half price last month so i'm gonna do a batch of white beer.

Any tips Addy/butchers/exi et al?

The kit makes 10 ltrs and requires no sugar. It comes with a tin of wort, a hop bag and grain/spice bag (Bitter orange and coriander) and a brewferm Blanche yeast which is good for 25ltrs. I'm thinking to do a 23ltr batch and use the wort tin, the two tins of extract and the hop bags. Obvs I can't get an OG until i've mixed the mofo but do you think 3 tins will be too high for the yeast?

Would you add more corriander, orange peal and what about hops for a wit? Saaz?

The best part is when i opened the wit kit all the individual use by dates on the separate items are 02/13


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## Addy (Nov 7, 2012)

I really have no experience with wit's I really cannot pallate them so no idea about yeasts etc


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## friedaweed (Nov 7, 2012)

Addy said:


> I really have no experience with wit's I really cannot pallate them so no idea about yeasts etc


I think based on my research i'm just going to concoct


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## Addy (Nov 7, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> I think based on my research i'm just going to concoct


that how I started tinkering with grains, hops and yeasts.
Out of everything I think the yeast strain has the most influence ofver the brew in terms of flavour, clarity, head retention and body.


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## friedaweed (Nov 7, 2012)

Yup done some reading on the yeast and it seems I should be fine upto about 7% but hopefully the OG will set me up for about 5%. More worried about having the OG too high. I'll just brew it and see how it goes tmw.

Will post report


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## Addy (Nov 7, 2012)

My last 2 Breferm kits were 8.2% and 8.8% so I doubt the yeast will struggle too much, if in doubt make a 1/2 pint yeast starter a couple of hrs befor you put the brew on.


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## badseed (Nov 7, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> Popped into my HBS tonight on the way home and to pick up a can of Breferm Tripple so I can do a double batch and he chucked me a can of Brupacks Belgian Witbier cos it's going out of date next month. I've already got 2 cans of coopers wheat extract that i picked up half price last month so i'm gonna do a batch of white beer.
> 
> Any tips Addy/butchers/exi et al?
> 
> ...


 
If it's not too late...
Add 1 kg of dry wheat malt or a can of liquid wheat malt
crush the coriander (20g??)
boil half the wheat malt with the orange peel and coriander
add
15g Goldings 15 mins​15g Fuggles for 10 mins.​ 
Add everything else to the fermenter (strain the boiled mix through the hop bag and chuck that in too) and top up to 20 l.


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## stuff_it (Nov 7, 2012)

I love the irony of the thread title as the thread gets longer.


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## friedaweed (Nov 8, 2012)

badseed said:


> If it's not too late...
> Add 1 kg of dry wheat malt or a can of liquid wheat malt
> crush the coriander (20g??)
> boil half the wheat malt with the orange peel and coriander
> ...


No not too late. Will be off looking for some hops later.


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## badseed (Nov 8, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> No not too late. Will be off looking for some hops later.


If you can get Torrefied Wheat,
steep 500g for 30 mins and sieve the water into the boil for the last couple of minutes.


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## mr steev (Nov 8, 2012)

I have another quick question 

My mate is after some advice. He started a lager kit a week ago. After the first day is was quite frothy. He fitted an airlock a day or two after (by which time the froth had turned to a thin covering of tiny bubbles) but the lock didn't start bubbling. A couple of days later and there's no change. It gives a hydrometer reading of 1.0100
What should he do? Should he try some restart yeast?


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## existentialist (Nov 8, 2012)

1.01? Sounds like fermentation has finished. Get him to make a solution of a couple of oz sugar in boiling water and bung it in to see if it starts again . Also check lid and airlock for leaks! Wouldn't be the first time I'd been caught out like that!


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## mr steev (Nov 8, 2012)

Yeah, our fist thought was that the lock wasn't sealed properly. We did think that it had finished, but in a couple of days? The kit said something like 5-10 days 
I'll get him to try adding more sugar later. Cheers


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## friedaweed (Nov 8, 2012)

Yeah 1001 sounds like an ok FG? Does it taste ok?


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## mr steev (Nov 8, 2012)

I'll let you know how it tastes later


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## friedaweed (Nov 8, 2012)

badseed said:


> If you can get Torrefied Wheat,
> steep 500g for 30 mins and sieve the water into the boil for the last couple of minutes.


I've actually got some chocolate wheat but thought a dark wit might be defeating the objective??  I've prob got enough stuff now just gonna get some hops this afternoon. I am tempted by the idea of a dark wit/xmas beer......ponders


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## friedaweed (Nov 8, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> I've actually got some chocolate wheat but thought a dark wit might be defeating the objective??  I've prob got enough stuff now just gonna get some hops this afternoon. I am tempted by the idea of a dark wit/xmas beer......ponders


*Dunkelweizen *


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## existentialist (Nov 8, 2012)

mr steev said:
			
		

> Yeah, our fist thought was that the lock wasn't sealed properly. We did think that it had finished, but in a couple of days? The kit said something like 5-10 days
> I'll get him to try adding more sugar later. Cheers



Couple of days is fast, though remember that lager yeast is intended to ferment at much lower temps, so if it was at room temperature, it might have gone a lot faster. 

I've stopped brewing lagers until I can get a second hand fridge to do it in, as I don't like the "fruitiness" of room temperature brewed lager...


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## mr steev (Nov 8, 2012)

That makes sense. We both started a stout kit each at the same time and on my kit it recommended at least 16/18 degrees so I've kept them pretty warm (all three are sitting in my dining room at the moment as my mates flat upstairs can get very cold)
I did think it smelt quite fruity too, which has always put me off homebrewed lager. I didn't realise that was down to the temperature it was brewed at.


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## friedaweed (Nov 8, 2012)

stuff_it said:


> I love the irony of the thread title as the thread gets longer.


Innit


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## badseed (Nov 8, 2012)

mr steev said:


> I have another quick question
> He fitted an airlock a day or two after (by which time the froth had turned to a thin covering of tiny bubbles) but the lock didn't start bubbling. A couple of days later and there's no change. It gives a hydrometer reading of 1.0100
> What should he do? Should he try some restart yeast?


 

Check the airlock. When they are new yhey have a seal/ridge which runs down the middle like 2 halfs stuck together.
This tiny ridge canstop it sealing in the rubber grommit.
Rub a bit of sandpaper around the bottom to make sure it's smooth and round.

I just use the cling film method now, no airlock no lid to clean.


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## Addy (Nov 8, 2012)

airlocks are for demijohns to keep the fruit flies out, they have no place in a beer brewing world


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## mr steev (Nov 8, 2012)

We syphoned a pint off and stuck it in a half demi john with a bit more sugar and a new air lock and it's started bubbling again... in hindsight we should've just tried it without adding sugar first 
It tasted ok.
My mate now says that after re-reading the instructions it says to use 1kg - 1.5kg of sugar for 30-40 pints. He used 1kg to 34 pints. So considering the hydrometer says it's only about 2.5% I think we're going to add another load of sugar and see what happens (and have a look at the seal)

I've just bottled another dozen bottles of plum wine which I should've done months ago, but it's tasting pretty good. I've got 3 gallon of apple wine waiting to be bottled over the weekend too. My cellar is gradually growing


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## mr steev (Nov 8, 2012)

Addy said:


> airlocks are for demijohns to keep the fruit flies out, they have no place in a beer brewing world


 
It's nice to hear that reassuring 'blop... blop... blop' though


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## Addy (Nov 8, 2012)

nah, have faith in your brew.... let it go and check it in 10 days with the hydrometer


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 9, 2012)

my toffee apple cider has slowed right down after it's explosion over the weekend. Going to give it a hydrometer dip over the weekend and see if it's ready for second FV.

Quick question, I already have a gallon of toffee apple cider in second FV put in a week ago, can I add this to it or does it need to be in another FV?


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## friedaweed (Nov 9, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> Quick question, I already have a gallon of toffee apple cider in second FV put in a week ago, can I add this to it or does it need to be in another FV?


 
I'd be going for a separate fv so you could compare the brews alongside eachother but i suppose if needs must then it's probably not going to kill it. The trouble you're going to be delaying the drinking time of one that's in already and your gonna disturb it's clearing.  Can't you bottle the one that's already in there?


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## teahead (Nov 9, 2012)

OK cider's fine but what if I want to brew something stronger that still tastes good?

I'm finding it necessary to backsweeten finished 1st ferment cider that's about 7.5% by about 20% (250g sugar on 4.5l of juice at the start). Is there something clever I can do with the right combination of juice and yeast? How to wine brewers get up towards 12%?


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## friedaweed (Nov 9, 2012)

teahead said:


> OK cider's fine but what if I want to brew something stronger that still tastes good?
> 
> I'm finding it necessary to backsweeten finished 1st ferment cider that's about 7.5% by about 20% (250g sugar on 4.5l of juice at the start). Is there something clever I can do with the right combination of juice and yeast? How to wine brewers get up towards 12%?


More available sugar in the wort and a yeast that can handle high alc content.
What about trying a kit like a barley wine or one of the fruit wines.

I noticed Morrisons are now selling their own home brew stock.


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 9, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> I'd be going for a separate fv so you could compare the brews alongside eachother but i suppose if needs must then it's probably not going to kill it. The trouble you're going to be delaying the drinking time of one that's in already and your gonna disturb it's clearing.  Can't you bottle the one that's already in there?


it wont be drunk for a few mobths yet, was trying to save space. it's ok i have an fv empty


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## teahead (Nov 9, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> More available sugar in the wort and a yeast that can handle high alc content.
> What about trying a kit like a barley wine or one of the fruit wines.
> 
> I noticed Morrisons are now selling their own home brew stock.


I'm new to this brewing biz and was sort of delighting in turning raw juice into booze, no chems etc. Is a 'kit' going to be the only way forward?


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## mr steev (Nov 9, 2012)

teahead said:


> I'm new to this brewing biz and was sort of delighting in turning raw juice into booze, no chems etc. Is a 'kit' going to be the only way forward?


 
It may be a bit late (if you intend to go and forage your fruit), but you can make lots of decent, strong 'country' wines without a kit. Damson has been my best so far, but plum, apple, ederberry/blackberry are all good too.


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## teahead (Nov 9, 2012)

mr steev said:


> It may be a bit late (if you intend to go and forage your fruit), but you can make lots of decent, strong 'country' wines without a kit. Damson has been my best so far, but plum, apple, ederberry/blackberry are all good too.


That's more what I was thinking about. But do you just load the sugar at the start? Do these take on alchohol content better than apples? What's the difference between apple cider/wine? 

And, say, parsnip wine.... Would you need a press to turn shop-bought into a brew? What else goes into 10 percent plus brews besides sugar anand yeast?


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## friedaweed (Nov 9, 2012)

teahead said:


> I'm new to this brewing biz and was sort of delighting in turning raw juice into booze, no chems etc. Is a 'kit' going to be the only way forward?


What addy said above.I left it a bit late for foraging this year but I wont be making that mistake next year 

You can make wine from store juice as well in the same way you've been making turbo cider you'll just need a wine yeast and bump the sugar content up to ensure that the starting gravity will give you the right amount of sugar to get a high alc content. You'll need to stabalise it to kill the yeast and then possibly add some fining to help it clear before you bottle it. It's not totally necessary but it makes it a bit easier.

The reason I mentioned a kit is it has all those things in it along with a juice concentrate which by the time you've bought the juice and the yeast etc you will probably end up spending the same.

My daughter's just made one of the cheap wilco's kits as a birthday present for her mum and it was so easy I've got her making a 30 bottle batch of red wine for me now  We've added grape juice and grape concentrate to that and made it 3 liters shorter than recommended and I tasted it last night. For just under a £1 a bottle i've ended up with a very quaffable red to glug on those nights i don't fancy a beer


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## mr steev (Nov 9, 2012)

Generally you mash up the fruit a bit usually with boiling water and maybe a campden tablet to kill off any 'wild' yeasts*(a press isn't necessary, I just squish them with a potato masher. irrc with stuff like parsnips you'd cook them for a bit first). Then add sugar, water, yeast, yeast nutrient and maybe a pectic enzyme (to help clear it), leave it for a week or so, rack it into demijons, fit an airlock and wait until it stops bubbling then bottle it and leave it ideally for at least a year, longer preferably.

*You can make a brew by just allowing the fruit to do it's own thing, without adding yeast but it's a bit more hit a miss.


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## friedaweed (Nov 9, 2012)

teahead said:


> What else goes into 10 percent plus brews besides sugar anand yeast?


 
Water and that's it really. 

The main dif between wine and cider is the alc percentage really and that's it.


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## mr steev (Nov 9, 2012)

Cider is essentially wine anyway isn't it? 
I think probably the second fermentation and priming it makes it different


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## badseed (Nov 9, 2012)

teahead said:


> And, say, parsnip wine.... Would you need a press to turn shop-bought into a brew? What else goes into 10 percent plus brews besides sugar anand yeast?


 
I have never put sugar (granulated white) into any beer or wine that I have made. I use it to make the wash which I distill for spirits, but no way would I drink that, it fucking stinks.

Sugar comes in many forms, if you are making beer it comes from malt (wheat barley etc..) if you are making wine then it's the fruit or whatever. They all provide flavour, texture, mouthfeel, etc etc
Yeast eats the sugars and shits out 2 products. CO2 and ethanol, you get bubbling from the co2 released and you get drunk from the ethanol.

If you add yeast to sugar and water you probably won't get much, you need something with a bit of acidity to feed the yeast.
Even then, it would probably be fucking rank.

I made apple wine once from fresh apples, it was about 15 years ago and I can't remember what I did exactly but I didn't have a press. I think it I just chopped them up and put them in a fermenter with some water and yeast. But tbh I can't remember the process but I do remember that it tasted bad.

But to say what goes into 10%+ brews besides sugar and yeast. The list is endless. I make a 14% brew from sugar, lemon juice and tomato paste which is foul, I distill it to get the alcohol and put the rest down the drain.

If you want to make a simple wine from fruit or veg I would do something like,
2 kg of fruit/veg - nuked in a blender
1 kg of dextrose
1 lemon (juice of)
Top it up with water to about 15l
Add wine yeast and nutrient

but you need to do your homework first. It's easy to make alcohol, making it nice is a different matter.

Sorry if this makes no sense, tonight I have been a consumer rather than a brewer.


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## mr steev (Nov 9, 2012)

My best wine so far is damson (around 13/14%). The recipe for 3 gallons is


11.5 lb damson
11.5 lb sugar
23 pts boiling water
3 tsp pectalose
3 tsp Yeast Nutrient
red wine yeast
I've made it 3 times now and it has been consistently very good. Very drinkable after a year, superb after 2. I've currently managed to save a couple of bottles to taste after 3 years, which is pretty poor going seems though we made 55 bottles in that batch 
Sadly we missed going out picking this year (even if there were any as the weather was so shit), but I have a few pound of elderberries in the freezer to make up for it


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## mr steev (Nov 9, 2012)

badseed said:


> I have never put sugar (granulated white) into any beer or wine that I have made. I use it to make the wash which I distill for spirits, but no way would I drink that, it fucking stinks.


 
Granulated sugar is perfectly fine to use in making country wines


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## Addy (Nov 9, 2012)

teahead said:


> I'm new to this brewing biz and was sort of delighting in turning raw juice into booze, no chems etc. Is a 'kit' going to be the only way forward?


 
If you want a sweeter and stronger brew then I reccomend a Vimto wine.

750ml of Vimto Cordial ( not the white label bottle)
Gently simmer the vimto for 15-20 minutes to kill off the sulphites (the sulphites will stop the yeast working)
add 3/4 of a bag of sugar (750gram)
once cooled add to demijohn along with a pinch of wine tannin (or a very strong mug of black tea), top up with cold water and add an all purpose wine yeast.

This will give you an approximately 12% sweet,fruity alcopop style wine. (sweetness comes from the artifical sweetners in the vimto that do not ferment)

You can also replace the water for apple juice and you will get 15% Vimder


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## teahead (Nov 9, 2012)

I'm getting it now 
'Turbo' = added sugar when you're talking about apple juice mixes.

Thanks for all this - fruity food for thought.
For a start I think I'm going to need a bigger bin  The 4.5l. Is fine for a quick play but if I'm going to start using anything besides shop bought juice...
And some kind of storage. Maybe that damn foolish shed fuLl of old packets, 1 mover and various sticks...


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## Addy (Nov 9, 2012)

For fermenting you will want...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beer-fermenting-bins-/181016912940?pt=Home_Brew&hash=item2a2572e42c

For storage / serving you will want ..
http://www.pubshop.co.uk/catalog/plain20ltrbrownsquarebaginboxpolypinpackagingfrom-p-2908.html


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## friedaweed (Nov 9, 2012)

mr steev said:


> Granulated sugar is perfectly fine to use in making country wines


I think Bad's referring to drinking his 'wash' when he says its disgusting  I tasted some the other day and it was gippin. 25% gipping mind 

I'm sure with wine it's different. I'm only just getting on to that but for beer I think granulated is fine for priming etc but for brewing it's preferable to use dry malt extract or brewing sugar. Making candy sugar from granulated is a blast though and that gives a wonderful flavour to the brew.

It's about the effort that the yeast has to put in to break down cane sugar and that affects the taste of the brew in other ways. Converting it by candying it apparently enables the yeast to consume it more easily. Something to do with fructose and all that stuff. Addy will give a better explanation I'm sure but in essence more favorable tastes can be had from other sugars than with the old Tate and Lyle  

All that said, if it gets the job done it gets the job done innit


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## teahead (Nov 9, 2012)

Thanks Addy. I'm wrong on the turbo though eh... No added sugar of one kind or another is going to produce mainly fruit droop.
Maybe a decent kit is the next step. One thing I'm bothered about though is temperature fluctuation on storage. I'm guessing all you peeps have no more than a couple of cellers between you, right?


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## friedaweed (Nov 9, 2012)

Addy said:


> For fermenting you will want...
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beer-fermenting-bins-/181016912940?pt=Home_Brew&hash=item2a2572e42c
> 
> For storage / serving you will want ..
> http://www.pubshop.co.uk/catalog/plain20ltrbrownsquarebaginboxpolypinpackagingfrom-p-2908.html


 
Ooh i like the bag in a box idea


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## friedaweed (Nov 9, 2012)

teahead said:


> Thanks Addy. I'm wrong on the turbo though eh... No added sugar of one kind or another is going to produce mainly fruit droop.
> Maybe a decent kit is the next step. One thing I'm bothered about though is temperature fluctuation on storage. I'm guessing all you peeps have no more than a couple of cellers between you, right?


I've got a utility room which is grand now but it's gonna be a bitch in the summer. I'll start digging around Feb


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## Addy (Nov 9, 2012)

I have the garage extension (utility room) that I use for brewing in, but my brew cupboard is temperature controlled with a digital thermostat connected to a 60w tube heater, so I can maintain a steady 20c for most of my brewing.

Cold storage is in the form of a shed, and a cupboard adjoining the front porch which is always cold.
The utility bar has a fridge with 2 x corny kegs in it, and there is generally a keg of room temperature stout knocking about.


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 9, 2012)

i use the nuclear bunker in the grounds of where i live/work


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 9, 2012)

Addy said:


> For fermenting you will want...
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beer-fermenting-bins-/181016912940?pt=Home_Brew&hash=item2a2572e42c
> 
> For storage / serving you will want ..
> http://www.pubshop.co.uk/catalog/plain20ltrbrownsquarebaginboxpolypinpackagingfrom-p-2908.html


think I may get a couple of those bag in boxes.....


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## teahead (Nov 9, 2012)

Shit I'm clearly not rich or well connected enough to get proper homebrewing 

Guess I'd better stick to charging the Asdajuice when I can't be arsed to haul the Westons home.

Bloody whitetrash urban downton types 

 meanwhile I guess I'll forget all that crap about complex sugers and just focus on brewing feelthy mouthfuls. Worse than fucking potheads, you lot


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 9, 2012)

you have obviously not seen where I work 

By all means use where I do but beware you will be surrounded by 244 unwashed, ungrateful spoilt students


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## badseed (Nov 10, 2012)

mr steev said:


> Granulated sugar is perfectly fine to use in making country wines


Looks like I was talking out of my arse with this granulated sugar thing. 
I have no real experience of the fruit and veg wine caper apart from my attempt at apple wine.

I know someone who makes beer using granulated sugar and it's awful. Really bad off flavours, watery etc. He thinls it's good because it costs next to nothing.
Obviously a different kettle of fishes with the wines.

I am enjoying a nice orange/coriander witbier now with a pilsner ready to keg and currently distilling an ouzo.
Where did it all go wrong.


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## badseed (Nov 10, 2012)

Addy said:


> For fermenting you will want...
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beer-fermenting-bins-/181016912940?pt=Home_Brew&hash=item2a2572e42c
> 
> For storage / serving you will want ..
> http://www.pubshop.co.uk/catalog/plain20ltrbrownsquarebaginboxpolypinpackagingfrom-p-2908.html


 
I love the home fill goon bags, perfect for red wine. It's the bottling which stops me at the moment.
I might look into that.


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## Addy (Nov 10, 2012)

I racked my Woodfordes Sun Dew  today for clearing before going in the corny keg, 14 days old, fairly clear, fg 1012
It tastes fecking awesome.
Golden Glory / Fursty Ferret style ale.... absolutly gorgeous from the hydrometer trial jar .... Looking forward to supping this one.


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 10, 2012)

I might get a couple of those for my toffee apple cider as I am running out of storage space and too many bottles will be tricky to transport in July


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## _angel_ (Nov 14, 2012)

Can anyone talk me thru home brew wine, the recipes and sites I've looked at assume expert knowledge and I don't know what _any_ of it means.


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## mr steev (Nov 14, 2012)

_angel_ said:


> Can anyone talk me thru home brew wine, the recipes and sites I've looked at assume expert knowledge and I don't know what _any_ of it means.


 
Have a look back at post 943 and 944 

What don't you understand?


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## _angel_ (Nov 14, 2012)

> Rosehip Wine
> 
> 
> This recipe will make 1 gallon of rose wine (the colour depends on which colour grape juice you decide to add)
> ...


This all seems a bit fussy. What's a hydrometer? what do I put the stuff in while it's fermenting?







> It is now time to remove the gas from your wine, stir or shake the demi john for at least 6-7 times daily for at least 2 days or until all the gas has gone (you can tell when all the bubbles have gone in the wine or taste a small amount and there should be no fizz on the tongue)
> Now you can either add finings (according to manufactures instructions) or you can leave it to clear naturally this could take up to 6 months or more.
> Once the wine is clear syphon off in to a clean demi john then bottle and cork the wine, leave in a dark place to mature this wine should be perfect to drink in 6 months but will taste better if left longer.
> Recipe supplied by the homebrew centre Grimsby http://www.homebrewcentregy.com


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## mr steev (Nov 14, 2012)

_angel_ said:


> What's a hydrometer?


A plastic or glass tube type thing a bit like a thermometer. You float it in your brew and there are numbers on the side. You take a reading depending on how much it sinks or floats - it basically tells you how much sugar is in the brew. As you ferment the sugar turns to alcohol so it can be used to work out how strong the brew is or if fermenting has finished



_angel_ said:


> what do I put the stuff in while it's fermenting?


 
A fermenting bucket.

I've never made rosehip wine, but at a glance that recipe does seem slightly over complicated. I would try something more like this http://www.wine-making-guides.com/rose_hip_wine.html

A quick tip though... get some videne from the chemist. It costs about a fiver for a half litre bottle. You mix a couple of drops with a couple of litres of cold water and use it to clean your equipment. It is so much easier than traditional sterilising methods and it woks a treat


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## mr steev (Nov 17, 2012)

I've just bottled 31 bottles of stout and it tastes pretty good already 
I wasn't quite ready for the speed of the syphoning and didn't think about tilting the bottle or how quick they fill compared to wine bottles, but it worked out alright in the end.
I also forgot that some beer bottles aren't suitable for my capper but luckily managed to get some more from my mates upstairs


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## badseed (Nov 18, 2012)

Hefeweizen, using safale wheat yeast for the first time.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Nov 18, 2012)

I've got some to bottle but need the sugar for priming. My purse is in Mr Dovy's car..... they will have to wait


----------



## Addy (Nov 18, 2012)

Made up an elderfower pale ale yesterday.
1 tin of Coopers Aussie Pale Ale
300g of munich barley mashed for 30 minutes to add sweet malty charactor
500g extra light malt
500g of brewing sugar
50g of dried elderflowers simmered for 30 minutes to add a floral note
40g of East Kent Goldings hops to add a little bitterness and flavour to offset the malty sweetnes
Muntons Gold yeast as it is an excellent yeat that does not impart flavour change to the ale.


----------



## friedaweed (Nov 18, 2012)

*Brewferm double triple in da airing cupboard*

Two tins of brewferm triple (£9 a tin cos they was bashed)
2 tins of golden syrup 900gms
400 gms of amber spray malt.
Boiled the spray malt in 3 liters of water with 25 g's of east Kent goldings
OG 1074 @18 ltrs.

That should get me pissed


----------



## friedaweed (Nov 18, 2012)

badseed said:


> Hefeweizen, using safale wheat yeast for the first time.


Just about to finally embark on my weizen myself


----------



## Dovydaitis (Nov 20, 2012)

ooops! just done hydrometer reading of the OTR mixed berry cider, it's come out at 6.9%  that will be nice


----------



## Dovydaitis (Nov 22, 2012)

Addy said:


> For storage / serving you will want ..
> http://www.pubshop.co.uk/catalog/plain20ltrbrownsquarebaginboxpolypinpackagingfrom-p-2908.html


looks like these may have problems, the website is no longer working and I was going to order a couple of these...


----------



## Flipp (Nov 22, 2012)

Hehe, great thread!! Loving the vimto wine idea!!

I run at a wine stock of around 80 gallon and drink on a 2 or 3 year old basis..its really quite easy once you have a process, I don't use any air-locks, kits or heating.. works out at about 20p a bottle as well.. 

12lb fruit
5kg sugar [granulated but heated into a syrup in water]
Water
Stuff [pectolaze, citric acid, yeast nutrient, camden tablets and yeast]

Job done...


----------



## Dovydaitis (Nov 22, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> looks like these may have problems, the website is no longer working and I was going to order a couple of these...


aha! back today *phew*


----------



## butcher (Nov 22, 2012)

I need some advice fellow brewers!

I am setting up an Xmass IPA using a Brewmaker IPA one can (I ordered the Better Brew I am familiar with but they sent this) plus a 1.8kg tin of amber malt.

I want this to be a nice strongish hoppy beer, so I was thinking adding 300g extra of dried malt and making a 10g hop tea with a 10-15 min boil, plus a 40g dry hop in the primary ferm. Do you think this will work?

I am brewing to 23L


----------



## Addy (Nov 22, 2012)

what hops are you going to use?
You need to know the Alpha Acids of the hops to work out a boils / steep / dry schedule


----------



## butcher (Nov 22, 2012)

My mate is donating them, I'll ask   Thanks


----------



## seeformiles (Nov 23, 2012)

Together with my mate, we've just finished pressing 2/3 tonne of apples - has rendered over 420L of juice (sugar reading predicts about 8% ABV) - first bubbles appeared yesterday. We're both knackered but, on the plus side, now have biceps of steel! An epic trip to "Ciderspace" is on the cards in about 7 months' time.


----------



## ExtraRefined (Nov 23, 2012)

butcher said:


> I need some advice fellow brewers!
> 
> I am setting up an Xmass IPA using a Brewmaker IPA one can (I ordered the Better Brew I am familiar with but they sent this) plus a 1.8kg tin of amber malt.
> 
> ...


 
3.6kg LME and 0.3kg DME in 23l will give you about 5.1%. If you want more than that, you can add 0.5 kg sugar to IPA safely enough, it's supposed to be relatively light bodied and dry. That would get you up to 6.1%.

Hop-wise, 10g for 10 minutes will add very little bitterness, about 2 IBU. 30g@7%AA for an hour will add 20 IBU. Boil the hops in a lot of water, a gallon at least. It's hard to guess how bitter your kit is to start with, but if you want to make a proper IPA, an extra 20 IBU should be fine, White Shield is about 55 IBU.

40g dry hop is plenty, possibly too much if it's a modern hybrid.

http://www.buildabeer.org/beercalc.htm


----------



## butcher (Nov 23, 2012)

ExtraRefined said:


> 3.6kg LME and 0.3kg DME in 23l will give you about 5.1%. If you want more than that, you can add 0.5 kg sugar to IPA safely enough, it's supposed to be relatively light bodied and dry. That would get you up to 6.1%.
> 
> Hop-wise, 10g for 10 minutes will add very little bitterness, about 2 IBU. 30g@7%AA for an hour will add 20 IBU. Boil the hops in a lot of water, a gallon at least. It's hard to guess how bitter your kit is to start with, but if you want to make a proper IPA, an extra 20 IBU should be fine, White Shield is about 55 IBU.
> 
> ...


 

Cheers all   Happy brewing!


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## Addy (Nov 23, 2012)

Just planning my next extract brew...

what say ye?






I might up the bittering hops to get to 35-40 IBU


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## existentialist (Nov 24, 2012)

seeformiles said:
			
		

> Together with my mate, we've just finished pressing 2/3 tonne of apples - has rendered over 420L of juice (sugar reading predicts about 8% ABV) - first bubbles appeared yesterday. We're both knackered but, on the plus side, now have biceps of steel! An epic trip to "Ciderspace" is on the cards in about 7 months' time.



Fucking hell. Kudos.


----------



## ExtraRefined (Nov 24, 2012)

seeformiles said:


> Together with my mate, we've just finished pressing 2/3 tonne of apples - has rendered over 420L of juice (sugar reading predicts about 8% ABV) - first bubbles appeared yesterday. We're both knackered but, on the plus side, now have biceps of steel! An epic trip to "Ciderspace" is on the cards in about 7 months' time.


 
*420 DRINK SCRUMPY EVERY DAY*


----------



## butcher (Nov 24, 2012)

Addy said:


> Just planning my next extract brew...
> 
> what say ye?
> 
> ...


 
I'll stick to kits and adaptations for the time being, that is too much for me Addy but hats off to you!


----------



## badseed (Nov 27, 2012)

Addy said:


> Just planning my next extract brew...
> 
> what say ye?


Looks good, is it your own recipe?


----------



## ExtraRefined (Nov 27, 2012)

Addy said:


> Just planning my next extract brew...
> 
> what say ye?
> 
> I might up the bittering hops to get to 35-40 IBU


 
I'd be inclined to move the hop additions to 60/15/5 minutes, and change the boil hop to just Target. You'll drive off all the aroma components of the boil hop anyway, so might as well stick to a high alpha hybrid.


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## badseed (Nov 27, 2012)

Ok enthusiasts, I am excited about this one.
My heffe has finished primary fermentation (10 days ay 16 degrees). Well and truly finished.
So I added 1kg of mixed frozen berries.





Frozen berries are perfect for this as the water has aleady expanded and burst the cell walls turning the berries to mush.
I put them in a sanitised pan with a 1l of just boiled water. I let the water cool for 5 minutes before pouring in.
I wasn't worried about sanitation but I was concerned about wild yeasts on the skins. I squashed the shit out of them with a potato masher and left it for 20 minutes.

I stirred the beer slowly to get it moving but not splashing then carefully poured in the berry slop.
Second fermentation kicked off straight away, plenty of yeast still around.

I will check the gravity on Saturday/Sunday then maybe crash chill to stop the yeast. When I have made fruit beer before I left it too long and the yeast/co2 took out the fruit flavour.

Milkshake krausen.


----------



## Addy (Nov 27, 2012)

badseed said:


> Looks good, is it your own recipe?


 
Yeah, I was just tinkering around as I have a lot of tins of cheap malt waiting to be used up.


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## friedaweed (Nov 28, 2012)

Addy said:


> Yeah, I was just tinkering around as I have a lot of tins of cheap malt waiting to be used up.


I finally got round to my cheap tins of malt wit brew. It's still bubbling like a fecker on day 4. It's a bit of a concoction that we're all going to get troll eyed on at NYE so if it's nice it's nice if not we wont care 






*Ingredients*
Brupacks Belgian Wit-bier kit (Half price)
_(Kit includes. Tin of shizzled malt, Saaz hop pellets, infusion bag containing curaco orange peel, oats and coriander, bruferm Blanche yeast.)_
2 tins of coopers wheat malt. (£4 a tin on sale from my HBS)
6 kaffir lime leaves
20 gs dried lemon peel
 10 gs crackedd coriander
10 gs cracked Juniper berries
20 gs of malted oats
40 gs of EK Goldgings hops.
200 gs ruby red Belgian candy sugar
1 bag of ice.
A spliff.
1 bottle of westemalle triple


*Method*
Spark up spliff, pour beer.
Heat up 7 ltrs of water in Burco boiler stolen from undisclosed location. (I've been dieing to use this) 




Add both tins of coopers wheat malt bring to the boil.
20 gs of goldings hops in hop bag.
Allow to boil gently for 45 minutes._ ( Like fuck it did. I was turning that dial up and down trying to find a steady boil for fucking ages )_




Put mop away. 
Add hop bag containing the peel, coriander, oats, lime leaves, saaz hop pellets and 20 gs of goldings) 
Add brupacks tin of malt.
Add candy sugar
Boil for 15 mins.
Drain hop bags
Empty wort into FV add ice.
Make up wort to 20ltrs with tap water
OG 1058 




Pitched Blanche yeast at 20c.

Still bubblin


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## badseed (Nov 28, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> It's a bit of a concoction that we're all going to get troll eyed on at NYE


 
With all those fermentables it will certainly help with your cause  




friedaweed said:


> 20 gs dried lemon peel


 
Should that have been Orange peel?


----------



## friedaweed (Nov 29, 2012)

badseed said:


> With all those fermentables it will certainly help with your cause
> 
> 
> 
> Should that have been Orange peel?


No it should have said orange and lemon peel there was about 10/15 gs of orange in the kit so i went for some off the shelf mixed peel as well.

I'm even tempted by a second 'fruit' ferment but that may be over doing it


----------



## badseed (Nov 29, 2012)

Mine is down to 1060 now, smelling fantastic. Will see where it is on Saturday, if it hasn't changed much it's going down to 4 degrees and then getting kegged. As long as it's refrdgerated after that it should keep all the fruit flavour.
If it's dropped to like 1040 I will give it a bit longer.


----------



## friedaweed (Nov 29, 2012)

badseed said:


> Mine is down to 1060 now, smelling fantastic. Will see where it is on Saturday, if it hasn't changed much it's going down to 4 degrees and then getting kegged. As long as it's refrdgerated after that it should keep all the fruit flavour.
> If it's dropped to like 1040 I will give it a bit longer.


That's going to be some yummy brew when you bottle it


----------



## Frances Lengel (Dec 2, 2012)

Well, a few weeks ago in a thread in, I think, the DF, Mrs Quoad said if he was still an alkie he'd consider homebrew - Anyway, I poo-pooed the idea, citing the initial cost of the equipment & such as drawbacks. _But  _at the time I did have a few dollars spare & it got me thinking, and the upshot of those thoughts was why the fuck not? So, the upshot was I got two fermenting bins & four barrels & I've now got a barrel of woodford wherry, a barrel of better brew IPA, a barrel of better brew mild and one of better brew yorks bitter. And I've constructed a makeshift  bar on my balcony - Well, I say a bar, it's a wardrobe door on it's side, balanced on some old speakers.

Anyway, the wherry & IPA got kegged up on 13/11 & I _was  _going to save them til crimbo, but I was that gutted about not being able to afford to come to the mcr meet that I thought fuck it, I'm cracking the wherry tonight - It's got a bit of a chill haze on it, but it keeps it's head nicely and it tastes pretty fuckin good, no yeastieness (gotta say though, I beefed it up a bit with half a kilo of hopped light spraymalt), I've _made beer_ though - Satisfying on a level that can only be described as primal.

The mild and the bitter are still in the warm room doing their second ferment, but I can see the wherry and the IPA getting tanned long before crimbo. I wish I had a camera to show off the balcony bar, looks fit with all my washing hanging off it.


----------



## Addy (Dec 2, 2012)

Today I bottled up the peach wine and kegged the elderflower pale ale (+ 4 bottles)

I must say that the Muntons Gold yeast done a great job.
2 weeks from start and it got to 1010 and was perfectly clear when I put it in the corny today.
Flavours are comming through a treat from the elderflower and munich malt.
The sediment was so thick I only left an eggcup full of beer behind and no cloudyness at all.

....if only my xmas pudding wine would clear...


----------



## existentialist (Dec 2, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> Allow to boil gently for 45 minutes._ ( Like fuck it did. I was turning that dial up and down trying to find a steady boil for fucking ages )_


I can't pretend to actually have done this yet, but (theoretically) the best way to get your Burco doing a nice sensible boil is to replace the stone-age thermostat with a PID controller and solid state relay.

I've stripped the 'stat out of mine, but never quite got around to setting up the PID/SS relay thing. If anyone's interested, then maybe that'll motivate me to extract some digit and get on with it. I might also finally finish building my counterflow cooler, too, then!

The idea of the PID controller is that it's a clever bit of microprocessor-based kit that "learns" the feedback behaviour of the heater and setup, and rather than just crudely switching on/off as the boiler gets to temperature, etc., modulates the heater, so that as it approaches the setpoint, it backs off on the heating. This gives you much less of the frantic boil/nothing happening behaviour you get with the stone age gear. Anyone with a reasonable amount of electrical ability (or just the ability to follow a diagram) should be able to do this without zapping themselves.


----------



## existentialist (Dec 2, 2012)

I bottled a chilli beer I'd left on trub for WAY too long today. So long, in fact, that it had picked up a slight mould infection on the top surface, oops. But there wasn't much yeast in the bottom, and it doesn't seem to have autolysed, so my brew isn't tainted, albeit probably not at its best. But the chillis cover up the worst of that! So I have 16 litres of session beer to slurp through the season, plus the naughty 8% xmas beer!


----------



## Addy (Dec 2, 2012)

existentialist said:


> I bottled a chilli beer I'd left on trub for WAY too long today. So long, in fact, that it had picked up a slight mould infection on the top surface, oops. But there wasn't much yeast in the bottom, and it doesn't seem to have autolysed, so my brew isn't tainted, albeit probably not at its best. But the chillis cover up the worst of that! So I have 16 litres of session beer to slurp through the season, plus the naughty 8% xmas beer!


 

A Lambic chilli beer .... could be interesting if its not a lactobacterial infection which will just make it taste 'stale'


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 2, 2012)

existentialist said:


> I can't pretend to actually have done this yet, but (theoretically) the best way to get your Burco doing a nice sensible boil is to replace the stone-age thermostat with a PID controller and solid state relay.
> 
> snip.


Ta for that. The guy at my HBS said there was a way to do this. If you get round to it post it up here mucker.


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## Dovydaitis (Dec 2, 2012)

so, as I appear to be running out of space for the bottled brew for my summer camping trip, I nipped to the local home brew shop and picked up some box bags (they wanted nearly a fiver just for the box!!! am off to the local supermarket/post office for boxes) Anyway, slight issue with how do you actually fill the bags? any advice welcome


----------



## Addy (Dec 2, 2012)

A cheap STC1000 temp controller like I use for my brew cupboard would work fine unless you want 0.1Deg specific temps.

You just wire the boiler in to the STC and drop the probe in the boil and it switches on/off the boiler to keep a programmed temp range.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 3, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> so, as I appear to be running out of space for the bottled brew for my summer camping trip, I nipped to the local home brew shop and picked up some box bags (they wanted nearly a fiver just for the box!!! am off to the local supermarket/post office for boxes) Anyway, slight issue with how do you actually fill the bags? any advice welcome


don't worry, I'm a plum! just sussed it


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 3, 2012)

am taking some of my stash to a house party on Thursday. Is it wrong that this makes me sad?


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 3, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> am taking some of my stash to a house party on Thursday. Is it wrong that this makes me sad?


Absolutely not. I'm taking two crates of beer up to Scotland with me on Friday to sup with some walking pals and I'm sad to see them go. Least this way I know I'll get the bottles back.

Finally got round to putting a wherry on tonight


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 3, 2012)

just bagged my mixed berry cider, had the obligatory shot glass full (quality and all that) and was very impressed. A nice tang as it has brewed out at 6.9% so will go down well I think on Thursday


----------



## existentialist (Dec 3, 2012)

friedaweed said:


> Absolutely not. I'm taking two crates of beer up to Scotland with me on Friday to sup with some walking pals and I'm sad to see them go. Least this way I know I'll get the bottles back.
> 
> Finally got round to putting a wherry on tonight


Yeah, it's losing the bottles that cuts me up! I quite like sharing the beer around - I know I'm never going to drink it all!

I got a commission the other week, though - landlord of a local pub wants 6 bottles to give away to friends as Christmas presents! I've asked him to start collecting his Magners bottles for me in return...


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 3, 2012)

existentialist said:


> Yeah, it's losing the bottles that cuts me up! I quite like sharing the beer around - I know I'm never going to drink it all!
> 
> I got a commission the other week, though - landlord of a local pub wants 6 bottles to give away to friends as Christmas presents! I've asked him to start collecting his Magners bottles for me in return...


 I have free dibs on my footy clubs bottle bin (They chuck them all) plus me old mucker works at the Guinness bottling plant but yeah like yourself I'm more precious about the glass than the beer


----------



## existentialist (Dec 3, 2012)

I do bottle a lot of mine into 1l and 2l PET bottles, though. Less labour intensive, and handy for parties. Not quite so classy as gifts, though.


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## Addy (Dec 3, 2012)

I don't bottle much these days but when I do its only 76 steps from my front door to the nearest pub to ask for a few magners bottles. 
My mate also gave me a box of 1000 caps, so no costs there either


----------



## Addy (Dec 5, 2012)

Hmmm what recipe to brew first....






Got a couple of wines still going strong. Apple & rasberry and a peach & grape






A keg of Woodfordes Sundew in the beer fridge and another keg of elderflower APA in the shed conditioning.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 6, 2012)

well tonight is the night my lovingly crafted beers make their premiere.... am feeling nervous!


----------



## badseed (Dec 7, 2012)

I kegged and gassed my berry heffe weissen last night. A few berries jammed up the tap so I had to siphon the beer into the keg instead of using my usual pipe attachment thing.
Tasted ok from the fermenter, much as I expected. It had the cloudy heffe appearance but was a pale pink colour.

I might try a pint tonight, just to get rid of any sediment which may have settled in the bottom of the keg.
The rest is supposed to be left until christmas, but you know how it is.


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 7, 2012)

Just Kegged the Wherry. 1014 in 4 days Sat at that with no bubbles for 24 hours and I'm off to scotland with 24 bottles of muntons stout and a dozen diablo so it's kegamundo for the wherry

That's me new years eve ale sorted.

Bottling the wit and the triple on monday


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 7, 2012)

went down well last night. The apple cider which was my first ever was not great but the mixed berry cider and mexican lager flew out!


----------



## badseed (Dec 8, 2012)

Shit just got real


----------



## Addy (Dec 8, 2012)

The xmas pudding wine has turned out well.
18% abv, I backsweetened the gallon with 200g of sugar and its well lush!!!


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 9, 2012)

just bottled up Mr Dovy's amaretto. Smelt quite nice although I think the stuff is vile  He also now owes me 4 Ikea swing top bottles that I was saving for the black cherry port


----------



## existentialist (Dec 9, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> black cherry port


ZOMGWTFWUNT!

I has damson gin, that is all.


----------



## Cid (Dec 9, 2012)

Addy said:


> The xmas pudding wine has turned out well.
> 18% abv, I backsweetened the gallon with 200g of sugar and its well lush!!!


 
Is that a sample of your wee after drinking it?

Think I'll start some brewing projects once i've moved to Sheffield, restricted to sloe gin for now.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 9, 2012)

existentialist said:


> ZOMGWTFWUNT!
> 
> I has damson gin, that is all.


will grab you the recipe if you want it?


----------



## existentialist (Dec 10, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:
			
		

> will grab you the recipe if you want it?



I'd be interested, yes. Not sure if I'm quite set up for making it, but I won't know until I try


----------



## badseed (Dec 12, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> will grab you the recipe if you want it?


 
+1
Also, a shameless bump back to the front page.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 12, 2012)

never shameless to bump the 'quick' home brew thread to the front!

will grab the recipe


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## Dovydaitis (Dec 12, 2012)

*Ingredients:*
2x tins of Young's Black Cherry Wine Kit
half a jar of honey
Vitamin B1 nutrient
Port/high alcohol yeast (I think I used SB3 or HA1001)

*Method:*
Put it all in a plastic bucket, top up with campden-treated water to a gallon; leave for about 10 days
Siphon off into a DJ
Leave for three months
Add a teaspoon bentonite and de-gas
Leave for another fortnight
Bottle
Drink after four more months

Tada! Cheap and really delicious, not too heavy on the tannins, no dominant acid, hints of dark cherry, and strong (~17%).


----------



## Frances Lengel (Dec 12, 2012)

Any tips on getting the lid of an empty pressure barrel? I've screwed it on that tight, I can't budge it.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 12, 2012)

hot cloth? not sure, never used one


----------



## Addy (Dec 12, 2012)

Roll up a tea towel and wrap it around the cap and twist the ends of the towel to tighten the grip, then use brute force.

ohhhh.... and make sure you have released all the pressure from the tap first.

I only ever tighten the cap finger tight anyways to ensure a good seal and to not buckle the o-ring, and add a little smear of vaseline to the threads so that any beer residue will not create a sugary bond in the threads.


----------



## Superdupastupor (Dec 13, 2012)

5 gallons of appleJ/wine yeast/ stewed tea/ sugar-water. (1st attempt at a brew in a non-apprentice role  )

about 4 hrs ago. 

Seems to be working - or at least going at it something strong- it's giving off so much heat that the central heating has been turned off


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 14, 2012)

That'll be 60 bottles of wit then


----------



## badseed (Dec 14, 2012)

Racking a lager. Dry hopped with Tettnanger and Hallertau


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 14, 2012)

Dovydaitis said:


> *Ingredients:*
> 2x tins of Young's Black Cherry Wine Kit
> half a jar of honey
> Vitamin B1 nutrient
> ...


I'm going to do this in the new year


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 15, 2012)

you know it makes sense  I'm making mine in the new year ready for July but will probably make a double batch ready for Christmas next year


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## Dovydaitis (Dec 18, 2012)

hmm, I appear to have accidentally drunk (with friends) most of the mixed berry cider..... will just have to make it again


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 18, 2012)

Well it's been a busy brewing period in Frieda's brewery. The New Years Eve party will have beer.
The Wheat beer is bottled and initial sample was lush, the Diablo has really come into it's own now, 40 pints of Wherry are in the keg and i've just made a bumper batch of oated stout to be drunk fresh.






Santa's Steamer (The wheat), Harry Monk (The Diablo) and 18 liters of Brewferm Triple bulk aging.






*The diablo*






*The Stout.*

200g Malted oats
200g Chocolate wheat
150g Biscuit Malt

All steeped for 50 min @ 65c

1kg Dark Spray malt
1 can of coopers stout

Coopers yeast.

OG 1048

Happy days


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 18, 2012)

If you need a hand with all that lot frieda, just give me a yell 

I don't have anything on the go at the moment, feels wrong....


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 20, 2012)

my mixed berry cider was a write off initially as I thought I had overdone the sugar when putting it into bags. But a week or so on and it's very drinkable, if ever so slightly stronger! When it came out of 2nd ferment and into the bags it was 6.9% but now it is even stronger! dread to think what....


----------



## og ogilby (Dec 26, 2012)

Wilkinsons have a sale on with loads of hb stuff at 20% off.

I just bought 4 Woodfords Wherry kits at £14.40 a kit plus £3.50 delivery charge.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 26, 2012)

*heads off to wilkos website*


----------



## Casually Red (Dec 26, 2012)

Havent had time to scan through this properly but if anyones had any luck doing a wheat beer along the lines of the Paulaner variety any tips and advice would be welcome


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jan 2, 2013)

So, what have people got planned for this year? I have the port recipe above to get cracking on and another batch of mixed berry cider but other than that nothing planned as of yet



This will change


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jan 3, 2013)

Popped into Wilkos to grab my stuff for the port and the 20% has gone already! Although my store does have the 6 bottle wine gift set down to a tenner, might grab it tomorrow.

But, operation black cherry port begins tonight


----------



## existentialist (Jan 3, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> So, what have people got planned for this year? I have the port recipe above to get cracking on and another batch of mixed berry cider but other than that nothing planned as of yet
> 
> 
> 
> This will change


I want this year to be the year I start brewing in the shed, doing full mash brews...


----------



## friedaweed (Jan 3, 2013)

Well my new year party was a huge success thanks to my home brewing this year. The wherry and the stout got hammered and we got through half a dozen of the shiraz as well.

I'm going to make the cherry port as xmas gifts for next year 

My next brew is going to be a larger.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jan 3, 2013)

Will do a larger in a couple of months, cash is a bit tight till end of the month


----------



## friedaweed (Jan 3, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> Will do a larger in a couple of months, cash is a bit tight till end of the month


Same here but fortunately i have one in


----------



## butcher (Jan 3, 2013)

I want to do my first WOW and have a bash at an extract kit.


----------



## Addy (Jan 3, 2013)

While xmas puddings are now cheap, buy em up and make wine.
It was prolly the best wine I have made yet.


----------



## friedaweed (Jan 3, 2013)

Addy said:


> While xmas puddings are now cheap, buy em up and make wine.
> It was prolly the best wine I have made yet.


Ooh do we have a recipe?


----------



## Addy (Jan 3, 2013)

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?1758-Wine-Number-4-Dessert-Wine



I was very sceptical about it and put off brewing it for 2 years, but its a damn fine wine.
i'll be making 30 bottles + this year.

I would also advise making a second run off the left over pudding & fruit for a lighter wine.


----------



## Superdupastupor (Jan 3, 2013)

Do you think you could possibly use pine needles somewhere in a recipe?



/this is what happens isn't it? you start looking at the world and wondering- is this fermentable


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## Dovydaitis (Jan 3, 2013)

Addy said:


> http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?1758-Wine-Number-4-Dessert-Wine
> 
> 
> 
> ...


certainly looks a winner! will be getting some cheap xmas puds in methinks. How soon till it's drinkable?


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## Addy (Jan 4, 2013)

As soon as the wine cleared it was bottled and very drinkable.

If you have a go at this wine I would suggest making the total volume in the fermenting bucket up to 7.5 litres (inc pudding & fruit) I ended up with 6 litres of wine once filtered etc.

Once you have added the boiling water and broke down the pudding put a lid on the bucket and leave it somewhere very cold. A layer of fat / butter will form on the surface from the pudding, so carefully remove as much as possible with your mixing spoon.

After its had 5 days  in the bucket, use a jug, sieve and funnel to transfer the liquid to 2 demijohns, then repeat the recipe again using the cake / fruit thats left behind.

Just before bottling I stabilised the wine with 1 crushed campdem tablet and a tsp of potasium sorbate, then sweetned it with 200g of sugar desolved in 1/2 a cup of boiling water for the whole batch.


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## Dovydaitis (Jan 5, 2013)

M





friedaweed said:


> I'm going to do this in the new year


Mine went on Thursday night, don't make the mistake I did and use a dj. This is very active stuff, I have had to transfer it to the fv this morning after a second overflow


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## Dovydaitis (Jan 5, 2013)

ok so which of you orrible lot have bought up all the xmas puddings in oxford?  only place that had them was marks and at a fiver a pud this had better be wine of the gods!


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## Dovydaitis (Jan 5, 2013)

Also, Wilkos complete wine starter and real ale starter kits in the boys toys range are now a tenner, not bad at all considering the wine kit has a dj, wine bag and box, syphon tube, etc


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## Dovydaitis (Jan 8, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> Also, Wilkos complete wine starter and real ale starter kits in the boys toys range are now a tenner, not bad at all considering the wine kit has a dj, wine bag and box, syphon tube, etc


And is the most active fermentation I have ever seen! Day 4 and still it keeps overflowing


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## og ogilby (Jan 20, 2013)

Dunelm mill are selling Woodfordes kits for £13.99 atm.

http://www.dunelm-mill.com/webapp/w...ctId=296153&summaryOnly=true&bct=ordersummary

The site is dreadful for navigating, but they have Wherry kits, Sundew Kits and Admirals Reserve.

They wont deliver but you can reserve and collect in store.


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## existentialist (Jan 20, 2013)

og ogilby said:


> Dunelm mill are selling Woodfordes kits for £13.99 atm.
> 
> http://www.dunelm-mill.com/webapp/w...ctId=296153&summaryOnly=true&bct=ordersummary
> 
> ...


Bastards. My nearest one is 55 miles away - I think that'd just about negate any saving


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## Dovydaitis (Jan 20, 2013)

og ogilby said:


> Dunelm mill are selling Woodfordes kits for £13.99 atm.
> 
> http://www.dunelm-mill.com/webapp/w...ctId=296153&summaryOnly=true&bct=ordersummary
> 
> ...


OOOOOOOOOO


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## butcher (Jan 22, 2013)

Brewing a Festival Strong Suffolk and a St Peters Ruby Red, and drinking my xmass Brewmaker IPA made with 500g extra brew enhancer plus a WG Hop tea and dry hop, really coming on as a pint now.


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## existentialist (Jan 22, 2013)

Just got a Festival Father Hooks delivered (along with a kit'n'kilo job, a kilo of spraymalt, and a box of Barolo wine kit). Nom.

And I still have some of my Christmas brews left - probably because I'm trying to have a dry January.


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## og ogilby (Jan 22, 2013)

I've just started drinking a batch of Father Hooks that's been in the bottle almost two months. Very nice pint indeed.


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## og ogilby (Jan 22, 2013)

butcher said:


> Brewing a Festival Strong Suffolk.


I've drunk rather a lot of those recently and I'm going off it. Too heavy.

If I were only to have one pint of beer a night it might be all right.


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## badseed (Jan 23, 2013)

I just kegged a fine lager. After fermentation I dropped it to 2 degrees and left it there for a couple of weeks.
I tasted the first bit out of the tube as I was kegging it and it was pretty good, despite being flat. It's gassed and ready to go now.

Due to me trying not to drink for the whole of Jan I still have 2 good kegs on tap (Pilsner & Berry Wheat) so the lager will sit at the back of the fridge for a few weeks yet.

I made an American style pale ale with heaps of cascade, I don't like to see an empty fermenter.


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## Dovydaitis (Jan 23, 2013)

Xmas pud wine racked this afternoon, Wilkos red kit out the sale bagged and boxed yesterday and a home brew recipe book for a late birthday gift. Smashing


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## Dovydaitis (Jan 25, 2013)

popped into dunelm and the woodfordes kits are still on sale so picked up the sundew kit. Will sterilise the FV and bung it on later. They also have their flip top kilner bottles with 20% off so helped myself to 6 of them for my wine and port. Not a bad haul although my fingers have dropped off from the weight of getting the lot home


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## Addy (Jan 25, 2013)

I'm just getting to the bottom of my keg of Sundew, its not been a bad tipple at all, but it would suit a nice sunny afternoon rather than snowy evening.


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## Dovydaitis (Jan 25, 2013)

this is for a summer holiday so thought it would be quite nice on a summer evening


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## doddles (Jan 27, 2013)

Just brewed a Baltic Porter with crystal rye malt. 1.063 OG. And drinking a leftovers brew I made just before Christmas with leftover grains and hops topped up with a Cooper's pilsner kit and fermented on previous brew's kolsch yeast cake. Really nice.


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## Wolveryeti (Jan 27, 2013)

As a relative novice to this thread - how does everyone deal with the cloudiness which brewing with yeast imparts?


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## butcher (Jan 27, 2013)

The quick answer is after the primary fermentation, siphon into secondary container leaving most of the yeast behind, batch prime at 4-5g sugar /litre and then transfer to a keg or bottles. 

Leave it somewhere warm for 2-3 days to allow secondary fermentation (gets it fizzy) then allow to clear for 2 weeks up to 1 year, and the yeast settles out and should compact (different strains compact either more or less tightly).

Coopers stout for example clears very quickly and can be drunk after 10 days (although it benefits from at least a month to condition) but the Brewmaker IPA I did at Xmass took a month to clear and is only just drinking nicely.


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## existentialist (Jan 27, 2013)

What Butcher said, though I have to say that I have rarely had a problem with cloudiness when brewing from kits or concentrate unless I've left the brew on the yeast for too long and it's "caught" something (but is often still perfectly drinkable).


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## doddles (Jan 27, 2013)

Depends a bit if the cloudiness is due to yeast or due to protein haze. For the latter, you can add a bit of Irish Moss towards the end of the boil.

For yeast haze, as butcher and existentialist said above - time resting in bottle is the most important thing. I rarely transfer to a secondary fermenter these days - consensus is that  it's not worth the extra risk of infection. Just don't be too greedy when bottling and leave the last part of the brew in the bottom with all the yeast. You should definitely be batch priming using a bottling bucket though.

The other thing is that some yeasts drop out and form a compact cake at the bottom of the bottle much better than others. If you're just using kit yeast, not much you can do about it. But if you're buying separate yeast, then choose one with good reports on the brewing forums for high flocculation. e.g. US-05 and Nottingham are two dry yeasts suitable for a range of basic ales/bitters/stouts and both are pretty similar. But Nottingham clears up much better than US-05.


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## Addy (Jan 27, 2013)

If you really want to make a beer bright faster, (providing it is yeast in suspension that is causing the haze), you could use a beer fining such as kwik clear, issinglass, bentonite chitosan & kiesol ... to name the main ones used.
but unless your kegging beer and force carbonating then there is no need for any of the above, just time.

Sometimes you can get a pectic haze (depending on what you have used to brew from) or protiens as already mentioned by doddles, and sometimes pectalose will help clear it.

Sometime you can get a chill haze if you chill your bottles, nothing will combat this other than not chilling (and TBH, real ales should be between 8c - 12c dependant on the beer style.

Get yourself 3 fermenters and 2 kegs, and along with bottles your set for a continual production that will allow for clearing and conditioning time.

I saw some 25l bottles of water in Asda today, the bottles would be ideal for a conditioning vessel once made light safe.


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## Dovydaitis (Jan 28, 2013)

Addy said:


> http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?1758-Wine-Number-4-Dessert-Wine
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well tried this with the coffee filters and found them crap! Putting it through the Brita and working a treat


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## Addy (Jan 28, 2013)

Mine eventually cleared on its own after I left it in the cold shed for 2 weeks.

Let me know what you think of it when you taste a sample..... I loved it.


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## Dovydaitis (Jan 28, 2013)

this is getting rid of the fat deposits! I forgot your handy hint so got bits of fat floating on the top. Yeah will clear a treat once I've got rid of that.

The sundew is coming along nicely and the black cherry port I bottled last night is delicious


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## Dovydaitis (Feb 2, 2013)

I appear to be converting other people to the joys of home crafted ales


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## Addy (Feb 2, 2013)

its all good if you have the time to answere thier questions


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## Dovydaitis (Feb 2, 2013)

oh I am! Although so far I can only really answer on kits and a very simple xmas pud wine


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## butcher (Feb 19, 2013)

This week have stuck on 2 gallons of purple grape WOW, and a Honey Wheat beer (2.5kg watery honey plus a brewmaster Tarweiber kit), the St Peters Ruby Red and Festival Strong Suffolk will be tapped at the weekend


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## badseed (Feb 20, 2013)

butcher said:


> a Honey Wheat beer (2.5kg watery honey plus a brewmaster Tarweiber kit)


 
I am thinking about a Honey Wheat, what is watery honey  and when do you put it in?
I was thinking about 500g of pure Honey in the secondary so that it keeps the taste rather than fermenting out completely.

I just kegged an American Style IPA. Due to my poor drinking skills I ended up with lager on one tap and pilsner on the other. I usually like to have one lager/pilsner and one something else.

I just put another Heffe down in the fermetner.


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## existentialist (Feb 20, 2013)

I've just discovered that an event for which I am brewing 80 pints of bitter is now going to take place on licensed premises, so we won't be able to use it! O noez!


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## butcher (Feb 20, 2013)

badseed said:


> I am thinking about a Honey Wheat, what is watery honey  and when do you put it in?
> I was thinking about 500g of pure Honey in the secondary so that it keeps the taste rather than fermenting out completely.
> 
> I just kegged an American Style IPA. Due to my poor drinking skills I ended up with lager on one tap and pilsner on the other. I usually like to have one lager/pilsner and one something else.
> ...


 
A customer keeps bees and had 5 x 1lb jars of honey which had very runny (ie high water content honey) so I used the lot instead of sugar in a single brewferm tarwebier.

The SG was 1054 and if it ferments out OK I should get a 5.5-6% beer   As I had loads I just whacked it in at the start 

The initial taste of the 'wort' was good, so fingers crossed.


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## butcher (Feb 20, 2013)

Update:  if you do this boil the honey first, I didn't and there is a very strange whiff coming off the brew 

I'll report after it has fermed out.


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## Dovydaitis (Feb 20, 2013)

got nothing on the go at the min


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## Dovydaitis (Feb 25, 2013)

oh bollocks! Just realised the dj of sundew I have (ran out of bottles) will be no good as I only put kitchen roll over it to keep the floating bits out. It will have oxidised now wont it?


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## badseed (Feb 26, 2013)

butcher said:


> Update: if you do this boil the honey first, I didn't and there is a very strange whiff coming off the brew


 
Wild yeast or do you think it's infected?
What is the smell like?

I have made beer with honey before but I have always boiled it and put it in the primary. You don't have any honey taste at the end. Boiling destroys most of the flavour and the primary fermentation takes care of the rest.
Some people pasteurise their honey before using it, I am going to risk 500g straight out of a jar into a wheat beer wort just after the primary has finished. Honey wheat beer, the more honey taste the better.

I just chucked 30g of dry Saaz pellets into my heffe for the second week. I still have pilsner and lager on tap with an IPA on stand by.


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## butcher (Feb 27, 2013)

There was a sulphurous whiff but that died away quickly, since then it has smelled ok.

I am bottling on Sunday so will leave off judgement until the gravity sample has been tasted


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## badseed (Feb 27, 2013)

Some of the lager and pilsner yeast that I use give off a massive sulphur smell. It's just a characteristic of the yeast.
Hopefully nothing to worry about.


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## existentialist (Feb 27, 2013)

badseed said:


> Some of the lager and pilsner yeast that I use give off a massive sulphur smell. It's just a characteristic of the yeast.
> Hopefully nothing to worry about.


This, definitely. I'm banned from fermenting lagers in the kitchen because of this


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## badseed (Feb 27, 2013)

existentialist said:


> This, definitely. I'm banned from fermenting lagers in the kitchen because of this


  The first time I made a lager I though there was something wrong with it.


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## butcher (Mar 4, 2013)

butcher said:


> A customer keeps bees and had 5 x 1lb jars of honey which had very runny (ie high water content honey) so I used the lot instead of sugar in a single brewferm tarwebier.
> 
> The SG was 1054 and if it ferments out OK I should get a 5.5-6% beer  As I had loads I just whacked it in at the start
> 
> The initial taste of the 'wort' was good, so fingers crossed.


 
The FG was 998, giving a 7+% beer!  It tastes pretty good on bottling so I might have a nice one in a month


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## Dovydaitis (Mar 4, 2013)

wilkos have the deal of kits have free sugar on again. Picked up a forest fruits cider kit today


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## badseed (Mar 8, 2013)

My Heffe is ready for kegging, the lager is going down well.
Next up is a triple choc & Coffee stout.
I was thinking of a double chocolate stout and then adding 200g cold pressed espresso & some chocolate extract to the secondary.
Chocolate, coffee & beer in 1 glass.


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## Dovydaitis (Mar 15, 2013)

well have cracked open one of my sample bottles of sundew. It is bloody lovely!


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## og ogilby (Mar 16, 2013)

Glad to hear that because I've got two sundew kits waiting to be brewed.


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## Addy (Mar 16, 2013)

I sank my Sundew in record time ...  

But the latest brew is an Apollo tripple....
Boil, steep, dry

Apollo hops .... O fecking M.... bloodclart Geee

Single hopped pale ale with Apollo.... give it a go ... its amazing!


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## butcher (Mar 17, 2013)

Got a Maple syrup Stout on, (coopers orig stout plus 1 kg enhancer plus 900g maple flavour syrup).

3 more WoW Grape n Prunes, and planning a Cascade Dry Hopped Better Brew IPA, plus 1kg malt & souped up with some extra dextrose.

Oh, and the honey wheat beer is feckin awesome !


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## Dovydaitis (Mar 17, 2013)

I've got a forest fruits cider kit to go in and want to make some more black cherry port as it seems to be evaporating  

Will have to wait though as got too much uni work on at the mo


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## Frances Lengel (Mar 23, 2013)

Got a barrel each of wilkos lager and wilkos pilsner which are still clearing, a fermenting bin full of wilkos newky brown and about half a barrel of wilkos bitter left. It's all about the wilkos kits for me. A tenner. And the best thing is, by the time it's ready, it's weeks after you spent the tenner so it feels like you're drinking for nothing.


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## Dovydaitis (Mar 23, 2013)

I quite like the wilkos kit. Does what it says on the tin and not a bad drop


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## badseed (Mar 24, 2013)

I just kegged my triple chocolate & coffee stout.
Obviously, purely for quality control, I had to try a couple of glasses and it's up with the best beers I have ever made.

I used a double chocolate stout kit (chocolate barley and chocolate wheat) which I brewed with a Safale English Ale yeast.
After a week I added 100g cold pressed ground espresso which had been soaking for 24 hours and 100g cocoa powder which was pre-mixed with water before pitching.

A great brew, I was worried it might be too bitter because of the cocoa and coffee additions but it's perfect.
All the flavours are there but nicely balanced, none of them seem dominant. Chocolate malt, chocolate and coffee. Just what I wanted.

A great after dinner beer. Imagine a choclate dessert, a coffee, a dessert wine and a marlborough red in 1 glass. Perfect.
I need to stop drinking it now so I can make my next brew (Pilsner)


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## og ogilby (Mar 24, 2013)

Sundew is a tenner now at Dunhelm.

http://www.dunelm-mill.com/search/?query=homebrew


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## badseed (Mar 28, 2013)

If you ever make a a stout or porter with coffee be aware that, although it tastes fantastic, it will keep you awake.
FACT


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## Dovydaitis (Mar 28, 2013)

badseed said:


> If you ever make a a stout or porter with coffee be aware that, although it tastes fantastic, it will keep you awake.
> FACT


sounds like a superb 'morning after' session drink


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## Dovydaitis (Apr 7, 2013)

and I'm back in the saddle! Got forest fruits cider in the FV, mixed fruits alcoshot in the DJ and 5 bottles of skittles spirits. I know the skittles one isn't proper brewing but is all for the same thing
Got a coopers cervaza waiting to go in next and a bottle of tequila syrup to bung in after fermentation to make desperados (hopefully)
The woman at dorset homebrew must rub her hands together when she seems me coming


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## Addy (Apr 7, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> and I'm back in the saddle! Got forest fruits cider in the FV, mixed fruits alcoshot in the DJ and 5 bottles of skittles spirits. I know the skittles one isn't proper brewing but is all for the same thing
> Got a coopers cervaza waiting to go in next and a bottle of tequila syrup to bung in after fermentation to make desperados (hopefully)
> The woman at dorset homebrew must rub her hands together when she seems me coming


 
add some ginger wine and lime juice when you bottle the Desperado


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## Frances Lengel (Apr 7, 2013)

badseed said:


> If you ever make a a stout or porter with coffee be aware that, although it tastes fantastic, it will keep you awake.
> FACT


 
And it'd presumably send you loopy in a similar manner to buckfast


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## Addy (Apr 7, 2013)

I made a coffee wine once.

2 Tbsp of coffee
1 bag of sugar
squirt of lemon juice
yeast
4.5l water

Every time the wine got down to 1.000 on the hydrometer, feed it another 100g of sugar
Repeat until it stops fermenting and sweetens up.
You end up with an 18% abv Tia Maria type of liqure / wine.
Great for Black Russians


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## Dovydaitis (Apr 8, 2013)

Addy said:


> add some ginger wine and lime juice when you bottle the Desperado


ooooo might have to give this a go! The tequila syrup I've got is from the homebrew shop to flavour liquor


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## Dovydaitis (Apr 8, 2013)

stocks may be seriously depleted tonight


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## butcher (Apr 11, 2013)

The Betterbrew IPA dry hopped with 30g Cascade hops is now undergoing it's secondary ferm, initial tasting leads me to think this will be a terrific APA type beer in a month or so


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## existentialist (Apr 13, 2013)

A friend of mine helped me extract a sheared-off bolt in the engine block of my Celica. It took 3 hours and all the garage facilities at his disposal, but we eventually sorted it. He wouldn't accept any money, but readily accepted my suggestion that I brewed him a batch of beer by way of thanks. It will be a light ale, with a couple of fresh chillis steeped in it.

Here's the branding (the image, incidentally, is the Exact Bolt that was extracted from the engine, complete with lumpy buildup of MIG-welded spatter to make it stick out far enough that we could weld another bolt head onto it to unscrew it).


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## Addy (Apr 25, 2013)

2 tins of pale LME
100g malted wheat grains mashed @ 67c for 30 mins
300g crystal malt grains mashed @ 67c for 30 mins
10g Apollo 60 min boil
25g Apollo 20 min steep
Dry hop 65g Apollo day 5-12
21l brewlength & a coopers APA yeast





Still a bit young and cloudy, but boy what a great pint.
Slightly sweet, great citrussy flavours and grapefruit aroma and a nice bittering to offset the initial sweet taste.

1 of my best brews yet.


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## friedaweed (Apr 25, 2013)

Just about to do a special BBQ beer


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## Dovydaitis (Apr 25, 2013)

was at a local brewery last weekend, really want to have a go at a full mash brew now


----------



## butcher (Apr 27, 2013)

existentialist said:


> A friend of mine helped me extract a sheared-off bolt in the engine block of my Celica. It took 3 hours and all the garage facilities at his disposal, but we eventually sorted it. He wouldn't accept any money, but readily accepted my suggestion that I brewed him a batch of beer by way of thanks. It will be a light ale, with a couple of fresh chillis steeped in it.
> 
> Here's the branding (the image, incidentally, is the Exact Bolt that was extracted from the engine, complete with lumpy buildup of MIG-welded spatter to make it stick out far enough that we could weld another bolt head onto it to unscrew it).
> View attachment 31358


 
1075 OG


----------



## existentialist (Apr 27, 2013)

butcher said:


> 1075 OG


Oh, you can ignore that - it's a hangover from the label template for the previous brew (a Christmas ale I brew every year)


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## Dovydaitis (May 4, 2013)

bollocks! Just racked my desperados into a PB and the knacking thing leaks!


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## two sheds (May 5, 2013)

What's to stop you just putting all the beer ingredients into the barrel and brewing it for a few days then pouring it from the tap with the sediment settling below the tap so you don't get any of the sediment?

/innocent question


----------



## Addy (May 5, 2013)

two sheds said:


> What's to stop you just putting all the beer ingredients into the barrel and brewing it for a few days then pouring it from the tap with the sediment settling below the tap so you don't get any of the sediment?
> 
> /innocent question


 
You _could_ do it, but its not advisable.
The amount of sediment and floating crud _could_ be too much unless you used a high flocculent yeast strain such as Muntons Gold as that sets the sediment like jelly.

You would also have to leave the lid off otherwise your keg would turn into a beer bomb with all the co2 produced with the fermentation.


For the cost of a brewing bucket and a length of tube to siphon, and the clarity of racking off the finished beer I wouldn't recomend it.


----------



## two sheds (May 5, 2013)

Addy said:


> You would also have to leave the lid off otherwise your keg would turn into a beer bomb with all the co2 produced with the fermentation.


 
/hurries off to unscrew the lid to let some of the pressure off


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## Addy (May 5, 2013)

two sheds said:


> /hurries off to unscrew the lid to let some of the pressure off


 
Cover the top of your keg with a folded piece of cling film & an elastic bag, then prick a couple of pin holes in it to let the co2 escape.


----------



## two sheds (May 5, 2013)

Ta though - I've been doing it for the last year but just wanted to check why I shouldn't be doing it.

I've not had a problem with the sediment - I'm using EDME's kits. It's just really easy this way - I do two barrels at a time and it just takes half an hour to throw all the ingredients in and then let them sit for a week feeding them with hot water bottles.

I usually leave the top slightly unscrewed trusting that the CO2 will give a bit of a positive pressure so no nasties get in. I have got the barrels in industrial strength plastic sacks though.


----------



## two sheds (May 5, 2013)

Addy said:


> Cover the top of your keg with a folded piece of cling film & an elastic bag, then prick a couple of pin holes in it to let the co2 escape.


 
oooooh ta will do 

Looks at addy with hushed awe.


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## Dovydaitis (May 8, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> bollocks! Just racked my desperados into a PB and the knacking thing leaks!


OK, I'm an idiot! The tap was loose  so it's back in and sitting there quite happily


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## friedaweed (May 9, 2013)

OK I did it. I finally went out and got a posh red






I got the 30 bottle version for 30 sovs of me pal down at the homebrew super macado


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## badseed (May 10, 2013)

Addy said:


> Cover the top of your keg with a folded piece of cling film & an elastic bag, then prick a couple of pin holes in it to let the co2 escape.


I don't even put holes in mine. I use the rubber seal from the original fermenter around the cling wrap. The CO2 will get out without any problems, the molecules are much smaller than air.

I just added 500g of honey to a wheat beer which has been fermenting for 7 days, hopefully the  late addition will mean that the honey taste doesn't disappear totally. I will chill it down in another week.
Planning my next brew already. Probably another super hoppy IPA, maybe Galaxy hops.


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## Addy (May 19, 2013)

As usual, my stout is trying to escape its current home...


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## Dovydaitis (May 20, 2013)

it's official, I cannot make cider. Tried my forest fruits on Friday after 4 weeks in the barrel and it tastes a bit grim. Has a very chemically after taste and no real fruit hit. Everything else I have made has been fine but cider just will not play ball


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## Addy (May 20, 2013)

For cider I just use cheap apple juice from Lidl.
Fill the demijohn with 4l of apple juice, add some tannin (if you have none add a cup of strong stewwed black tea)
add some cider yeast and leave it for 3-4 days.
When the krausen subsides top up with more juice and leave until clear.


----------



## johnnymarrsbars (May 20, 2013)

I tried home brew once. Bought loads of kit from Wilko's, then of course made home made cider from cheap Lidl apple juice. 

Needless to say, I did it when I was a student, it tasted like shit but got us completely rat arsed. 

Not sure if I'll give it another go though...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2


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## Dovydaitis (May 20, 2013)

Addy said:


> For cider I just use cheap apple juice from Lidl.
> Fill the demijohn with 4l of apple juice, add some tannin (if you have none add a cup of strong stewwed black tea)
> add some cider yeast and leave it for 3-4 days.
> When the krausen subsides top up with more juice and leave until clear.


the cider I made from scratch seems to be ok, but kit cider I just cannot get right


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## Addy (May 20, 2013)

Kit cider is best avoided ... I have never brewed 1, but reports tell me I shouldnt either.

Turbo cider delivers if you like a nice crisp dry cider.


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## Dovydaitis (May 21, 2013)

Think I will stick to full brew when it comes to cider


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## mr steev (Jun 2, 2013)

I'm going to get brewing this afternoon.
The kit/yeast I have is recommended to work at 21-27 degrees which my flat never gets to, so a mate has lent me a heating mat. Has anyone any advice on using one?
I've read that some people stand the bucket on a wire tray to raise it slightly off the mat. Is that necessary?
How often/how long is it likely to be needed to be on? Will I need to get a timer plug? Or will a few hours in the day and wrapping the bucket up do?
I've got a thermometer so I can check it, but is it wise taking the lid off several times? (obviously I'd sterilise it)
Thanks


----------



## butcher (Jun 2, 2013)

I have never used a heating mat and it has all brewed OK to date.  Which kit is it?


----------



## Frances Lengel (Jun 2, 2013)

mr steev said:


> I'm going to get brewing this afternoon.
> The kit/yeast I have is recommended to work at 21-27 degrees which my flat never gets to, so a mate has lent me a heating mat. Has anyone any advice on using one?
> I've read that some people stand the bucket on a wire tray to raise it slightly off the mat. Is that necessary?
> How often/how long is it likely to be needed to be on? Will I need to get a timer plug? Or will a few hours in the day and wrapping the bucket up do?
> ...


 
I've never used any sort of heating mat or owt - As long as it's over 18 degrees it'll work I reckon. But I've only been brewing since last year though.


----------



## mr steev (Jun 2, 2013)

It's a Coopers kit. I very much doubt the room in my flat where it will be gets to 18 even in the day. It's mostly warmer outside tbh, and at night it can be quite chilly.
I did a stout not so long ago, but that was in the winter so the heating was on. That turned out fine, but the yeast for that said 16-18, this one is quite a bit warmer it seems.


----------



## Addy (Jun 2, 2013)

Coopers yeast is quite hardy so it should be fine from 16c - 25c.
As for using a heating mat, never tried it. Get a fish tank heater and drop that in the fermenter set to (calibrated) 20c


----------



## mr steev (Jun 2, 2013)

I've been given a fishtank heater too, but it seems to be broken.
I didn't get round to doing it today anyway, so will get it started in the week


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jun 3, 2013)

My first proper batch of crafted beers were sampled last weekend ahead of our holiday next month and they went down a storm!


----------



## friedaweed (Jun 5, 2013)

This looks interesting  It's getting done as part of Finn Larden's school project for which he has chosen beer making as his subject. Thatsa ma boy 

I've currently got the Framboos in the FV. It smells like canyfloss


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 5, 2013)

I want to make the framboos too but have just packed my stuff away till after my hols next month


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## badseed (Jun 5, 2013)

friedaweed said:


> I've currently got the Framboos in the FV. It smells like canyfloss


 
Is that a lambic? What yeast did you use?
I like lambic beers but I am too scared to have any of that shit in my house


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## friedaweed (Jun 5, 2013)

badseed said:


> Is that a lambic? What yeast did you use?
> I like lambic beers but I am too scared to have any of that shit in my house


It's a kit from Brewferm 





It's bubbling away like a mad man and the whole kitchen stinks of raspberries


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jun 6, 2013)

they do a cherry one too but it's not cheap. Still, would be a nice tipple in these lovely sunny days

eta: got it! but it's £25


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## Addy (Jun 6, 2013)

50% off all homebrew stuff in Wilko's at the moment.


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 6, 2013)

curses!


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## Ground Elder (Jun 6, 2013)

Wherry and Nog out of stock


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## Addy (Jun 6, 2013)

Try instore


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## Ground Elder (Jun 6, 2013)

I've sent my brother to find out   Have you tried the Brewmaker Old English before Addy? Got one on the go at the moment.


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## Addy (Jun 6, 2013)

Nope, not tried it but for £11 it cant be bad.


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## friedaweed (Jun 6, 2013)

Addy said:


> 50% off all homebrew stuff in Wilko's at the moment.
> 
> View attachment 33384


Top heads up mate. Just filled the cupboards 

That should do me for a years supply of booze for £100


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## mr steev (Jun 6, 2013)

Addy said:


> 50% off all homebrew stuff in Wilko's at the moment.


 

Do you know how long that's on for?


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## Addy (Jun 6, 2013)

Offer is on until 12/06/2013

No idea, but online is selling out fast.


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 7, 2013)

Might have to pop to my local Wilkos....


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## seeformiles (Jun 7, 2013)

Started bottling 800+ pints of cider last night. It is a seriously lovely brew 

Here's the label:


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## badseed (Jun 7, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> they do a cherry one too but it's not cheap. Still, would be a nice tipple in these lovely sunny days
> 
> eta: got it! but it's £25


 
Needs this - http://www.wyeastlab.com/rw_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=129

Although, you would need to boil all your equipment in bleach, burn your house down then salt the earth around the smouldering crater after you were finished. Otherwise all your future beers will be sour.


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 8, 2013)

at £25 a pop I'm not rushing out to buy it


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## mr steev (Jun 8, 2013)

I've just been to Wilkos... 'total savings: £47.50'
nice


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## friedaweed (Jun 8, 2013)

Just been into mine. Shelves *were* full 
Collect my order as well tomorrow. That's the brewery stocked for at least a year


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## friedaweed (Jun 8, 2013)

Wherry for £9 a pop


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## mr steev (Jun 8, 2013)

There was more than I've ever seen on the shelves earlier. Usually they only have a bitter and a lager. I managed to get the last stout for £6.50 
That's me sorted in a few weeks


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## Addy (Jun 8, 2013)

Which one did you go to mr steev ?


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## mr steev (Jun 8, 2013)

I got a selection - wherry, wilkos real ale, wilkos golden ale and a coopers stout


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## Addy (Jun 8, 2013)

Which branch of Wilko's?


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## mr steev (Jun 8, 2013)

The one in town (Wolves) by the library


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## Addy (Jun 8, 2013)

I already have 2 beer kits, 1 pear cider kit & 6 tins of malt for extract brews, a 30 bottle wine kit, a 6 bottle wine kit, 40 pints of stout kegged, 19l of pale ale kegged, 12 bottles of wine & 7 bottles of cider.

....but I'll be up town tomorrow for some more I think.

Just checked online and its all stocked up again so fill your boots.

I just spent another £80 on kits & malt/sugar


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## xslavearcx (Jun 8, 2013)

I'm about to buy my first home brew diy kit, which i will also be using to brew the mash for my moonshine once my still has been built.

Is this a good starter kit to buy?

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Lager_Starter_kit_COOPERS_5_gallons.html#.UbN3g5xBiVo


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## friedaweed (Jun 8, 2013)

xslavearcx said:


> I'm about to buy my first home brew diy kit, which i will also be using to brew the mash for my moonshine once my still has been built.
> 
> Is this a good starter kit to buy?
> 
> http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Lager_Starter_kit_COOPERS_5_gallons.html#.UbN3g5xBiVo


It's a great starter kit dude. My pal got started on that and he's well pleased with it.  However, you may want to have a look here....
http://www.wilko.com/kitchen/home-brewing/icat/70

As they have 50% off everything currently


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## xslavearcx (Jun 8, 2013)

ha brilliant. cheers for the headsup!


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## Addy (Jun 8, 2013)

....christ... I just bought another 4 kits and some red & white grape extract.
I can't help myself


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## xslavearcx (Jun 8, 2013)

unfortunately this is out of stock...

http://www.wilko.com/kitchen/home-b...scend&q=*&pdxttype=Beer+and+Lager+Making+Kits

gonna check the store in clydebank, see if its there


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## friedaweed (Jun 8, 2013)

xslavearcx said:


> unfortunately this is out of stock...
> 
> http://www.wilko.com/kitchen/home-brewing/icat/70?sort=name&parentCategoryRef=70&order=ascend&q=*&pdxttype=Beer and Lager Making Kits
> 
> gonna check the store in clydebank, see if its there


Just keep checking they seem to be restocking daily. Even if you went in a got everything separately you'd still be onto a winner. They have their kegs, FV buckets, mixing spoons, siphon kits and everything else including the booze kits you would need in store with fiddy cent offas well.You can get a keg for £12 in there at the mo

What do you want brew chief?


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## xslavearcx (Jun 8, 2013)

well i have to confess, im not much of a real ale drinker. so something as close to carling, tennents as possible  But i am planning on developing a palate as i continue onto this hobby


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## Addy (Jun 8, 2013)

I would recomend making a Coopers Australian Pale Ale with a 1kg brew Enhancer.
That would give you a good lager/ale crossover drink.

To make a propper lager you need to ferment at 9-13c with a propper lager yeast, and then lager the brew for 4-6 weeks in a temperature controlled enviroment for it to be anywhere close to a real lager.


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## friedaweed (Jun 8, 2013)

xslavearcx said:


> well i have to confess, im not much of a real ale drinker. so something as close to carling, tennents as possible  But i am planning on developing a palate as i continue onto this hobby


As you will see from the post below yours you have come to the right thread 

My next project is a lagering fridge


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 9, 2013)

I *really *need to get on this and stock up for September! Apparently according to my local HBS the wilkos stuff is made by muntons


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 9, 2013)

hmm, most stuff sold out online, looks like a trip to town is needed


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## friedaweed (Jun 9, 2013)

It finishes Tuesaday. Just got a keg for £11 and a vinbright filter system for the same amount this sarvo


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## Addy (Jun 9, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> hmm, most stuff sold out online, looks like a trip to town is needed


 
Keep checking online as the stock varies day to day.
When I first posted the offer there was virtually no online stock, I have since spent about £100 online


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 9, 2013)

managed to get a couple of bits for 15 quid but will pop down tomorrow after work (I finish 8am  )


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 10, 2013)

Just back from my local branch ad it has been wiped out. Managed to grab a lager and a stout as well as a white wine starter kit. The woman on the till asked if I was having a go at home brew too, her face dropped when I said (granted rather excitedly) that I already did it and was just stocking up before adding I would be back tomorrow for my online order


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## xslavearcx (Jun 10, 2013)

Addy said:


> Keep checking online as the stock varies day to day.
> When I first posted the offer there was virtually no online stock, I have since spent about £100 online


 
Offer ends tommorrow, just checked it there and no change alas. Hopefully tommorrow they have some more in stock.


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## xslavearcx (Jun 10, 2013)

Addy said:


> I would recomend making a Coopers Australian Pale Ale with a 1kg brew Enhancer.
> That would give you a good lager/ale crossover drink.
> 
> To make a propper lager you need to ferment at 9-13c with a propper lager yeast, and then lager the brew for 4-6 weeks in a temperature controlled enviroment for it to be anywhere close to a real lager.


 
Thanks addy. I've read a few beer making introduction websites and apparently its a pretty common noob question that comes up: how do i make my carling/tennents/stella etc


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## friedaweed (Jun 10, 2013)

xslavearcx said:


> *how do i make my carling/tennents/stella etc*


You don't. you make much better stuff than that shit


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## Frances Lengel (Jun 10, 2013)

Right, listen - Piss on chips time but apparently wilkos use workfare labour. Having principles costs sometimes. Either graft wilkos or boycott wilkos.


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## xslavearcx (Jun 10, 2013)

friedaweed said:


> You don't. you make much better stuff than that shit


 
Im going to try and get into real ale now


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## friedaweed (Jun 10, 2013)

Frances Lengel said:


> Right, listen - Piss on chips time but apparently wilkos use workfare labour. Having principles costs sometimes. Either graft wilkos or boycott wilkos.


Ssssssshhhhhh! Cheep grog is cheap grog. There's no way they would let crims near home brew products


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 11, 2013)

Wilkos stuff is muntons and youngs.. Not sure on efficacy


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## Addy (Jun 14, 2013)

Well the first wilko's brews are on today, an elderberry wine & a strawberry wine.

I still have....
1 of Wilko Smooth & Light Chardonnay Wine Making Kit 1.7kg
2 of Wilko Forest Fruits Cider Kit
1 of Wilko Rose Wine 30 Bottle Kit
1 of Wilko Sweet Newkie Brown
1 of Wilko Spicy Cabernet Sauvignon Wine 6 Bottle Kit
1 of Wilko Pear Cider Kit
1 of Wilko Cab Sauv Wine 30 Bottle Kit
1 of Brewmaker Best of British Old English Ale Beer Kit 3kg
1 of Wilko Golden Ale
2 of Woodforde's Real Ale Kit Wherry 3kg
2 of Wilko Elderberry Country Wine
3 of Wilko Strawberry Country Wine

Sundries
1 of Wilko Beermaking Deluxe Pack
2 of Liss Natural C02 Soda Chargers Capsules x 10
1 of Wilko Siphon Pack
5 of Wilko Brewing Sugar 1kg
5 of Wilko 100% Red Grape Concentrate
5 of Wilko 100% White Grape Concentrate

And beside that I have
7 tins of LME + variouse hops & grains for extract brews
Lions Pride Ale


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## friedaweed (Jun 14, 2013)

I have a similar haul plus I've just picked up 400 330ml bottles off of a pal who works in a very well known brewery 

I'm making him the Sweet Newkie brown tomorrow. He has just give me a bag of bottle caps. I'm reconing theres about 2,000 there 

Bottled the framboos last night. It was like nectar straight out the bucket


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## og ogilby (Jun 14, 2013)

I grabbed 19 two can beer kits and 8 of their premium 30 bottle wine kits.

That's me sorted for the next six months. This sale is really going to hit the small hb shops, I think.


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## Addy (Jun 14, 2013)

I have a similar friend who supplies me with grains & hops. I also had a box of 2000 bottle caps


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## og ogilby (Jun 14, 2013)

I spent about £350 in the sale so that probably works out at around £800 or maybe more that I won't be spending in my lhbs over the next few months. I do feel pretty bad about it but who can afford to pass up on that kind of a saving.


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## mr steev (Jun 14, 2013)

I have a mate who grows his own hops. Something I intend to do up the allotment at some point.

I discovered a very handy little gadget that my mate lent me last night when I was bottling my last brew. It may be old news to some people, but I've never heard of it before. A very simple little valve at the end of the syphoning tube with a tiny plastic pin sticking out that opens when you push the pin on the bottom of the bottle and closes as soon as you lift the tube slightly. All my bottles got filled to a perfect level really quickly with no spillage


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## Addy (Jun 14, 2013)

A bottling stick or 'little bottler'
I have 1 that attaches to the tap on my FV when I bottle brews, makes it much quicker and convenient.


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 14, 2013)

I didn't do too great in the wilkos sale, was sold out but now the shelves in wilkos are full again 

but I did get:
2x black cherry wine
1x pear cider
1x stout
1x lager
1x chardonnay starter kit

Nothing on at the mo as I go away in a couple of weeks. Also a mate of mine is giving up on the old HB game and giving me his stuff. It's only another FV and a couple of bits but saves me buying it. I will still pop to my (not so) local HBS as the woman who runs it is great and they do bits for spirit brews I can't get from wilkos


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## friedaweed (Jun 15, 2013)

Morrisons selling this off half price at 78p a box 

Putting a box of it in my bock


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## Addy (Jun 15, 2013)

Interesting, I'll look out for those tomorrow when I do the weekly shop.
Cheers for the heads up.


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## friedaweed (Jun 15, 2013)

Addy said:


> Interesting, I'll look out for those tomorrow when I do the weekly shop.
> Cheers for the heads up.


It just says 'caramelized sugar' on the ingredients.
That looks and sounds just like candy sugar as far as I can see. I think the caramalised taste will suit the bock very well and I'm going to try it in the Newkie kit as well. If it does perform like Belgian CS 3 kilos for £4.70 int bad anyways.


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## Addy (Jun 15, 2013)

I generally make my own, but it would be handy to have some ready made in boxes for idleness


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## friedaweed (Jun 15, 2013)

Addy said:


> I generally make my own, but it would be handy to have some ready made in boxes for idleness


Yup same here. I've just opened one and the daughter says it's the biz as sweets 

If ya can't get any give us a shout I'm gonna go and clear out my local Morrisons tomorrow. I've just seen how much online HBS are charging for it


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## og ogilby (Jun 15, 2013)

friedaweed said:


> Morrisons selling this off half price at 78p a box
> 
> Putting a box of it in my bock


I read your post before I went to Morrisons and I thought I'd have a look for that.

The price label said 78p and underneath in smaller print it said £1.56 per KG.

It didn't look on any kind of offer to me.


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## friedaweed (Jun 15, 2013)

og ogilby said:


> I read your post before I went to Morrisons and I thought I'd have a look for that.
> 
> The price label said 78p and underneath in smaller print it said £1.56 per KG.
> 
> It didn't look on any kind of offer to me.


http://www.waitrose.com/webapp/wcs/...+Lyle+sugar+amber+crystals.html?storeId=10317
£1.59 (£3.18 per kg)
http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Tate--Lyle-Amber-Crystals-Sugar/40855011
£1.59 


Price per kg: £3.18
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/tesc.../tate_and_lyle_amber_sugar_crystals_500g.html

Does it look on offer now bozzo?

It's either a price mistake or a half price reduction. It's been £1.59 in MOrrisons for about 3 months which is why I've never purchased it until now.

 This ones for you X


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## og ogilby (Jun 15, 2013)

I think it must be a price mistake then. They wouldn't reduce the price by 50% without making a big song and dance about it, I don't think.

I might even go and clear the shelf tomorrow myself. I didn't buy any tonight, but now I know it's a bargain I want it all.


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 16, 2013)

No morrisons near me


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## friedaweed (Jun 16, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> No morrisons near me


PM us if you want Dovy I'll post you a bag 


og ogilby said:


> I think it must be a price mistake then. They wouldn't reduce the price by 50% without making a big song and dance about it, I don't think.
> 
> I might even go and clear the shelf tomorrow myself. I didn't buy any tonight, but now I know it's a bargain I want it all.


My Morrisons has none left now 

It's one of the things I always try and keep an eye out for in the super markets price fuck-up. That and fruit juice


----------



## Superdupastupor (Jun 16, 2013)

i put on a 20l strawb ribena +sugar w/ a white grape and cranberry base at the start of Apr and i must say it's coming out lovely now  *hic*



(must lay down gallon  )


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 16, 2013)

friedaweed said:


> PM us if you want Dovy I'll post you a bag
> 
> My Morrisons has none left now
> 
> It's one of the things I always try and keep an eye out for in the super markets price fuck-up. That and fruit juice


 
cheers, will have a nosey round here first and might be venturing oop north this week so can have a look then. if no joy will drop you a PM


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 17, 2013)

So, just been in lidl and they have coffee syrups on offer so I have grabbed a bottle of caramel syrup for my cider for just over a sov. Bargain!


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## friedaweed (Jun 17, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> So, just been in lidl and they have coffee syrups on offer so I have grabbed a bottle of caramel syrup for my cider for just over a sov. Bargain!


That sounds nice 

*Looks to see if he's near Lidl tmw


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 17, 2013)

They have caramel, vanilla and hazelnut. Can always do a goods swap frieda


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## friedaweed (Jun 17, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> They have caramel, vanilla and hazelnut. Can always do a goods swap frieda


I'm up for that. I'm gonna check a store out at work tmw but according to my gaff they don't do it. Me wants the hazelnut and Caramaccacaca 

Will check and see


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## Dovydaitis (Jun 17, 2013)

Just let me know it's round the corner from me


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## butcher (Jun 18, 2013)

Got some organic chocolate extract for my next Coopers stout.


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## friedaweed (Jun 18, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> Just let me know it's round the corner from me


Got two today. Hazelnut and caramel. I fancy having a go at that toffee apple cider.

I'm just enjoying a glass of my Belgian Wit (7 months in the bottle now). I can't believe I made this. It is so fucking nice


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jun 18, 2013)

friedaweed said:


> Got two today. Hazelnut and caramel. I fancy having a go at that toffee apple cider.
> 
> I'm just enjoying a glass of my Belgian Wit (7 months in the bottle now). I can't believe I made this. It is so fucking nice


I fancy giving that a whirl too


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## friedaweed (Jun 25, 2013)

Okey dokey made the Toffee apple cider.

Went with this little recipe.

1 Wilkinson 40 pint cider kit
1 kg of amber sugar crystals
1 bottle of LIdl caramel syrup
1 jar Morrisons cheap honey
2 vanilla pods (Bashed)
250 gm pitted dates
2 Assam teabags
Glug of vanilla extract
5 liters of Morrisons apple juice
Water to 23 ltr brew length
2 teaspoons of pectose
1 proflac tab
2 teaspoons of yeas nute
Youngs cider yeast


Boiled the tea, sugar, honey, vanilla pods and chopped dates in 2 lts of water and brought to a hard crack (Removing the tea bags after about 5-10 mins) and then chucked it in the FV with the rest of the bizzle.
It smelt fantastic and has already gone off like a rocket. SG of 1062 should give me a nice 8% cider.

My kitchen smells like a sweetshop


----------



## butcher (Jun 25, 2013)

Whacked a Coopers APA plus 1kg enhancer and 500g light DME on yesterday, dry hopping with 30g Cascade after 5 days, hoping for a nice light, hoppy, slightly boozy summer ale.


----------



## Addy (Jun 25, 2013)

butcher said:


> Whacked a Coopers APA plus 1kg enhancer and 500g light DME on yesterday, dry hopping with 30g Cascade after 5 days, hoping for a nice light, hoppy, slightly boozy summer ale.


 

Try doing this again with Apollo hops, its a very nice drink.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jun 26, 2013)

Itching to brew but go on holiday in 2 weeks where my current load will be drunk and ill get my barrels/bottles back.....


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## badseed (Jun 30, 2013)

I posted this on a 4wd camping trailer forum which I occasionally frequent but it's good info for here too. 

I use corny kegs in a kegerator at home and never want to go back to bottling. I always miss having my own brews with me when I'm away but the half size kegs are so expensive and not as readily available as standard corny's so I did a bit of googling and came across this idea.
All you need:

5l keg
Rubber bung for keg
Presta valve cut from old inner tube
Co2 bike pump
 
5l minikegs, presta valve, bike pump. Awesome.
I am a cyclist anyway so I have a co2 pump and often have punctured innertubes with presta valves.


I bought a couple of minikegs and bungs from this place but I am sure you can get them on the UK: http://minikeg.net.au/
I have knocked up a great DIY delivery system that fits in an esky or fridge. I know I am not the first one to do this but here are some instructions and pics for any young players.

Take the rubber bung with the intact middle bit.





Drill a 5mm (or 5.5 - takes a bit of trial and error) and push a presta valve through the hole. I pushed it halfway through then put a bit of silicon on the base and pushed the rest through.





I should point out here that I used a threadless valve, in hindsight this was a mistake as the nut would have held the valve in place better. I know for the next time.

I bought a beer line disconnect for a corny key and attached a couple of metres of pvc hose to it.
I connect this to the out of my standard corny and let it fill the minikeg. Simples....





I should also point out that the beer is already carbonated and ready for drinking from the corny. This is just storage/serving. You can use these kegs to carb as well, but I already have a system in place for that,

Once it's full you simply put the bung in and attach a co2 bike pump to pressurise the keg, hardly any gas is needed, just enough to push the beer out.





Result






Great for camping, picnics, barbecue etc or, as I did last night, in front of a film without having to get up.


----------



## butcher (Jun 30, 2013)

Can I or you post this in the homebrew forum please?


----------



## badseed (Jun 30, 2013)

Which homebrew forum?


----------



## butcher (Jul 1, 2013)

badseed said:


> Which homebrew forum?


http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jul 2, 2013)

Thinking of a fruity cider brew, would I be best using high juice afterwards or tropical fruit juice during?


----------



## badseed (Jul 4, 2013)

butcher said:


> http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/


 

Someone beat me to it, plus the links to the images were deemed to be too spammy by the over zealous admin bot.


----------



## badseed (Jul 11, 2013)

I have decided that I am going to go all-grain.
Having brewed extract and partial for years it's time to step up and brew like a true fucking god.
I thought about BIAB, but have decided to go three pot using a converted rubbermaid water cooler as a mash tun.

I have looked at it a lot over the years and I know how to do it, I just need to gather the shiny hardware now.
My lhbs will set me up with the cooler, I just need to get some massive pots. I am looking for a couple of 72 litre pots, or at least 1.
We are going on holiday for 3 weeks at the end of August so I will have to wait until I get back before I start buying stuff, but I'm excited.

50 litre batches for less than the price of a 20 litre batch of extract 

I made this label in anticipation. Using the technique and design idea from here


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 11, 2013)

badseed said:


> I have decided that I am going to go all-grain.
> Having brewed extract and partial for years it's time to step up and brew like a true fucking god.
> I thought about BIAB, but have decided to go three pot using a converted rubbermaid water cooler as a mash tun.
> 
> ...


I've been gathering all the materials myself to eventually have a go. I've got a nice mash tun and 2 Guinness kegs, gas burner and a shitload of tubing and fittings. At some point I will spend that week in me shed

Keep us informed


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## Dovydaitis (Jul 11, 2013)

I have yet to build up the nerve to do that. I am only just playing with kits and recipes so will be a while for me yet. However good on you!


----------



## Superdupastupor (Jul 11, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> Thinking of a fruity cider brew, would I be best using high juice afterwards or tropical fruit juice during?


 
I put in either fresh Apple juice or rubicon tropicals ~3/4 litres to top up 20l hard cider already fermenting as it is starting to slow down.   

most of the sugars get fermented but it has a more immediate 'fruity' flavour.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jul 11, 2013)

Superdupastupor said:


> I put in either fresh Apple juice or rubicon tropicals ~3/4 litres to top up 20l hard cider already fermenting as it is starting to slow down.
> 
> most of the sugars get fermented but it has a more immediate 'fruity' flavour.


 
sounds a plan!

When I get back of holiday the kitchen is going to smell great!


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jul 12, 2013)

Thought I'd take a couple of beers on holiday......


----------



## badseed (Jul 13, 2013)

Making an American style IPA.
Since this yeast is so expensive I am making up a starter to triple the size, half of it will go in the fridge for the next one.
If I keep doing this with new clean yeasts I should be able to get a reasonable collection  in the back of the fridge. $15 a pop, ridiculous.


----------



## badseed (Jul 13, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> Thought I'd take a couple of beers on holiday......
> 
> View attachment 36261


 

Nice, packing is all about priorities.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jul 13, 2013)

My thoughts exactly! I have since packed some clothes but it gave you a feel. It's all my brewing (well most) since September as I'd been brewing for this holiday


----------



## butcher (Jul 14, 2013)

badseed said:


> Making an American style IPA.
> Since this yeast is so expensive I am making up a starter to triple the size, half of it will go in the fridge for the next one.
> If I keep doing this with new clean yeasts I should be able to get a reasonable collection in the back of the fridge. $15 a pop, ridiculous.


 
Who has been filching lab equipment...hmmmm?  Tut tut tut!


----------



## badseed (Jul 16, 2013)

So I'm calling that experiment a success.

I let the yeast settle in the flask and decanted the first lot of wort off the yeast bed. I then swirled it around and put half in a sterile jar with sterile water.
I then made up another litre of wort and chucked it back in the flask and stirred it for another 36 hours. After that I let it settle again, decanted the wort, swirled and pitched in a super hoppy IPA.

Instant fermentation activity in the fermenter, no lag. Plus I have another portion of virgin yeast to repeat the whole process next time.





The plastic toy is an ingenious method to remove the stirrer and retain sanitation.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jul 23, 2013)

so...... out of that small pile of booze, all I bought home was 2 boxes of bottles and the barrels were half empty. All good reports so a successful trip me thinks!


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 23, 2013)

I have a brew fridge 

Pics soon.


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## Dovydaitis (Jul 26, 2013)

Lidl have the coffee syrups back in plus 5l mini kegs of beer that you can refill for 12 sovs.

Have got my Wilkos cider kit on the go last night, have used honey and dark sugar burnt off and a bottle of caramel syrup to try and get a toffee apple cider


----------



## diond (Jul 26, 2013)

I've tried making my own BIAB ale last year and it was fucking awful. I put it down to, in part anyway, that I used an electric cooker and found it increasingly hard to keep the temperature of the wort at constant constant. Looking on some websites I saw many using portable gas stoves. Has anybody had any good experiences using these? The reason I ask is that I've seen one in Home Bargains going for about a tenner but am thinking perhaps I would need to spend more than that to get one to yield better results.


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 28, 2013)

*Heads up*

Wilco's have put all their muntons premium 30 bottle wine kits on offer at £20 (From £37). I've only just bottled the shiraz from the last sale of these and its absolutely lovely. Apparently they're moving to another own brand product. I made the chardonnay for the kids mum and she said that was really nice as well. Anyway they're complete kits with no sugar required so that works out at 66p a bottle for your vino 

ETA They've taken them of the website as far as I can see so i'm guessing it's get what you can in store.


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## Dovydaitis (Jul 28, 2013)

Will this still be available Wednesday? Hate being this close to payday


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 29, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> Will this still be available Wednesday? Hate being this close to payday


I think they will continue until they've sold out Dovy


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## friedaweed (Jul 29, 2013)

Just mashed 3 kilos of cherries and added them to a wilkinsons light pilsner for a secondary ferment. It's only been in there an hour and those hungry little yeasties are pushing bubbles


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## Dovydaitis (Jul 29, 2013)

*steals another friedea*


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## friedaweed (Jul 29, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> *steals another friedea*


Cherries be reet cheap at the mo


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## Dovydaitis (Jul 29, 2013)

*puts on shopping list*

got a cider in at the mo, but I have inherited a second FV. Do I prep it and bung a pilsner in or wait....


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## friedaweed (Jul 29, 2013)

I brewed mine out first and once primary ferment had finished I then added the cherries. It can take quite a while apparently for the cherris to ferment out. Addy didn't you do one of these a while back or am I thinking of someone else?


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## Dovydaitis (Jul 29, 2013)

oh I have the time! these will be for my hols next year  ok maybe christmas..... 

Might clean the second FV and get the pilsner on it's way then grab some cherries for second ferment


----------



## Addy (Jul 29, 2013)

Not me, I don't brew lagers, and when I do it will be with a true lager yeast and a lagering period under temp control.


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 29, 2013)

Addy said:


> Not me, I don't brew lagers, and when I do it will be with a true lager yeast and a lagering period under temp control.


I've just got a 6tf fridge from work for exactly that purpose


----------



## badseed (Jul 30, 2013)

friedaweed said:


> I brewed mine out first and once primary ferment had finished I then added the cherries. It can take quite a while apparently for the cherris to ferment out. Addy didn't you do one of these a while back or am I thinking of someone else?


 
I did one, but I put the cherries in the primary iirc. They fermented quickly leaving behind skins.
The beer was nice, very fruity and red but there was no cherry flavour.

I recently did a mixed berry wheat beer where I added 1kg of frozen and defrosted/mashed berries to the secondary and it was beautiful.
I wrote about it here:


Spoiler



Berry Wheat


badseed said:


> Ok enthusiasts, I am excited about this one.
> My heffe has finished primary fermentation (10 days ay 16 degrees). Well and truly finished.
> So I added 1kg of mixed frozen berries.
> 
> ...





 
It looked like this and was beautiful:


----------



## badseed (Jul 30, 2013)

Addy said:


> Not me, I don't brew lagers, and when I do it will be with a true lager yeast and a lagering period under temp control.


 

I am crash chilling an IPA now before keggging. Next is a Czech pilsner.
I have an Urquell starter on the stir plate now, hopefully I will have enough by Thursday to do a cold pitch at 9 degrees.


----------



## friedaweed (Aug 1, 2013)

This week i shall mostly be drinking Lidl's


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## Dovydaitis (Aug 1, 2013)

friedaweed said:


> This week i shall mostly be drinking Lidl's


 
same idea as me! 

Although my wilko's pear cider with added caramel syrup, burnt honey and muscavado sugar smells heavenly...


----------



## friedaweed (Aug 1, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> same idea as me!
> 
> .


Your idea totally


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## Dovydaitis (Aug 1, 2013)

I do love Lidl


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## friedaweed (Aug 1, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> I do love Lidl


It was a good shout that. Me and Mrs Frieda have been quaffing the Weiss all afternoon. I've got a pal emptying one as well so my cherry beer can go in them


----------



## Dovydaitis (Aug 1, 2013)

I've not got one in yet, may have to


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## Dovydaitis (Aug 5, 2013)

note to self, the larger diameter the syphon tube the quicker the speed of the liquid 
new syphoning tube with tap on the end, bigger diameter than my last one and I've just been swimming in cider, not the best way to end the weekend


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## Dovydaitis (Sep 1, 2013)

wilkos wine kits that friedaweed was on about, now reduced even further to £9.97. The MIL is under orders to drink 30 bottles of wine


----------



## seeformiles (Sep 13, 2013)

First apple juice squeezed last night (7 gallons) - looks like it's going to be a good cider season!


----------



## Addy (Sep 13, 2013)

I currently have a Wilko's :
Forrest fruit cider in the corny keg
30 bottle Rose fermenting
6 bottle strawberry fermenting
Wherry fermenting


----------



## og ogilby (Sep 13, 2013)

I spoke to the bloke from my LHBS yesterday and I told him the reason he hadn't seen me in ages was because of the Wilco half price sale a few months back. He was really pissed off at Muntons (not Wilkos) and told me he was trying to now get rid of all Muntons products from his shop.


----------



## existentialist (Sep 13, 2013)

I've got 50 litres of high-strength brew on in the shed, ready for my 50th in early November. I shall need to get another 50l of the Christmas Special on quite soon, too.

And I am finally determined that I am going to set up the all-mash operation in the shed. I have all the pipework figured out (though still trying to find a quick-detach method of separating the HLT/wort boiler and mash/lauter tun from the pipework for cleaning).


----------



## Addy (Sep 13, 2013)

John Guest fittings


----------



## existentialist (Sep 13, 2013)

Addy said:


> John Guest fittings


Perfect!


----------



## Superdupastupor (Sep 16, 2013)

did a coffee type thing 4 months ago. tastes strong as fuck but I am not sure if that is the anise giving it a vapours/ spirits type effect pushing up the perceived ABV  really should get an alcometer .

 Served with 1part iced peppermint tea to 3.  Lush. 

Will have to make again.


----------



## seeformiles (Oct 2, 2013)

Another 12 gallons of apple juice pressed last night. Cider season is upon us!


----------



## Dovydaitis (Oct 5, 2013)

had some mead last weekend, it has had me reaching for my olde home brewing recipe book and have found one (well several) for mead. 

Now to get 1.5kgs of honey....


----------



## butcher (Oct 6, 2013)

Got a choc and vanilla coopers stout, with a partial amber malt mash inc.; and a Coopers ESVA plus partial amber malt mash dry hopping with cascade hops. 

Gonna be a booooooozy christmas.


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## friedaweed (Oct 6, 2013)

og ogilby said:


> I spoke to the bloke from my LHBS yesterday and I told him the reason he hadn't seen me in ages was because of the Wilco half price sale a few months back. He was really pissed off at Muntons (not Wilkos) and told me he was trying to now get rid of all Muntons products from his shop.


It looks like wilkos have fucked muntons off as well


----------



## butcher (Oct 8, 2013)

butcher said:


> Got a choc and vanilla coopers stout, with a partial amber malt mash inc.; and a Coopers ESVA plus partial amber malt mash dry hopping with cascade hops.
> 
> Gonna be a booooooozy christmas.



Tested the ESVA gravity today and the sample was double lush, hoppy IPA, boozy gorgeousness......Wahzo!

ETA and down to 1009   Keggin on Sunday for Chrimbo.


----------



## existentialist (Oct 8, 2013)

I currently have 66 litres of beer brewed and conditioning in 2l PETs, with a further 23 under fermentation as we speak.

The reason for this being an upcoming 50th birthday party, hem hem hem. 

I may have to transfer some of the brewed beer to a keg, simply to make dispense easier.


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## existentialist (Oct 8, 2013)

Also, this.






Step 3½ in the journey to an all-grain shed brewery. We're getting there...

(it's a drain manifold for a mash tun, in case you were wondering)


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## friedaweed (Oct 9, 2013)

existentialist said:


> I currently have 66 litres of beer brewed and conditioning in 2l PETs, with a further 23 under fermentation as we speak.
> 
> The reason for this being an upcoming 50th birthday party, hem hem hem.
> 
> I may have to transfer some of the brewed beer to a keg, simply to make dispense easier.


I brewed the bar for my partners sister's 50th last month.

I made two kegs of ale and about 80 bottles of cider and fruit beer and 23 ltrs of wine. I did a wherry and a festival ales pride of london porter. It was the first time I'd done a festival kit and I'm well impressed at the finished product. It's fucking nectar 

Everyone loved the fact that the ale was brewed especially for the party. We asked people to bring shorts and mixers and ran a cocktail bar as well.

Hope it goes well


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## seeformiles (Oct 10, 2013)

Started a system last year for getting hold of apples by saying to folks, "Give me your spare apples and I'll give you some cider 6 months down the line". Yesterday I got calls from 2 such people and went out to collect over 12st of decent fruit! They have also contacted their friends with spare fruit so it just keeps going. Only problem is finding time to press them all before they go off! I guess that's my evenings taken up for the next couple of weeks.


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## diond (Oct 12, 2013)

Hi All
I've bought a tub of Wilkos' BREWED AT HOME' Hoppy Copper Bitter but would love to add a touch of citrus to the mix. Is it as simple as adding the juice of a lemon or two and if so, does it matter when and could I knacker the brew up in any way doing this?

Cheers


----------



## existentialist (Oct 12, 2013)

diond said:


> Hi All
> I've bought a tub of Wilkos' BREWED AT HOME' Hoppy Copper Bitter but would love to add a touch of citrus to the mix. Is it as simple as adding the juice of a lemon or two and if so, does it matter when and could I knacker the brew up in any way doing this?
> 
> Cheers


Are you wanting the aromatic lemoniness, or the tartness?

If the former, then consider just zesting the lemon, and adding that (or getting hold of some lemon oil and adding no more than a teaspoon).

Changing the pH of the brew may well have some sort of effect on the process, but I don't think it is going to knacker the brew.

My Christmas beer gets a hop bag full of hot water-dunked spices and a spoonful of orange oil, and it hasn't broken it yet.


----------



## diond (Oct 12, 2013)

existentialist said:


> Are you wanting the aromatic lemoniness, or the tartness?
> 
> If the former, then consider just zesting the lemon, and adding that (or getting hold of some lemon oil and adding no more than a teaspoon).
> 
> ...


Cheers for the reply. I think I want a bit of both, to be honest. I have read since, that adding cascade to the mix can give it a citrusy flavour too. Question is, after looking on t'web - where do I get lemon oil from? This isn't cooking lemon oil, is it as I couldn't see much else in the way of lemon oil.
By the way, that Christmas beer sounds divine - where do you live again


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## badseed (Oct 12, 2013)

diond said:


> Cheers for the reply. I think I want a bit of both, to be honest. I have read since, that adding cascade to the mix can give it a citrusy flavour too. Question is, after looking on t'web - where do I get lemon oil from? This isn't cooking lemon oil, is it as I couldn't see much else in the way of lemon oil.
> By the way, that Christmas beer sounds divine - where do you live again



I have no idea what  lemon oil is but if it's the oil from the skins, it kills the head on your beer.


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## badseed (Oct 12, 2013)

I have started my xmas brewing operation. 
A Belgian wit is now in the fermenter, along with all other beers, this is one of my favourites.


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## existentialist (Oct 12, 2013)

badseed said:


> I have no idea what  lemon oil is but if it's the oil from the skins, it kills the head on your beer.


That is, essentially, what it is. And yes, my Xmas brew does tend to be less heady, though not completely...


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## friedaweed (Oct 13, 2013)

diond said:


> Cheers for the reply. I think I want a bit of both, to be honest. I have read since, that adding cascade to the mix can give it a citrusy flavour too. Question is, after looking on t'web - where do I get lemon oil from? This isn't cooking lemon oil, is it as I couldn't see much else in the way of lemon oil.
> By the way, that Christmas beer sounds divine - where do you live again


You could put a bit of citric acid in but to be honest if you want a real lemon flavor that bad put a shot of lime in your glass when it's poured  
It's nice on it's own that hoppy bitter mind. I'd be more inclined to use a hop than adding oils. Exiey's zest suggestion is a good one though, you can also boil some mixed peel and get a similar effect. Be sure to let us know how it goes though


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 18, 2013)

as requested in the fishco!

Basic mead:
5 litres water
1.5kg honey
1 tsp acid blend
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 packet champagne yeast

1. Prepare your yeast. If using dried, boil some water and pour 200ml into a shallow dish, stirring in 3 tblsp of honey. Cover with tin foil and allow to cool naturally to just below 37c. Sprinkle the yeast over the mix and leave to hydrate for 10 minutes. Stir the yeast and set aside for 2 hours.
2. measure 3.3 litres of water and bung in a big pan. Heat till a rolling boil. Take off the heat and whack in the shedloads of honey (on offer at lidl at the mo  ) next add the yeast nutrient.
3. Cover the pot with foil and leave to cool. Tip into the DJ, add the yeast, swirl, airlock and leave. within 24 hours should start to do stuff.
4. once bubbling and foam appears bung in a dark cool place and leave. over the next few weeks should start to see a layer of sediment at the bottom. When this sediment gets to 2/3cm deep rack into a clean DJ. 
5. In new DJ top up to neck, airlock back in. If sediment gets that deep rack again. Wait till fermentation stops (could take 6 months)
6. bottle and leave to age


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## mr steev (Oct 18, 2013)

How long should it be aged for?


----------



## Addy (Oct 18, 2013)

Mead is usually best after 2 years ageing ... but the longer the better.


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## Addy (Oct 18, 2013)

I'll be doing my xmas pudding wine tomorrow so I can rack it off next friday before I go to India.

Certainly 1 worth doing for xmas..... its sweet but tastes of xmas. 


http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?1758-Wine-Number-4-Dessert-Wine

So far in the bank for xmas is:

30l Merlot
20l Forrest Fruit Cider
20l Wherry (kegged tomorrow)

Planned:
Xmas pud wine x 7l
Newkie brown x 20l
my own Pale Ale x 20l
Peach wine x 30l 

time is running out.


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 18, 2013)

I did the xmas pud wine last year and it was very dry. Not sure where I went wrong, used Marks and Sparks pud too!


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## Addy (Oct 18, 2013)

Dovydaitis said:


> I did the xmas pud wine last year and it was very dry. Not sure where I went wrong, used Marks and Sparks pud too!



once its finished you have to stabilise it and then back sweeten it 

My last 1 was 15% abv and a touch too sweet, but like a very nice after dinner liqure


----------



## Dovydaitis (Oct 19, 2013)

Addy said:


> once its finished you have to stabilise it and then back sweeten it
> 
> My last 1 was 15% abv and a touch too sweet, but like a very nice after dinner liqure


Stabilised but didn't back sweeten


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 20, 2013)

I've not had anything on the go for a few months, it feels good to hear the airlock plopping


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## existentialist (Oct 20, 2013)

Heh, I am doing all my brewing up in the shed now, and it is not unknown for me to toddle up the garden just to go and listen to see it's all fermenting away nicely 

Just brewing the fourth batch for the big birthday bash now, after that it'll be time to get the Christmas brews on...


----------



## seeformiles (Oct 22, 2013)

I was out picking apples in the dark yesterday - got there too late to do a proper pick - but good fun all the same feeling for apples in the undergrowth and getting stung by nettles. 36 gallons pressed so far with enough apples for another 12 to be squeezed later this week.


----------



## diond (Oct 22, 2013)

I've just done my Wilko Hoppy Copper / dry cascade hops / lemon rind + a splash of lemon juice mix. Why the fuck do I make such a bastard mess when attempting home brew?! My kitchen looks like a Tracey Emin piece.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Oct 23, 2013)

just done first racking of what may possibly be many rackings of my mead. Its smelling pretty nice!


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## Frances Lengel (Oct 28, 2013)

Not done any beer for a while - That situation's now been rectified after a trip to wilko's. Got a cerveza (which I've not done before but I've heard it's ok) and a pilsner going.

Wilko's kits are eight pounds a go ATM as well.


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## Dovydaitis (Oct 28, 2013)

The Wilkos cerveza is very nice, the longer you leave it the better it gets


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## Frances Lengel (Oct 28, 2013)

Thanks - I'm planning on leaving these for a while hopefully.


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## diond (Oct 28, 2013)

diond said:


> I've just done my Wilko Hoppy Copper / dry cascade hops / lemon rind + a splash of lemon juice mix. Why the fuck do I make such a bastard mess when attempting home brew?! My kitchen looks like a Tracey Emin piece.


Well my 'experiment' seems to have bitten the dust  The kit should make 40 pints but I didn't realise that my demijohns (white tubs really) only held 10 litres, so I was quite unprepared whilst mixing, so had to pour some from one into the other to get them both evenly mixed. I filled the remainder of the water needed from a jet gun as it was taking ages measuring a 1 litre jug each time to pour in. This created a huge froth though I'm not too sure that it was that that had a detrimental effect. 

Anyway, after I had pitched my yeast, the one tub gurgled away quite nicely for about two days and then stopped. The other, which was identical in ingredients did bugger all! Nada - nothing - nowt - zilch - zip! They've both been like this now for about 3-4 days. I did try some swirling and adding some yeast nutrient but I think I've got myself a dud batch. Humph. 

I know there can a million and one things that could have ruined it but do you think it may have been the lemon that I put in? I only dripped about a quarter of a real lemon, if that, into the mix?


----------



## DRINK? (Oct 28, 2013)

Probably mentioned before though scanning down new posts - quick home brew question - 44 pages later still going

If that doesn't give a clue as to the intracacies I don't know....one day I'll make my own mind


----------



## existentialist (Oct 28, 2013)

diond said:


> Well my 'experiment' seems to have bitten the dust  The kit should make 40 pints but I didn't realise that my demijohns (white tubs really) only held 10 litres, so I was quite unprepared whilst mixing, so had to pour some from one into the other to get them both evenly mixed. I filled the remainder of the water needed from a jet gun as it was taking ages measuring a 1 litre jug each time to pour in. This created a huge froth though I'm not too sure that it was that that had a detrimental effect.
> 
> Anyway, after I had pitched my yeast, the one tub gurgled away quite nicely for about two days and then stopped. The other, which was identical in ingredients did bugger all! Nada - nothing - nowt - zilch - zip! They've both been like this now for about 3-4 days. I did try some swirling and adding some yeast nutrient but I think I've got myself a dud batch. Humph.
> 
> I know there can a million and one things that could have ruined it but do you think it may have been the lemon that I put in? I only dripped about a quarter of a real lemon, if that, into the mix?


That pH might be upsetting the yeast. The huge froth was no bad thing - yeast actually prefers to respire aerobically, so that can help it get started.

The only think I can think of that might help would be to make up a yeast culture with some sugared water, perhaps some grape juice (seems to have the right nutrient profile for yeast...though I see you have yeast nutrient, so maybe just use that) and some more yeast, and get a really vibrant, rich yeasty broth going, and then pitch that. If that dies, too, then there's something in your brew that's killing it. If it's the pH, then you might want to try to make the wort a bit more alkaline, maybe by making up a solution of sodium bicarbonate and adding it, little by little. I can't advise on quantities, though - and I imagine you don't have pH testing gear...

Time is of the essence - all the time that your wort is sitting there not brewing, it's liable to infection, probably from a mould. OTOH, you probably want to give your yeast culture as much time to get going as possible. Don't be tempted to keep it too warm (no more than 20-22C ish), otherwise the thermal shock when it goes into the brew will bugger it.

Actually, what you could do would be to draw off a measured proportion (say 1 litre) of your wort, buffer it with a known quantity of sodium bicarb solution of a given strength, and try adding some of your yeasty broth to that, to see if it survives (use a bit of kitchen towel stuffed into the neck of your vessel (a 2l PET bottle?) rather than the full airlock treatment - you should know if it's fermenting. If you get the pH right on that, you can take a chance on multiplying up the buffering solution for the main wort.

Good luck!


----------



## Frances Lengel (Nov 7, 2013)

The cerveza and the pils have been barrelled up, but the fermenting bins have been immediately pressed back into service without so much as a hint of a break. Got a Better Brew IPA on the go (which I've had before and liked) and a Wilko two can van damme effort - The golden ale. Which looks really dark ATM, but it smelt really nice when I was getting it going. So, if I can hold off drinking them beforehand, I'll be able to spend the twelve days of christmas not leaving the house at all and just drinking solidly from waking up time til collapse time - Happy days.


----------



## friedaweed (Nov 7, 2013)

Top brewing Mr Lengel


----------



## Dovydaitis (Nov 7, 2013)

The mead appears to have worked, so just need to bottle. Got a Chardonnay clearing and a stout ready to go in



Oh and more honey for more mead


----------



## Addy (Nov 7, 2013)

I cant wait to get to the German market in Birmingham to get some mead wine. 

Incorperated with a trip to china town for some spices and sauces


----------



## friedaweed (Nov 7, 2013)

Addy said:


> I cant wait to get to the German market in Birmingham to get some mead wine.
> 
> Incorperated with a trip to china town for some spices and sauces


I'm going to do the brum xmas market myself, mentioned possibly meeting up with aqua too if you brums/shroppies are up for a meet.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Nov 8, 2013)

Can't wait for next year.....


----------



## Dovydaitis (Nov 8, 2013)

friedaweed said:


> I'm going to do the brum xmas market myself, mentioned possibly meeting up with aqua too if you brums/shroppies are up for a meet.


if you do give me a shout, will see if I can shuffle up


----------



## butcher (Nov 14, 2013)

Whacked on a Coopers Stout plus 1 kg Brew Enhancer, 1 Kg Honey, a 200g partial mash of Amber malt mashed for 1 hour at 60 degrees with added fresh ginger,star anise, nutmeg and cloves, good krausen and should come out about 6-6.5%


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 14, 2013)

got more mead on the go and going to put the shiraz in tomorrow, should hopefully have enough bottles by then


----------



## Frances Lengel (Nov 27, 2013)

The Laundry Bar. From far to near, Cerveza, Pils, IPA & Golden Ale. I do put a cover thing over the barrels so no sunlight can go on them, I just took it off for the pic.


----------



## og ogilby (Nov 27, 2013)

Shut that window Frances, your beer will get cold.


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## Frances Lengel (Nov 27, 2013)

It needs to be open to let the washing air


----------



## og ogilby (Nov 27, 2013)

When I first started brewing I kept reading on the hb forums about keeping beer out of the sunlight or the beer will end up getting 'skunked'. Of course, I followed the advice, but after reading it being repeated again and again, I asked the question if anyone had actually ever experienced a bottle of their beer suffering from the skunking effect. No one had.

Obviously because they all avoid sunlight on their beer.


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## existentialist (Nov 27, 2013)

og ogilby said:


> When I first started brewing I kept reading on the hb forums about keeping beer out of the sunlight or the beer will end up getting 'skunked'. Of course, I followed the advice, but after reading it being repeated again and again, I asked the question if anyone had actually ever experienced a bottle of their beer suffering from the skunking effect. No one had.
> 
> Obviously because they all avoid sunlight on their beer.


It may well be that the advice comes from parts of the world where they have a lot more/brighter sunshine than we do.

However, "How To Brew" mentions that even putting beer that isn't in brown bottles near to fluorescent tubes that remain on for long periods can "skunk" the beer - some of the alpha acids contain sulphur compounds which the blue (and green) light in sunlight (or fluorescent light) affect, changing them to compounds very similar to what comes out of the back end of a skunk (sulphur compounds are notoriously stinky).


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## Frances Lengel (Nov 27, 2013)

I'd rather not risk it though. If it did happen I'd still drink it though.


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## og ogilby (Nov 27, 2013)

Frances Lengel said:


> If it did happen I'd still drink it though.


Me too.

I was worried about the high temps over the summer because I'd read so many posts warning of the negative effects of brewing beer in temperatures over 22 or 23 degrees, but when it came to drinking my brews, they tasted fine. Maybe just a slight 'meaty' taste, but after a few mouthfuls, I couldn't taste the off flavour.

Of course, the advice is good if you want to achieve perfection, but I've found homebrewing to be very forgiving when it comes to not following the 'rules'.


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## Frances Lengel (Nov 27, 2013)

og ogilby said:


> Me too.
> <snip>
> Of course, the advice is good if you want to achieve perfection, but *I've found homebrewing to be very forgiving when it comes to not following the 'rules'.*



Me too, as long as everything's clean it's just a matter of leaving the yeast and the sugar to do their work IME.

I've only had one batch go wrong and that was when the seal on the lid of a barrel perished, so it wasn't airtight - That was a failure of hardware though.


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## Addy (Nov 27, 2013)

I would have to question how much truth there is about skunking of beer as we see more and more bottle conditioned beer on the supermarket shelves in clear glass bottles.

The only skunking of beer I have know was when my dad done homebrew.
He never protected the beer from the dark and he found that after 1 spectacular lightening storm he ended up with a skunked keg.

.... but nice work there Frances


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## og ogilby (Nov 27, 2013)

Frances Lengel said:


> I've only had one batch go wrong


And did you still drink it?


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## Frances Lengel (Nov 27, 2013)

Of course.


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## og ogilby (Nov 27, 2013)

Frances Lengel said:


> Of course.


It's a no-brainer innit.

If it's really bad you just drink it as the last one of the night over a period of time.


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## existentialist (Nov 27, 2013)

og ogilby said:


> Me too.
> 
> I was worried about the high temps over the summer because I'd read so many posts warning of the negative effects of brewing beer in temperatures over 22 or 23 degrees, but when it came to drinking my brews, they tasted fine. Maybe just a slight 'meaty' taste, but after a few mouthfuls, I couldn't taste the off flavour.
> 
> Of course, the advice is good if you want to achieve perfection, but I've found homebrewing to be very forgiving when it comes to not following the 'rules'.


If it gets up to 25, you're OK, but much above that, and the yeast starts producing complex higher alcohols (including what are called "fusel alcohols", which can affect the taste, not necessarily too badly, but are also a significant part of the reason why we get hangovers). Strong, dark beers tend to be less affected, lighter beers and lagers can be ruined...


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## Dovydaitis (Nov 28, 2013)

I've managed to amass enough bottles to get my super cheap (wilkos special) shiraz on the go, so currently have 23 litres fermenting away and a DJ of mead is still there.

Did pop into the HB shop the weekend and picked up some choc malt for my stout and will be doing that next


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## butcher (Nov 30, 2013)

Frances Lengel said:


> View attachment 44005 The Laundry Bar. From far to near, Cerveza, Pils, IPA & Golden Ale. I do put a cover thing over the barrels so no sunlight can go on them, I just took it off for the pic.



FL, I may disagree with some of your opinions but seeing such a fine display of loving crafted nourishment, I salute your good taste and foresight, I'd gladly share a glass of my own brew with you.


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## Frances Lengel (Nov 30, 2013)

butcher said:


> FL, I may disagree with some of your opinions but seeing such a fine display of loving crafted nourishment, I salute your good taste and foresight, I'd gladly share a glass of my own brew with you.



No worries chief.


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## Dovydaitis (Dec 12, 2013)

Just bottled up 22 bottles of the Shiraz kit I got from Wilkos when they were selling the muntons stuff off at a tenner, got a dj full too but ran out of steriliser for the remaining bottles. Tasted half decent for a young wine


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## Dovydaitis (Dec 21, 2013)

My gifts of wine and beers have gone down a storm. Was told my wine looked very professional with the label and cork foil *proud*


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## butcher (Jan 2, 2014)

My Coopers double kit was the finest beer I have brewed to date: 

APA and Real ale, plus 1Kg amber malt, 
plus a partial amber malt mash (200g in 4L @66deg for 1hr),
dry hopped with 30g Cascade after ferm died down, 
kegged for 8 weeks

Simply IPA heaven, approx. 7%, hoppy malty sublime ALE.


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## Addy (Jan 22, 2014)

A fellow brewer selling some cheap lager kits if anyone is interested...

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=64182


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## diond (Jan 22, 2014)

Wilkos seem to be reducing their beer stuff again. I got a 23 litre bucket for £6.80 and all of their own brand kits; lager, bitter, pilsner etc were reduced to £8. Woodford's was reduced to £15 and there was loads of other bits and bobs reduced too.

Anyway, I've got the Wherry kit and it says that it's quite citrusy and hoppy, which I like. However, I do like my ale to be a little more pale than I think this one is going to turn out like. I'm guessing there isn't anything I can do to the kit (add / take away) that'll make it a more slightly paler ale?

Cheers


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## Frances Lengel (Jan 22, 2014)

diond said:


> Wilkos seem to be reducing their beer stuff again. I got a 23 litre bucket for £6.80 and all of their own brand kits; lager, bitter, pilsner etc were reduced to £8. Woodford's was reduced to £15 and there was loads of other bits and bobs reduced too.
> 
> Anyway, I've got the Wherry kit and it says that it's quite citrusy and hoppy, which I like. However, I do like my ale to be a little more pale than I think this one is going to turn out like. I'm guessing there isn't anything I can do to the kit (add / take away) that'll make it a more slightly paler ale?
> 
> Cheers



TBH mate, give the wherry a go without messing with it - I know taste is subjective but IMO it's a really nice pint. And my preferred style of beer is quite bitter tasting light and hoppy as well so I reckon you'll enjoy it. Happy drinking anyway


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## Dovydaitis (Jan 23, 2014)

I keep meaning to do wherry


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## diond (Jan 23, 2014)

Frances Lengel said:


> TBH mate, give the wherry a go without messing with it - I know taste is subjective but IMO it's a really nice pint. And my preferred style of beer is quite bitter tasting light and hoppy as well so I reckon you'll enjoy it. Happy drinking anyway


Cool - I'll take your very learned advice, thanks. I'll crack on with it tomorrow evening, thanks.


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## sim667 (Jan 26, 2014)

My freinds just got a house and is brewing in his cellar and has said I can too. 

Was looking at making a lager, does anyone have any experience with this kit?
http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk...t_COOPERS_40_pint_5_gallons.html#.UuUnuHiQHCQ


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## Frances Lengel (Jan 26, 2014)

Not used that kit but a cellar's an ideal place - fewer draughts & easier to maintain a constant temperature.


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## friedaweed (Jan 27, 2014)

sim667 said:


> My freinds just got a house and is brewing in his cellar and has said I can too.
> 
> Was looking at making a lager, does anyone have any experience with this kit?
> http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk...t_COOPERS_40_pint_5_gallons.html#.UuUnuHiQHCQ


They're fine and you'll have all you need to do your first kit brew. 

Top work Franny lad



Dovydaitis said:


> I keep meaning to do wherry




It's nectar chuck.


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## TopCat (Mar 11, 2014)

I know we have some epic threads on this issue and I will peruse them honest but I want to crack on so.....

is this worth buying?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Brew-B...e=UTF8&qid=1394537355&sr=1-1&keywords=brewing

?????


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## Pickman's model (Mar 11, 2014)

TopCat i'd go yes.


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## ringo (Mar 11, 2014)

Looks good. Must have another go at mine now I've got a garage.


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## mr steev (Mar 11, 2014)

Personally, being a skint tight arse, I'd look into buying them seperately. All you really need is a fermenting bucket (about a tenner) a hydrometer and a syphoning tube - I presume you have stuff like a measuring jug, a funnel, a big spoon etc. Then think about what your finished beer is going in. If you want it in a barrel like the one shown you can get those for about £30 or collect bottles and get yourself a capper for about a tenner.
You'll still need to buy a kit, sugar, sterilising stuff etc 

eta: just noticed the £8 delivery - I wouldn't say it's good value for money


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## Pickman's model (Mar 11, 2014)

i hadn't seen the delivery charge, which mr steev points out, so i'd be inclined to suggest you follow his advice.


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## TopCat (Mar 11, 2014)

I am very interested in saving money as I don't have much. I did have a fermenting kit years ago and a barrel but found the barrel to be a bit shit. 

I do have a big spoon, measuring jug and cloths and that. 

There is a cheaper kit, http://www.home-brew-online.com/sta...sic-starter-equipment-pack-with-bottles-p1112

This has plastic bottles, plastic displeases me but I guess the bottles are less likely to explode and I would pour the beer to drink it anyway so?


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## mr steev (Mar 11, 2014)

The barrels can be a pain in the arse to clean too ime.
I'd just get a fermenting bucket, hydrometer and a syphoning tube and start collecting bottles. There's no reason why the should explode unless you prime them with a daft amount of sugar


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## mr steev (Mar 11, 2014)

I'd also strongly recomend you get some 'Videne antiseptic solution' for sterilising your kit. It costs about a fiver for 500ml from a chemists. All you do is drop 1.25ml of it into a litre of water so it will last for ages. Then the liquid just has to be in contact with whatever you want to sterilise for 20 seconds. It's really quick and easy, doesn't stink and most importantly, doesn't taint your brew


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## TopCat (Mar 11, 2014)

mr steev said:


> The barrels can be a pain in the arse to clean too ime.
> I'd just get a fermenting bucket, hydrometer and a syphoning tube and start collecting bottles. There's no reason why the should explode unless you prime them with a daft amount of sugar


Good stuff. I am going to try and do this for the least possible expense. I am not after making the best beer in the world, just something drinkable. The last fermenting I did was throwing a load of off the floor market fruit into a huge bucket with a load of stolen pret e manger sugar and leaving it for a fortnight before straining off and drinking it. It rarely got bottled. A bit flatulent though!


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## TopCat (Mar 11, 2014)

Given I am going to do this cheaply I am sticking up adverts on recyle forums including the one on urban. 

I will keep you all posted but welcome any other advice or bargains spotted.


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## mr steev (Mar 11, 2014)

Car boot sales can be a good. Or if you really want to save your pennies try asking at local takeaways/restaurants. I've got a big bucket that I use for my wine that used to contain vegetable oil so it's food grade plastic


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## sunnysidedown (Mar 11, 2014)

at the same price as your original suggestion you can pick up one of the se in the UK:

https://store.coopers.com.au/shop/product/DBK676/

Comew with everything you need (if you want to bottle) inc. everything for first brew (some places let you choose what you want, ale, IPA, stout etc).

I've bben using it for a while now and it's been great, very easy to clean, no air locks to worry about and easy to get all the crap out the tap. A well thought out kit.

here's a uk shop:

http://www.home-brew-online.com/sta...r-c50/coopers-diy-micro-brewery-beer-kit-p729

Plastic bottles aren't too bad tbh, and you can always collect glass.


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## TopCat (Mar 11, 2014)

Doing wine as well _could _make Mation happy but I would probably have to make something really good as she has these posh North London ways that have not yet been eroded by a year plus of living with me. Give it time though eh?_ _


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## Pickman's model (Mar 11, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Doing wine as well _could _make Mation happy but I would probably have to make something really good as she has these posh North London ways that have not yet been eroded by a year plus of living with me. Give it time though eh?_ _


i want to see you make brandy or gin


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## TopCat (Mar 11, 2014)

Pickman's model said:


> i want to see you make brandy or gin


I have always been interested in distilling but better learn to walk before I start running like a demon.


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## mr steev (Mar 11, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Doing wine as well _could _make Mation happy but I would probably have to make something really good as she has these posh North London ways that have not yet been eroded by a year plus of living with me. Give it time though eh?_ _



Not wanting to blow my own trumpet, but I do make a fantastic damson wine... it has had nothing but rave revues from family and friends. The trick is to make absolutely loads of it so you still have some left after a couple of years when it is at it's best


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## TopCat (Mar 11, 2014)

Blow blow away mate!


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## Mation (Mar 11, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Doing wine as well _could _make Mation happy but I would probably have to make something really good as she has these posh North London ways that have not yet been eroded by a year plus of living with me. Give it time though eh?_ _


Make something really good, then  Or perry! I like perry. We drank perry in North London.


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## Pickman's model (Mar 11, 2014)

Mation said:


> Make something really good, then  Or perry! I like perry. We drank perry in North London.


you should change your tagline to 'posh north london ways'


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## TopCat (Mar 11, 2014)

Mation said:


> Make something really good, then  Or perry! I like perry. We drank perry in North London.


Perry could be possible.


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## Mation (Mar 11, 2014)

Pickman's model said:


> you should change your tagline to 'posh north london ways'


You're right - I should!


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## TopCat (Mar 11, 2014)

Well we have a supply of these 15 litre water cooler bottles at work. Can I use these in some way? I would be up for making cider if this would be more straightforward.


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## TopCat (Mar 11, 2014)

Tesco have 4 litres of apple juice on offer at £0.89. I think my first try will be with cider.


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## mr steev (Mar 11, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Well we have a supply of these 15 litre water cooler bottles at work. Can I use these in some way? I would be up for making cider if this would be more straightforward. View attachment 49943



If you can fit an airlock/bung to it you're sorted. You could always loosen the lid every day or so to let the pressure out but tbh I don't think that's worth the risk. Everyone I know who has done that method has had some explode on them

I know it's hard, but if you go down the turbo cider route (think Addy has a recipe) try and hide a few bottles. I made some a while ago and whilst drinkable after a couple of months, it wasn't a patch on the bottle that I missed and discovered in the back of the cupboard a year or so later


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## Addy (Mar 11, 2014)

I have used plastic pet bottles like in your post TopCat with no ill effect, so go for it.
You don't really need to fit an airlock, you can use a balloon or finger off a rubber glove with a pin hole in it. This will allow the co2 to escape and not let in any nasties.
It also acts as a fermentation indicator ...... inflated/erect = fermenting - flacid = its finished.

Turbo cider is a nice easy starter with no cost other than apple juice for 5%abv. (add sugar @ 100g per litre for an extra 1%abv per 100g).

put 10-12 litres of apple juice in your water bottle, add a litre of really strong black tea (5 tea bags stewed for 20 minutes to add tannin)
Add 1 tsp of cider or wine yeast ( I use Youngs all purpose wine yeast) and let it ferment somewhere about 20c for 3-4 days, then top up to 15 with more apple juice (this allows for the krausen (yeasty head) to form and die down without spilling out) and allow for it to become flacid.
After fermentation is over leave somewhere cool to let the yeast fall out and clear, then bottle (with 1 tsp of sugar if you want fizzy cider)

Once you grasp these basics you can then decide if its worth spending money on persuing this hobby.


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## Voley (Mar 11, 2014)

TopCat said:


> I know we have some epic threads on this issue and I will peruse them honest but I want to crack on so.....
> 
> is this worth buying?
> 
> ...


Looks like it's got everything you need but this one's a bit cheaper. Once you've bought a beer kit you're looking at a similar price. Cheapest way is deffo to get your own big buckets and sterilisation stuff mind. Woodforde's Wherry is a very good starter kit to try out - very forgiving if you (like me) have a tendency to peek at it all the time and risk a bit of unwanted crap getting in there.


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## Voley (Mar 11, 2014)

TopCat said:


> There is a cheaper kit, http://www.home-brew-online.com/sta...sic-starter-equipment-pack-with-bottles-p1112


That's good value.


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## Voley (Mar 11, 2014)

I found the pressurised barrel to be a bit of a pain in the arse too - the seal went fairly early on making it practically pointless. Bottles are better.


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## butcher (Mar 11, 2014)

Voleys has a pressure vavle too, which is a £10 worth. I'd go for the coopers stout kit though: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Ho...&keywords=coopers+home+brew+starter+kit+stout

this: 
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=24822


and this: 

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/brewingfaq.php

will help too


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## butcher (Mar 11, 2014)

I'd start with the legendary Ditch's stout recipe:



by *Ditch* » Fri Mar 26, 2010 5:32 pm

Ok. Once and for all, here's how I do it. I'm going to write this off the cuff. I hope it works out and doesn't become a drag for reader or writer. 

(Ok. After 22 pages of god knows what, " Anthony UK " has, recently asked me if I could up date This single post. Save people reading twenty plus pages to just get up to speed on 'Developments'. Extremely valid point! I'll mark anything 'new' with a " * ", below) .....

My equipment consists of:

Youngs' 5 Gallon FV with grommeted hole in the lid.
Plastic, 5 Gallon Jerry Can.
Washing up bowl.
Tin Opener.
Scissors.
Pill Crusher (Optional).
Pair of industrial rubber gauntlets.
Spray bottle of Iodine solution.
50 Watt fish tank heater.
Basic Keg (5 Gallon) ~ * Ah, yes. Those were the days. When I even bothered with kegs!
Stirring Paddle ~ * Long since replaced by a plaster / paint stirrer and electric drill. 
Syphon tube, stick and tap. 


Ingredients;

One can of Coopers Stout.
*1 Kilo of Dark, dried malt. I used to use Medium. Ran out of source. Dark seems Ok.
Half a campden tablet.
Extremely soft tap water.
*One mug full of organic, raw cane sugar (This has become a later addition. Seems agreeable).


Here's what I do:

Crush half a campden tablet and pop that into the Jerry Can. Shove a hose in there and fill the jerry can.

As that fills, I spray my work top and can opener with Iodine. Take my paddle out of its weakened bleach solution. (*Now, I simply mist spray the drill twister with iodene. Don't bother with the rinse ....) Rinse it off and put it on the work surface, along with my ingredients.

I also put the kettle on. Filled with tap water.

Kettle boiled, I strip the paper off the kit tin. Put the tin in the washing up bowl and empty the kettle over it. This, obviously, is to soften the extract inside. I remove the paper so it doesn't fall off into my FV later. Part refill the kettle and put it back on to boil.

Now I use the scissors to cut the entire top off the bag of dried malt. I always shake them first, ensuring it's all well down inside the bags. Hold that bag low in the FV. Invert. Dump a kilo of dry powder in there.

Gauntlets on. I take the hot tin out of the bowl and open it. I then pour the extract into my FV. Bulk of it out, I rinse the tin with the freshly boiled water. (No. It isn't treated with a campden tab. Never seemed to bother me though).

Gauntlets off and I pour a gallon or two from the jerry can into the FV. I don't measure it. Just enough so's I've something to stir. Which I do. I just stir until I feel it's dissolving in there. Then I may add a bit more water. I play it by eye and I'm sure nothing about this is crucial. 

OR

These days? I just stick the drill stirrer into the FV. Touch bottom. Come up an inch or two. Brace against my knee and hit that trigger. 

Loads of swirling, beige coloured mess. Give it ten, fifteen seconds. Then use the stirrer to probe the bottom for any stuff. If ye find any? Quick extra spin'll soon liquidise that too.

Lug the FV into my other room. Fetch the jerry can in there. Top up the FV water level to four gallons ~ that's up to the bottom of the foam / head level. Power drill stirring creates a Lot of head!

Chuck the fish tank heater in and switch that on. Leave it alone for some hours. Till last thing or next day. Depends on your schedule. Just wait till the foam's died down and ye can top it up to 20 Ltrs. Then I chuck in the mug of sugar and the yeast, straight out of the packet it comes in. 

Pop the lid on, pushing it down as far as it'll go down. Obviously, the flex from the heater keeps it open at one side.

Come back in here and get on with my life.


Ten days later; Syphon the beer into a Keg. Get amongst it any point there after.

From:  http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=31569


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## Addy (Mar 11, 2014)

Cornelius kegs are the best option, but not cheap.

I have a fridge that I can fit 2 in and serve to a beer engine.











oh... and +1 for Coopers kits.... by far the best budget kits out there.


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## TopCat (Mar 11, 2014)

My local pub keeps the empty bottles in a huge bin out back with easy access so I am going to get mine from there. I like Addy's balloon tip, saves me a quid on an airlock! Cheers for the advice peeps.


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## butcher (Mar 11, 2014)

and *DO NOT* use granulated sugar in beer, ever.

Use beer enhancer if you must but even with pure malt a 50p a pint beer is easily acheivable.....


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## Addy (Mar 11, 2014)

butcher said:


> and *DO NOT* use granulated sugar in beer, ever.
> 
> Use beer enhancer if you must but even with pure malt a 50p a pint beer is easily acheivable.....



If you want cheap liquid malt extract then try this.. 

I have used them for extract brews aswell as kit additions and you really cant beat that price anywhere.


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## mr steev (Mar 11, 2014)

TopCat said:


> My local pub keeps the empty bottles in a huge bin out back with easy access so I am going to get mine from there. I like Addy's balloon tip, saves me a quid on an airlock! Cheers for the advice peeps.



Check them with a capper first. Some you can't fit caps onto (generally have a slightly bulbous neck - thirsty feret bottles for one irrc) Best to find out before you have 40 open bottles all full of beer (voice of experience! )

I can't remember what they're called, but you can get some syphoning gadget that has a little pin on the end which controls the flow (press it on the bottom of the bottle for it to flow, then as soon as you lift it it stops) They cost a couple of quid more than just the taps but make bottling a lot easier, quicker and less messy


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## TopCat (Mar 11, 2014)

That makes a lot of sense.


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## mr steev (Mar 11, 2014)

A bottling stick 
http://www.copperkettlehomebrewing.co.uk/bottling/102/bottling-stick


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## Addy (Mar 11, 2014)

mr steev said:


> Check them with a capper first. Some you can't fit caps onto (generally have a slightly bulbous neck - thirsty feret bottles for one irrc) Best to find out before you have 40 open bottles all full of beer (voice of experience! )




Yeah, Jennings brewery bottles can only be capped with a bench capper.
If you can, ask a local for used Magners / Bulmers bottles as they are 1 pint, they are thicker than most and it means less work.


+1 for Vidine   a £5 bottle will last a lifetime and no rinse required, but if you cant get that then use THIN bleach at a rate of 1/2 cup per 5 gallons but ensure you rinse x 3 after sanitising.


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## Addy (Mar 11, 2014)

...p.s I hated using the bottling stick.... took too long.
Just a length of tube, a keen eye and a balance of gravity is much quicker.


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## mr steev (Mar 11, 2014)

Addy said:


> ...p.s I hated using the bottling stick.... took too long.
> Just a length of tube, a keen eye and a balance of gravity is much quicker.



Really? Maybe it's because I always end up bottling at night when the light is not best, but I always used to end up making a right mess. Thankfully I've got a stone floor, but I don't like to think of the wastage 
I'm pretty ok at wine, but I think that's because the bottles are bigger and you get more time to prepare to swap


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## butcher (Mar 11, 2014)

mr steev said:


> I can't remember what they're called, but you can get some syphoning gadget that has a little pin on the end which controls the flow (press it on the bottom of the bottle for it to flow, then as soon as you lift it it stops) They cost a couple of quid more than just the taps but make bottling a lot easier, quicker and less messy



Bottling stick 

DANG perryroast!


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## butcher (Mar 11, 2014)

Vidine at 1:1000 is the mutts for disinfecting.....


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## mr steev (Mar 11, 2014)

I read on a forum a while ago that someone got some Videne from Asda so it seems quite easy to get hold of. I asked at a local chemist and they ordered it in for me


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## friedaweed (Mar 11, 2014)

I'm in the middle of a funky Mango super Stout. All from reduced price items  

2 x 






2x




1x





1x





Total cost is around 12 sovs for 40 pints


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## spring-peeper (Mar 11, 2014)

butcher said:


> and *DO NOT* use granulated sugar in beer, ever.



My son-in-law brews his own beer.  He has won a number of awards.

His next batch will be using our maple sap as the sweetener.

I'm guessing he will be heeding your warning.


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## William of Walworth (Mar 11, 2014)

Stig to alert her to this thread. Like loads who've already posted here, she knows her shit on this subject


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## Addy (Mar 11, 2014)

Strange yeast to use on that brew friedaweed I'll be interested in how the flavours are once its fully conditioned.


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## friedaweed (Mar 11, 2014)

Addy said:


> Strange yeast to use on that brew friedaweed I'll be interested in how the flavours are once its fully conditioned.


I had it spare after I ordered 2 for my last trap beer and only needed one. It's gonna be shite or nice innit


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## TopCat (Mar 12, 2014)

My local Mitcham pound style shop have a 25 litre food quality bin with lid for £3.99. I think this may be an unpleasant expense but necessary!!


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## badseed (Mar 13, 2014)

I know that you know already...but- http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/quick-home-brew-question.209938/

A great thread with something for everyone.


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## sojourner (Mar 13, 2014)

Damn this thread makes me wanna make some more barley wine! Mmmmm barley wine.


----------



## TopCat (Mar 13, 2014)

I have had a couple of kind offers of stuff from urbanites, I thank thee muchley. I have also been contacted by a fella off my local recycle forum who has a hydrometer and a "few bits and bobs". He seemed to get quite enthusiastic in helping me when he knew I was re starting brewing after a 26 years absence. I am seeing him on Saturday. 

I am drinking all the water at work to empty another 16 litre water cooler bottle.  

I think I am going to try and brew cider, beer and wine. We are having a summer party and it will be good to be able to be generous to our friends.


----------



## Addy (Mar 13, 2014)

The Wurzels Orange Wine is a good cheap white to make.


----------



## butcher (Mar 15, 2014)

Turbo cider is a good cheap way to start, I believe Tesco have basic apple juice at 80p-ish for 4 L, that means 40 pints for under £9.

I used this recipe, and backsweetened with Stevia sweetener:

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=36513


----------



## TopCat (Mar 16, 2014)

I got some bits and bobs off a bloke from the local freecycle forum. He threw in a bottle of elderflower champagne which was jolly nice of him and jolly nice to drink as well. 
I have started:

16 litres turbo cider
23 litres of bitter
4.5 litres of wine.


----------



## butcher (Mar 16, 2014)

Up date, had a tester on the Turbo today, feckin' lush, just right sweetness and good apple flavour!


----------



## TopCat (Mar 18, 2014)

Well all mine is going blub blub blub. I better get a move on and get ready to rack off the trub, it would be good if I had something to do this in/had collected some bottles for the following stage.


----------



## TopCat (Mar 21, 2014)

I had better start collecting bottles.


----------



## Addy (Mar 21, 2014)

I've not forgot to post to you TC, just sorting stuff out and getting time to get to PO


----------



## TopCat (Mar 23, 2014)

I siphoned off the beer and cider today into new containers. They are sitting outside in the cold overnight.


----------



## TopCat (Mar 24, 2014)

Is it right to say I racked off my trub? Whatever, I siphoned off the beer and cider into large sterile containers and left them outside last night to see if they would clear. I had a few sips of each, the cider was quite tart. The beer smelt and tasted good.

I have realised I need to get 70 (pint) bottles and have them clean and sterilised for Wednesday so I can bottle up. It’s probably expecting too much of me to buy 70 bottles of beer and drink them.

I am fretting about this a bit; it would be a shame to fuck it all up given the effort thus far. I will see if I can get a vehicle later and go begging down the pub for empties.

How do you get the labels off? Soak them all in a hot bath?

Also, do I need to use brewing sugar for the fermentation in the bottle?


----------



## mr steev (Mar 24, 2014)

I wouldn't panic too much about racking it exactly 10 days after or whatever it says. I've left mine in the fermenting bucket a for a month or two after the instructions said to bottle it and it was fine.

The cider will taste a bit rough for a while. It really needs a good few months to mature ime.

I soak the bottles in hot water with a bit of washing up liquid. Then scrape them off with the back of a knife. You'll find some just slip off whereas others are a real pain and you'd probably need to use white spirit or something to get the glue off. 

I use brewing sugar to prime, but I don't think you have to.


----------



## TopCat (Mar 24, 2014)

It appears you are right and I can be a lazy so and so with regard to getting my beer and cider bottled. That's handy as I am knackered and the house is a bomb site.


----------



## aqua (Mar 24, 2014)

TopCat I got my bottles (when I was brewing) from the local pub. I knew the landlady of the local spoons and she gave me loads of them  might be worth a try rather than buying them


----------



## mr steev (Mar 24, 2014)

aqua said:


> TopCat I got my bottles (when I was brewing) from the local pub. I knew the landlady of the local spoons and she gave me loads of them  might be worth a try rather than buying them



Yeah, it's definitely worth asking. I wouldn't buy them. Also check recycling bins


----------



## TopCat (Mar 24, 2014)

I don't intend to buy any bottles. My local has a huge bottle bin outside at the back and it's usually full of brown Magners bottles. I am going to ask if I can take them.


----------



## TopCat (Mar 24, 2014)

I fancy a pint now.


----------



## Onket (Mar 24, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Magners bottles.


Decent sized bottles.


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 24, 2014)

Magners are ace and pubs just bin them. They bin quite a lot of bottles, it's quite shocking what they chuck.

Will post you some bottle tops as soon as I get five mins.


----------



## TopCat (Mar 24, 2014)

Onket said:


> Decent sized bottles.


I think they are a pint and my local is a plastic paddy pub and they sell loads.


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 26, 2014)

Get yourself a bottle capper you have caps in teh post


----------



## TopCat (Mar 26, 2014)

friedaweed said:


> Get yourself a bottle capper you have caps in teh post


Thankyou. I have a capper, got one from Wilko. I have to go and get some bottles every day now. I am looking forward to drinking this lot.


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 26, 2014)

Just don't tell anyone where ya got these ones from ayt


----------



## TopCat (Mar 26, 2014)

Local has agreed to allow me to loot their bottle bin.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Mar 28, 2014)

friedaweed said:


> Get yourself a bottle capper you have caps in teh post


oi where was my postie gifts?


----------



## Dovydaitis (Mar 28, 2014)

I really need to get my game going, had to have a break as the landlord wanted to do an inspection and I'm not meant to brew


----------



## TopCat (Mar 31, 2014)

Well the cider got bottled up, well some of it anyway. Some got drunk, some spilt. Tasted good. My poor head this morning.


----------



## TopCat (Mar 31, 2014)

Cheers friedaweed for the posted gift of bottle tops, finings, steriliser, yeast, yeast nutrient and tube.  Much appreciated!!!


----------



## TopCat (Apr 1, 2014)

Bought more apple juice for more cider. Mation got some pear cider in a kit, well she put it in my trolley so that needs to be started soon as well. The bitter better get bottled up before the week is out. 
Thirsty work this.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Apr 1, 2014)

I've got a cerveza on the go right now, sod the landlord!


----------



## TopCat (Apr 1, 2014)

I just put on 20 litres of cider. I added (bunged) _about_ 250 grams of brewing sugar to give a bit of bite.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 1, 2014)

Ooh I forgot the cold tea (for added tannin) so lobbed some tea bags in plus a load of sultanas.


----------



## Mation (Apr 1, 2014)




----------



## TopCat (Apr 1, 2014)

Pear cider to go on soon.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 1, 2014)

I stick the fermenting bin when it's filled with all the gubbins into the bath with a few inches of hot water and let the water cool. Then into the front room and we are on our way. I like this lark, I have only tried two pints and can hardly move for brewing shit.


----------



## Onket (Apr 1, 2014)

TopCat said:


> I have only tried two pints and can hardly move


Sounds like my kind of brew.


----------



## Corax (Apr 1, 2014)

I really can't be arsed with doing it 'properly', but the supermarket kits have caught my eye a few times. Is the resulting brew drinkable?


----------



## TopCat (Apr 1, 2014)

Corax said:


> I really can't be arsed with doing it 'properly', but the supermarket kits have caught my eye a few times. Is the resulting brew drinkable?


I'm not sure yet. We are surrounded by bubbling brews, bottles, bits of tube. 

I moan about racking off my trub in my sleep.

The supermarkets in the area think I am suspicious because of the quantity of apple juice I have been buying. Drinking it all is in the future. 

Maybe come for a pint? Can you make it to the end of the line?


----------



## Corax (Apr 1, 2014)

TopCat said:


> I'm not sure yet. We are surrounded by bubbling brews, bottles, bits of tube.
> 
> I moan about racking off my trub in my sleep.
> 
> ...


Lovely invite, but it's a long trek from where I am nowadays*...

 Shame - I used to be just round the corner from you!

*Southampton


----------



## Addy (Apr 2, 2014)

Wilko's 25% off homebrew stuff...   Promo Code: HOMEBREW25


----------



## Corax (Apr 2, 2014)

Addy said:


> Wilko's 25% off homebrew stuff...   Promo Code: HOMEBREW25


Worth having?


----------



## Addy (Apr 2, 2014)

I just ordered 2 x strawberry wine kits to keep her indoors happy 
Click & collect so no delivery charge


----------



## Dovydaitis (Apr 2, 2014)

Wilkos stuff is pretty decent


----------



## TopCat (Apr 3, 2014)

I used more yeast for this latest batch of turbo cider. Plus a yeast enhancer or nutrient I think, I was a bit pissed. It's fizzing away merrily.


----------



## Pickman's model (Apr 3, 2014)

Dovydaitis said:


> Wilkos stuff is pretty decent


it's also cheap because they use prison labour.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 3, 2014)

Oh dear.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 3, 2014)

Just did a bottle run, three fucking Magners bottles only.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 3, 2014)

I just ordered 100 pint bottles for £43 inc delivery. I feel this is a bit of a waste of money but this bottle collecting is a dire job, fishing in bins is well shit.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 3, 2014)

My aim stated in the OP of making some cheap beer has gone up the swanney. I HAVE to brew 100's of pints a year to make this investment worthwhile. I HAVE to.


----------



## Addy (Apr 3, 2014)

Pickman's model said:


> it's also cheap because they use prison labour.



You will find that most of the Wilko's Own Brand beer & wine kits are actually Muntons & Youngs 

Not sure where the prisoners get involved


----------



## Pickman's model (Apr 3, 2014)

Addy said:


> You will find that most of the Wilko's Own Brand beer & wine kits are actually Muntons & Youngs
> 
> Not sure where the prisoners get involved


you've not used google for it then


----------



## Pickman's model (Apr 3, 2014)

http://www.againstprisonslavery.org/hmps_list.html


----------



## Addy (Apr 3, 2014)

Pickman's model said:


> http://www.againstprisonslavery.org/hmps_list.html



I still cannot see Muntons or Youngs in that list


----------



## Pickman's model (Apr 3, 2014)

Addy said:


> I still cannot see Muntons or Youngs in that list


grand. but by buying from wilkos you support their continuing use of prison slave labour. get the gear from muntons not wilkos.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Apr 3, 2014)

OK I'll bite. Employment in prison gives people the chance to have something for their CV when they get out. The cat C that I worked in gave the inmate the choice of working or education. The wages are not great but you don't exactly need to be on minimum wage. Now I am someone who does stick up for prisoners rights but people get sent down for a reason, they cannot expect it to be the same on the in as it is on the out.

I will still be buying from Wilkos, most of my clients shop in Wilkos and of those half have been inside. They have no problems shopping in Wilkos.


----------



## Addy (Apr 3, 2014)

I see it as i'm getting a little bit of my tax back that contributes towards keeping those inmates with a roof, food and minimal luxuries when I shop at Wilko's 

Some of those cnuts don't deserve that, but it would be wrong to tar them all with the same brush.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Apr 3, 2014)

I bloody love wilkos!

But anyway, got some bottles that need cleaning


----------



## friedaweed (Apr 3, 2014)

I always hoped that someone would be stupid enough to allow teh crims the opportunity of handling and packaging homebrew products


----------



## TopCat (Apr 4, 2014)

I left the cider in the bottle for all of a week before trying it. Nice fizz, clear but has a slight yeast tang to it. Will this tang dissipate over time? The booze content seems high, my head felt so this morning anyway.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Apr 4, 2014)

Mine has a yeasty tang too, never sussed how to get rid of it either


----------



## Dovydaitis (Apr 4, 2014)

Dovydaitis said:


> Mine has a yeasty tang too, never sussed how to get rid of it either


UPDATE
just opened one I found from oct 2012 that I've had in the fridge the last week and it is going down a total treat!


----------



## TopCat (Apr 5, 2014)

Y


Dovydaitis said:


> UPDATE
> just opened one I found from oct 2012 that I've had in the fridge the last week and it is going down a total treat!


 yeasty tang gone?


----------



## Dovydaitis (Apr 7, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Y
> 
> yeasty tang gone?


It had, the trick seems to be hide them and it gets better


----------



## TopCat (Apr 8, 2014)

I better brew more if I have to leave them for months.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 14, 2014)

It's a wonderful alchemy that takes place. Similar to baking bread. I love it.


----------



## fractionMan (Apr 14, 2014)

Stuck on 40 points of bitter yesterday but it's not doing anything. To cold? Dead yeast?


----------



## TopCat (Apr 15, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> Stuck on 40 points of bitter yesterday but it's not doing anything. To cold? Dead yeast?


Maybe too cold. Stick the fermenter bucket in a bath of warm water for 30 mins. This should kick start it. I started 40 pints of pear cider yesterday and mine has not started bubbling yet.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 28, 2014)

Just racked off the pear cider from the trub. This summer will be drunken.


----------



## mr steev (Apr 28, 2014)

TopCat said:


> I better brew more if I have to leave them for months.



This is a must - both wine and cider really benefit from being left for at least 12 months ideally ime. The best way to ensure this is to brew more than you can get through in that time


----------



## TopCat (Apr 28, 2014)

I hear you. Does beer improve if left for a few months in the bottle?


----------



## mr steev (Apr 28, 2014)

TopCat said:


> I hear you. Does beer improve if left for a few months in the bottle?



Yes, definitely. But it only needs a 2 or 3 months unlike cider and wine which will carry on getting better for a few years or longer depending on the variety.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 28, 2014)

I need to brew a_ lot_ more then if I am to have the benefit of mature beer/cider/wine.


----------



## Addy (Apr 28, 2014)

mr steev said:


> Yes, definitely. But it only needs a 2 or 3 months unlike cider and wine which will carry on getting better for a few years or longer depending on the variety.



This depends on the style of beer.
A Belgian Tripple or Duvel style like the Brewferm kits appreciates 6 months minimum aging and best at 18-24 months (from experience) but you generally find most bottles do not get past the 12 month aging.

I'm about to start a 2 gallon barley wine extract to my own recipe that will not be touched until 2016.


----------



## mr steev (Apr 28, 2014)

Addy said:


> This depends on the style of beer.
> A Belgian Tripple or Duvel style like the Brewferm kits appreciates 6 months minimum aging and best at 18-24 months (from experience) but you generally find most bottles do not get past the 12 month aging.
> 
> I'm about to start a 2 gallon barley wine extract to my own recipe that will not be touched until 2016.



True. Stronger ones tend to age better


----------



## sim667 (Apr 29, 2014)

My homebrew was delicious in the end.

My bloody mate has gone awol though and its all locked in his cellar.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Apr 29, 2014)

Strawberry wine bubbling nicely and the mixed fruit pilsner experiment appears  to be ok


----------



## friedaweed (May 5, 2014)

Wilco got 25% off on all their prison labour home brew produce


----------



## existentialist (May 5, 2014)

friedaweed said:


> Wilco got 25% off on all their prison labour home brew produce


That's quite a moral dilemma. £15 for a Woodforde's 3kg kit, OTOH, Wilko...

I'll confess to weakening occasionally.


----------



## Dovydaitis (May 6, 2014)

friedaweed said:


> Wilco got 25% off on all their prison labour home brew produce


It finishes tomorrow so need to get in quick


----------



## friedaweed (May 7, 2014)

Dovydaitis said:


> It finishes tomorrow so need to get in quick


I got two of the Milestone kits delivered to the store for £33. I've just put in one of their home brand (lol) real ale kits last night which a few people on the homebrew forums reckon is a re-branded wherry I think that worked out about £16 for 40 pints I'll know if it's a wherry in a week or so.

Finally got round to doing the brewferm criggy beer. That's one dear pint at £14 for a 7 ltr kit but I hear it's the dogs bollocks if it gets six months in the bottle. Got me some of those nice pop bottle toppers to present them in


----------



## friedaweed (May 7, 2014)

existentialist said:


> That's quite a moral dilemma. £15 for a Woodforde's 3kg kit, OTOH, Wilko...
> 
> I'll confess to weakening occasionally.


There's no way prisoners pack their homebrew stuff


----------



## fractionMan (May 7, 2014)

My brew is tasting great.  Still a bit cloudy though 

I think I need (a) some gas for my pressure barrel and (b) one of those float things.


----------



## fractionMan (May 7, 2014)

Bottle discussion:

Screw caps vs Bottle caps vs flip tops?  Pet vs glass?

Iv'e got a few carrier bags of manky beer bottles sitting around and I'm far too lazy to clean them all out.  They're really minging.  So, should I buy PET, Glass, screw, pop, flip or what?  

If it's flip I think should I order myself a pile of grolsh bottles (3 for 5 quid) rather than buy them as they're at least quid each otherwise?  I think I can be arsed to clean those up.

What does the wisdom of U75 recommend?


----------



## friedaweed (May 7, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> Bottle discussion:
> 
> Screw caps vs Bottle caps vs flip tops?  Pet vs glass?
> 
> ...


Get to your friendly local boozer and ask them to keep you the magners/hobgoblin/bulmers bottles they throw away every night. I've never paid for bottles other than the flip tops I put my special stuff in and they never leave my house.   

I also have a load of pet ones I use for cider that were fizzy flavored water which my poor kids think is pop


----------



## friedaweed (May 8, 2014)

Sale's still on on their website   Just got some spray malt and that's me stocked for the year


----------



## existentialist (May 8, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> Bottle discussion:
> 
> Screw caps vs Bottle caps vs flip tops?  Pet vs glass?
> 
> ...


I've been through this process, too! Here's a few of my thoughts.

*Screw top* - never really bothered with these. Many screw tops are quite flimsy, and I've found they tend to leak when retightened.
*Crown cap* - (what you call "bottle caps".) When I'm bottling in pints, this is my preferred option. You do need to check, unless you're not using a capper which needs to grip the neck of the bottle, that the bottle neck profile is suitable for your capper. I've even had some success, where I've had to let off excess pressure, lifting the crown cap and then recapping.
*PET* - if I am bottling for (say) a party, and don't want to use a keg, I bottle to 2l PET bottles. My experience is that they are easy, convenient, and can be used safely at least two or three times. After a while, though, the appearance of the bottle can begin to deteriorate, and some say that they become harder to clean properly with time, and may harbour bacteria. The biggest problem with them in my experience is that you really need to decant to a jug - repeatedly pouring individual glasses of beer soon stirs up the yeast sediment, and the last pint or so often gets cloudy.
*Flip top* - I've never used these extensively, as I haven't found a source of supply that's free (or cheap enough). I do use some 0.75l lemonade bottles, and they are definitely my preferred option.
As far as your manky bottles go, I agree that the biggest problem with brown glass beer bottles is getting them clean. I also find delabelling commercial bottles a right hassle.

What I suggest you do is to use one of your fermenting buckets to hold a good strong solution of VWP (or other preferred cleaner/steriliser) in very warm water, and get your manky bottles in there for a really good soak. I generally fill it about 2/3 full, and put each bottle in individually to fill them up enough that they won't float up. Then, when you've done them all, stack them neatly into the bucket, in more than one layer if necessary - you can top it up with water if you need to.

Leave them to soak for a few hours, assuming "manky" means you've got encrusted yeast deposits on the bottles. Then take each bottle out, part-empty it, and give it a damn good shake with your thumb over the top (a bottle brush is useful, too), before emptying them. If they're very manky, your water is going to pretty quickly end up fairly disgustingly full of bits of yeast and dead mould plaques, so in that case I'd usually give them a second clean in fresh solution, inspecting each one (hold it up to the light and peer down the neck) for any remaining deposits.

Then you need to rinse them, to avoid the chlorine taint, just before you fill them.

It sounds laborious, but I find I can get into a fairly good rhythm, and they get done pretty quickly. It's a good idea, when you're drinking beer from glass bottles, to remember to rinse them out immediately, before the yeast has a chance to dry onto them - then all you need to do is a light sterilise with VWP and rinse when you need to use them next.

It's purely subjective, but personally I find I get a great sense of pride when I bottle a batch to 40-odd pristine crown-capped brown glass bottles - I like the way that they're so clean they almost stick to your fingers when you pick them up.

And, of course, when I'm labelling them, I never use glue so strong that delabelling them again needs any more than a quick soak in warm solution - my glue of preference there is Pritt stick.

If you are reusing swing top bottles, it's worth pulling off the plastic cap from the ceramic top, and giving them a soak in steriliser before dropping them into clean water, taking each one out and reattaching it to the bottles as you fill them. You can get replacement caps when they start to wear or split.


----------



## fractionMan (May 8, 2014)

existentialist said:


> I've been through this process, too! Here's a few of my thoughts.
> 
> *Screw top* - never really bothered with these. Many screw tops are quite flimsy, and I've found they tend to leak when retightened.
> *Crown cap* - (what you call "bottle caps".) When I'm bottling in pints, this is my preferred option. You do need to check, unless you're not using a capper which needs to grip the neck of the bottle, that the bottle neck profile is suitable for your capper. I've even had some success, where I've had to let off excess pressure, lifting the crown cap and then recapping.
> ...



Great post, cheers.  Hadn't enen thought as far as labeling!

TX max have 0.75l lemonade bottles (with posh lemonade inside!) for £2.49.  I think I might get a few of those.  My next batch will probably be half bottles, half pressure barrel until I've built up a collection of bottles.

Do you have to store them upright because of sediment?  That's going to be a bit of a ball ache as I can only fit them in my fridge laying down.


----------



## fractionMan (May 8, 2014)

Also, would decanting from pressure barrel to bottles from time to time so there's always a few bottles in the fridge but keeping the bulk of the beer in a barrel be a bad idea?  Will it make the beer go off?


----------



## existentialist (May 8, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> Great post, cheers.  Hadn't enen thought as far as labeling!
> 
> TX max have 0.75l lemonade bottles (with posh lemonade inside!) for £2.49.  I think I might get a few of those.  My next batch will probably be half bottles, half pressure barrel until I've built up a collection of bottles.
> 
> Do you have to store them upright because of sediment?  That's going to be a bit of a ball ache as I can only fit them in my fridge laying down.


The bad news is that you do need to store them upright, yes. The good news is that you should not be storing them in the fridge.

When they're first bottled, they need to prime (secondary fermentation to gas them up), and condition, and that happens best at room temperature. Even after that, they really don't need to be chilled except if you're wanting to serve them cool, in which case you'll just need to chill them for a couple of hours prior to serving (or simply keep a small stock in the fridge and replenish as you use them).



fractionMan said:


> Also, would decanting from pressure barrel to bottles from time to time so there's always a few bottles in the fridge but keeping the bulk of the beer in a barrel be a bad idea?  Will it make the beer go off?


I wouldn't advise that, for a few reasons. First of all, pressure barrels work best when they're fuller - you'd need to keep on topping up with CO2 as you drew beer off, because you don't want oxygen in there with the beer - that'll make it go stale. Secondly, beer bottles are brown for a reason - it prevents the wavelengths of light getting through that can react with the alpha-acids from the hops to "skunk" the beer - most barrels are white, and won't protect against sunlight or fluorescent light. Thirdly, unless you don't might almost-flat beer, the process of transferring the beer from barrel to bottle will lose a lot of the beer's sparkle, and you probably don't want to be farting around with repriming it, not to mention the risk of introducing other nasties that might make the beer go off or vinegary.

Generally, handling it as little as possible is the way to go.


----------



## fractionMan (May 8, 2014)

That's the thing.  I'd like to serve them chilled now summer is coming up.  That'd be my main reason for bottling over barrelling really.  That and portability.


----------



## existentialist (May 8, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> That's the thing.  I'd like to serve them chilled now summer is coming up.  That'd be my main reason for bottling over barrelling really.  That and portability.


Sounds like your best bet might be to invest in a set of swing-top 500ml bottles, then. If I could bring myself to lay out the cash, that's what I'd do. As it is, I rely on my slowly-depleting (I give some beer away) stock of crown-capped 500ml bottles. Must chat up my publican friend for some Magners bottles some time...


----------



## fractionMan (May 12, 2014)

These look promising: 1 litre flip top bottles for £1.75 each.  Ikea.

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30213552/


----------



## existentialist (May 12, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> These look promising: 1 litre flip top bottles for £1.75 each.  Ikea.
> 
> http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30213552/


Do check that they'll take the pressure. I did look at those, but they seemed somewhat lightweight to me, and I am not sure I'd really want exploding bottles on my conscience! 

ETA: a quick read around the forums suggests that they are up to the job, and the greatest concerns is that they are clear, not brown.


----------



## fractionMan (May 12, 2014)

I've got three demijohns lying about.  Would filling them and hammering in a bloody great cork work?  I'm thinking party packs.


----------



## existentialist (May 12, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> I've got three demijohns lying about.  Would filling them and hammering in a bloody great cork work?  I'm thinking party packs.


I am pretty sure they would NOT work! 

I use 2L PETs for "party packs"...


----------



## fractionMan (May 12, 2014)

I'm collecting my GFs used cider bottles.


----------



## mr steev (May 12, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> I'm collecting my GFs used cider bottles.



As long as they're not from Green Goblin Cider. I seem to remember that they have a slightly bulbous neck and you can't cap them easily


----------



## existentialist (May 12, 2014)

mr steev said:


> As long as they're not from Green Goblin Cider. I seem to remember that they have a slightly bulbous neck and you can't cap them easily


It really pissed me off when the breweries started switching over to the different neck profiles - I don't know what the rationale was for it, but I keep bloody washing and delabelling bottles before I notice that they're unusable.

I may have to get a bench capper to get around the problem:


----------



## fractionMan (May 12, 2014)

I was talking about the 2l plastic ones.


----------



## fractionMan (May 12, 2014)

Or if the worst comes to the worst and I've not sorted it out, I can get 11 2l bottles for 2 quid using these: http://groceries.morrisons.com/webs...ags=|103644&parentContainer=|103644_SHELFVIEW


----------



## existentialist (May 12, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> Or if the worst comes to the worst and I've not sorted it out, I can get 11 2l bottles for 2 quid using these: http://groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/product/M-savers-Sparkling-Water/111998011?from=shop&tags=|103644&parentContainer=|103644_SHELFVIEW


Yup, been there, done that. In fact, I brewed beer with the contents (I used still water from Tesco, but only after checking that the bottles were identical to the fizzy ones).


----------



## Addy (May 12, 2014)

Flip tops are the best solution as you can keep them clean and sterile very easily.
Once you open a bottle, wash it out immediately, have a spray bottle of Videne solution handy  and give the bottle interior a good squirt and reseal.
Next time you fill them up, just empty out the Videne and your ready to go.

The ultimate solution is to have a keggorator and some cornies.


----------



## existentialist (May 12, 2014)

Addy said:


> Flip tops are the best solution as you can keep them clean and sterile very easily.
> Once you open a bottle, wash it out immediately, have a spray bottle of Videne solution handy  and give the bottle interior a good squirt and reseal.
> Next time you fill them up, just empty out the Videne and your ready to go.
> 
> The ultimate solution is to have a keggorator and some cornies.


I must admit - and this is probably superstition rather than science - I don't think I would ever bottle beer into anything other than a freshly-sanitised bottle.

However, I am intrigued by this Videne stuff - I haven't come across that, and it sounds a lot easier than iodophor or sodium percarbonate.


----------



## Addy (May 12, 2014)

Vidine is surgical hand wash.
Used at a low PPM (I use 1ml per litre) it is harmless and tasteless if ingested.
Approximately £6 for 500ml so it will last a long time.

I use it primarily for sanitising my corny kegs as it doesn't attack the stainless steel like chlorine based sanitisers.

As cornies are only 19l capacity I generally bottle up whats left over and have used this system for a couple of years now with no bad beer.


----------



## butcher (May 12, 2014)

I've been using Videne from word go, great stuff, no rinse, no problems and cheap.


----------



## fractionMan (May 12, 2014)

I like the sound of videne


----------



## existentialist (May 12, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> I like the sound of videne


I'm on friendly terms with the staff in the local Lloyds. I think a word needs to be had


----------



## Dovydaitis (May 13, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> These look promising: 1 litre flip top bottles for £1.75 each.  Ikea.
> 
> http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30213552/


I use these, great for my spirits. The glass is pretty decent and have yet to have a leaker.


----------



## fractionMan (May 22, 2014)

In the end I've just bought 20l of fizzy tap water from morrisons.  £1.80.  Can't really argue with that and the labels come off really easily.  Only way they could be better is if they were green not clear.

Just added some finings tonight and will bottle up some hopefully crystal clear lager tomorrow.  3 tsp of sugar per 2l bottle sound about right?  I'm going to give them 2 inches headroom from the top of the bottle. 

Is it a good idea to squeeze the bottle before putting the cap back on to remove the air?


----------



## Mapped (May 23, 2014)

3 tsp sounds about right for priming. I'm not sure about removing all the headroom, doesn't that give the CO2 somewhere to go that isn't liquid?

I had a bit of a result on gumtree and I've got too many bottles, about 250 750ml brown glass bottles in my back yard and I intend to have a good go at filling them this aussie winter. 

What are people's thoughts on racking off to a second FV before bottling? I'm reading a lot of conflicting opinion on various home brew sites. At the moment I have a turbo apple/raspberry cider that has just finished and needs either racking off or bottling, a wherry that will finish fermenting this weekend and an empty FV. I'm wondering if these would benefit from racking off into a secondary or if I can just bottle them straight from the primary.

I've got a Black Rock wheat beer kit and a couple of cheapo coopers kits to go on after these are emptied. 



fractionMan said:


> I like the sound of videne



Me too. Can't seem to find it in Aus though. I'm using StarSan at the moment, which seems a lot more expensive.


----------



## existentialist (May 23, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> In the end I've just bought 20l of fizzy tap water from morrisons.  £1.80.  Can't really argue with that and the labels come off really easily.  Only way they could be better is if they were green not clear.
> 
> Just added some finings tonight and will bottle up some hopefully crystal clear lager tomorrow.  3 tsp of sugar per 2l bottle sound about right?  I'm going to give them 2 inches headroom from the top of the bottle.
> 
> Is it a good idea to squeeze the bottle before putting the cap back on to remove the air?


I always squeeze the bottle, yes. It serves two purposes: first of all, it means that there's no oxygen in the bottle, which is a good thing. Secondly, it's a handy way of making sure that conditioning has started, as the bottle will "inflate".

I think 2 inches' headroom might be a bit generous, though: I generally fill until the liquid is about 2cm from the top of the neck (ie, most of the way up the shoulder of the bottle), then loosely apply the lid, squeeze gently until a tiny bit of beer leaks out, and tighten down the lid.

Mapped - we're talking about squashy plastic bottles here, so the headspace will reappear as the CO2 comes out of the beer and fills the gap, inflating the bottle back to its usual size.


----------



## Addy (May 23, 2014)

Personally I wouldn't bother removing the air from the top of the bottles for 2 reasons.
1. CO2 is heavier than air and as such will protect your beer from the air (providing your not shaking the bottles up)
2. You want to create a large pressure build up in the bottle so the CO2 becomes absorbed in to the beer to give it fizz, you will lose that extra CO2 if it is merely sitting on top of the beer. (especially for a fizzy brew like lager or cider)

You will be able to determine how well the secondary ferment is doing just by squeezing to test the firmness of the plastic bottles.


----------



## existentialist (May 23, 2014)

Addy said:


> Personally I wouldn't bother removing the air from the top of the bottles for 2 reasons.
> 1. CO2 is heavier than air and as such will protect your beer from the air (providing your not shaking the bottles up)
> 2. You want to create a large pressure build up in the bottle so the CO2 becomes absorbed in to the beer to give it fizz, you will lose that extra CO2 if it is merely sitting on top of the beer. (especially for a fizzy brew like lager or cider)
> 
> You will be able to determine how well the secondary ferment is doing just by squeezing to test the firmness of the plastic bottles.


I'd respectfully disagree here. First of all, there's going to be no shortage of CO2 - the gaseous CO2 in the headspace will represent only the tiniest proportion of the total amount of CO2 being produced. Secondly, the oxygen and CO2 won't just sit on top of the beer in nice convenient layers - they'll mix.

To be fair, the amount of oxygen in the headspace is not a massive concern when it comes to the risk of the beer spoiling, but I take the view that homebrewing is a random enough activity that it's probably worth making the effort to eliminate problems where possible, and squeezing all the air out of the bottle is such a straightforward activity that it seems silly not to.

And if you're _really_ concerned about a shortage of CO2, sling another few grains of sugar in. Yes, really: a few grains.

We usually measure the amount of CO2 dissolved in the beer as "volumes" - 1 volume being a litre of gaseous CO2 dissolved in a litre of beer. Typically, for fizzy lagers, you're looking at 2-3 volumes, so in a 2 litre PET, that's 4-6 litres of dissolved CO2 (I wouldn't want to open a 3 volume beer in an enclosed area, mind!!!).

The rule of thumb is that it takes 4g of sucrose to produce 1 volume of CO2. That space in the top of the bottle represents maybe 5cc, or 0.005 litres. So that space can be safely accommodated by the addition of a couple of crystals of sugar


----------



## Addy (May 23, 2014)

The OP had suggested leaving a 2" headspace in the bottle, which if it is a large rounded 2l (typical pop bottle) this would equate to about 1/2 of 1 volume.

The beer should be carbonated to approximately 2.8 volume
The beer should already carry over 0.8 volume of co2 from primary which would leave you requiring 7.3g of sucrose per 2l to achieve the target.

This is a good guide for anyone who is uncertain as to priming sugars and volumes etc

http://byo.com/resources/carbonation

Personally, I force carbonate my ales at 5 PSI at a refridgerated temperature of 8c


----------



## existentialist (May 23, 2014)

Addy said:


> The OP had suggested leaving a 2" headspace in the bottle, which if it is a large rounded 2l (typical pop bottle) this would equate to about 1/2 of 1 volume.
> 
> The beer should be carbonated to approximately 2.8 volume
> The beer should already carry over 0.8 volume of co2 from primary which would leave you requiring 7.3g of sucrose per 2l to achieve the target.


Yes, I think leaving 2" of headspace is overdoing it a bit: I think I pointed that out in my initial response to him. I did type in a bit of a thesis on the whole dissolved CO2 issue, but decided to leave it out in the end - suffice it to say that if he's putting 3 teaspoonsful into each bottle, a shortage of CO2 is not going to be his main problem!


----------



## fractionMan (May 23, 2014)

I've completed the bottling.  Left about 2 cm at the top then squeezed out the air before screwing the cap on.  3 tsp per bottle, I just hope the bottles can cope. The first 9 bottles were fine, but had a problem with the getting out the last of the beer without sediment.  I guess that's always going to be the case.

Tastes pretty good already.  It's expired coopers ausie lager + light wheat spraymalt.

Cheers for all the advice!


----------



## butcher (Jun 4, 2014)

Just kegged a Coopers English bitter with a can LME, 200g cyrstal malt partial mash and dry hopped with Whitbread Goldings, the sample jar was magnificent!


----------



## friedaweed (Jun 17, 2014)

Heeds up brewers

Tesco's got all their homebrew kit reduced  

They've got the coopers starter kit for about 50 sovs which is pretty canny if you're starting out. All the coopers ale kits and the geordies are reduced. Got me some of those lazy ass bottle drops and some 500ml pet bottles for £7 a box.


----------



## fractionMan (Jun 17, 2014)

Dammit.  No tescos near here!


----------



## fractionMan (Jun 17, 2014)

My lager + wheat malt turned out amazing btw.  3 teaspoons per 2 litres was just about right.  Could have gone to 4 I think, but 3 was fine.  Shame there's no way to get rid of the sediment as the first 3 pints from the bottle are fine but the last really cloudy.


----------



## existentialist (Jun 17, 2014)

Just racked off the California Common to keg for Saturday's Spousal Sexagenarian Shindig on the beach...


----------



## TopCat (Jun 19, 2014)

Well we have drunk all of it.  The cider was good, the pear cider ok to good and the beer OK. The wine was foul though.


----------



## mr steev (Jun 19, 2014)

My mate dropped round a shit load of bottles last night (still probably need more though!) ready for a monster bottling session - we have just shy of 17 gallons of damson wine!!


----------



## Mapped (Jun 22, 2014)

Just opened a couple of my apple/raspberry turbo ciders that I bottled on 26/05 and they already taste great  7.74% as well so two's enough for a sunday night

This week I'll be bottling an Aussie pale ale and a wheat beer with orange and cinnamon, putting on another cider and a Choc/Coffee/Vanilla stout based on the coopers kit (which are dirt cheap over here)

My brewing has taken over my laundry room  I've never had the luxury of one before, so I'm making good use of it.







Got a couple of wines on the go also. 10 litres of orange/passion fruit and 10 of coffee/vanilla. The coffee one went pop this week all over the walls.


----------



## Mapped (Jun 22, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> My lager + wheat malt turned out amazing btw.  3 teaspoons per 2 litres was just about right.  Could have gone to 4 I think, but 3 was fine.  Shame there's no way to get rid of the sediment as the first 3 pints from the bottle are fine but the last really cloudy.



Serve it in a jug, pour carefully and keep the sediment in the bottle?


----------



## sim667 (Jun 25, 2014)

I want to put my second brew on....... the only problem is doing in a mates cellar who doesnt answer his phone for two weeks at a time is a right bugger........

Would it be alright to do it in my garden at this time of year? Im guessing it'll be warm enough.


----------



## mr steev (Jun 25, 2014)

sim667 said:


> Would it be alright to do it in my garden at this time of year? Im guessing it'll be warm enough.



It may be a bit too warm tbh. It depends on what you're brewing though. Most ales should be around 70F/21C but the fermentation process can add a few degrees on top. A shed should be ok I would've thought, but maybe not for lager


----------



## sim667 (Jun 25, 2014)

mr steev said:


> It may be a bit too warm tbh. It depends on what you're brewing though. Most ales should be around 70F/21C but the fermentation process can add a few degrees on top. A shed should be ok I would've thought, but maybe not for lager


 
Yeah it would be for lager.

Thats a bugger.... although my mum and dad are home soon and they have a very big garage.


----------



## mr steev (Jun 25, 2014)

I've not done it myself, but many people brew lager in a fridge. It will still ferment at higher temperatures but will not taste good


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## mr steev (Jun 25, 2014)

There are some posts about brewing lager in a fridge on this thread http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/quick-home-brew-question.209938/


----------



## fractionMan (Jun 25, 2014)

How does anyone distinguish between the umpteen lager/pilsner/cerveza kits out there?  

My coopers australian turned out great (with extra malt) but I only picked it cos it was half price.


----------



## sim667 (Jun 25, 2014)

I definately do not have a fridge big enough.

I reckon a garage will be fine though.


----------



## sim667 (Jun 25, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> How does anyone distinguish between the umpteen lager/pilsner/cerveza kits out there?
> 
> My coopers australian turned out great (with extra malt) but I only picked it cos it was half price.


 
Yeah I was chuffed with my coopers malt


----------



## existentialist (Jun 25, 2014)

mr steev said:


> It may be a bit too warm tbh. It depends on what you're brewing though. Most ales should be around 70F/21C but the fermentation process can add a few degrees on top. A shed should be ok I would've thought, but maybe not for lager


Also, light strike. You would HAVE to make sure your brew was shielded from sunlight. Which might tend to make it too hot, too...

Really, you want somewhere fairly dark with a reasonably steady temperature.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jun 25, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> How does anyone distinguish between the umpteen lager/pilsner/cerveza kits out there?
> 
> My coopers australian turned out great (with extra malt) but I only picked it cos it was half price.


Wilkos is not bad


----------



## fractionMan (Jun 25, 2014)

Dovydaitis said:


> Wilkos is not bad


I just bought wilkos ruby beer and wilkos lager kits, plus some spraymalt.


----------



## existentialist (Jun 25, 2014)

My steam beer (lager kit with extra malt and brewed at ale temperatures with an ale yeast) lacked something. I've still got 25 pints or so in the keg, so I am considering adding something to it to give the flavour a little more depth - one option is some coriander seeds, unless someone's got a better suggestion...?


----------



## fractionMan (Jun 25, 2014)

Both of the brews I've made so far have come out a bit odd tbh.  There's a sort of metalic taste in the background that's more than just hops.  I'd describe it as "metal hops".

Anyone else experienced it?


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 7, 2014)

Just treated my bottling collection to some tre sexy bottles with corks and wires courtesy of that posh Lakeland shop sale

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/18069/Lakeland-Sparkling-Wine-Bottle






99p

My Belgian beer never looked so good


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 7, 2014)

existentialist said:


> My steam beer (lager kit with extra malt and brewed at ale temperatures with an ale yeast) lacked something. I've still got 25 pints or so in the keg, so I am considering adding something to it to give the flavour a little more depth - one option is some coriander seeds, unless someone's got a better suggestion...?


A couple of kilos of raspberries would of been nice


----------



## Addy (Jul 7, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> Both of the brews I've made so far have come out a bit odd tbh.  There's a sort of metalic taste in the background that's more than just hops.  I'd describe it as "metal hops".
> 
> Anyone else experienced it?



The odd metalic taste is most likely from chlorine in your water.
I treat the water with a campdem tablet a couple of hours before making up the brew.


----------



## fractionMan (Jul 7, 2014)

Addy said:


> The odd metalic taste is most likely from chlorine in your water.
> I treat the water with a campdem tablet a couple of hours before making up the brew.



Hmm.  Could be.  I'll look into it.

So you put the tablet in the water, leave it for an hour, then add the water to the mix?


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 7, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> Hmm.  Could be.  I'll look into it.
> 
> So you put the tablet in the water, leave it for an hour, then add the water to the mix?


Yeah but you must say a prayer to Ninkasi as well


----------



## existentialist (Jul 7, 2014)

friedaweed said:


> A couple of kilos of raspberries would of been nice


Probably a bit late - I am seriously underwhelmed with it, although I have had no sense of taste since a throat op a week and a half ago, so perhaps I should be a bit tolerant...

But yes, raspberries - that might make it worth having another try.


----------



## Mapped (Jul 14, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> How does anyone distinguish between the umpteen lager/pilsner/cerveza kits out there?
> 
> My coopers australian turned out great (with extra malt) but I only picked it cos it was half price.



With those types of kits I'm just buying Coopers over here as they're very cheap (£6.50 a can) and they seem to make good beer. I've just opened a Coopers APA (slightly early) and it's lovely  

My latest brews have been decent, the only fuck up has been a lager where I used carbonation drops and it didn't carbonate properly  My favourite so far has been Woodfordes Wherry, I've had people round and they were drinking that in preference to proper beer from the bottle shop. 

I've got a problem with a couple of brews at the moment with extremely slow fermentation. I put a headcracker on on 28/6 that started on 1067, it was 1030 10 days ago and is 1024 today 

I've the same story with a Coopers Stout (+ extras) on 26/6 it was 1066, it was 1023 10 days ago and today it is 1020.

I gave both of them a stir and added another packet of yeast each this afternoon, but what could be causing this slow fermentation? I was expecting both of these to get down to about 1010 pretty quickly. At the moment the temperature here fluctuates a lot from mid 20's in the day to nearly freezing at night and our house isn't really insulated, could it be that they're too cold at night?


----------



## Cid (Jul 14, 2014)

Which yeasts are you using Mapped ?

But yeah, temp sounds like a problem.


----------



## Mapped (Jul 16, 2014)

Cid said:


> Which yeasts are you using



Nothing special. The stout has coopers yeast in it from the kit. The headcracker yeast was replaced in the HBS as it was out of date, I think it was standard ale yeast.

I topped them up on Monday with cheap ale yeast from BigW (it's kind of an Aussie version of Wilkos). Is there any type of yeast I should be using?

During the same period my Turbo Cider went from 1064 to 1003 using champagne yeast. So I'm not entirely sure about blaming the night time temps.


----------



## Cid (Jul 16, 2014)

Champagne yeasts tolerate all manner of shit, so the comparison doesn't really work. The optimal range for the one I'm using on my elderflower champagne is 15-25c and it'll be fairly happy from 10-30. Will also ferment to 16% or so. Beer yeasts are much more sensitive; from a quick google Coopers is more like 20-26c, and big fluctuations in temp can't help either. Alcohol content in your headcracker is 4.86%, 6.04% in the stout. Coopers can handle that afaik, but may be a bit on the high end - combined with the temp the yeast may just have slowed down a lot. Same could go for the headcracker, but depends on the yeast. Don't know much about beer mind, but I reckon temp is your problem.

Topping up with different strains may also not be a great idea, but not sure.


----------



## Mapped (Jul 16, 2014)

That headcracker should end up at about 7%, it's only a 20 pint kit, so it'd better be strong! I'm going to leave them both until the weekend and have a look then.

The reason I put in a general ale yeast was that in one of my earlier brews (Woodfordes Wherry) It got stuck at 1020 and another sachet of cheap yeast finished it off nicely.

It's probably the temp though. I've moved to the wrong place too hot to brew in summer and too cold to brew in winter  I'm going to have a chat with the folks down the HBS to see what they do.


----------



## Cid (Jul 16, 2014)

Also remember water has a high specific heat capacity; slow to get warm and cool. Your brew may never actually reach the high temps in the house. I think the normal solution is heat pads/jackets and insulation btw.


----------



## Frances Lengel (Jul 17, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> Hmm.  Could be.  I'll look into it.
> 
> So you put the tablet in the water, leave it for an hour, then add the water to the mix?



You don't need to leave it an hour - Half a crushed up campden tablet with the water you're going to use for the brew and that's all you need to do. I'm not convinced it even makes that much diff TBH.  What I'm tempted to do, right is do an oldstyle brew - Using a cheap kit but with normal sugar instead of brewing sugar (yeah, the stopping drinking fell by the wayside a bit), but anyway, a ten pound beer kit with a kilo of normal granulated and non-campdenated water. Just to see what it's like.


----------



## badseed (Aug 1, 2014)

I haven't posed much on this thread, mostly in silent protest at the abandonment of Voley 's original "Quick question" thread.
But as I am currently brewing a "Bounty" style beer I decided to ditch my principals as I feel you all should know about it.

I made a Double Chocolate stout that has been brewing since Tuesday with Safale S04 yeast, this is a fast fermenting yeast and it erupted in about 10 hours.
Tomorrow I am going to rack it onto 200g of lightly toasted coconut and 100g of cocoa powder and leave it for a couple of weeks.

I have made a Choc-Espresso stout in a similar way using cold pressed coffee and it was fantastic but I couldn't sleep after a couple of pints.
If this coconut caper is any good I am planning a dark cherry/coconut stout in the near future.

I will inform you of results.
The 2 main HB threads should, nay, must be merged and made a sticky. There is a wealth of information for young players to be found in them.


----------



## sunnysidedown (Aug 1, 2014)

I look forward to hearing how that turns out badseed, as for the dark cherry idea, I had a nice sour cherry porter the other week (Holgate's Midnight Cowboy Project) which turned out to be very good, in a slightly peculiar way.


----------



## mango5 (Aug 1, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Well we have drunk all of it.





TopCat said:


> I think I am going to try and brew cider, beer and wine. We are having a summer party and it will be good to be able to be generous to our friends.


----------



## TopCat (Aug 1, 2014)

Innit!!!!


----------



## Voley (Aug 1, 2014)

I've had to abandon homebrewing sadly. It was having a devastating effect on my ability to function as a reasonably normal human being.


----------



## TopCat (Aug 27, 2014)

I think I will re start this hobby.


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## TopCat (Aug 27, 2014)

We will have a party in 2015!


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## mango5 (Aug 27, 2014)

badseed said:


> The 2 main HB threads should, nay, must be merged and made a sticky. There is a wealth of information for young players to be found in them.


If you send me the links I will do this for you.

eta: Done.  Luckily the threads didn't overlap much in time, so the merge won't make things nonsensical.  I've changed the thread title slightly too.


----------



## badseed (Aug 28, 2014)

mango5 said:


> If you send me the links I will do this for you.
> 
> eta: Done.  Luckily the threads didn't overlap much in time, so the merge won't make things nonsensical.  I've changed the thread title slightly too.



Thank You


----------



## TopCat (Aug 28, 2014)

Well done mango5.


----------



## TopCat (Aug 28, 2014)

I got a dozen demijohns off freecyle yesterday.I think much of my bottling of turbo cider will be in these. I like the idea of a big drink.


----------



## badseed (Aug 29, 2014)

I have finished my choc & coconut experiment and it's magnificent.








Double choc stout with 100g cocoa and 200g toasted coconut added at secondary. Fantastic, I call it Bounty. I was worried that the cocoa might make it bitter but it's nicely balanced. The coconut left an oily residue all over the inside of the fermenter and accounts for the poor head but the taste is out of this world. Choc-coconut aroma. Smooth coconut at the front and a massive chocolate hit at the end. Winner. Choc-cherry next.


----------



## diond (Aug 31, 2014)

Okay, long shot here, but has anybody had any experience with brew in a bag (BIAB) and no chill?

The no chill method intrigues me as I have a water meter and can't afford to waste gallons of water cooling the wort. From what I've read about it, all seem to mention using a Winpak container to allow the wort to cool down overnight before pitching the yeast, but I can't see these containers for sale anywhere in the UK. I've looked at plastic jerry cans but am not too sure if they would be a suitable alternative.

I'm also going to be brewing on an electric cooker, which isn't ideal for maintaining a consistent temperature, so if anybody has any tips regarding that, I would be ever so grateful.

Cheers.


----------



## rr22 (Sep 2, 2014)

diond said:


> Okay, long shot here, but has anybody had any experience with brew in a bag (BIAB) and no chill?
> 
> The no chill method intrigues me as I have a water meter and can't afford to waste gallons of water cooling the wort. From what I've read about it, all seem to mention using a Winpak container to allow the wort to cool down overnight before pitching the yeast, but I can't see these containers for sale anywhere in the UK. I've looked at plastic jerry cans but am not too sure if they would be a suitable alternative.
> 
> ...



I started BIAB but using a buffalo water boiler (tea urn) and a square of net curtain,it is possible to brew stove top but you will be restricted to smaller amounts due to weight,the technique is to bring the (treated) water up to "strike temperature" add grain then turn off  the heat and wrap a duvet or similar round the vessel which should then hold  your mash temperature for long enough (60-90 mins.) you can boost it if you need but I never needed to.
As far as no chill the requirement seems to be HDPE, but if you don't plan to keep the wort for long before adding yeast,I'd just let the temp. drop a bit after the boil and run off into a lidded fermentation bucket, then dump in a bath of cold water or leave over night till it cools.

These sites should answer all your questions,and both very friendly forums.

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=35

http://www.biabrewer.info/

H.T.H.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 7, 2014)

badseed said:


> I have finished my choc & coconut experiment and it's magnificent.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sounds fab. I've got a triple chock chip been in the bottle for 6 months now. 
I used a coopers stout, some choc wheat malt, choco malt, in the primary and some cocoa nibs that had been soaked in bourbon and some chocolate extract in the secondary. The plan is a desert beer. Read some article and had all the ingredients in so gave it a go.

I may put one in the fridge and report back


----------



## TopCat (Sep 7, 2014)

Addy said:


> The odd metalic taste is most likely from chlorine in your water.
> I treat the water with a campdem tablet a couple of hours before making up the brew.


Chlorine will evaporate out so you can fill the spare brewing tub up and leave for 48 hours. Used to get superior results growing weed using this method too.


----------



## sojourner (Sep 8, 2014)

So, I've got the elderberry liqueur and the blackberry brandy on the go. My dad said to use the demijohn bungs with the little plastic curly pipe thingy in them, and fill them to the marked level with water, which would ensure nothing gets into the brew.

However, all the recipes I've read say to use an airtight sealed container for them.

Any advice welcomed.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 8, 2014)

sojourner said:


> So, I've got the elderberry liqueur and the blackberry brandy on the go. My dad said to use the demijohn bungs with the little plastic curly pipe thingy in them, and fill them to the marked level with water, which would ensure nothing gets into the brew.
> 
> However, all the recipes I've read say to use an airtight sealed container for them.
> 
> Any advice welcomed.


No airtight is fine. You're not really brewing the brandy and liquer more infusing it so you're not going to get any yeast activity which would produce co2. In brewing that co2 needs to escape somewhere to stop the vessel containing your swally exploding 

Your pops is right in that if you were making elderberry wine you would need a bubbler but not for what your doing chuck 

ETA
You could use an airlock though if you're using a demijon as that would still be airtight. Well until it got knocked over one night   When I make my skittle voddy I just screw the top back on the bottles.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 8, 2014)

By the way what sort of quantities are you making Soj?


----------



## sojourner (Sep 8, 2014)

Cheers freeds!

So what I've got in the top of them is okay, or can you get solid bungs?  Ah no they'll not get knocked over. They're both in my kitchen pantry, on the floor - we only go in there for the big stock pot and bog roll 

Quantities are about 300/350g berries, 170g sugar with the brandy, 200g sugar for the elderberry liqueur, 70cl bottle of cheapo voddie for the EB and 70cl of cheapo 'French' brandy from Morrisons for the BB.

Yeh, I know they're gonna be quite sweet, but that's what I'm after.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 8, 2014)

sojourner said:


> Cheers freeds!
> 
> So what I've got in the top of them is okay, or can you get solid bungs?  Ah no they'll not get knocked over. They're both in my kitchen pantry, on the floor - we only go in there for the big stock pot and bog roll
> 
> ...



You can get solid bungs but what you're doing is fine from my experience. The high alcohol in the voddy and the brandy will kill off any chance of it fermenting much, if owt at all. It's a bit like slow gin making or rum pot.


Sounds lovely  I'm considering a blackberry one now I've looked it up  There's millions here at the mo.


----------



## sojourner (Sep 8, 2014)

Thanks chuck   Ooo can't bloody wait for crimbo now haha - first time I've ever said THAT! Was lovely though, making our own crimbo booze.  I'm gonna make some elderberry syrup this week sometime too - proven anti-viral it is, meant to be great for colds and flu


----------



## TopCat (Sep 9, 2014)

Anyone seen good deals on apple juice? I want a lot and want it cheap.


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## friedaweed (Sep 9, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Anyone seen good deals on apple juice? I want a lot and want it cheap.


The last time I did a turbo cider I used Aldi AJ after considering cosco, tesco and all the others. 

Whatcha makin then TC?


----------



## felixthecat (Sep 9, 2014)

friedaweed said:


> The last time I did a turbo cider I used Aldi AJ after considering cosco, tesco and all the others.



Yep. Aldi does an unpasteurized one which is particularly good for turbo cider.

First demijohn of sloe gin started tonight, along with a litre of blackcurrant vodka.


----------



## TopCat (Sep 9, 2014)

friedaweed said:


> The last time I did a turbo cider I used Aldi AJ after considering cosco, tesco and all the others.
> 
> Whatcha makin then TC?


Well I recently got a dozen demi johns off of free cycle and also have about 90-100 proper bottles. I am thinking about wine but turbo cider is so straight forward.

I also like the idea of making the cider in a normal vessel and bottling it in the demi johns. Saves getting off the sofa unless I need the loo! So I want a fuck ton of apple juice me thinks.

I would like to do wine but the previous results were not very good though we drank all of it. It was kit stuff. We are looking at buying grape juice and having another go but to be frank we can get roughish but drinkable Italian wine here for £5 for two bottles so it does not work out as good value as the cider.

The beer I made was fucking awful. We drank all of that too. 

Now it gets closer to winter I am up for doing more stuff in doors as it were. So with luck, prudence and my new job's alcohol policy, we should have some booze in a good state for next summer.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 9, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Well I recently got a dozen demi johns off of free cycle and also have about 90-100 proper bottles. I am thinking about wine but turbo cider is so straight forward.
> 
> I also like the idea of making the cider in a normal vessel and bottling it in the demi johns. Saves getting off the sofa unless I need the loo! So I want a fuck ton of apple juice me thinks.
> 
> ...


 Have you seen the toffee apple cider recipes out there?


----------



## TopCat (Sep 9, 2014)

Bleurhg.


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## fractionMan (Sep 9, 2014)

Make ginger beer. All you need is ginger and sugar  its ace.


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## Mation (Sep 9, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Well I recently got a dozen demi johns off of free cycle and also have about 90-100 proper bottles. I am thinking about wine but turbo cider is so straight forward.
> 
> I also like the idea of making the cider in a normal vessel and bottling it in the demi johns. Saves getting off the sofa unless I need the loo! So I want a fuck ton of apple juice me thinks.
> 
> ...


We did not drink all the wine! I have low standards but it was too chemicalish even for me. I know we had some but I'm sure we chucked most of it.

The beer was yummy! But I don't usually like beery beer as much, so you may have a point.


fractionMan said:


> Make ginger beer. All you need is ginger and sugar  its ace.


Ooh! Good idea. How?


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## fractionMan (Sep 9, 2014)

Mation said:


> We did not drink all the wine! I have low standards but it was too chemicalish even for me. I know we had some but I'm sure we chucked most of it.
> 
> The beer was yummy! But I don't usually like beery beer as much, so you may have a point.
> Ooh! Good idea. How?



I've forgotten the exact proportions but it was basically sugar, ginger and bread yeast.  There's a thread on here somewhere   It was amazing and really quick too.


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## fractionMan (Sep 9, 2014)

Here it is! 

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/the-alcoholic-ginger-beer-brewery-club.293149/


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## story (Sep 10, 2014)

sojourner said:


> Thanks chuck   Ooo can't bloody wait for crimbo now haha - first time I've ever said THAT! Was lovely though, making our own crimbo booze.  I'm gonna make some elderberry syrup this week sometime too - proven anti-viral it is, meant to be great for colds and flu



You could make an Elderberry Rob for medicinal purposes, sojourner . I make one most years, cos it's so easy to use later.

Get your elderberries and comb them off the stems. You probably already know this, but it's worth repeating: the stems are emetic, so you do want to get rid of them.

Put the berries in a large heavy bottomed pan with enough water to make them wet through. Put the lid on and bring to a boil, then turn it right down, right away. Allow that to simmer for about 20 minutes. Add more water if you think it needs it, but you'll be evaporating it later, so not too much. Squash it all down with a potato masher to get the pulp out of the skins. Strain it all through a colander, then through a sieve. Now reduce the fluid (the menstruum ) over a low heat for as long as it takes. Eventually it will form a thick sticky paste. That can be stored in a sterilised jar until next year's harvest.

You can check how thick it is by taking a spoonful out and letting it cool til you can see how thick it's gonna be. Keep doing that til you get a consistency like marmite, or treacle, or honey, jam. Thick and gooey, anyway.

You can add spices during the initial cooking stage if you like: cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, nutmeg, whatever. 

If you want it more sweet, then add honey at the end of the reduction stage. 

To use it, at the first hint of a cold, put a teaspoonful of the Rob in a mug and add hot water. I leave out the honey, and sweeten it at this point if I want to. Take it at bedtime, and throughout the day. It can make you sweat (it's a diaphoretic) which is good. It's also antiviral (specific against certain flu viruses), antioxidant, demulcent, all kindsa good stuff. Take as much and as often as you like during any upper respiratory tract infection. You can also use it as a prophylactic during the cold season. If you feel like a cold drink while you're ill, you can mix it with some hot water to loosen the paste, and then add fizzy or still cold water. Or another juice or herbal tea. If you have a really sore throat, make ice lollies with the diluted rob and suck on them to soothe your throat.

Mrs Grieves' recipe for Rob is here, and she gives a good recipe for elderberry syrup too. Also wines, ketchup, chutney etc.

https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/e/elder-04.html#medpre


Not brewing, this, but good to know.


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## Mapped (Sep 11, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> Here it is!
> 
> http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/the-alcoholic-ginger-beer-brewery-club.293149/



I'm getting on that when I get home. I looked at doing it here, but the price of ginger made it a very expensive drink

I've just opened the first bottle of my coffee 'wine'. At 13% it'll get you pissed, and the amount of caffeine in it will keep you up all night, so it's strictly a daytime drink. It's fucking bitter though. I've mixed it with milk and sugar and it's still pretty harsh.

My latest turbo cider using apple and blackcurrant is great though and shall be accompanying me on my enforced holiday


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## sojourner (Sep 11, 2014)

Cor story - that looks fiiiine!!  The recipe for EB syrup I've got is much more basic than that, but I love the idea of using ginger etc in there - god, I feel better already just reading that and I'm not even ill yet haha 

Am considering making some 'fire cider' too - mate of mine reckons that's the dog's bollocks n all!


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## longdog (Sep 11, 2014)

Time to unveil the Longdog Winery*™*

It all started when I was out walking the dogs and thought "There's a lot of blackberries about this year... Think I'll make a demijohn of wine"... And then things got a bit out of hand... Fourty kilos of blackberries and £30 of infrastructure later...



From back to front we have...

1) 23 litres of blackberry wine a few days from bottling.

2) 30 litres of mixed fruit wine - Apples and plums (courtesy of a neighbour), peach, mango, blackcurrant, rhubarb. half way through fermenting.

3) 5 litres banana wine. A work in progress but smells great.

4) 5 litres of blackberry and elderberry which has been doing its own thing for five weeks.

5) Christmas wine just started today. Blackberry, elderberry, red grape concentrate, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, root ginger, vanilla, 1 orange (juice and peel), 1 lemon (juice and peel) and juniper berries (which I forgot to steal from Roadkill's kitchen cupboard can go in later when I nick them).

Note if you will the devious use of Tesco own brand five litre mineral water bottles with hole drilled in lid and bubbler glued in place. £1.10 each (including contents) as opposed to £5.50 for a glass demijohn. I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this but it has worked much better than I thought it would.

Bottom shelf is the 50 wine bottles I've scrounged from bars or just plain rooted out from their bins.

Oh... And then there's the label...


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## TopCat (Sep 11, 2014)

Excellent Doggie!


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## longdog (Sep 12, 2014)

Drew off a test bottle of the blackberry wine yesterday. Nice, light, fruity and very drinkable


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## aqua (Sep 12, 2014)

Your glass needs a wash....


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## diond (Sep 13, 2014)

aqua said:


> Your glass needs a wash....


Yeah. It's making your keyboard look decidedly, erm, organic.


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## badseed (Sep 21, 2014)

I am quite interested in one of these: http://www.grainfather.com/

It's a complete single vessel brewing system incorporating heater and pump. It's a rip off of the excellent, but prohibitively expensive Braumeister. All the reviews I have seen have been positive, they are set to hit Australia in November and retail at about AU$1000 which is less than half the price of a Braumeister.

Looks tidy and easy to use. I have been thinking about going AG for a long time and this looks like the answer for me. The Braumeister would be my dream system but this looks just as good.


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## sojourner (Sep 21, 2014)

I know it's not strictly brew, but I did make some elderberry syrup today. Tested it, and oh my fucking lord - almost can't wait to be ill to test its efficacy   Got an icecube tray and a half of it int freezer for winter. 

Mmm think of the hot toddies that's gonna make


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## Mapped (Sep 23, 2014)

If taking fairly recently brewed beer into hot places my advice is to find some way to keep them cool, or you could end up with a situation like this 







Multiple bottle bombs. I was in the stationary car when it went off and I thought someone had chucked a rock at my back windscreen.

Also in areas where you need to take your own water sterilised FV's come in very handy


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## diond (Sep 23, 2014)

Mapped said:


> If taking fairly recently brewed beer into hot places my advice is to find some way to keep them cool, or you could end up with a situation like this
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Blimey. At least no one was injured. I've just finished bottling some home brew but always crap myself whilst walking with the crate to the shed in case one of the bottles decide to explode in my face.


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## badseed (Sep 24, 2014)

Fuck, lucky nobody was near the box.

This is why PET bottles are a good idea. Kegs are even better but obviously less  practical for a camping trip.
I am mourning for the ruined beer


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## Cid (Sep 24, 2014)

Has anyone tried converting a hot water cylinder into a mash tun or boiler? The mash tun should be a piece of piss, just slice top off with an angle grinder, remove elements, add sparging thing, false bottom and tap, replace top and neaten insulation where needed. 

The boiler is a bit trickier, part of the domed top needs to remain to maintain structure in a rolling boil (not too much of a problem really) and it needs to be possible to maintain the temperature. Second part is tricky, most of the cylinders on ebay are indirect (they have a big copper coil in the bottom that has hot water from the boiler running through it - this will be bonus wort cooling coil) so a) they need to be upside down (thus putting the boost heater at the bottom) or b) they need an extra immersion element, bit of a faff. Then need to override the immersion safety cut off (pretty easy I think), but that needs to be replaced with a thermostat that will cut out at 110c or so. Would also be useful to be able to set it at 70-80c for sparging water. Get something off a tea urn maybe?  Any plumbers around?


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## rr22 (Sep 24, 2014)

Cid said:


> Has anyone tried converting a hot water cylinder into a mash tun or boiler? The mash tun should be a piece of piss, just slice top off with an angle grinder, remove elements, add sparging thing, false bottom and tap, replace top and neaten insulation where needed.
> 
> The boiler is a bit trickier, part of the domed top needs to remain to maintain structure in a rolling boil (not too much of a problem really) and it needs to be possible to maintain the temperature. Second part is tricky, most of the cylinders on ebay are indirect (they have a big copper coil in the bottom that has hot water from the boiler running through it - this will be bonus wort cooling coil) so a) they need to be upside down (thus putting the boost heater at the bottom) or b) they need an extra immersion element, bit of a faff. Then need to override the immersion safety cut off (pretty easy I think), but that needs to be replaced with a thermostat that will cut out at 110c or so. Would also be useful to be able to set it at 70-80c for sparging water. Get something off a tea urn maybe?  Any plumbers around?




Have a look here,

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=33903

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=33556

If you ask on that forum you will get informed replies.


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## Cid (Sep 24, 2014)

rr22 said:


> Have a look here,
> 
> http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=33903
> 
> ...



Cheers, certainly looks like it's worth a go (at least for mash tuns/HLT). Will see what comes up on ebay etc and wait for plumber mate to get back from his holiday I think.


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## TopCat (Sep 24, 2014)

Just about to start 40 pints of pear cider and 40 of so called lager.


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## mr steev (Sep 24, 2014)

I finally got round to bottling my damson wine the other day.... 81 bottles  I've still got 3 gallon left to do as we thought we'd run out of bottles (but I've since found a few carrier bags full in a cupboard)
It was started last year and is already pretty drinkable (we've had one bottle).
I've got a stout kit I want to start soon so it's ready for xmas. I quite fancy making a chocolate stout. Has anyone got any advice?


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## TopCat (Sep 24, 2014)

I used spray malt plus brewing sugar in the "lager". The spray malt went a bit claggy but I bunged it in any way.


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## Mapped (Sep 25, 2014)

badseed said:


> Fuck, lucky nobody was near the box.
> 
> This is why PET bottles are a good idea. Kegs are even better but obviously less  practical for a camping trip.
> I am mourning for the ruined beer


It was in the boot of a sedan. Thank god I didn't buy a hatchback. I've got loads of bits of glass to clean out tomorrow.

My next brew will have to wait until I get my UK house back in Nov


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## fractionMan (Sep 25, 2014)

I've got a spare pressure barrel if you want it when you're back


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## Mapped (Sep 25, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> I've got a spare pressure barrel if you want it when you're back


Thanks for the offer, but I can't see myself using it. Possibly for the same reasons you don't want it?

It's bottles all the way for me.


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## fractionMan (Sep 25, 2014)

Mapped said:


> Thanks for the offer, but I can't see myself using it. Possibly for the same reasons you don't want it?
> 
> It's bottles all the way for me.



I've got 4!


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## Mapped (Sep 25, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> I've got 4!


Fair enough! [emoji2] 

I'll have to pop round yours and you can try and educate me in the ways of the pressure barrel (as well as trying to flog me your banger)


----------



## fractionMan (Sep 25, 2014)

Mapped said:


> Fair enough! [emoji2]
> 
> I'll have to pop round yours and you can try and educate me in the ways of the pressure barrel (as well as trying to flog me your banger)



I picked up a couple recently at the car boot.  I'm hoping my next batch works properly - I think it's down to getting a decent seal to stop the CO2 leaking out.


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## TopCat (Sep 25, 2014)

I used them in the past, the gas always leaked out and the beer got flatter the more you drank. It went from froth tastic (the first few pints) to flat bag o' shite (the last draggy pints).

I am going to bottle up a lot of the beer and cider in demi johns and get very drunk.


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## TopCat (Sep 28, 2014)

My beer is bubbling away nicely buy the cider is flat and doing nothing. I have put the fermenter into the dregs of my bath to warm it up a bit and added more yeast.


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## TopCat (Sep 28, 2014)

Stirring it appears to have been the wrong thing to do. I am going to lob in another yeast starter and add to the fuck ups.


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## butcher (Sep 29, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> I picked up a couple recently at the car boot.  I'm hoping my next batch works properly - I think it's down to getting a decent seal to stop the CO2 leaking out.



I now use plumbers PTFE tape on the barrel threads, which helps a lot.  Also I only vaseline the lip of the barel, not the cap seal which also seems to help.

The trick seems to be to not over-tighten, and if necessary refresh the cap rings with a 5mins in boiling water (ie straight from the kettle).


hth


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## badseed (Oct 3, 2014)

Black lager with Saaz hops fermented with Urquell yeast for 2 weeks at 10 deg then chilled and lagered.
Goes down very well.


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## Mapped (Oct 5, 2014)

It's home brew cocktail time round here

I cracked open a bottle of my coffee wine, it's 14% and very, very bitter. However it is very drinkable with milk and a few sugars. I'm on my second and I think I'll need some sleeping tabs tonight.





I've got some OK(ish) WOW to polish off soon as well.


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## TopCat (Oct 12, 2014)

Oh my head. The Perry is delicious and very strong.


----------



## badseed (Oct 19, 2014)

Productive day yesterday. I kegged a Pilsner and made a Bright Ale.
I also made a cider, which is new to me. I have a 10l fermenter which is perfect for making small experimental batches.
8l Cloudy apple juice
1 tea bag
2 crushed cinamon sticks
s04 yeast
I boiled the tea and cinamon in abou 200ml of water and chucked it all in.
Hydro read 1050. 
Hydro sample tasted good.


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## friedaweed (Oct 20, 2014)

I've just taken delivery of 300 of these lovely bottles. 






Time to get some brews on


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## Mapped (Oct 20, 2014)

friedaweed said:


> I've just taken delivery of 300 of these lovely bottles.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Where did you get them from? I need to start a serious bottle collection again. It's even affecting the beer I buy at the supermarket, there's too many clear bottles used 

This was my Aussie collection all packed up last week. About 180 750ml bottles and I was sad to see them go. No homebrewer in Perth wanted them, I ended up giving them away to an art project and they're going to be melted down in a kiln.


----------



## doddles (Oct 20, 2014)

Mapped said:


> Where did you get them from? I need to start a serious bottle collection again. It's even affecting the beer I buy at the supermarket, there's too many clear bottles used
> 
> This was my Aussie collection all packed up last week. About 180 750ml bottles and I was sad to see them go. No homebrewer in Perth wanted them, I ended up giving them away to an art project and they're going to be melted down in a kiln.


That's a shame - those 750mL bottles are great. My mum still has a bunch (including some still full ones) from my dad's homebrew (he passed away last year). Seems a shame to get rid of them, but to ship them to the UK would cost an arm and a leg.


----------



## friedaweed (Oct 20, 2014)

Mapped said:


> Where did you get them from? I need to start a serious bottle collection again. It's even affecting the beer I buy at the supermarket, there's too many clear bottles used
> 
> This was my Aussie collection all packed up last week. About 180 750ml bottles and I was sad to see them go. No homebrewer in Perth wanted them, I ended up giving them away to an art project and they're going to be melted down in a kiln.


Mate works for the black stuff


----------



## Mapped (Oct 20, 2014)

doddles said:


> That's a shame - those 750mL bottles are great. My mum still has a bunch (including some still full ones) from my dad's homebrew (he passed away last year). Seems a shame to get rid of them, but to ship them to the UK would cost an arm and a leg.



They are great, not so great for strong brews if you're not in company though. 

We had 3 cubic metres for our stuff in a shared container and as you can see there wasn't much room for bottles (I was thinking about it though). The FV's got used though. There's 2 more of them behind that one packed full of clothes, sheets etc. I'm hoping customs don't open it as there's kilo bags of malt and dextrose in there that look slightly dodgy.


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## Mapped (Oct 20, 2014)

friedaweed said:


> Mate works for the black stuff



Very handy connection


----------



## doddles (Oct 20, 2014)

Mapped said:


> I'm hoping customs don't open it as there's kilo bags of malt and dextrose in there that look slightly dodgy.


It's the plastic bags of hops that might cause concerns...


----------



## TopCat (Nov 2, 2014)

My last brews are excellent. Very moorish.


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## friedaweed (Nov 4, 2014)

Mince Pie beer bubbling in teh kitched


----------



## friedaweed (Nov 6, 2014)

From the stout thread

View attachment 63471

This is the Mango Stout I made back in the spring. I used a coopers stout kit and beefed it up with some black treacle, dark spray malt, some roasted oats and two industrial sized tins of pulped mango.
I added Boudicca hops to the secondary. It smells divine. Like mango and toffee.
It has a head like bread on in all the way to the bottom of the glass. It's got a lovely fruity dry taste with a real bonfire toffee kick at the end. Out of all my stouts this one seems to be a fav amongst the connoisseurs.
6% ABV

Cheers

Happy Stout day​


----------



## diond (Nov 12, 2014)

I was in my LHBS the other day, and I mentioned to the owner that it was a pain the arse washing out bottles and then filling the buggers back up again, only to have to repeat the process over again. 

I said that I'd bought a pressure barrel and had used it for a brew but that the pressure had stopped me from pouring more out after it had gone over halfway. He did say about getting a pressure valve and CO2 bulb injector to use to fill the dead space with gas to push the beer out, but then he also mentioned that it might be cheaper to just initially fill the barrel half way but make sure the drink is primed enough when it first goes in that it creates enough CO2 of its own to fill the empty space so pouring lasts the whole of the barrel.

If this works, my thinking is that I could use two barrels and just fill them both up half way and do away with the CO2, which is an added expense. So, my question is, would this work and / or has anybody tried it?


----------



## rr22 (Nov 15, 2014)

diond said:


> I was in my LHBS the other day, and I mentioned to the owner that it was a pain the arse washing out bottles and then filling the buggers back up again, only to have to repeat the process over again.
> 
> I said that I'd bought a pressure barrel and had used it for a brew but that the pressure had stopped me from pouring more out after it had gone over halfway. He did say about getting a pressure valve and CO2 bulb injector to use to fill the dead space with gas to push the beer out, but then he also mentioned that it might be cheaper to just initially fill the barrel half way but make sure the drink is primed enough when it first goes in that it creates enough CO2 of its own to fill the empty space so pouring lasts the whole of the barrel.
> 
> If this works, my thinking is that I could use two barrels and just fill them both up half way and do away with the CO2, which is an added expense. So, my question is, would this work and / or has anybody tried it?




Could work,although I'd be worried about the brew oxidizing while the CO2  built up (prob. not a valid fear).
The small bulbs work out expensive.
I use the Hambelton bard cylinders  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Genuine-Cylinder-Hambelton-Bard-Super/dp/B00KRE2T08/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416014291&sr=8-1&keywords=s30 cylinder 
 (you buy the  full cylinder initially  then get it recharged/swop for full one) from my LHBS  one £7 refill has lasted around 6 months of pressuring   1 or 2 barrels  a month(and some were /are leaky) more convenient than having 2 barrels of indeterminate pressure hanging round .
IMHO of course.


----------



## diond (Nov 17, 2014)

rr22 said:


> Could work,although I'd be worried about the brew oxidizing while the CO2  built up (prob. not a valid fear).
> The small bulbs work out expensive.
> I use the Hambelton bard cylinders  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Genuine-Cylinder-Hambelton-Bard-Super/dp/B00KRE2T08/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416014291&sr=8-1&keywords=s30 cylinder
> (you buy the  full cylinder initially  then get it recharged/swop for full one) from my LHBS  one £7 refill has lasted around 6 months of pressuring   1 or 2 barrels  a month(and some were /are leaky) more convenient than having 2 barrels of indeterminate pressure hanging round .
> IMHO of course.


Cheers for the advice - it's a shame that I'm an impatient bugger and had already bought the more expensive 8oz bulb system before I'd seen your reply! Never mind, I'll give it a bash and see how I get on and report back.


----------



## rr22 (Nov 17, 2014)

diond said:


> Cheers for the advice - it's a shame that I'm an impatient bugger and had already bought the more expensive 8oz bulb system before I'd seen your reply! Never mind, I'll give it a bash and see how I get on and report back.




I converted my bulb system,if you have the same valves it is easy,
inside the valve is an "O" ring that holds the pin in place,remove this with a cocktail stick or similar remove the pin reverse and replace ,and you have the 
valve able to accept the big cylinders.
If this is not clear I can probably dig out a diagram to explain it more fully.


----------



## longdog (Nov 17, 2014)

Just a small glass of my mixed fruit wine.


----------



## Mapped (Nov 18, 2014)

I need to get back on this, all my gear has been delayed in Aus, due to a paperwork fuck up, so I think a trip to wilkos is in order this weekend.


----------



## diond (Nov 18, 2014)

rr22 said:


> I converted my bulb system,if you have the same valves it is easy,
> inside the valve is an "O" ring that holds the pin in place,remove this with a cocktail stick or similar remove the pin reverse and replace ,and you have the
> valve able to accept the big cylinders.
> If this is not clear I can probably dig out a diagram to explain it more fully.


Great, that's good to know. I'll use up the 8oz bulbs I've already got and try that out, thanks.


----------



## TopCat (Dec 8, 2014)

I have just started 80 pints of winter warmer type ale. I used 4 cans of hoppy malt extract, 1 kilo of light spray malt and 3 kilos of brewing sugar. 

I let the water to be used stand for 5 days with a clean cloth over the container(s) to allow the chlorine to evaporate. This preparation of the water I attribute to the gorgeous taste of my last brew.  

I did a pear cider last time too which I really liked but Mation was a bit meh about. It got me thinking. Apple juice etc is all a concentrate. With chlorine treated water added. No wonder the original turbo cider  made tasted like home brew. 

Anyway, I look forward to drinking this lot soon.


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 8, 2014)

Just barreled a wherry for criggy. Made a 40 pint bottle batch of vimto cider which has just gone in the garage.


----------



## Onket (Dec 8, 2014)

Does this look like a good deal for 30 quid?


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 8, 2014)

Onket said:


> Does this look like a good deal for 30 quid?


You could probably do it a bit cheaper when wilco or tesco have a sale on but it'll get you started.


----------



## Onket (Dec 8, 2014)

I'll have to see if they've got any left. Cheers.


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 8, 2014)

Onket said:


> I'll have to see if they've got any left. Cheers.


I can send you loads of caps onkey 

What ya going to make? Have a search for ditche's stout


----------



## TopCat (Dec 8, 2014)

Onket said:


> I'll have to see if they've got any left. Cheers.


Just buy it man and get going. I will post you a few bits and bobs to assist.


----------



## Onket (Dec 8, 2014)

It's just that I took the picture over a week ago.


----------



## TopCat (Dec 8, 2014)

Thanks to the posters who encouraged me in this.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 9, 2014)

I need to get brewing again


----------



## TopCat (Dec 9, 2014)

Planning to start 60 bottles of wine soon. I have the concentrate. Is it worth adding anything like two tins to one ferment?


----------



## TopCat (Dec 11, 2014)

I started 23 liters of so called Cabernet Savignon.


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 11, 2014)

TopCat said:


> I started 23 liters of so called Cabernet Savignon.


I just make it a couple of liters short of the brew length which gives good results. Let it mature and you'll be more impressed than if you try a bottle a week after its done.
I left a couple of bottles of beaverdale barrolo for a year and they were so amazing I kicked myself for drinking the others so early


----------



## TopCat (Dec 11, 2014)

The house smells like an alkie grandad.


----------



## TopCat (Dec 11, 2014)

I have some solid rubber bungs on their way to me. I aim to bottle a lot of the wine in demi johns and also do this for the cider I am starting soon.


----------



## TopCat (Dec 12, 2014)

I am mesmerised by the bubbling airlock...


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 12, 2014)

TopCat said:


> I am mesmerised by the bubbling airlock...


 

I made a double kit of the Brewferm Diablo last year and woke up in the night wondering what the burring sound was humming through the house. I went down stairs armed with me big tea mug thinking it was some sort of intruder only to find the airlock going at it like Russel brands headboard

There's nothing like making your own bubbles 

Ditch's stout actually blew the lid off of my FV fortunately I'd stuck it in one of those plasterers bucket tubs.


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 12, 2014)

Here's Ditch's stout masterclass 

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=31569

He reminds me of our very own rorymac 

You'd like that brew Onket


----------



## TopCat (Dec 12, 2014)

I am considering a foreign extra style stout. 8-9% bottled in 330 ML. 
Any thoughts?


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 12, 2014)

TopCat said:


> I am considering a foreign extra style stout. 8-9% bottled in 330 ML.
> Any thoughts?


I did a triple choc stout at imperial strength recently. Long maturation in the bottle if the key I think. It's also not quaffing beer though as it's very overpowering on all the senses which means you leave it alone but then you also end up with loads hanging around. If you want to do high gravity beers I'd say have a go at the Belgian kids as they give very pleasing results if left to mature.  I find 5 or 6% tops is nice for stout


----------



## badseed (Dec 13, 2014)

friedaweed said:


> Here's Ditch's stout masterclass
> 
> http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=31569
> 
> ...



I have heard (or read) people about Ditch's stout before, it seems to get mentioned a lot.
That's the first time I've seen the recipe and it's just a basic kit and kilo with a cup of sugar. Am I missing something????

Not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't that.


----------



## badseed (Dec 13, 2014)

dp


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## TopCat (Dec 13, 2014)

Jim's beer forum is like many others, lots of adulation for some posters. You are right though, ditches stout should be called coopers stout.


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 13, 2014)

badseed said:


> I have heard (or read) people about Ditch's stout before, it seems to get mentioned a lot.
> That's the first time I've seen the recipe and it's just a basic kit and kilo with a cup of sugar. Am I missing something????
> 
> Not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't that.





TopCat said:


> Jim's beer forum is like many others, lots of adulation for some posters. You are right though, ditches stout should be called coopers stout.



You will not find instructions on a coopers kit that incorporates the use of a plasterers mixing paddle and a drill and a fish tank heater and beer brewed in an back entry 

The whole 'masterclass' is a pisstake as much as I can see and it's his adhoc method that's amusing which as TopCat  points out goes against the grain of beer forum perfectionists rather than promote that sort of snobbery which I agree you do get on those boards. 

Anyway in essence of course it's a coopers kit aye but it's a very easy tutorial for noobs innit  Which was why I posted it for onks 

Having made about 10 coopers stouts though this method really does produce a creamy pint of stout which I know Onket  is fond of


----------



## TopCat (Dec 13, 2014)

I bought a Coopers Stout kit today and another fermenter as my other three fermenters are full.


----------



## diond (Dec 14, 2014)

I started a Cooper's Australian Pale Ale kit the other week. After few days into fermentation the taste was a little bit meh - so I added 40g of cascade I had leftover, and then a couple days later I added a lemon and half a grapefruit hoping to try get it a bit more like an American Pale Ale. The trouble is, the lemon taste is far too, well, lemony. I'm just hoping it will settle down after bottling.


----------



## sojourner (Dec 14, 2014)

You know when you do blackberry brandy, over 3 months or so, does the fruit break down, or will I have to sieve it?

We had a sneaky taste of it last night btw - oh my fucking god. AMAZING!!


----------



## diond (Dec 14, 2014)

TopCat said:


> I bought a Coopers Stout kit today and another fermenter as my other three fermenters are full.


I've only got two kits on the go and I'm running out of room. Do you have a large garage or cellar?! Buckets and bottles are bloody awkward shapes and take up far too much space.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Dec 14, 2014)

I had some lovely mulled mead last night whilst visiting a friend, great drink for winter. Tempted to have a go myself, but a year's wait is a long time.


----------



## diond (Dec 14, 2014)

sojourner said:


> You know when you do blackberry brandy, over 3 months or so, does the fruit break down, or will I have to sieve it?
> 
> We had a sneaky taste of it last night btw - oh my fucking god. AMAZING!!


I've done a grape gin this year using grapes from my work colleague's garden. It's been almost three months now but the fruit has only slightly broken down. However, I was advised to shake the bottle every so often to help impart the flavour from the fruits.  Oh, and I had pretty much the same reaction when I took a quick sip of my concoction.


----------



## sojourner (Dec 14, 2014)

diond said:


> I've done a grape gin this year using grapes from my work colleague's garden. It's been almost three months now but the fruit has only slightly broken down. However, I was advised to shake the bottle every so often to help impart the flavour from the fruits.  Oh, and I had pretty much the same reaction when I took a quick sip of my concoction.


We shook ours every day for a few weeks, and then about once a week for the last couple of months.

We've got elderberry liqueur too made with voddie - can't wait to try that!

Must not drink it all before crimbo haha!


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Dec 14, 2014)

What's the advantage to bottling rather then drinking it from the barrel? Want to get started with this in the new year when I've found a new place to live.


----------



## diond (Dec 14, 2014)

Global Stoner said:


> What's the advantage to bottling rather then drinking it from the barrel? Want to get started with this in the new year when I've found a new place to live.


I'm no expert as I'm a fairly inexperienced brewer, but in terms of taste, nothing. I jump from bottling to barrelling but I find barrelling just a shorter and easier process to bottling. However, if you want to take some beers round to a mate's house you're (possibly) going to have to carry 40 pints of beer with you, if barrelling. I'm sure more seasoned brewers will be along shortly.


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 15, 2014)

Global Stoner said:


> What's the advantage to bottling rather then drinking it from the barrel? Want to get started with this in the new year when I've found a new place to live.


Pretty much what diond says. I prefer my real ale kegged but then unless I get the lads round for a bit of a sesh often a fair bit can go to waste. The beauty of bottling is you can also share your wares out a bit and get some feedback. There's the mini keg option as well and the big placky bottle things. 

It's really down to what you can cope with I suppose. I've got an unlimited supply of bottles so I do tend to mostly bottle but if I didn't make so much different stuff and I was just making beer for me to sup I would have one keg and one FV on the go. 

For a wee while I did half bottle half keg but you need a co2 charger for your barrel if it's only half full ime.

What ya brewing GS?


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Dec 15, 2014)

Thanks folks. Just wanted do a simple ale from a kit to start with. How long does the 40 pints last before it goes of? I can't see that part being a problem tbh.


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 15, 2014)

Global Stoner said:


> Thanks folks. Just wanted do a simple ale from a kit to start with. How long does the 40 pints last before it goes of? I can't see that part being a problem tbh.


If you keep the barrel charged with a bit of co2 then it can last for a good 6 months ime some say longer but I've never had ale in a barrel longer than that the trick is to not let any air in the barrel. It also depends on the brew though really. Obviously maturing it in the barrel for a while improves the beer in a lot of cases but some beers will also develop some unwanted flavors if left in the barrel for too long. I've found some last better than others and mature over time but then I did one in the summer that tasted like piss three months after it was kegged and it actually started off real nice. 

If you have a keg of Woodfords Wherry on the kitchen sideboard though it will not go off, it will go well before there's any chance of that


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Dec 15, 2014)

40 pints could easily be drunk round here in a week tbh.


----------



## sojourner (Dec 15, 2014)

Had a sneaky glass of the elderberry liqueur last night when we got home from the gig. Jesus - it's absolutely spot on. Seriously wish I'd made more of this stuff now!  Funny thing and I'm not quite sure how this happens but it had a kind of a peppery taste to it as well as the deeply purpley berry taste.


----------



## TopCat (Dec 15, 2014)

I was set to bottle up my hi gravity winter ale tonight but backed off when the beer fizzed in the bottle. It has only been fermenting for 8 days and I don't think it's finished. 

The recipe was two tins of wilko bitter plus a kilo of light spray malt plus a kilo and a quarter of brewing sugar. I read up a bit in the last hour and brewing this sort of beer seems quite complex.

Pain in the fucking arse given the kitchen is clean and had 80 sanitised bottles waiting to be filled. It's a small kitchen. We eat out 'till the beer is ready. Hope it's done by Christmas eh Mation?


----------



## Mation (Dec 15, 2014)

I'm fine for you to take me out to dinner every night till we can use the kitchen again


----------



## TopCat (Dec 15, 2014)

Fried chicken ok?


----------



## diond (Dec 16, 2014)

TopCat said:


> I was set to bottle up my hi gravity winter ale tonight but backed off when the beer fizzed in the bottle. It has only been fermenting for 8 days and I don't think it's finished.
> 
> The recipe was two tins of wilko bitter plus a kilo of light spray malt plus a kilo and a quarter of brewing sugar. I read up a bit in the last hour and brewing this sort of beer seems quite complex.
> 
> Pain in the fucking arse given the kitchen is clean and had 80 sanitised bottles waiting to be filled. It's a small kitchen. We eat out 'till the beer is ready. Hope it's done by Christmas eh Mation?


Bloody hell, I think you may need the whole world's current supply of yeast to get to work on that lot!


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 16, 2014)

TopCat said:


> I was set to bottle up my hi gravity winter ale tonight but backed off when the beer fizzed in the bottle. It has only been fermenting for 8 days and I don't think it's finished.
> 
> The recipe was two tins of wilko bitter plus a kilo of light spray malt plus a kilo and a quarter of brewing sugar. I read up a bit in the last hour and brewing this sort of beer seems quite complex.
> 
> Pain in the fucking arse given the kitchen is clean and had 80 sanitised bottles waiting to be filled. It's a small kitchen. We eat out 'till the beer is ready. Hope it's done by Christmas eh Mation?


What was the OG on that concoction?


----------



## TopCat (Dec 16, 2014)

friedaweed said:


> What was the OG on that concoction?


I never checked the OG!
I gave it a swirl with lid on yesterday and it's still fermenting away merrily. I will check the gravity over a couple of days later this week. Hope all will be well. It's an expensive brew and I did 80 pints.


----------



## TopCat (Dec 16, 2014)

Just to be clear. I brewed two batches to the recipe above so used four tins etc.


----------



## Onket (Dec 16, 2014)

That Kilner bucket starter kit thingy has been reduced to 20 quid and they are doing Kilner 'lager', 'bitter' and 'cider' kits for 15 quid a pop.

I presume the bucket kit is worth getting now, but what about the brew kits?


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Dec 16, 2014)

Where have you seen that Onket?


----------



## Onket (Dec 16, 2014)

The Original Factory Shop.


----------



## TopCat (Dec 16, 2014)

M


diond said:


> I've only got two kits on the go and I'm running out of room. Do you have a large garage or cellar?! Buckets and bottles are bloody awkward shapes and take up far too much space.


My house is small and there is kit everywhere.


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 16, 2014)

Onket said:


> That Kilner bucket starter kit thingy has been reduced to 20 quid and they are doing Kilner 'lager', 'bitter' and 'cider' kits for 15 quid a pop.
> 
> I presume the bucket kit is worth getting now, but what about the brew kits?


Not sure who makes their kits for them mate. What size kit is it and do you have to add sugar? Tesco have coopers kits reduced at the moment


----------



## Mation (Dec 16, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Fried chicken ok?


Nope!


----------



## diond (Dec 16, 2014)

Black treacle v molasses in a homebrew? I'm not normally a stout / porter drinker but I'm thinking of doing a BIAB next brew day and have seen a recipe that asks for molasses. On reading more about molasses, I've read somewhere that although there is a subtle difference between the two products (blac treacle contains molasses), you can certainly use black treacle AND, it's cheaper, too!


----------



## Onket (Dec 16, 2014)

friedaweed said:


> Not sure who makes their kits for them mate. What size kit is it and do you have to add sugar? Tesco have coopers kits reduced at the moment


Doesn't look like you have to add sugar.


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## friedaweed (Dec 17, 2014)

Onket said:


> Doesn't look like you have to add sugar.


Yeah had a look last night. There's some okish reviews on them and £20 is alright for what is more or less a two can kit. Apparently the wort is in a bag. 

All depends on what you want to make really though. I wouldn't buy one of those just on the basis they were cheap because if you don't like the brew you're stuck with 40 pints of it but then again if you can get it all in one go and you just see your first brew as an experiment then it saves you the hassle of traipsing around town listening to old men in brew shops chatting about bitterness and cascade hops 

My first two can kit was a Muntons Old English Bitter which I think was £22. The best stout I've done up to now was a festival ales  kit, London porter jobby.


----------



## Onket (Dec 17, 2014)

They are 15 quid! It's the massive bucket thing that's 20 quid.


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## friedaweed (Dec 17, 2014)

Onket said:


> They are 15 quid! It's the massive bucket thing that's 20 quid.


Fair doos then. The reviews I read on the kit were also when sainsburys were selling them off for similar price too £12.50. Give it a gogo then our kid 

There's a fairly decent review on the larger but as any foo knows it wont be a proper larger if it's done with ale yeast


----------



## Onket (Dec 17, 2014)

They're a bit weak for me- 3.7% for the bitter and 4.1% for the lager. Any tips on making it worth drinking?!


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## friedaweed (Dec 17, 2014)

Onket said:


> They're a bit weak for me- 3.7% for the bitter and 4.1% for the lager. Any tips on making it worth drinking?!


Add some spray malt or some sugar/honey/vimto/gravy granules


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 17, 2014)

It was the strength that kinda put me off them


----------



## friedaweed (Dec 17, 2014)

You could also make the brew length a bit shorter and say make the kit to 36 pints but it's always worth just doing your first kit to instructions and choosing a kit that suits what you like to drink. If you have a good first brew you'll be more inclined to use the stuff again where as if it turns out shit it's end up on your next car boot 



diond said:


> Black treacle v molasses in a homebrew? I'm not normally a stout / porter drinker but I'm thinking of doing a BIAB next brew day and have seen a recipe that asks for molasses. On reading more about molasses, I've read somewhere that although there is a subtle difference between the two products (blac treacle contains molasses), you can certainly use black treacle AND, it's cheaper, too!




I've used both before in different brews and I find the taste of treacle a bit overpowering in the finished product. Some folk like that taste though so It's down to what you like. I've found toasted/malted oats is nice in a porter or stout as it gives a thicker mouth feel and a nice creamy head.


----------



## Addy (Dec 18, 2014)

Coopers Stout. 1kg of dark DME. brew to 20l .... drink in 10-14 days... nuff said


----------



## Dovydaitis (Dec 20, 2014)

longdog whats the nana recipe?


----------



## longdog (Dec 20, 2014)

Dovydaitis said:


> longdog whats the nana recipe?



Hmmm... As with all of my brews there's not really a recipe just a general theory and hope for the best...

I used about 3kg of ripe or over ripe bananas peeled and chopped in to small pieces, boiled and then mashed with about 1/2 kg of sugar and enough water to make about 3 - 4 litres of revolting looking sludge.

Transfer to a demijohn / whatever and add two banana skins (for the tannin in theory but it probably doesn't matter), high tolerance yeast and nutrient if you use it when cool enough. The reaction can be quite violent and you'll need the extra 1 litre space in the demijohn for foam. At this point it will look like vomit but nil desperandum.

Leave to ferment for however long it takes and when the fermentation has almost stopped rack off through a sieve to remove most of the sludge (and the skins). Add another 1/2kg of sugar, a 250ml bottle of white grape concentrate (Wilcos sell it), a healthy dose of pectic enzyme and enough water to make up to 5 litres. This should get it going again.

When fermenting has finished rack off again through a sieve or filter to remove most or all of the remaining sludge. This should yield about 4 litres of wine.

Keep racking off and standing and it should clear... eventually.

That's it basically...


----------



## Dovydaitis (Jan 3, 2015)

New year new brew shop! Picked up some dried sloes and the milestone dasher kit in the sales


----------



## kwaimaisabai (Jan 12, 2015)

I've got a batch of St Peters IPA on the go.  It's been on for about 10 days and it's stuck around 1020 SG.  The instructions said to leave it until 1014.
It's in an unheated room which has been between 10c and 12c every time I've looked.  I don't want to move it somewhere warm because the last batch I did over the summer was too estery.

Keg it now or leave it alone for a bit?


----------



## diond (Jan 14, 2015)

kwaimaisabai said:


> I've got a batch of St Peters IPA on the go.  It's been on for about 10 days and it's stuck around 1020 SG.  The instructions said to leave it until 1014.
> It's in an unheated room which has been between 10c and 12c every time I've looked.  I don't want to move it somewhere warm because the last batch I did over the summer was too estery.
> 
> Keg it now or leave it alone for a bit?


If you don't feel like moving it, can you not wrap something else around it (presuming it has something wrapped around already?) Do you know of somebody with a heat-belt you could borrow? Or alternatively, put the bloody heating on, you tight arsed bugger!


----------



## kwaimaisabai (Jan 14, 2015)

diond said:


> put the bloody heating on, you tight arsed bugger!



I don't want to warm it up, beer tastes loads better when fermented cold.
I kegged it this evening anyway, it was still at 1020.


----------



## diond (Jan 14, 2015)

kwaimaisabai said:


> I don't want to warm it up, beer tastes loads better when fermented cold.
> I kegged it this evening anyway, it was still at 1020.


I won't taste better if it hasn't fermented properly. As with anything in life, there are no hard or fast rules, but experience dictates that ale yeast ferments more efficiently between 18c to 22c. Yes, there may be times that it can do so at lower temperatures, but it's quite obvious, that in your case, it's stuck as it's not hit the right numbers.
Anyway, enjoy your beer.


----------



## TopCat (Jan 22, 2015)

My winter Ale is too fizzy, hard to get it out without disturbing the yeast cake at the bottom of the bottle. I have 59 pints left.


----------



## Ground Elder (Jan 22, 2015)

I've just racked off a St Peter's IPA, which had been fermenting away at a regular 20 degrees for the last week. Tasting very IPAee. Might prove to be the best 'brewed to the instructions' brew I've made yet


----------



## kwaimaisabai (Jan 26, 2015)

The IPA is looking good, still needs to clear properly but it's on its way.  Tastes more bitter than anything else.


----------



## diond (Jan 27, 2015)

kwaimaisabai said:


> The IPA is looking good, still needs to clear properly but it's on its way.  Tastes more bitter than anything else.
> 
> View attachment 66896


Looking good there, kwaimaisaba. I love that orangey / amber colour. I can only imagine the hoppiness oozing from the glass.


----------



## Bob_the_lost (Feb 7, 2015)

I'm not going to ask if i can join, i've got the kit and something rotting next door, you can't stop me. I'm in.

They told me home brew would be a cheap way to get beer, they lied. No one pointed out that to hold 40 pints of ale you will need around 45 bottles, no one pointed out that the only cool solution, the flip-top bottle, is fairly expensive in the shops. No one told me that i'd just end up buying Grolsch instead and keeping the bottles, leading to a forced drinking session to ensure sufficient supply is available before bottling time...

Most of all no one told me that i'd end up losing this much time spell-checking my posts, how are you supposed to touch type drunk!?


----------



## Bob_the_lost (Feb 7, 2015)

On a serious note, i'm three days into a Wilkinson's Pilsner brew and i'm wondering if i should invest/waste money on a secondary fermentation vessel or just chuck the lot into the pressurised barrel (in a few days once the fermentation has died down a bit more). It's still got some fermentation to go but it's slowing down (based on CO2 emissions). Another bucket is only £10-15 but it's clearly the start of an ever steepening beer sodden slope.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Feb 7, 2015)

I'm waiting for my gaff to warm up a bit before this years carnage begins, although I do have a cheeky sloe voddie sitting quietly in the corner


----------



## diond (Feb 9, 2015)

Bob_the_lost said:


> On a serious note, i'm three days into a Wilkinson's Pilsner brew and i'm wondering if i should invest/waste money on a secondary fermentation vessel or just chuck the lot into the pressurised barrel (in a few days once the fermentation has died down a bit more). It's still got some fermentation to go but it's slowing down (based on CO2 emissions). Another bucket is only £10-15 but it's clearly the start of an ever steepening beer sodden slope.


If it's one thing I hate besides sanitising the kit, it's bottling as it's so time consuming and boring. What I've decided to do now, is instead of bottling off 20 pints (I'm currently doing BIAB and my stock pot only holds 14 litres but I sparge to make up 20 pints), I bought several 1.5 litre bottles of ginger beer (I poured away the ginger) and I now use them to bottle with. I know for a fact that I will drink at least 3-4 pints in one sitting, so getting through a bottle or two is par for the course during a normal session. 

I've also got a couple of barrels too, which when I'm doing my festival kits, I just whack the 40 pints' worth in one of those and help myself to a pint or two when I'm passing the barrel in the kitchen.


----------



## Bob_the_lost (Feb 9, 2015)

Fermentation is almost complete, it's starting to clear at the top and the CO2 production is right down. So the way i see it it's almost time to transfer to the keg. My first siphoning, how exciting. I'm going to leave it till tomorrow evening as i can't take the risk of pouring beer down myself first thing in the morning.

This stuff is almost all going to go into the keg, with three bottles just to see how they turn out.


----------



## kwaimaisabai (Feb 9, 2015)

Thought I'd keep you posted with the IPA.  Looking good, lots and lots of head which makes it difficult to pour but I guess that'll be easier when there's more space and less pressure in the keg.
Tastes very bitter, not a lot of aroma but a big grapefruit bitter hit and a bit of a homebrew overtone.  Hopefully this will get better as it ages but it's quite drinkable now.  I'm going to give it another week.




And with a backlight.  You can't really tell from the picture but it is completely clear.

 

I've now got a Young's American IPA on the go, in my bucket in the background.  This one came with 3Kg of malt extract _AND_ 1Kg of brewing sugar and had a starting gravity of 1060.
I've got high hopes for this one, I tested it yesterday and got a SG of 1028 and the sample tasted very nice.  When this reaches 1010 or there abouts I'll dry hop it with the provided sachet and I intend to keg around 1007.


----------



## diond (Feb 9, 2015)

kwaimaisabai said:


> Thought I'd keep you posted with the IPA.  Looking good, lots and lots of head which makes it difficult to pour but I guess that'll be easier when there's more space and less pressure in the keg.
> Tastes very bitter, not a lot of aroma but a big grapefruit bitter hit and a bit of a homebrew overtone.  Hopefully this will get better as it ages but it's quite drinkable now.  I'm going to give it another week.
> 
> 
> ...


Looking good there, K. I've just started doing the Young's APA tonight. I thought my SG of 1058 was good, but 1060 - that's going to be a good 'un.


----------



## kwaimaisabai (Feb 9, 2015)

diond said:


> I've just started doing the Young's APA tonight.




Hey D, keep us posted.  These Young's kits look excellent.  Mind you, I haven't tried Festival yet.


----------



## Bob_the_lost (Feb 9, 2015)

Damnit. The instructions say that it's probably had long enough in the barrel, 5 days. It's still bubbling at a greatly reduced rate: 0.57bpm, down from a peak of 16bpm. But the internet says to be patient.

I am not patient.

I'm going to take a Specific gravity reading and hold off for another day to test then. Patience is a virtue.

I am not virtuous.


----------



## kwaimaisabai (Feb 9, 2015)

What does it taste like Bob?  If it's clear and you're thirsty, why not?


----------



## Bob_the_lost (Feb 9, 2015)

Its not ready yet (not surprising, it needs another few weeks to stand minimum) but I have hope for the future.

I don't have enough experience tasting unfinished beer to know what is good and bad yet.


----------



## kwaimaisabai (Feb 10, 2015)

If it's clear, you can drink it but it's better if you leave it a while first.  I'm still learning too.


----------



## TopCat (Feb 18, 2015)

I bottled up into demi johns today, 40 pints of cider and 40 of red wine. I may struggle drinking a whole one but \i will take it for the team.


----------



## TopCat (Feb 23, 2015)

The bottom fell out of a wine filled Demi john, must have had a crack in it. 

7.5 litres of red on the front room carpet.


----------



## Dovydaitis (Feb 23, 2015)

Ouch


----------



## Bob_the_lost (Feb 23, 2015)

Apparently there's nothing wrong with putting the beer in the fridge to help speed up the clearing process? One reference bottle is staying out, two are going in for a bit. Now all i've got to do is persuade the other half that it isn't insane to put a 25 liter barrel in the fridge...


----------



## diond (Feb 23, 2015)

TopCat said:


> The bottom fell out of a wine filled Demi john, must have had a crack in it.
> 
> 7.5 litres of red on the front room carpet.


Shit, that's bad news. On the other hand, do you want to borrow a straw?


----------



## Bob_the_lost (Feb 23, 2015)

TopCat said:


> The bottom fell out of a wine filled Demi john, must have had a crack in it.
> 
> 7.5 litres of red on the front room carpet.


Quick! Smash a demijohn of white wine on it to clean the stain out!


----------



## diond (Feb 23, 2015)

Bob_the_lost said:


> Apparently there's nothing wrong with putting the beer in the fridge to help speed up the clearing process? One reference bottle is staying out, two are going in for a bit. Now all i've got to do is persuade the other half that it isn't insane to put a 25 liter barrel in the fridge...


No, not at all - cold crashing, innit.


----------



## Wolveryeti (Feb 24, 2015)

TopCat said:


> The bottom fell out of a wine filled Demi john, must have had a crack in it.
> 
> 7.5 litres of red on the front room carpet.


 No coming back from that one. You had better hope you have enough red wine left to finish the rest of the carpet


----------



## TopCat (Feb 24, 2015)

I think the carpet will have to go in the front room and be replaced with laminate flooring. This has blown my savings on booze accrued through this hobby thus far.


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 20, 2015)

There's my summer BBQ beer bottled up and ready for the garage. Did a coopers Canadian blonde and threw in a wilko's delicate pilsner I had from last years half price sale to make it a toucan job  Got the coopers from my TESCO for £3 as it closed down last weekend and they were selling off anything that had a mark on the packaging. The air lock was like a baby on a pea diet. That's 22 liters of grog for £8

Got two dented cans of Geordie mild for £2.88 each so just about to do a toucan on that as well. £5.76 for a barrel of mild 

I love bargain brewing me


----------



## fractionMan (Mar 21, 2015)

I've got a cheap double golden ale kit from Wilkos about ready to bottle.  As soon as that's done I'm going to stick a ipa double kit I got from Lakeland on.  They're end of lining them so reduced to 13 quid from 23.


----------



## Mapped (Mar 21, 2015)

I'm gonna get a turbo cider on today. I have everything I need. This will be the first of my brews in the northern hemisphere  I hope I put the FV the right way up.

Gonna pop to wilkos tomorrow to see what they've got.


----------



## fractionMan (Mar 22, 2015)

If there's a lakeland near you, try that too


----------



## fractionMan (Mar 24, 2015)

So I've got a wilkos Golden lager kit and a cheap looking 5 year out of date bitter kit.

What will happen if I use them both to brew a two tinner?  Will I die, will is taste rank?


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 24, 2015)

fractionMan said:


> So I've got a wilkos Golden lager kit and a cheap looking 5 year out of date bitter kit.
> 
> What will happen if I use them both to brew a two tinner?  Will I die, will is taste rank?


No it will reap an award winning golden ale that you will never be able to make again. It will take the world by storm but it's success will be short lived (40 pints to be exact) . You will spend the rest of your life trying to find five year old bitter kits


----------



## fractionMan (Mar 31, 2015)

Anyone have experience of mini kegs?

You can refill shop bought ones or buy new ones for about 6 quid each.  These preserve the beer until 'cracked' at which point you have to drink all 5 litres within 3 days.







There's a slightly more hightech version, which lets you fit a C02 powered pump on the top - meaning you can dispense beer without making it go off.  Bit more pricey though, the pumps cost about 40 quid (they take those little canisters)


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 31, 2015)

fractionMan said:


> Anyone have experience of mini kegs?
> 
> You can refill shop bought ones or buy new ones for about 6 quid each.  These preserve the beer until 'cracked' at which point you have to drink all 5 litres within 3 days.
> 
> ...


I've got a couple of the ones that lidl were selling with weisbeir in. They've been great for making ale for mates in and then they give me the cans back. I couldn't be arsed buying the kit ones though because everywhere I looked they were mighty expensive. Worth messing about with spent ones though


----------



## Dovydaitis (Mar 31, 2015)

I might get some of these, where are they only 6 quid?


----------



## fractionMan (Apr 1, 2015)

Dovydaitis said:


> I might get some of these, where are they only 6 quid?


http://www.leyland-home-brew.co.uk/easy-kegmini-keg-783-p.asp

but you have to pay postage.  I'm sure there are other places...

8 quid inc postage here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Easy-Keg-5L-/251885816320?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3aa5908a00 

(tbh, for that price I'd just buy 5l of Gem for 15 quid and reuse the barrel)


----------



## friedaweed (Apr 1, 2015)

anyone near Farringdon 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-x-5-li...with-tap-/111632658865?_trksid=p2054897.l4275


----------



## Dovydaitis (Apr 1, 2015)

Down the road from me if it's the Farringdon I think it is


----------



## friedaweed (Apr 2, 2015)

Dovydaitis said:


> Down the road from me if it's the Farringdon I think it is


That's a bit of a bargain innit Doves. You could keg two kits with one of those.


----------



## kwaimaisabai (Apr 2, 2015)

The St Peter's didn't work so well but the Young's was a massive success.  I was so impressed, I ordered a second kit before the first had fully cleared.
One thing though, very slow.  Over three weeks primary fermentation and the same again in the keg before it's properly drinkable.
Anyway, a Festival Razorback IPA on the go, 1050 SG and an AlcoTech Triple Still wash that is still going ape shit after 10 days but will hopefully start chilling out and clearing in a few days.


----------



## diond (Apr 4, 2015)

I'm just in the prelim' stages of researching at the moment, but was wondering if any if you could answer on here about the aroma / taste of my recent  home brews. Both my Razorback and Young's American Pale Ale have had this perfumery taste / smell to them. It's not that bad that I can't drink them, but it's frustrating what is causing it. From initial Googling, others have mentioned a soapy smell to their home brew, and I'm leaning more towards this description but I'm nt 100% convinced. Has anyone else experienced this and managed to resolve it? Cheers, and 17.


----------



## kwaimaisabai (Apr 4, 2015)

Interesting.  I'll think of soap when the next one is ready and report back.
Maybe you're overdoing the hops?


----------



## kwaimaisabai (Apr 4, 2015)

I'm assuming your problem is in the hops.  A couple of ideas.  I'm new to this too and have no idea what I'm doing but there's a few things you can tweak.
Use fewer hops.  Use half a pack and save the rest so you can try another one with a pack and a half.
Dry hop for a shorter time.
Dry hop for a longer time.  Do they bitter if you leave them longer?
Dry hop at a different time.  Has your wort hit FG when you hop?  Add hops before your wort hits FG.  Try adding hops after your wort has been at FG for a few days.


----------



## diond (Apr 4, 2015)

kwaimaisabai said:


> I'm assuming your problem is in the hops.  A couple of ideas.  I'm new to this too and have no idea what I'm doing but there's a few things you can tweak.
> Use fewer hops.  Use half a pack and save the rest so you can try another one with a pack and a half.
> Dry hop for a shorter time.
> Dry hop for a longer time.  Do they bitter if you leave them longer?
> Dry hop at a different time.  Has your wort hit FG when you hop?  Add hops before your wort hits FG.  Try adding hops after your wort has been at FG for a few days.


Cheers kwaimaisabai - that's certainly food for thought. I will find it hard not too use all the hops as I'm a complete hop head! The odd thing is though, my own recipes don't seem to suffer from this taste, although I've only done 1/2 a dozen of my own compared to the kits.


----------



## badseed (Apr 5, 2015)

TopCat said:


> I think the carpet will have to go in the front room and be replaced with laminate flooring. This has blown my savings on booze accrued through this hobby thus far.



Off topic by a country mile. Your house insurance, if you have it, might cover this.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 5, 2015)

I scrubbed the enormous stain out.


----------



## Dovydaitis (May 4, 2015)

So I get the vwp out and select a dj to sterilise. I pop to aldi to grab 3k of nanas so I can make longdog 's nana wine.

I bung the vwp and hot water in  the dj named Jamie (don't ask, got given 6 and this one had its name written on it). As it does its stuff I get my bag of magic out: 
Bubbler- check
Nanas- check
Dj- check
Various additives- check
Sugar- check
Yeast- .................... *paging yeast, it's your big moment*

Note to self, nip to wilkos tomorrow for yeast


----------



## fractionMan (May 4, 2015)

Dovydaitis said:


> So I get the vwp out and select a dj to sterilise. I pop to aldi to grab 3k of nanas so I can make longdog 's nana wine.
> 
> I bung the vwp and hot water in  the dj named Jamie (don't ask, got given 6 and this one had its name written on it). As it does its stuff I get my bag of magic out:
> Bubbler- check
> ...



got any bread yeast?  Use that.


----------



## fractionMan (May 4, 2015)

So I put on 80 pints of ale this weekend.

1: a two tinner IPA in a fermentation bucket.  I'm gonna stick it in re-used supermarket mini kegs.
2: a two timmer - one wilko lager tin, one 21 pint boots bitter that expired in 1994.  In a pressure barrel, where it's going to stay without secondary fermentation.  I might chuck some in bottles if I can be arsed.

Wish me luck!


----------



## Dovydaitis (May 5, 2015)

And the nana puke is in!


----------



## TopCat (May 29, 2015)

Well the double concentrate winter warmer ale was very good. The red wine was excellent and did not last long. 
I have forty pints of stout on the go. Plus the same of red wine. About to start forty pints of red wine, bitter, cider and lager this weekend.


----------



## shambler (Jun 7, 2015)

Would anyone be kind enough to recommend me a starter equipment kit? The OP is quite old now, and I'm not sure which one on the link is being referred to 

How does this look?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Home-Brew...087?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35ccf2c9a7


----------



## TopCat (Jun 9, 2015)

shambler said:


> Would anyone be kind enough to recommend me a starter equipment kit? The OP is quite old now, and I'm not sure which one on the link is being referred to
> 
> How does this look?
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Home-Brew...087?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35ccf2c9a7



Hi shambler. This starter kit looks fine to me. You might save a fiver if you bought all the bits in Wilko but you would have to lug it home. 

Go for it say I. Before you know it your home will stink, and the bath will be full of bottles. It's very rewarding to be honest. Most of the effort is cleaning stuff but you get more organised over time. I urge you to keep a journal of what you brew and how you brew it.


----------



## TopCat (Jun 9, 2015)

I have just bottled up 40 pints of stout and 40 of cider. The latter had no extra sugar added, just Apple juice and yeast. The last batch that had a kilo of brewing sugar added was just too damn strong. 

I am rather enjoying this hobby. I have learnt a lot over the last year and have not produced anything that was not drinkable.


----------



## TopCat (Jul 17, 2015)

Just done my first lager and bottled another five gallons of red wine. It's so easy to keep at right temps at the moment.


----------



## TopCat (Jul 17, 2015)

The stout I did was fucking lush.


----------



## fractionMan (Jul 17, 2015)

my brew from a 20 year old boots bitter kit and a lager kit "tastes like tomato soup" according to my mates


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## TopCat (Jul 17, 2015)

Pretty much all I drink is what I brew/ferment. I am really enjoying doing this now. I'm organised and I love the product.


----------



## badseed (Aug 2, 2015)

Sour cherry wheat beer.
Added 2kg of sour dark cherries after 10 days primary.
I blended the cherries in some pre-boiled water as a kind of shitty pasteurisation process.


----------



## TopCat (Mar 29, 2016)

Well th weather is warm enough to commence brewing. Forty pints of bitter started. Cider soon and then wine.


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 29, 2016)

Yes I clean some barrels out this weekend


----------



## TopCat (Apr 1, 2016)

Started eighty pints of cider today.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 1, 2016)

Forty pints of wine wil go in this weekend. The house is gonna stink.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 1, 2016)

Then I will get onto the stout!!!!


----------



## doddles (May 23, 2016)

40L of Belgian American Pale Ale brewed on the weekend. Hopped like an APA but using Belgian trappist yeast. I'm going to Brett half of it.


----------



## TopCat (May 23, 2016)

Not sure it's a good idea for a pisshead to have so much booze in the house. I solved this by drinking most of it.


----------



## Thisiswhoiamnow (Jun 15, 2016)

Got 23litre of Ginger Beer finishing up, 45 bottles of Golden Ale from a kit rapidly declining in fridge number 2. Forgot to add finishing hops so some fresh lime is necessary, but it goes down well.


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 4, 2016)

Just opened a bottle of shiraz I put on the rack in June 2014. It tasted shite when I brewed it. So glad i laid it down for a couple of years 
It's gonna be lovely in 2018


----------



## Whatnow? (Aug 6, 2016)

Just bottled cascade hopped coopers kit and a bucket of ginger beer. Finally got the kitchen clear of buckets, bottles and kegs. Tho now the shed is rammed, swings and roundabouts


----------



## TopCat (Aug 24, 2016)

It's getting to the sort of temps I need to crack another three hundred pints out.


----------



## William of Walworth (Sep 16, 2016)

For a long time I've avoided looking at this thread. To avoid being tempted into anything resembling hard work  

But our mate Mr Orange, rarely seen, is almost certainly bringing some very special home brewed strong stout -- also perhaps some other home brewed special -- to our last festival of the season next weekend   


Respect to all the deep cleaners and sterilisers then!


----------



## existentialist (Sep 17, 2016)

William of Walworth said:


> For a long time I've avoided looking at this thread. To avoid being tempted into anything resembling hard work
> 
> But our mate Mr Orange, rarely seen, is almost certainly bringing some very special home brewed strong stout -- also perhaps some other home brewed special -- to our last festival of the season next weekend
> 
> ...


It's really not as hard as it's made out to be. IME, you don't even really need to be that bonkers about sterilising everything.


----------



## TopCat (Oct 21, 2016)

Started a load of brews off thinking of Christmas. 

30 pints South London Extra Stout
40 pints Coopers bitter
40 pints of Turbo Cider
40 pints of Merlot


----------



## TopCat (Oct 22, 2016)

The stout has been brewed short to 25 pints with a kilo of dextrose and half a K of dark malt. Going to leave this one in the bottle for as long as possible.


----------



## Pickman's model (Oct 23, 2016)

TopCat said:


> The stout has been brewed short to 25 pints with a kilo of dextrose and half a K of dark malt. Going to leave this one in the bottle for as long as possible.


Pls let me know how it turns out


----------



## TopCat (Oct 23, 2016)

Pickman's model said:


> Pls let me know how it turns out


----------



## Sasaferrato (Oct 29, 2016)

beesonthewhatnow said:


> You can play around with honey as well - use 1.5 times the amount of honey as they say to use sugar



I used to use the out of date 50% dextrose, the fermentation is lightning fast.


----------



## Sasaferrato (Oct 29, 2016)

There is no downside to bottling into plastic bottles. I used to use 1 or 2l for standard, and 250ml for my 'special brew'. The 'special brew' was 10 - 12% bv, so at circa 200ml from the bottle, about 2 units of alcohol.

The other benefit of plastic bottles, aside from being able to take the pressure, is that the yeast falling out of suspension, settles into the 'dunkles' at the bottom, and stays quite firm.


----------



## Sasaferrato (Oct 29, 2016)

Stig said:


> I always used to buy two pots of syrup and forget the sugar completely. In fact, even the for bottle conditioning I'm using glucose powder instead of sugar, i think it works better.
> 
> If you want to save £££ later, forget the syrup and buy sacks of malted grain. The chocolate malt smells delicious straight out of the bag before you even do anything with it.



Syrup is of course inverted sugar, you can get the same effect by adding a bit of citric acid to the sugar as you dissolve it. Faster fermentation.

I've still got all the kit in the loft, including 120 pint bottles... I feel the urge coming on to make a batch.


----------



## existentialist (Oct 31, 2016)

Sasaferrato said:


> Syrup is of course inverted sugar, you can get the same effect by adding a bit of citric acid to the sugar as you dissolve it. Faster fermentation.
> 
> I've still got all the kit in the loft, including 120 pint bottles... I feel the urge coming on to make a batch.


Fucking hell, that's hardcore. 120 pint bottles?! How can you even lift one of those without having first drunk 120 pints of Irn Bru?


----------



## Sasaferrato (Nov 1, 2016)

existentialist said:


> Fucking hell, that's hardcore. 120 pint bottles?! How can you even lift one of those without having first drunk 120 pints of Irn Bru?


The first isn't the problem, the tenth or so...


----------



## TopCat (Nov 5, 2016)

The Merlot is still glugging away. 

I left the beer and the cider on the trub for 16 days. More out of laziness than anything. Just put the lot out in the cold to give them a shock. 
I better start washing bottles.


----------



## TopCat (Nov 23, 2016)

I feel a bit lonely now on this underpopulated but once busy thread.

Are the previous posters once here, are they now on knobbin' and throbbing trying to limit their booze intake?

Anyway I have bottled up the strong flat cider, 40 pints. ABV 8%

Plus bottled the South London Stout, Extra style ABV 9%

Half way thought bottling up my Hobgoblin style beer ABV 6.5%

The Merlot is on it's second decant and is in the cold. ABV 12%

I am trying a flat bottle of the stout now. This is the one I have not done before and it results from a years long debate with Tony from Bottles on the merits of Irish Guinness Extra VS Nigerian Guinness extra. I admitted to him after years of denial that the Nigerian was better. I drunkenly asserted that mine though (at this time never made apart from in my mind), my South London Extra Stout, that it is a contender and will have a testing with him and his men nearer Christmas.

I look forward to testing all of this in his shop in December.  

I also hope to have this at mine for Christmas for guests. A mate suggested a man sized and man proof advert calendar to limit the inevitable. .


----------



## A. Spies (Dec 19, 2016)

Tried foraging + home brewing this year and got really into it. Really chuffed with my haul of cider and elderflower/ berry and can't wait for next year


----------



## existentialist (Dec 19, 2016)

I put my first brew of the year on about a fortnight ago 

It's just a modded kit - the Woodforde's Headcracker kit, with the addition of a kilo of amber malt (I'd run out of dark), a hop bag full of spices, and a smidgen of orange oil. I shall make some oak tea and oak it slightly before bottling - I meant to put the oak chips in when the first fermentation finished, but forgot.

I'm finding it hard to do anything which involves forward planning beyond about a fortnight, and my brewing has taken a bit of a hit as a result.


----------



## instape (Jan 11, 2017)

Sasaferrato said:


> Syrup is of course inverted sugar, you can get the same effect by adding a bit of citric acid to the sugar as you dissolve it. Faster fermentation.
> 
> I've still got all the kit in the loft, including 120 pint bottles... I feel the urge coming on to make a batch.




Not quite the full story,

well the citric acid bit is right*, but you need to boil it  ( sugar )with a some water to "Invert" the sugar,
you are basically saving the Yeast a job by splitting the two constituent sugars  to render
them usable by the yeast, hence time saving,as it saves the yeast that job.

Lyles Golden syrup is Invert sugar,

Different times, and temperatures can give all kinds of interesting sugars and Brewers caramels
which can be used to influence the flavor and finish of your brew, a lot of Belgium  beers use
this,but it's quite fashionable all over the "Craft" scene.

Get your equipment down and give it a go, all grain has never been simpler,
if you are interested I can point you to guides that will have you producing amazingly good Beer, cheaper and in a totally different league to Kit brews, for not a lot more effort.

If you are methodical and clean one can replicate anything available in the "Craft" or normal Pub scene, from  Fullers London Pride, or a Traditional Scottish Heavy to the latest U.S.A. born Hop bomb.



*Lemon juice is my Preferred source of this.

Edited for clarity. thanks   \l/


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jan 11, 2017)

instape said:


> Not quite the full story,
> 
> well the citric acid bit is right*, but you need to boil it  ( sugar )with a some water to "Invert" the sugar,
> you are basically saving the Yeast a job by splitting the two constituent sugars  to render
> ...



Indeed, and the active ingredient in lemon juice is ... citric acid.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 17, 2017)

Apologies for not reading the whole thread. I'm just starting to make some lists of what I shall need to start brewing beer. 

Is it much harder to start with ingredients over just using a kit other then working out which ones to buy!


----------



## t0bytoo (Mar 17, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Is it much harder to start with ingredients over just using a kit other then working out which ones to buy!



It's more effort but I found that the beer tastes better. As I last brewed beer about 20 years ago I probably don't know what I'm talking about.

But I'm starting again soon. Just booked onto a "All Grain Mashing Course" at the home-brew shop.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 17, 2017)

t0bytoo said:


> It's more effort but I found that the beer tastes better. As I last brewed beer about 20 years ago I probably don't know what I'm talking about.
> 
> But I'm starting again soon. Just booked onto a "All Grain Mashing Course" at the home-brew shop.



A brewing course sounds fantastic. I read somewhere that using sugar like some of the kits recommended gives pretty awful beer. 

Anyone got know any good guides to further my reading?


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 17, 2017)

Ginger beer had developed some serious pressure! Its starting to smell like booze now. Hopefully I should have some airlocks soon and can make a bigger batch. I'm also thinking about going old school and making some mead.


----------



## existentialist (Mar 17, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Apologies for not reading the whole thread. I'm just starting to make some lists of what I shall need to start brewing beer.
> 
> Is it much harder to start with ingredients over just using a kit other then working out which ones to buy!


If you're just starting, start with a kit. That way, you can get your hygiene and handling habits nicely squared away before hugely increasing the amount of sloshing around you have to do. I recommend the 2-tin kits rather than the "kit and kilo" ones (where you add a kilo of sugar), just because I think they tend to be nicer quality - Woodforde's were always a safe bet, I found. And quite forgiving - they're not too temperature-sensitive, and the flavours are simple enough that even a fairly cack-handed brewer isn't going to mess them up too badly. Wherry was the first kit I brewed, and I'd still recommend it


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 17, 2017)

Ah ok. Are two tin ones better because beer shouldnt  be made with sugar, but rather malt extracts?


----------



## existentialist (Mar 17, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Ah ok. Are two tin ones better because beer shouldnt  be made with sugar, but rather malt extracts?


Well, it is better for being made with malt extracts. Unless the "kit" bit is good and malty, the sugar can add a somewhat thin quality to the beer. What you can do is get a kilo of dried malt extract and use that instead of the sugar.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 17, 2017)

It seems that if your "upgrading" a cheap kit you may as well buy a kit that has everything in. Do you think that with supermarket and pub beer improving in range and quality in recent years this has improved the more expensive kits or is it just flash marketing? 

Anyway bit of a lightbulb moment. I'd assumed it was going to be a bit of a faff to make a gluten free beer as it's bloody expensive in supermarkets, but no, you can get a kit. My girlfriend tries to minimise her gluten intake, due a medical condition, so this is quite a result. Still deciding the starter kit to buy, but not expensive to add another fermentation vessel.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 18, 2017)

Shopping round for everything that I need and stumbled up this yeast. 

puriFERM UK-48 Turbo Yeast



> High alcohol turbo yeast for enological use
> This is the versatile all-round yeast in the Puriferm range, handling either superfast fermentations (14% in less than 2 days) or high alcohol fermentations up to near 20%.



Along side the more serious beer brewing I'm tempted to use some with cheap apple juice.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 18, 2017)

Has anyone tried making this kit?

Bulldog Beer Kit - Raja's Reward India Pale Ale


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 19, 2017)

£74 spent on my first order. Decided to get one of the more expensive kits to give me a fighting chance and my reading suggests that having 2 barrels is better then one. Plus other assorted bits, it all adds up quickly. Maybe won't be saving money quite as quickly as I hoped. Now I just need to blag some bottles. Prices on some of the brew sites were mental for some of them. I'd rather empty them my self at that price. 

Away at work for the weekend. I'm rather hoping my pop bottle ginger beer is ready. Should have airlocks as well so can put the demi john's to use. Ginger Beer in one. Can't decide on Mead or Cider in the other. 

When doing more rough and ready brewing of such drinks is there a way to work out how much sugar will yield how much alcohol? I'm curious to make a really strong batch of something, but more generally that's not how I drink and need to work out a way of not ending up with stuff that's over 10%

I ordered some of the yeast that says it goes to 14% in a few days.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 24, 2017)

Is anyone else still Brewing or have I come to the party late? 

First kit is now made that should yield 26L of Ale. 5L of Turbo Cider also bubbling away. I'm going to do another 5L of Ginger Wine tomorrow. Think I prefer the idea of ginger being a wine strength drink rather then to be quaffed. 

What is melting my head is the amount of info about brewing from all grain ingredients and what kit to buy. I'm hoping to get there in the end.


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## TopCat (Mar 27, 2017)

This thread has been a bit dead for a while. Everyones probably pissed.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 27, 2017)

Maybe so. 

I just ordered another four kits and 6kg of Liquid Malt Extract to give them a bit of a boost flavour wise rather then using sugar. Found a website called BrewSmarter that does 1.5kg for just a fiver when you get a kit and they are pretty competitive on prices. You also get a free 30L Fermentarion bucket when you spend £80. Also ordered some Hop pellets from ebay to give them more of a boost. 

Aiming to get up to a stock of about 120 pints so I can start experimenting a bit more.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 3, 2017)

I think my American Pale Ale is ready to be hopped. 

Annoyingly I'm going away for a week, so it will have to stay in the FV till I'm back to be bottled, but my GF is kindly throwing them in for me on Friday.

The setup is progressing. I'd really like to add temperature control, but should probably hang on for a bit. Ordered some cheap probe thermometers to get a proper idea what's happening in there.



Beer seems on track and the ginger beer is still bubbling away nicely, but may to right of the turbo cider. It seems to be stuck. I added more yeast, but still nothing. I suspect I may have added to much sugar, not taking into account how much was in the apple juice. Smells really potent, but hydrometer is stuck on 1055. Annoying I didn't take a reading before I started. Using Super Wine Yeast which I thought was pretty tolerant. I've got some of that stuff that goes up to 20% in the fridge, but don't know if that's throwing good money after bad.


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## existentialist (Apr 3, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> I think my American Pale Ale is ready to be hopped.
> 
> Annoyingly I'm going away for a week, so it will have to stay in the FV till I'm back to be bottled, but my GF is kindly throwing them in for me on Friday.
> 
> ...


What was your starting gravity on the turbo cider? And how much sugar did you add (to what quantity of juice?)


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 3, 2017)

Annoyingly I didnt take a reading to start, but added 800g for 5L....which may have been on the high side thinking about it.


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## existentialist (Apr 3, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Annoyingly I didnt take a reading to start, but added 800g for 5L....which may have been on the high side thinking about it.


Hmm. As an excruciatingly rough calculation, every 100g of sugar will add 0.009 to the gravity of 5L.

So your 800g will have boosted it by 0.072.

Some googling tells me that apple juice comes in at around 1.050, so the total starting gravity will have been in the order of 1.122.

Which means, if your cider is at 1.055 now, that your ABV will be around 8.8%, but quite sweet 

That doesn't seem high enough for the alcohol content alone to have stopped fermentation, though - if you're using wine yeast, you should have got to way above that before the alcohol concentration killed the yeast. But there is a confounding factor, in that the proportion of alcohol also affects the hydrometer reading: the apparent gravity will* drop* as the alcohol concentration increases. But my maths (and brewing theory) isn't quite good enough to figure that out in detail!

So, in summary - it may be that the sugar concentration was just too high, but it could well be something else. Thinking about it, when I've brewed high gravity stuff, I've usually added sugars throughout the process - it is possible that the really quite high sugar concentration (I calculate that if it all fermented out, you'd be at about 14%!) upset or stressed the yeast at the start.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 3, 2017)

existentialist said:


> Hmm. As an excruciatingly rough calculation, every 100g of sugar will add 0.009 to the gravity of 5L.
> 
> So your 800g will have boosted it by 0.072.
> 
> ...



I blatantly need to be more scientific about it next time. Tbf I've started that a bit more with beer which is more upsetting if it goes wrong in terms of cost of ingredients.

I've just checked it again and the extra yeast must have done something very quietly as ita down to 1015.

It's not entirely unpleasant, provided you use something like White Lighting as a benchmark.


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## existentialist (Apr 3, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> I blatantly need to be more scientific about it next time. Tbf I've started that a bit more with beer which is more upsetting if it goes wrong in terms of cost of ingredients.
> 
> I've just checked it again and the extra yeast must have done something very quietly as ita down to 1015.
> 
> It's not entirely unpleasant, provided you use something like White Lighting as a benchmark.


Turbo cider is unlikely to be much better than Quite Frightening. Commercial apple juice is a fairly pale imitation of the complex flavours and attributes of proper cider apple juice, and most "nice" ciders are fermented using naturally occurring yeasts, which offer a more complex flavour profile than you'll get with wine yeast.

I tended to regard making turbo cider as a cheap and easy way of getting an alcoholic drink, rather than the beginning of a taste revolution


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 3, 2017)

Do you think I could cut it down with apple juice and bottle and still get secondary fermentation? 

I wasnt expecting any awards I guess... It's more something to have fun make whilst I waited for the other stuff to be ready.


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## existentialist (Apr 3, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Do you think I could cut it down with apple juice and bottle and still get secondary fermentation?
> 
> I wasnt expecting any awards I guess... It's more something to have fun make whilst I waited for the other stuff to be ready.


You (probably) could. But you're going to need to calculate quite carefully how much apple juice to add so that your bottles don't explode.

For cider, you probably want between 1 and 2 atmospheres of gas pressure in the bottle, which roughly works out at somewhere between about 40 and 60 grammes of pure sugar per 5 litres. Which is (roughly) 0.005 on the gravity, which I'm vaguely assuming would be about half a litre in 5 litres. Do check the gravity before and after to make sure I haven't got it wrong by a factor of 10 - I don't want 10L of exploding cider on my conscience (I did the calculation by assuming that if 5L of juice yields .050, a tenth of that will yield .005, not counting the 10% increase in volume adding a half-litre will provide. Personally, I'd just fling in 60g of sugar and be done with it 

FWIW, stuck fermentations are one of the great mysteries of home brewing. I've only had 1 or 2 in 50-100 batches, and both of those restarted with the addition of fresh yeast, but I don't know if that was the solution or if they'd have restarted spontaneously...

ETA: 60g feels like quite a lot. I usually prime my 23 litre batches (but this is ale) with about 80-100g, but that's because I don't want it too lively. Take this advice with a pinch of sugar salt.


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## not-bono-ever (Apr 10, 2017)

going to be starting some Kolsch for the summer. Have not brewed for a LONG time. Will be fun hopefully


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 23, 2017)

Just done up my third batch. Seemed odd that I've not actually sampled any yet and that's 120 pints at various stages. My first batch, an American style pale ale is currently bottle conditioning, so although slightly early, thought I should give one a go. It's clear, tastes quite hoppy and flat. 

 

It's been 10 days in bottles. Obviously going to give it more time, but quite disappointing and also slightly worrying. Bottle conditioning is supposed to take two weeks, so I'd have expected something.


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## existentialist (Apr 23, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Just done up my third batch. Seemed odd that I've not actually sampled any yet and that's 120 pints at various stages. My first batch, an American style pale ale is currently bottle conditioning, so although slightly early, thought I should give one a go. It's clear, tastes quite hoppy and flat.
> 
> View attachment 105096
> 
> It's been 10 days in bottles. Obviously going to give it more time, but quite disappointing and also slightly worrying. Bottle conditioning is supposed to take two weeks, so I'd have expected something.


About the second brew I did, which I decided to dry-hop, I bottled it and sampled one about 2 weeks later. It tasted grassy, and there was a nasty acetic note that it would be excessively charitable to have called "lambic". In disgust, I shoved the whole lot in boxes at the back of the shed, and decided to wait until I felt like I could throw it all away.

I then forgot about it. About 6 months later, I discovered them again. Curious, and expecting the whole thing to have turned to mould or vinegar, I opened one. The acetic edge had mellowed into a rather interesting sharpness, the grassiness of the hops had folded into the general flavour, and it turned out to be a really very nice beer indeed. I was never able to reproduce it.

2 weeks is nothing for bottle-maturing. The beer will condition in that time (though I'm a bit surprised it was flat - did you remember to prime the bottle with sugar?)), but it won't mature. That takes longer.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 24, 2017)

I've heard that many beers improve with age (it you manage to not drink them). I currently collecting small bottles to do a Belgium style strong beer that needs a minimum of 6 months. 

It's the lack of fizz that is worrying. I did prime them (the kit came with a premeasured bag) and I put it into a second barrel, added the sugar and then bottled from that. 

I'm hoping it may be temperature. We're out the winter, so the heating is rarely on and my kitchen hovers around 16 degrees, so it may be just be they aren't warm enough. 

Anyway my waist line needs a break from beer for a bit (and other good living) so I may shove them under the bed and forget about them for a while. Second batch is going to be ready to bottle soon. I'll be building a collection at this rate.


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## kwaimaisabai (Apr 30, 2017)

There seems to be a few on here moving on from beer kits so I just wanted to post my partial mash brew in the bag method.  I'm making a pale ale with American hops here but the method can be adapted to brew pretty much any beer.
This method requires a bare minimum of special equipment and you may have some or all of it lying around your kitchen anyway.

15 litre pan with a false bottom.  I use a perforated flan dish but a plate or a bowl will do, it's just there to keep the bag from burning on the bottom of the pan.




Add the grain bag and a thermometer and 8 litres of water.  I have a combi boiler so I just add water from the hot tap.

 

Bring the temperature up to 70c.

Add the grain.  This is 2Kg of Golden Promise but any base malt will do.  There is also 500g of Crystal malt in here.

 

Stir it to get rid of any dough balls and mash for 90mins.  Check the mash every 20mins or so, give it a stir and check the temperature.  If it has fallen under 60c, turn the stove on and heat it back up to 65c.

 

Once the mash is done, transfer the grain bag to a 15 litre bucket for sparge.  

 

Add 4 litres hot water and 1.5 litres boiling water from the (kitchen) kettle, give the grain a good stir to rinse off the sugars.

 

Drain the water from the grain.

 

And add the sparge water to the 15 litre pan.

 

Bring the wort to the boil.  As it gets hot, it'll foam up like a bastard.  

 

You need to wait for the hot break when most of the foam folds back into the wort and it comes to a rolling boil.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 30, 2017)

Excellent guide, better then a lot I've a seen. Maybe explain what spare is and how many pints you're aiming for? 

I'm still working out my next steps. All Grain seems a fair way, not just in kit, but also the time commitment, but looking at doing some using extracts, but choosing the hops and grain, but also maybe partial mash. 

Rather hoping my first batch has carbonated now. It's had another week and I'm desperate to try it. Got 40 more to bottle up tomorrow and another 40 still Fermenting away.


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## kwaimaisabai (Apr 30, 2017)

Boil time is 60mins in total.  The first lot of hops are boiled for the full 60mins, the second lot are boiled only for the final 15mins.


First hop addition.   This is 20g Chinook and 20g Simcoe.

 

Second hop addition.  This is 15g Chinook and 15g Simcoe.

 

After the boil, add 1Kg spray malt.  

 

This is horrible stuff that clumps up as soon as it comes into contact with any moisture.  Stir to dissolve.

 

Put the whole pan in a sink of cold water to cool.

 

Transfer to the FV.

 

Make up to 23 litres with cold water.

 

Pitch yeast and ferment in exactly the same way as a beer kit.


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## kwaimaisabai (Apr 30, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Excellent guide, better then a lot I've a seen. Maybe explain what spare is and how many pints you're aiming for?
> 
> I'm still working out my next steps. All Grain seems a fair way, not just in kit, but also the time commitment, but looking at doing some using extracts, but choosing the hops and grain, but also maybe partial mash.
> 
> Rather hoping my first batch has carbonated now. It's had another week and I'm desperate to try it. Got 40 more to bottle up tomorrow and another 40 still Fermenting away.



Sparging is just rinsing the sugars from the grain.  This recipe is for 23 litres.


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## kwaimaisabai (Apr 30, 2017)

The recipe:

2Kg Golden Promise
500g Crystal
Mash @ 65c for 90mins

20g Chinook/20g Simcoe @ 60mins
15g Chinook/15g Simcoe @ 15mins

1Kg DME at flame out, made up to 23L

Safale US05

OG:  1042
Expected FG:  1004

If you want a stronger beer, add 500g sugar at the same time as the DME.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 30, 2017)

I'll certainly be having a go at that when I've used up the last few beer kits. 

Do you notice much of a difference between DME and LME? I've used liquid up to now as it was quite cheap, adding 1.5kg and 500g of Brewing sugar to my kit.


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## kwaimaisabai (Apr 30, 2017)

I'm not too keen on LME, I think, although I'm not certain, that it's responsible for that homebrew off taste you get in kits.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 30, 2017)

kwaimaisabai said:


> I'm not too keen on LME, I think, although I'm not certain, that it's responsible for that homebrew off taste you get in kits.



I'll certainly be trying some DME next order. Was doing some googling last night though and it certainly seems easier to get decent discounts buying in bulk for liquid then dried.


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## kwaimaisabai (Apr 30, 2017)

One thing to remember about DME is that you can't save half a packet for later.  The second it gets exposed to moisture it turns into a sticky lump.  If you buy in bulk,  5*1Kg is much more useful than 1*5Kg


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## existentialist (Apr 30, 2017)

kwaimaisabai said:


> Boil time is 60mins in total.  The first lot of hops are boiled for the full 60mins, the second lot are boiled only for the final 15mins.
> 
> 
> First hop addition.   This is 20g Chinook and 20g Simcoe.
> ...


I've got a Burco boiler (and retrofitted thermocouple/PID controller) for which this would make an elegant, pipework-free way of moving over to full mash. Thank you!


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 30, 2017)

At some point homebrew is going to save me money although that day seems a long way of at the moment. 

Partially as I'd like 120 odd pints I've got to ready so I stop buying beer. I guess at least I'm collecting bottles. 

I can also see more purchases coming up. Ingredients despite having another two kits yet to go on, a big stock pot and possibly some kind of temperature control. I also need to give serious thought to elegant storage, so as to not test my other half's patience to far...


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## kwaimaisabai (Apr 30, 2017)

existentialist said:


> I've got a Burco boiler (and retrofitted thermocouple/PID controller) for which this would make an elegant, pipework-free way of moving over to full mash. Thank you!



The bloke in the homebrew shop really recommends those electric mash tuns, I'm considering one myself.  If you're going full volume/full mash, leave out the DME and use 4Kg to 5Kg of base malt in the mash instead.


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## existentialist (Apr 30, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> At some point homebrew is going to save me money although that day seems a long way of at the moment.
> 
> Partially as I'd like 120 odd pints I've got to ready so I stop buying beer. I guess at least I'm collecting bottles.
> 
> I can also see more purchases coming up. Ingredients despite having another two kits yet to go on, a big stock pot and possibly some kind of temperature control. I also need to give serious thought to elegant storage, so as to not test my other half's patience to far...


I always had some sort of pipedream of building stackable crates out of old pallet wood. Never came to anything, mind...


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## kwaimaisabai (Apr 30, 2017)

If anyone wants an absolute piss simple extract recipe, try this.
This is not my recipe but I have tried making it.  It wipes the floor with any beer kit.


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## kwaimaisabai (Apr 30, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Rather hoping my first batch has carbonated now. It's had another week and I'm desperate to try it. Got 40 more to bottle up tomorrow and another 40 still Fermenting away.



How much sugar did you add to the bottles?  Did you use plastic bottles or glass?


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## kwaimaisabai (Apr 30, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> It's been 10 days in bottles. Obviously going to give it more time, but quite disappointing and also slightly worrying. Bottle conditioning is supposed to take two weeks, so I'd have expected something.



That's a nice colour but it looks to me to need a bit longer.  Has it been in the fridge?  Is that a chill haze or hasn't it finished clearing yet?


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 30, 2017)

kwaimaisabai said:


> How much sugar did you add to the bottles?  Did you use plastic bottles or glass?





kwaimaisabai said:


> That's a nice colour but it looks to me to need a bit longer.  Has it been in the fridge?  Is that a chill haze or hasn't it finished clearing yet?



It was a Youngs kit, so had everything, including a little bag of priming sugar. It's in glass bottles, was in the freezer for long enough to make it cold. So hoping it's ready tomorrow, but I'll pick some of the way home just in case!


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## kwaimaisabai (May 1, 2017)

And here's one I prepared earlier...


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 1, 2017)

I have carbonation! Slightly unfair testing as I've been in a pub paying top rates for craft beer, but it's passable. I'll take that for the first batch.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 1, 2017)

I think I know what a homebrew "twang" is now.


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## TopCat (May 3, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> I've heard that many beers improve with age (it you manage to not drink them). I currently collecting small bottles to do a Belgium style strong beer that needs a minimum of 6 months.
> 
> It's the lack of fizz that is worrying. I did prime them (the kit came with a premeasured bag) and I put it into a second barrel, added the sugar and then bottled from that.
> 
> ...


I fucked a large brew by doing it in the winter and running out of heating money just as i bottled up. It never really recovered. The yeast must have died. 
I still drank it though.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 4, 2017)

TopCat said:


> I fucked a large brew by doing it in the winter and running out of heating money just as i bottled up. It never really recovered. The yeast must have died.
> I still drank it though.



It actually seems the harder part to get right. I'm open to the idea of heating my FVs as they are definitely on the cold side and seem to take forever, but if I doesn't then go fizzy after its a nightmare. 

Have been looking at keg systems, but they are quite expensive and don't go in the fridge that easily.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 21, 2017)

Bottling day. 80 pints to find homes for. I've. Got through about half the last batch and have really gone of it. Would rather drink nice commercial bottled brews. Going to hide it somewhere and see if a few months improves it as much as I've been told. 

Not actually going to put anymore on till I work out whats happening. It's a lot of faf for something that's not that great. At some point I'll have a go at doing an extract brew with no LME to see if it makes a difference, but it's a bit gutting at this stage. 

On the plus side the ginger wine I thought was rather average I took to a party and everyone was blown away and wanting to know how to make it.  Except I think they were already drunk and on drugs.


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## existentialist (May 21, 2017)

There's a huge difference between tasting your own brews, and tasting commercial/other people's.

When you're sampling your own product, the tendency is to be tasting critically, looking for anything that's not quite right; it's the other way (usually) when we're tasting someone else's - then, we tend to start with an expectation that it's going to be OK, and only notice defects if they make themselves obvious to us.

You learn - eventually - to "accidentally" taste one of your own brews as if it was someone else's, separating quality control out from consumption 

Someone poured me a beer at their home once, and I was really impressed: it seemed like a very individual (and very nice) pint compared to the normal commercial brewery beers, and I asked him where it had come from.

"You", he said. 

Funny thing was, I had a couple of bottles of the same batch at home, and when I tried one of those, knowing it was mine, then even though it certainly tasted like the one I'd had at my mate's place, I still found it hard to experience that slight "wow" I'd had with the other one.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 21, 2017)

Well there's hope there I guess. As I've been putting of bottling them it turns out both are ready and yet I've only sampled one as I tested and it has that same 'twang". However the Coopers I did doesn't. However I added the same LME to both of them, so I may be out in what's causing that slightly off flavour. Will try one in 3 weeks and fingers crossed it may be ok. The other can just wait at the back of the cupboard for a good while. 

Bloody hell bottling takes ages. I've done the first one. Lunch break whilst the second batch of bottles soak.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 21, 2017)

Fuck it. I think I'll make some Turbo Cider next. You know where you stand with that (only just after a few)


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## existentialist (May 21, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Well there's hope there I guess. As I've been putting of bottling them it turns out both are ready and yet I've only sampled one as I tested and it has that same 'twang". However the Coopers I did doesn't. However I added the same LME to both of them, so I may be out in what's causing that slightly off flavour. Will try one in 3 weeks and fingers crossed it may be ok. The other can just wait at the back of the cupboard for a good while.
> 
> Bloody hell bottling takes ages. I've done the first one. Lunch break whilst the second batch of bottles soak.


Once I get into it, I quite enjoy bottling, but yeah - it's a daunting task. Much easier if you've got delabelled bottles.

I find it easier to think of the hygiene process in steps - first "clean", then "sterile". With bottles, "clean" means de-labelled, free of any lingering yeast deposits and beer residues; sterile is all of the above plus rinsed with something disinfectant.

Delabelling is a royal pain in the arse. Just a miserable job that has to be done when you're using the bottles for the first time (because, of course, you're going to be careful to label your own brews with something easy to remove - I favour ordinary printer paper, stuck on with Copydex).

After that, what I find works is to delabel your bottles when you've drunk them, and give them a rinse out to get rid of any yeast. It's worth squinting down the neck to make sure - you don't really want old yeast polluting your new brews. Then I put them away until I need them.

So you start bottling with a supply of clean, but not sterile, bottles. At that point, I usually give them a soak in hot VWP solution - it seems to bring them up nice and sparkly as well as being a disinfectant. But it is a chlorine-based one, so you have to give them a rinse. I haven't worked out a good way of making this hassle-free, but it'd be nice to sort out a nozzle you could just plop the bottle on and wash/rinse it like a mini jetwash.

Then I bottle the beer in batches. I've bought all the usual gadgets - special syphons that automatically stop when the level gets to the right place, anti-foaming tubes, yada, yada. None of them really worked, and I tend to go with a bottling stick on a rubber (plastic) tube that I just pinch when the bottle's full, and move on to the next one. It's got a little tap for in between batches.

I find that the bottles always foam up as you're filling them, and you have to go back and top them up. That's why I usually use batches of 6-8, as it gives the first one a chance to settle down as you're part-filling the rest. You don't normally have to go back more than 3 times, progressively topping them off. Then you cap them and set them aside. You can get a nice rhythm going, and it does become quite therapeutic after a while 

Then it's a quick wipe down with a damp cloth to get any spills off, let the bottles dry, and slap on the labels.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 21, 2017)

I belive you can a device as you describe that sprays a starsan solution into the bottle which is no rinse, but I'm not buying more kit till I get good beer! 

I'm just dumping them in the bath with a mild bleach solution to sterilise. Second batch is taking me longer as I didn't have enough bottles free of labels. I've found OXY cleaner works quite well, but my kitchen sink is quite small. Think in future I'm going to save them up and leave them in a bath full of it over night for maximum soaking time. 

Not thought of putting my bottling wand on a tube, it's just on the tap on the FV with me sitting underneath the counter! I'm decanting into a second FV first and adding my priming sugar to that.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 21, 2017)

Finally done!


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 21, 2017)

Well after the ball ache of today I thought I'd do something quick and easy. 7L of Apple Juice and 3.5L of Black Tea and some sugar. Should yield 8.5%. I've been keeping all my 330ml bottles, so should go nicely into them as suspect you won't want to drink it by the pint. 

Has anyone tried using sweetness for the finished product. I don't like Bulmers and that kind of stuff, but something to take the edge of the dryness would be nice, but obviously more sugar may lead to the bottles going bang!


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## existentialist (May 21, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Well after the ball ache of today I thought I'd do something quick and easy. 7L of Apple Juice and 3.5L of Black Tea and some sugar. Should yield 8.5%. I've been keeping all my 330ml bottles, so should go nicely into them as suspect you won't want to drink it by the pint.
> 
> Has anyone tried using sweetness for the finished product. I don't like Bulmers and that kind of stuff, but something to take the edge of the dryness would be nice, but obviously more sugar may lead to the bottles going bang!


I believe artificial sweeteners are the way here, but I don't like the idea much.

Commercially, they stop fermentation with sodium metabisulphite ("Campden tablets"), sweeten, and then pressurise after it's kegged. That's not really a feasible option with bottles, though. OK for "still cider", though.


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## extra dry (May 30, 2017)

Not mine but a mate who goes to great lenghts to add a touch of style.


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## doddles (Jul 1, 2017)

I've just finished my first batch using a new fermentation fridge and kegorator. What a difference being able to dial in the temperature for fermentation and not worry about it. And filling up a keg is much faster and easier than filling all those bottles...

Anyway, for the comments above on the "homebrew twang", I would say to avoid liquid malt extract, use some specialty grains at least to add some complexity. Then being super careful with sanitation and temperature control. For sanitation, nothing beats a kitchen spray bottle filled with a diluted starsan and water mix. Simple and effective. For temperature control, another way to think of it is to use a yeast that is quite tolerant to a range of temps. I use safale T56 which is a dry Belgian yeast. Works well from 16 C to 22C. At the top of that range you will get more fruity esters but it will still taste good.


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## doddles (Jul 1, 2017)

extra dry said:


> Not mine but a mate who goes to great lenghts to add a touch of style.View attachment 108003


Very nice. But I hope your mate knows not to put hopped beer into clear glass bottles unless he likes skunky flavours


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jul 3, 2017)

doddles said:


> I've just finished my first batch using a new fermentation fridge and kegorator. What a difference being able to dial in the temperature for fermentation and not worry about it. And filling up a keg is much faster and easier than filling all those bottles...
> 
> Anyway, for the comments above on the "homebrew twang", I would say to avoid liquid malt extract, use some specialty grains at least to add some complexity. Then being super careful with sanitation and temperature control. For sanitation, nothing beats a kitchen spray bottle filled with a diluted starsan and water mix. Simple and effective. For temperature control, another way to think of it is to use a yeast that is quite tolerant to a range of temps. I use safale T56 which is a dry Belgian yeast. Works well from 16 C to 22C. At the top of that range you will get more fruity esters but it will still taste good.



I'd love a brew fridge, but not spending anymore until I've produced some beer I'm at least mostly happy with. I've mostly stalled tbh, I've got a shit load of beer that as a student I would have happily drunk, but I really like good beer these days. Need to get on it though and clear some space, hopefully it will have improved slightly. 

Ive read similar to what you've posted through so that's helpful to have it confirmed. Mostly using a different yeast and not using the LME. Annoying as I've got a fair few cans left as I'd thought it was the way to pimp kits over using sugar. I'll also examiner my cleaning. At the moment I'm using a mild bleach solution in the bath and lots of rising afterwards.

I think next time I'm going to do an extract brew, but not a kit and produce less. Goes against the grain (no pun intended) to spend time and money not getting much beer, but better then ending up with 40 pints of something I'm not keep on. Silly question but there is any complications in using a big FV to make only 20 pints?


----------



## existentialist (Jul 3, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> I'd love a brew fridge, but not spending anymore until I've produced some beer I'm at least mostly happy with. I've mostly stalled tbh, I've got a shit load of beer that as a student I would have happily drunk, but I really like good beer these days. Need to get on it though and clear some space, hopefully it will have improved slightly.
> 
> Ive read similar to what you've posted through so that's helpful to have it confirmed. Mostly using a different yeast and not using the LME. Annoying as I've got a fair few cans left as I'd thought it was the way to pimp kits over using sugar. I'll also examiner my cleaning. At the moment I'm using a mild bleach solution in the bath and lots of rising afterwards.
> 
> I think next time I'm going to do an extract brew, but not a kit and produce less. Goes against the grain (no pun intended) to spend time and money not getting much beer, but better then ending up with 40 pints of something I'm not keep on. Silly question but there is any complications in using a big FV to make only 20 pints?


Ideally, you want as little opportunity for contact with air as possible. The brew helps that by creating a blanket of carbon dioxide that, as it's heavier than air, will tend to sit on top of the brew...but of course if you have less liquid, but with the same surface area, you're going to get less CO2. So it'll be more important not to disturb it so that the CO2 layer is dispersed and leaving oxygen to come into contact with the beer.

All that said, I'd imagine a 20 pint brew would be unlikely to be a problem, particularly if you're careful handling it during fermentation.


----------



## badseed (Jul 25, 2017)

existentialist said:


> I believe artificial sweeteners are the way here, but I don't like the idea much.



Lactose is the answer, non-fermentable. I use it in Ginger Beer and Alcoholic Lemonade.


----------



## badseed (Jul 25, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> I've only sampled one as I tested and it has that same 'twang".



The only way I have eliminated the extract twang is to boil the wort, all of it. You need a massive pan and it's a pia.


----------



## Athos (Jan 14, 2018)

Anyone got any homebrewing projects lined up for 2018?

I'm just approaching completion of my kegerator, have repurposed a fridge and heat pad on thermostatic controls to make a really stable fermentation chamber, and have built a Heath Robinson version of a (small) grainfather from a tea urn with a 12V pump, and some other bits and pieces.

Want to make this the year that I really perfect some all-grain recepies, that I can regularly reproduce.


----------



## friedaweed (Jan 14, 2018)

Athos said:


> Anyone got any homebrewing projects lined up for 2018?
> 
> I'm just approaching completion of my kegerator, have repurposed a fridge and heat pad on thermostatic controls to make a really stable fermentation chamber, and have built a Heath Robinson version of a (small) grainfather from a tea urn with a 12V pump, and some other bits and pieces.
> 
> Want to make this the year that I really perfect some all-grain recepies, that I can regularly reproduce.


Still a bit cold for me to start but I've got a couple of kits lined up to have a go at


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 14, 2018)

Athos said:


> Anyone got any homebrewing projects lined up for 2018?
> 
> I'm just approaching completion of my kegerator, have repurposed a fridge and heat pad on thermostatic controls to make a really stable fermentation chamber, and have built a Heath Robinson version of a (small) grainfather from a tea urn with a 12V pump, and some other bits and pieces.
> 
> Want to make this the year that I really perfect some all-grain recepies, that I can regularly reproduce.



Not yet, but I want to have another go. Finally thrown away the last of batches I did last year. Feel I owe it to myself to give it one more go and see if I can get something half decent before I give up. Got a fair few supplies left, so may start with just a small heater and some better yeast.


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jan 14, 2018)

Does anyone know of a decent port kit?

I made one decades ago, it was a Hambleton Bard kit (which they discontinued). It was a give gallon kit, I got it to the right level of sweetness, then stopped the fermentation with 4l of brandy. It was exactly 20% by volume.  It never did get bottled, it was all drunk before it got to that point.


----------



## friedaweed (Jan 14, 2018)

Sasaferrato said:


> Does anyone know of a decent port kit?
> 
> I made one decades ago, it was a Hambleton Bard kit (which they discontinued). It was a give gallon kit, I got it to the right level of sweetness, then stopped the fermentation with 4l of brandy. It was exactly 20% by volume.  It never did get bottled, it was all drunk before it got to that point.


I think IR Dovydaitis has a good one


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jan 14, 2018)

existentialist said:


> Once I get into it, I quite enjoy bottling, but yeah - it's a daunting task. Much easier if you've got delabelled bottles.
> 
> I find it easier to think of the hygiene process in steps - first "clean", then "sterile". With bottles, "clean" means de-labelled, free of any lingering yeast deposits and beer residues; sterile is all of the above plus rinsed with something disinfectant.
> 
> ...



Don't bother with labels. Either use different coloured caps, or a permanent marker stripe on plain ones. Use a notebook to detail the brew.

When I started off doing this, thirty years ago, I bought a starter kit, and a 40 pint kit. The starter kit was supposed to make 8 pints. I did it in a demijohn, using 50% glucose solution (out of date from med stores) instead of water, then gently added a kilo of sugar over the next three months. It was astonishing. I bottled in 250ml bottles, and one was enough. Oh, champagne yeast.


----------



## friedaweed (Jan 14, 2018)

The you go Sasaferrato 

Butler 1 gallon Ruby Dessert Wine Kit


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jan 14, 2018)

friedaweed said:


> The you go Sasaferrato
> 
> Butler 1 gallon Ruby Dessert Wine Kit




Thank you.


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jan 14, 2018)

Sasaferrato said:


> Thank you.



I would tweak that quite a bit. Not starting with an over-full demijohn is good.

There would be at least another 500g of sugar going in there, with a fermentation time of about three months. If you add the sugar as inverted syrup, very very gently, you can push the alcohol to about 14.5%, not too quickly or you kill the yeast.


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jan 14, 2018)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Well after the ball ache of today I thought I'd do something quick and easy. 7L of Apple Juice and 3.5L of Black Tea and some sugar. Should yield 8.5%. I've been keeping all my 330ml bottles, so should go nicely into them as suspect you won't want to drink it by the pint.
> 
> Has anyone tried using sweetness for the finished product. I don't like Bulmers and that kind of stuff, but something to take the edge of the dryness would be nice, but obviously more sugar may lead to the bottles going bang!



I had a dozen red wine expel their corks whilst we were away on holiday. Not the best thing to come home to.


----------



## existentialist (Jan 14, 2018)

Sasaferrato said:


> Don't bother with labels. Either use different coloured caps, or a permanent marker stripe on plain ones. Use a notebook to detail the brew.
> 
> When I started off doing this, thirty years ago, I bought a starter kit, and a 40 pint kit. The starter kit was supposed to make 8 pints. I did it in a demijohn, using 50% glucose solution (out of date from med stores) instead of water, then gently added a kilo of sugar over the next three months. It was astonishing. I bottled in 250ml bottles, and one was enough. Oh, champagne yeast.


Oh, the labelling bit I *love*. It's getting the fucking things off the pre-owned bottles that gets my goat.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 14, 2018)

existentialist said:


> Oh, the labelling bit I *love*. It's getting the fucking things off the pre-owned bottles that gets my goat.



When chucking out a fair bit of my failed home brew it wasn't the beer that went that upset me, but the bottles I'd removed the labels from. I've kept back 40 but there isn't that much storage free for more if they aren't being used.


----------



## existentialist (Jan 15, 2018)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> When chucking out a fair bit of my failed home brew it wasn't the beer that went that upset me, but the bottles I'd removed the labels from. I've kept back 40 but there isn't that much storage free for more if they aren't being used.


You mean there's a big stash of clean de-labelled beer bottles hanging around unwanted...?

*sob*


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 15, 2018)

existentialist said:


> You mean there's a big stash of clean de-labelled beer bottles hanging around unwanted...?
> 
> *sob*



I am going to try again. Just need to brave the cold and finish the dam patio and get the new shed up.

I've still got a few kits floating around. Thinking next time a little aquarium heater in a tub of water so it's a more constant temp in my kitchen and buying a different yeast strain. And only doing one batch until I know it's alright.

Annoyingly my cider was alright. I'm just not as keen on cider.


----------



## TopCat (Jan 17, 2018)

I went feral with last two brews. Forty pints of stout and 40 of bitter. Couldn't be bothered with syphoning off and bottling up. 
Left in the cold for two months then just dug a carafe in repeatedly till gone. 
Tastes lush though.


----------



## Athos (Jan 28, 2018)

Whilst kegging is easier than bottling, I've now got some rust inside some of my kegs, which is a pain in the arse!


----------



## DaRealSpoon (Jan 31, 2018)

We've just started on the first few bottles of last years 'Slider'.

Cider made with left over gin-soaked sloe berries chucked in for good measure.

Tasting report = Dangerous, very dangerous


----------



## TopCat (Mar 26, 2018)

Might start cleaning kit in the hope of warmer climes...


----------



## sunnysidedown (Mar 26, 2018)

TopCat said:


> Might start cleaning kit in the hope of warmer climes...



I use one of these and an old heat mat that used to keep my GFs dog warm. Keeps a brew on all year round.


----------



## TopCat (Mar 26, 2018)

sunnysidedown said:


> I use one of these and an old heat mat that used to keep my GFs dog warm. Keeps a brew on all year round.


I was so skint a year or so ago that I had 120 pints in secondary fermentation and then had no gas or lecy to keep the brews warm enough to get the fizz. I tried cuddling the barrels and encouraged the cat to do the same but alas it was not enough. 
I want in short the weather to do its thing. 
2 big brews, early summer and autumn.


----------



## seeformiles (Apr 19, 2018)

This thread has reminded me that last year’s cider needs bottling - all 42 gallons of it. Bottle conditioning will be done in a few days in this weather


----------



## friedaweed (May 27, 2018)

I've got this on the go currently.







It's nice to be brewing again.


----------



## seeformiles (May 30, 2018)

Just sampling last year’s bottle-conditioned scrumpy - dry and checking in at 8% abv it goes down a bit too easily


----------



## campanula (Jul 22, 2018)

Embarking on cider...but also thought I might do some nettle beer again. Not as horrible as it sounds.


----------



## TopCat (Sep 28, 2018)

Going to start the cleaning process tomorrow. Thinking of a bitter and a stout for Christmas. 
I'm a bit more wary of brewing after a few years. It's sometimes easy to get into necking it at an alarming (even to me) rate. 

Plus I start far too much in a manic enthusiasm and, given the last batches which never got bottled as I had no energy when it was time, I don't want to over reach. 

I ideally need a South London based beer partner. Split the costs, work and beer. 

Anyone?


----------



## Scaggs (Oct 1, 2018)

I've gone a bit overboard stocking up for Christmas

Got 4 gallons of apple and fruit juce wine and three 5 gallon beer kits on the go


----------



## TopCat (Oct 4, 2018)

Scaggs said:


> I've gone a bit overboard stocking up for Christmas
> View attachment 148525
> Got 4 gallons of apple and fruit juce wine and three 5 gallon beer kits on the go


I lurve the crochet work.


----------



## Scaggs (Oct 4, 2018)

TopCat said:


> I lurve the crochet work.


I'm trying to do one for my 5  gallon carboy but I've run out of wool. Did them on a round knitting loom.


----------



## Sasaferrato (Oct 5, 2018)

Today I threw out:

Two fermenting buckets.
Six demijohns and airlocks.
Two pressure barrels.
Eighty pint bottles.
A heating belt.
A heating pad.
A Leibig's condenser.
A box full of assorted odds and ends, a hydrometer, a thermometer etc.

Loft clearance, no one round about wanted the stuff.


----------



## friedaweed (Nov 13, 2018)

Cracking this one on the hob today.




Liberty Golden Ale Partial Mash Kit


----------



## Scaggs (Nov 13, 2018)

I've got this maturing in bottles:
Homebrew Shop | West Coast IPA All Grain Ingredient Kit

and this one fermenting:
The Big Belfast Blonde All Grain Ingredient Kit | Blonde Ale Mash Kit


----------



## kwaimaisabai (Nov 13, 2018)

Sasaferrato said:


> A Leibig's condenser.



I'd have had the Leibig condenser.  I have absolutely no use for a Liebig condenser and no intention of finding a use for a Leibig condenser but I love glassware.


----------



## existentialist (Nov 15, 2018)

kwaimaisabai said:


> I'd have had the Leibig condenser.  I have absolutely no use for a Liebig condenser and no intention of finding a use for a Leibig condenser but I love glassware.


Probably the least postable bit of the whole kit and caboodle, though


----------



## Rosemary Jest (Feb 9, 2019)

Anyone do the Cooper's stout from a kit?

Used to love making it a few years ago but haven't brewed in a long while. It was the only kit that used to turn out great every time. Also did Woodefordes Wherry regularly which wasn't bad either.


----------



## friedaweed (Feb 9, 2019)

Rosemary Jest said:


> Anyone do the Cooper's stout from a kit?
> 
> Used to love making it a few years ago but haven't brewed in a long while. It was the only kit that used to turn out great every time. Also did Woodefordes Wherry regularly which wasn't bad either.


Yep. Both of those do really well every time for me.


----------



## Rosemary Jest (Mar 12, 2019)

Just ordered some Cooper's stout, 1 kilo of extra dark spraymalt, a new tap for one of my old pressure barrels and some yeast for a couple of old kits I found in the cupboard.

Got some Wilko bitter and golden ale, both the two can versions, and a Coopers wheat beer one can kit, all about 4 years out of date, but they should be fine with new yeast, shouldn't they?


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 13, 2019)

Rosemary Jest said:


> Just ordered some Cooper's stout, 1 kilo of extra dark spraymalt, a new tap for one of my old pressure barrels and some yeast for a couple of old kits I found in the cupboard.
> 
> Got some Wilko bitter and golden ale, both the two can versions, and a Coopers wheat beer one can kit, all about 4 years out of date, but they should be fine with new yeast, shouldn't they?


Yeah, make sure you get a new yeast and they'll be fine  I did the golden ale in a barrel a while back and everyone I gave some to loved it.


----------



## Rosemary Jest (Mar 13, 2019)

Great, looking forward to it, made the Wilko kits before and had decent results.

Wasn't the two can bitter kit just Wherry in other packaging? Tasted very similar if memory recalls.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 13, 2019)

Anyone near Stockport and want some supplies? I've got some kits and sugar and don't think I'll try beer again. I'm drinking less anyway and tend to buy nice little ales. Even with a load of practice I don't think I'll ever compete.


----------



## Rosemary Jest (Mar 13, 2019)

Nice of you to offer, used to live over that way, if I still did I'd take you up on it. I'm sure someone will be happy with some free stuff. 

Just checked those Wilko kits in my cupboard and they're best before April 2015... 

Will need to clean up my pressure barrels and maybe get a second fermenting bin to get two on the go at once. Any tips on how to effectively clean a manky looking pressure barrel? It's one of the Wilko ones with the small opening, so can't get my hand in.


----------



## pug (Mar 13, 2019)

I think you can get a specially shaped brush.

I've just bottled up a kit brew, I made a brewing fridge a couple of weeks ago so getting going with that I did a geordie bitter. Once the bottles have conditioned I'll be doing a St Peter's Golden Ale kit.


----------



## Pickman's model (Mar 13, 2019)

TopCat said:


> I lurve the crochet work.


Are you doing any homebrew atm?


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 14, 2019)

Rosemary Jest said:


> Nice of you to offer, used to live over that way, if I still did I'd take you up on it. I'm sure someone will be happy with some free stuff.
> 
> Just checked those Wilko kits in my cupboard and they're best before April 2015...
> 
> Will need to clean up my pressure barrels and maybe get a second fermenting bin to get two on the go at once. Any tips on how to effectively clean a manky looking pressure barrel? It's one of the Wilko ones with the small opening, so can't get my hand in.


You could soak it for a few days in a weak 'thin' bleach solution. I've used my jetwash on mine the last few times


----------



## Rosemary Jest (Mar 17, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> You could soak it for a few days in a weak 'thin' bleach solution. I've used my jetwash on mine the last few times



Cheers, gonna try that oxyclean stuff from Wilko's and see if it works, not keen on tainting anything with bleach if I cock up with too much.

In the meantime, the Cooper's stout and DME has arrived and I'm going to give the fermenter a clean and get on this next week.


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 18, 2019)

Rosemary Jest said:


> Cheers, gonna try that oxyclean stuff from Wilko's and see if it works, not keen on tainting anything with bleach if I cock up with too much.
> 
> In the meantime, the Cooper's stout and DME has arrived and I'm going to give the fermenter a clean and get on this next week.


Thin bleach is ok for this sort of thing and it doesn't leave an odour behind if you dilute it enough but yeah it's not a flavour you'd want in your beer. I use starsan for cleaning most of my kit. 

Here's the Infamous Ditche'sStout thread from  jimsbeerkit.com. It's a funny read. 

" Ditch's Stout " Master Class ..... - Home Brew Forum


----------



## Rosemary Jest (Mar 20, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> Thin bleach is ok for this sort of thing and it doesn't leave an odour behind if you dilute it enough but yeah it's not a flavour you'd want in your beer. I use starsan for cleaning most of my kit.
> 
> Here's the Infamous Ditche'sStout thread from  jimsbeerkit.com. It's a funny read.
> 
> " Ditch's Stout " Master Class ..... - Home Brew Forum



Just put a batch on the go, first one in a few years.

Cooper's Stout
1kg of Dark spraymalt
About 300ish g of muscavado sugar
Kit yeast

Didn't use a power drill though 

A couple of weeks wait and once I've cleaned my pressure barrel should be good to go!


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 20, 2019)

Rosemary Jest said:


> Just put a batch on the go, first one in a few years.
> 
> Cooper's Stout
> 1kg of Dark spraymalt
> ...


Fab. You may find it's quite fast fermenting with the muscavado feeding the yeast, it'll give it a lovely coffee feel. I've added roasted oats to a few stout kits as well and that always comes out nice.  Pretty sure you'll get a good head on it  

Make sure the lid don't blow


----------



## Rosemary Jest (Mar 20, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> Fab. You may find it's quite fast fermenting with the muscavado feeding the yeast, it'll give it a lovely coffee feel. I've added roasted oats to a few stout kits as well and that always comes out nice.  Pretty sure you'll get a good head on it
> 
> Make sure the lid don't blow



It better not, it's in the spare room, good job the carpet's a bit of a browny colour already


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 20, 2019)

Rosemary Jest said:


> It better not, it's in the spare room, good job the carpet's a bit of a browny colour already


I've got one of those rubble buckets to put the FV in for stout as I've had a few go over the top. A bin bag's a good back up or a towel underneath. Keep an eye on it, they can go volcanic


----------



## Rosemary Jest (Mar 21, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> I've got one of those rubble buckets to put the FV in for stout as I've had a few go over the top. A bin bag's a good back up or a towel underneath. Keep an eye on it, they can go volcanic



Just had a quick check under the towel I've got wrapped round it and the foam is already hitting the top of the fermenting bin.  You were right, think the yeasties are eating up all that sugar. Cant wait to get stuck in!


----------



## friedaweed (Mar 21, 2019)

Rosemary Jest said:


> Just had a quick check under the towel I've got wrapped round it and the foam is already hitting the top of the fermenting bin.  You were right, think the yeasties are eating up all that sugar. Cant wait to get stuck in!


It's one of my fav brewing phenomenons watching the krausen take off. Stout is the foam disco party of home brewing.  You've got me considering a stout brew again


----------



## geminisnake (Mar 28, 2019)

Have any of you folks tried making mead? I fancy trying that, started a bottle of ginger ale off today to get back into the hang of brewing cos it's yrs since I've done any


----------



## TopCat (Apr 2, 2019)

Pickman's model said:


> Are you doing any homebrew atm?


Hello. I will be doing lager and cider in the next few weeks.


----------



## Rosemary Jest (Apr 2, 2019)

Just had some Oxiclean stuff from Wilko's in both my old pressure barrels and it's worked wonders. One was particularly grimy, only had a couple of scoops in for half and hour or so, half filled the barrels with hot water from the tap and swooshed them about every few minutes.

Put a couple of new taps on too, and a couple of new seals on the lids. Gonna sterilise one tomorrow and siphon my stout in with a bit of priming sugar and should be good to go!


----------



## pug (Apr 4, 2019)

my latest brew smells really eggy, the krausen hit the lid and spewed out a bit but otherwise it looks perfectly normal, still early days yet I'm hoping the eggyness will subside as it completes the brewing.


----------



## Rosemary Jest (Apr 4, 2019)

I've had this happen with a festival kit once, the room stunk for a few days but it just means the yeast is doing what it should, and it'll be that particular type of yeast giving the smell. What are you brewing?

Got my Cooper's stout barrelled yesterday so looking forward to getting stuck in.


----------



## pug (Apr 4, 2019)

It's a wherry kit but I decided to go totally off on one so I added half a kg of dme and a kilo of dextrose then pitched it with a belgian abbey yeast, I'm planning on adding a tin of golden syrup when I move it to the secondary fv this weekend.


----------



## Rosemary Jest (Apr 4, 2019)

Abv 9% or something? 

Sounds great indeed!


----------



## pug (Apr 7, 2019)

Rosemary Jest said:


> Abv 9% or something?
> 
> Sounds great indeed!



Aye defininetly 8.5 + the smell has subsided and I've moved it to the secondary with the syrup, tbh although it's not eggy it doesn't smeell all that exciting right now but no off smells.

I'm just trying the st peters golden ale now, made with the belgian yeast and using the same extras as the wherry execept for the syrup, It well young at one week but seeing as it had cleared I had to give it a go, tastes great but needs a long time in the bottle, 7-8% and tastes like it, dangerous stuff... probably my best brew ever.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 29, 2019)

Started 80 pints of turbo cider. 4 kilos of dextrose.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 29, 2019)

Used proper cider yeast. Just cos it was in wilko.


----------



## TopCat (May 1, 2019)

Good time of year for it. Just the right ambient temperature.


----------



## sojourner (May 2, 2019)

It's not brewing as such, but having made two lots of perfect sloe gin this year, I am branching out. I never liked gin before, but it makes you proper giddy and chirpy, so I want more!

Gonna make mango gin, and rhubarb and ginger, this weekend


----------



## TopCat (May 5, 2019)

My cider smells really good. I wonder if it's the proper cider yeast?


----------



## existentialist (May 6, 2019)

TopCat said:


> My cider smells really good. I wonder if it's the proper cider yeast?


Traditionally (!), champagne yeast is good for turbo cider, but I'm not sure it matters that much. Technically, it helps ferment some of the malic acid in the juice to lactic acid (Google "malolactic fermentation"), for that classic cider taste, but I don't think most shop apple juices have that much malic acid to start with.


----------



## TopCat (May 8, 2019)

It's 12 days in and it's fizzing away loudly.


----------



## TopCat (May 8, 2019)

I'm wondering what the alcohol percentage will be? 40 pints of Apple Juice and two kilos of dextrose? Anyone?


----------



## TopCat (May 8, 2019)

Well I found a calculator to help predict the likely alcohol content. 
Alcohol By Volume ABV Calculator for Cider - Home Cider Making

My result was 10.5%


----------



## TopCat (May 8, 2019)

I might make more for alternative Country Show consumption.


----------



## TopCat (May 8, 2019)

geminisnake said:


> Have any of you folks tried making mead? I fancy trying that, started a bottle of ginger ale off today to get back into the hang of brewing cos it's yrs since I've done any


I think beesonthewhatnow brewed mead. Well he mentioned it on here about 12 year ago.


----------



## TopCat (May 8, 2019)

Anyone got a tried and tested ginger ale recipe?


----------



## Chilli.s (May 8, 2019)

TopCat said:


> Anyone got a tried and tested ginger ale recipe?



Chilli's ginger beer recipe:

Get a clean 2l plastic pop bottle. peel and grate up 2 inch of ginger root. Put the ginger in the bottle with half a cup of sugar and a quarter teaspoonful of yeast. Any old yeast, baking stuff out of a packet is ok. Add juice from one lemon and about a pint of warm water. Shake up well till all dissolved. Put in some more warm, not hot water. Leave a two or three inch gap at the top between the cap and the liquid. Put the lid on tight and stand it in a warm place. After a day or so the bottle should be rock hard. Move it to the fridge and chill it for a couple of days. You will need a tea strainer or something to prevent bits going in the glass. Leave the sediment in the bottle and discard. Looks like bought ginger beer, tastes better.

Vary the amounts according to taste.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (May 8, 2019)

TopCat said:


> I think beesonthewhatnow brewed mead. Well he mentioned it on here about 12 year ago.


Some friends made lots of it.

All I can remember is that it was very nice.


----------



## TopCat (May 8, 2019)

Chilli.s said:


> Chilli's ginger beer recipe:
> 
> Get a clean 2l plastic pop bottle. peel and grate up 2 inch of ginger root. Put the ginger in the bottle with half a cup of sugar and a quarter teaspoonful of yeast. Any old yeast, baking stuff out of a packet is ok. Add juice from one lemon and about a pint of warm water. Shake up well till all dissolved. Put in some more warm, not hot water. Leave a two or three inch gap at the top between the cap and the liquid. Put the lid on tight and stand it in a warm place. After a day or so the bottle should be rock hard. Move it to the fridge and chill it for a couple of days. You will need a tea strainer or something to prevent bits going in the glass. Leave the sediment in the bottle and discard. Looks like bought ginger beer, tastes better.
> 
> Vary the amounts according to taste.


That's lovely. I might start that tomorrow.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (May 8, 2019)

I did that a couple of times. Then did a big batch in a 10L container and used a bit more yeast and sugar. It was pretty fucking potent stuff. Went down well at a party i took it to!


----------



## TopCat (May 8, 2019)

Yeah is there a recipe for say five percent ginger beer?


----------



## TopCat (May 20, 2019)

Bottled up the flat cider into demijohns. Am in the midst of cleaning bottles for the fizzy. Pissed with myself for leaving the bottles outside for months.


----------



## TopCat (May 23, 2019)

Cider is lethal.


----------



## TopCat (Jun 6, 2019)

I never finished the bottle cleaning. So I had a big bucket half full of cider. I siphoned it out by the litre and necked it.


----------



## campanula (Jun 9, 2019)

My cider making fell at the first hurdle, last year (getting the juice out of the apples)...but not without much (futile) arsing about with spin dryers. Anyway, youngest has made me a proper apple press (and promised a scratter(?) an essential bit of kit I was lacking last year.  Pounding apples in a bloody garden trug with a landscaping bar was not fun. 
To be fair, I don't really love cider...but since my toothless state has rendered actually eating  apples a memory (and there are only so many pies to be made and eaten) cider is the best use of the insane quantities of allotment apples (6 trees)


----------



## klang (Jun 9, 2019)

I dreaded autumns when I was a boy as this was my dad's cider making time. collecting apples from the surrounding area was the easy part. pressing out the juice was hard. my dad had this ancient apple mill and press the entire family had to operate. every drop of apple juice cost 100 drops of sweat and 100 tears. blisters were part of autumn.
the chopped and pressed apples were fed to the cows. to carry the sacks from the press to the cows was back breaking work.
we'd drink nothing but freshly pressed apple juice all day / week / month. the acid fucked with our stomachs.
the smell of the juice was gorgeous: it smelled of summer and autumn, of wood and soil and mold and forests and meadows. i loved it.
it was a very bonding experience for my family. 
eventually my dad wanted to install a little engine into the mill (off a lawn mower, i think i remember). he dropped it and squeezed off his right index finger.

we produced about 1000 litres of cider and a few hundred litres of apple juice per season. enough to give plenty away to friends, neighbours and family, and enough to keep my dad pissed for the year.


----------



## klang (Jun 9, 2019)

not far off this one:


----------



## klang (Jun 9, 2019)

for chopping the apples down we had an old grape mill, similar to this one:




that thing cost my dad his finger.


----------



## TopCat (Jun 9, 2019)

littleseb said:


> I dreaded autumns when I was a boy as this was my dad's cider making time. collecting apples from the surrounding area was the easy part. pressing out the juice was hard. my dad had this ancient apple mill and press the entire family had to operate. every drop of apple juice cost 100 drops of sweat and 100 tears. blisters were part of autumn.
> the chopped and pressed apples were fed to the cows. to carry the sacks from the press to the cows was back breaking work.
> we'd drink nothing but freshly pressed apple juice all day / week / month. the acid fucked with our stomachs.
> the smell of the juice was gorgeous: it smelled of summer and autumn, of wood and soil and mold and forests and meadows. i loved it.
> ...


What a lovely picture you paint.


----------



## campanula (Jun 10, 2019)

I braved the filthy rain to take a picture of the press my youngest made for me. There is a treadle lathe just poking out under the blue tarp. Handy to have offspring who can do useful stuff (such as metal fabricating).


----------



## klang (Jun 10, 2019)

campanula said:


> I braved the filthy rain to take a picture of the press my youngest made for me. There is a treadle lathe just poking out under the blue tarp. Handy to have offspring who can do useful stuff (such as metal fabricating).


oooh, very nice!!


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jul 4, 2019)

TopCat said:


> Cider is lethal.



I once made apple wine, with a 40 pint cider kit split into two demijohns, and a kilo of sugar _slowly_ added to each. It was about 15%.


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 4, 2019)

Sasaferrato said:


> I once made apple wine, with a 40 pint cider kit split into two demijohns, and a kilo of sugar _slowly_ added to each. It was They call that turbo cider now mate. Champagne yeast, it'll strip the chrome off a bumper


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jul 4, 2019)

Yep, it was indeed champagne yeast. It took about two months of slow fermentation. 

I used to use the out of date 50% dextrose bags in my lager, turbo fermentation.


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jul 4, 2019)

littleseb said:


> I dreaded autumns when I was a boy as this was my dad's cider making time. collecting apples from the surrounding area was the easy part. pressing out the juice was hard. my dad had this ancient apple mill and press the entire family had to operate. every drop of apple juice cost 100 drops of sweat and 100 tears. blisters were part of autumn.
> the chopped and pressed apples were fed to the cows. to carry the sacks from the press to the cows was back breaking work.
> we'd drink nothing but freshly pressed apple juice all day / week / month. the acid fucked with our stomachs.
> the smell of the juice was gorgeous: it smelled of summer and autumn, of wood and soil and mold and forests and meadows. i loved it.
> ...



When we lived in North Camp near Aldershot, there was an off licence called the Bottle and Basket. Prop T Banaghan, lovely lovely man (and alcoholic ).

Tommy used to drive down into the West Country at cider time and buy a few barrels, which he sold at 20p a pint. You took along your demijohn and got it filled up. I don't know what strength it was, but we couldn't drink a gallon between us in an evening. Very good for keeping the innards in working order, if it had pips you could have hired out as a pebble dasher.


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 4, 2019)

Sasaferrato said:


> Yep, it was indeed champagne yeast. It took about two months of slow fermentation.
> 
> I used to use the out of date 50% dextrose bags in my lager, turbo fermentation.


I only made it once, I don't like cider myself but it was for as BBQ and I wanted to try it so I threw a bottle of low sugar vimto in the end to back sweeten it a bit with the sweetners in the vimto. It was absolutely lush.

Do you still brew Sass?


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jul 4, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> I only made it once, I don't like cider myself but it was for as BBQ and I wanted to try it so I threw a bottle of low sugar vimto in the end to back sweeten it a bit with the sweetners in the vimto. It was absolutely lush.
> 
> Do you still brew Sass?


No, in fact I lobbed the kit out a few months ago when we cleared 29 years worth of crap out of the loft.


----------



## TopCat (Jul 5, 2019)

Sasaferrato said:


> No, in fact I lobbed the kit out a few months ago when we cleared 29 years worth of crap out of the loft.


Threw it away? You heathen.


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jul 5, 2019)

TopCat said:


> Threw it away? You heathen.


No one round about wanted it.


----------



## kenny g (Aug 9, 2019)

Used to make gorgeous IPA's as well as apple honey and home grown chomomile cider/wine when living in Japan. Wife stopped me as it was getting out of control. Think last session I drank 7 x 680ml bottles of a super hopped  IPA in one sitting and was still walking around like a zombie. Had to admit defeat in the self control department. Still miss the whole process though.


----------



## badseed (Aug 13, 2019)

I was supposed to go and stay on training camp in Thailand, which is an annual treat for me, but injury has forced me to cancel.
So I spent the money on GrainFather. Here is my first shot at an All Grain Brew, and my first brew in around two years.
All Shite and Briney - Bright Ale 

Can't wait to get into it


----------



## seeformiles (Aug 24, 2019)

I set a 5 gallon batch of mead going just before last X-mas and, as it was taking so long to ferment out I forgot about it completely. Today, I was setting up the cider press in readiness for the “squeezin’ season” when I noticed it in a corner of the garage. I siphoned off a few pints and Mrs SFM and I are currently in a fine state of inebriation. It tastes great - with the honey, rosemary and ginger nicely balanced and checking in at about 8% abv. I should forget about some home-brewing projects a bit more often. 

Partying like it’s 999!


----------



## ViolentPanda (Aug 24, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> They call that turbo cider now mate. Champagne yeast, it'll strip the chrome off a bumper



I'm contemplating brewing up some turbo cider with high-alcohol yeast, then putting it through a still, get some of what Terry Pratchett called "suicider".


----------



## ViolentPanda (Aug 24, 2019)

seeformiles said:


> I set a 5 gallon batch of mead going just before last X-mas and, as it was taking so long to ferment out I forgot about it completely. Today, I was setting up the cider press in readiness for the “squeezin’ season” when I noticed it in a corner of the garage. I siphoned off a few pints and Mrs SFM and I are currently in a fine state of inebriation. It tastes great - with the honey, rosemary and ginger nicely balanced and checking in at about 8% abv. I should forget about some home-brewing projects a bit more often.
> 
> Partying like it’s 999!



Anglo-Saxon booze for the win!


----------



## seeformiles (Aug 24, 2019)

ViolentPanda said:


> Anglo-Saxon booze for the win!



Indeed! Crikey this stuff is mental...


----------



## ViolentPanda (Aug 24, 2019)

seeformiles said:


> Indeed! Crikey this stuff is mental...



We used to make mead and sometimes heather ale. Very easy drinking. Almost TOO easy!


----------



## friedaweed (Aug 24, 2019)

ViolentPanda said:


> I'm contemplating brewing up some turbo cider with high-alcohol yeast, then putting it through a still, get some of what Terry Pratchett called "suicider".


Are you getting an air still VP?


----------



## friedaweed (Aug 24, 2019)

badseed said:


> I was supposed to go and stay on training camp in Thailand, which is an annual treat for me, but injury has forced me to cancel.
> So I spent the money on GrainFather. Here is my first shot at an All Grain Brew, and my first brew in around two years.
> All Shite and Briney - Bright Ale
> 
> ...


 Nice set up


----------



## ViolentPanda (Aug 24, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> Are you getting an air still VP?



I'm thinking about a proper old-fashioned pot still.

Wanna do things hillbilly style.


----------



## friedaweed (Aug 24, 2019)

ViolentPanda said:


> I'm thinking about a proper old-fashioned pot still.
> 
> Wanna do things hillbilly style.



I've been thinking of building a copper one one for years and now I have a gaff in the hills on the horizon I think it will be happening soon. 

Inspired by Sid James







Pressure cooker be your friend for a stove top


----------



## ViolentPanda (Aug 24, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> I've been thinking of building a copper one one for years and now I have a gaff in the hills on the horizon I think it will be happening soon.
> 
> Inspired by Sid James
> 
> ...



Yep, and the great thing is, you can use it indoors, or outdoors on a gas plate, to deliver your 'shine, and not have to worry about it exploding old-school style!!! 

A mate used his brewing kit to get a malt infusion going, spray-malted it, then added an HA yeast. He then boiled the resulting mess over a hickory fire, then distilled it. Didn't taste like the Scotch he envisioned (I told him he'd need to age it in an oak barrel, but he didn't listen!), but it was rather nice (50%)-ish ABV) all the same. The only hard part was getting him to throw away the first and last litres out of the still. Had to explain that was where all the chemical residues are.

Now, time to look up proper coopered virgin oak barrels on ebay...


----------



## friedaweed (Aug 24, 2019)

ViolentPanda said:


> Yep, and the great thing is, you can use it indoors, or outdoors on a gas plate, to deliver your 'shine, and not have to worry about it exploding old-school style!!!
> 
> A mate used his brewing kit to get a malt infusion going, spray-malted it, then added an HA yeast. He then boiled the resulting mess over a hickory fire, then distilled it. Didn't taste like the Scotch he envisioned (I told him he'd need to age it in an oak barrel, but he didn't listen!), but it was rather nice (50%)-ish ABV) all the same. The only hard part was getting him to throw away the first and last litres out of the still. Had to explain that was where all the chemical residues are.
> 
> Now, time to look up proper coopered virgin oak barrels on ebay...


Oak Bottle | Wooden Barrel for the Spirits of your choice

There are a number of variations on these including oak sticks you can pop into a demijon


----------



## ViolentPanda (Aug 24, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> Oak Bottle | Wooden Barrel for the Spirits of your choice
> 
> There are a number of variations on these including oak sticks you can pop into a demijon



Whoa, bit expensive! 

Managed to find a "manufacture on demand" cooper on ebay. 5L barrel for about £80, 10L for £100 etc.


----------



## friedaweed (Aug 24, 2019)

ViolentPanda said:


> Whoa, bit expensive!
> 
> Managed to find a "manufacture on demand" cooper on ebay. 5L barrel for about £80, 10L for £100 etc.


Yeah well worth shopping around. I have a bit of 300 year old oak set aside for a future mini barrel project. I've asked me old fella to strip it down to mini planks in his little wood turning garage but I'm just hoping he doesn't turn it into another fucking tee light holder for Narnia's Christmas box like he did with the 100 yr old teak I gave him 

I love him but he watches too much youtube for an 84 yr old.


----------



## seeformiles (Aug 25, 2019)

With all the free fruit available I started off 5 gallons of Bramble wine yesterday. Bubbling this morning so should be ready to rack off in about 10 days and ready to drink by X-mas.


----------



## seeformiles (Sep 2, 2019)

Well it’s the start of the Apple Squeezin’ Season but has anyone got any ideas for what to do withthe pressed apple pulp? I just dumped it in a pile at the bottom of the garden last year but it seems like a terrible waste. Any suggestions gratefully received.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 2, 2019)

seeformiles said:


> Well it’s the start of the Apple Squeezin’ Season but has anyone got any ideas for what to do withthe pressed apple pulp? I just dumped it in a pile at the bottom of the garden last year but it seems like a terrible waste. Any suggestions gratefully received.


Pigs or chickens?


----------



## seeformiles (Sep 2, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> Pigs or chickens?



I thought that feeding up a pig up on it (mixed with plenty of sage) might result on a pre-seasoned porker in time for X-mas. There’s a chap near us who’s got a wee smallholding and keeps chickens so may sound him out on that score.


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 2, 2019)

seeformiles said:


> I thought that feeding up a pig up on it (mixed with plenty of sage) might result on a pre-seasoned porker in time for X-mas. There’s a chap near us who’s got a wee smallholding and keeps chickens so may sound him out on that score.


Pork with it's own apple flavouring 

Me Ma feeds here chickens all her windfalls.


----------



## seeformiles (Sep 6, 2019)

15 gallons of scrumpy so far and the season has barely started - I think it will be a vintage year. I put out a call on a neighbourhood website for spare apples (offering a liquid dividend in return) and have had so many replies that I’ll be squeezing solidly from now until November.  I’m mixing in elderberries as I find them for a bit of colour too. All that press cranking means I’m getting seriously fit too - who says booze is unhealthy?


----------



## seeformiles (Sep 7, 2019)

ViolentPanda said:


> Yep, and the great thing is, you can use it indoors, or outdoors on a gas plate, to deliver your 'shine, and not have to worry about it exploding old-school style!!!
> 
> A mate used his brewing kit to get a malt infusion going, spray-malted it, then added an HA yeast. He then boiled the resulting mess over a hickory fire, then distilled it. Didn't taste like the Scotch he envisioned (I told him he'd need to age it in an oak barrel, but he didn't listen!), but it was rather nice (50%)-ish ABV) all the same. The only hard part was getting him to throw away the first and last litres out of the still. Had to explain that was where all the chemical residues are.
> 
> Now, time to look up proper coopered virgin oak barrels on ebay...



A few years ago my mate and I distilled our scrumpy into a Calvados of sorts with a nice water-cooled still from Poland but we got a bit twitchy about heating it with a gas flame so got an electric hot plate instead - much safer! We wound up with about 40 pints of 75% alcohol that we matured by putting it (a gallon at a time) in a toasted oak barrel my mate got from Italy (off eBay for about £85). One month in the barrel per gallon was sufficient to flavour and colour it and it has remained in glass demijohns in my mate’s cellar for the last 3 years. Recently we diluted a litre of it to a more sociable 40% abv and it’s pretty darned good but we’re determined to let it sit for another year. I’ve developed incredible levels of patience with the whole operation but as that slow trickle of moonshine is hard won there’s no point in taking shortcuts. Good luck with yours


----------



## seeformiles (Sep 15, 2019)

30 gallons of scrumpy plopping away - with promises of perhaps twice that again. This season is going to be fantastic!


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 20, 2019)

I made 18 litres of pear cider last weekend using my masticating juicer (Gotta be careful how you say that). Bottled it today leaving about 3 liters of trug in the bottom. It smelt wonderful.



Pears courtesy of Ma's allotment.


----------



## seeformiles (Sep 29, 2019)

The Scrumpy shed is looking a bit crowded with plenty of popping and plopping sounds. Early samples are showi


----------



## seeformiles (Sep 29, 2019)

seeformiles said:


> The Scrumpy shed is looking a bit crowded with plenty of popping and plopping sounds. Early samples are showi


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 29, 2019)

seeformiles said:


> The Scrumpy shed is looking a bit crowded with plenty of popping and plopping sounds. Early samples are showi


Now that's what I call a brewery


----------



## seeformiles (Sep 29, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> Now that's what I call a brewery



I put out a message on a neighbourhood website for excess apples and we’ve been struggling to keep up with donations. So far we’ve got 66 gallons but fully expect to hit the same again by the end of the season. Never thought it would take up like it has but my offer (give me you spare apples and I’ll give you a liquid dividend proportional to your contribution) is more appealing than charlatans like Urban Harvest who not only take your apples but charge you for the juice pressed from them ?!
We may need a bigger press in future years


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 29, 2019)

seeformiles said:


> We may need a bigger press in future years


----------



## seeformiles (Sep 29, 2019)

friedaweed said:


>


----------



## Idaho (Nov 4, 2019)

These have all fermented for a few weeks and now been racked into a pressure barrel. Going to give it another 2 weeks for the secondary fermentation before sampling.

All from the apple tree in the garden.


----------



## Idaho (Nov 15, 2019)

First pint. I fermented it for 2 weeks in the demijohns then siphoned it into a pressure barrel, added a little sugar and left it another 2 weeks.

... And I think that's a very decent pint of cider. Definitely medium dry, but with a hint of sweet. I like a strong cider - old rosie, sheppys or katy - and I think this is around that strength - 6%+

Reckon it'll improve over time. That'll cover the festive season for me


----------



## seeformiles (Dec 12, 2019)

In the spirit of bartering I’ve just exchanged 8 bottles of scrumpy , 300g of homemade biltong and a bootleg Captain Beefheart CD for £30 and a free scrape and polish from my dentist. This is how things should work in the 21st century


----------



## seeformiles (Mar 12, 2020)

Another barrel bottled


Drank two bottles of this last night and passed out. It must clock in about the 10% mark.


----------



## TopCat (Mar 12, 2020)

I have a big clean to do before this years fermenting commences.


----------



## TopCat (Mar 12, 2020)

Still a vacancy open for an apprentice. Sage wisdom,  spliff and beer guaranteed.


----------



## seeformiles (Mar 13, 2020)

Another 40 pints bottled with my wee chum Lil’ Bob on the label


----------



## TopCat (Apr 21, 2020)

I'm starting a 40 pint kit of stout from Wilko.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 24, 2020)

It is going crazy. Thankfully bunded in a big pot.


----------



## existentialist (Apr 24, 2020)

TopCat said:


> It is going crazy. Thankfully bunded in a big pot. View attachment 208601


Blimey, there wasn't a lot of headspace in that!


----------



## TopCat (Apr 24, 2020)

existentialist said:


> Blimey, there wasn't a lot of headspace in that!


Ah yes that was what I mislaid.


----------



## seeformiles (Apr 24, 2020)

I think stout was one of the few beer kits that worked really well for me. Black as yer boot and made me fart like thunder but very tasty all the same. Haven’t made beer since the 90s but this thread is making me consider giving it another crack.


----------



## TopCat (Apr 26, 2020)

seeformiles said:


> I think stout was one of the few beer kits that worked really well for me. Black as yer boot and made me fart like thunder but very tasty all the same. Haven’t made beer since the 90s but this thread is making me consider giving it another crack.


It's very forgiving. 
I did one stout brew with two kits plus extra malt and sugar. It too months to finish. I was really depressed when it did finish and just moved the fermenting vessel into the back garden. Christmas came around and i had little to spend on myself. However when i cleaned off the outside of the sealed lidded tub it looked and smelt ok. 
I was not fully myself still at this point and dipped a two litre jug into the tub twice a night 'till it was gone. 
It was to be fair one of the best ever if not was the best ever.


----------



## TopCat (May 6, 2020)

Got to bottle up today. The cleaning of the bottles has been a huge pain.


----------



## existentialist (May 6, 2020)

TopCat said:


> Got to bottle up today. The cleaning of the bottles has been a huge pain. View attachment 211038View attachment 211039


Bottle prep is by far my least favourite bit of home brewing. I've amassed an impressive collection here, largely 330ml bottles (which increases the overhead somewhat), and I'd forgotten to rinse a couple of cases of empties I'd picked up from an event, so I had to source a bottle brush, and soak, clean, scrub, clean, and sterilise about 40 of the bloody things.

But I am sufficiently impressed with what remains of my bottle store that I shall be putting a batch of a kind of porter on to brew. All kit stuff - no room for proper brewing in this tiny flat, but it's cheaper than buying booze in, and that's the main point at the moment.

Here are the results of the previous effort:


----------



## seeformiles (May 8, 2020)

I’ve just started some elderflower “champagne” - smells lovely


----------



## butcher (May 8, 2020)

Have done my first brew in 2 years, Mango jack stout with an extra 2kg of liquid malt and half a tin of black treacle, drinking lovely now....................


----------



## existentialist (May 8, 2020)

"Mango jack stout". Now there's a concept to conjure with...


----------



## TopCat (May 11, 2020)

My stout has taken ages to ferment. It has had a lot of spray malt added and brewing sugar. No notes as I was pissed. 
Got to check the OG and get on with it.


----------



## TopCat (May 11, 2020)

I need the space to get on with this lot.


----------



## seeformiles (May 11, 2020)

TopCat said:


> I need the space to get on with this lot.



Obviously there’s no brewing allowed until you’ve done the ironing


----------



## TopCat (May 17, 2020)

Well I had to crack on so I did. Bottled up the stout. My cider yeast arrived today. Will get that on tomorrow.


----------



## butcher (May 18, 2020)

Drinking well, Mango Jack's Stout + 2kg dark liquid malt + half a tin of treacle


----------



## TopCat (May 18, 2020)

butcher said:


> View attachment 213270
> 
> Drinking well, Mango Jack's Stout + 2kg dark liquid malt + half a tin of treacle


Looks good.


----------



## heinous seamus (May 18, 2020)

I've got some wort boiling away just now. First time I've tried making beer so wish me luck!


----------



## existentialist (May 18, 2020)

heinous seamus said:


> I've got some wort boiling away just now. First time I've tried making beer so wish me luck!


Good luck, and may this be the inaugural for a long career in wort-boiling!


----------



## TopCat (May 18, 2020)

heinous seamus said:


> I've got some wort boiling away just now. First time I've tried making beer so wish me luck!


good luck!


----------



## Chilli.s (May 18, 2020)

I shoulda got a beer kit in Feb when panic buying, sold out all over now.


----------



## existentialist (May 18, 2020)

I've still got a barley wine kit, and a couple of tins of dark malt. I think the latter may meet the former pretty soon...should be a kind of bitter porter.


----------



## TopCat (May 18, 2020)

Chilli.s said:


> I shoulda got a beer kit in Feb when panic buying, sold out all over now.


wilko.


----------



## TopCat (May 19, 2020)

I got the turbo cider on the go. 25 Litres of apple juice, 3.4 kilo of dextrose brewing sugar, high alcohol tolerant cider yeast.


----------



## TopCat (May 20, 2020)

I'm waiting for the first gas from the air lock. Nothing thus far.


----------



## TopCat (May 20, 2020)

existentialist said:


> Bottle prep is by far my least favourite bit of home brewing. I've amassed an impressive collection here, largely 330ml bottles (which increases the overhead somewhat), and I'd forgotten to rinse a couple of cases of empties I'd picked up from an event, so I had to source a bottle brush, and soak, clean, scrub, clean, and sterilise about 40 of the bloody things.
> 
> But I am sufficiently impressed with what remains of my bottle store that I shall be putting a batch of a kind of porter on to brew. All kit stuff - no room for proper brewing in this tiny flat, but it's cheaper than buying booze in, and that's the main point at the moment.
> 
> ...


i have only just read the labels. Dark man...


----------



## existentialist (May 20, 2020)

TopCat said:


> i have only just read the labels. Dark man...


I do dark.


----------



## TopCat (May 20, 2020)

TopCat said:


> I'm waiting for the first gas from the air lock. Nothing thus far.


it goes blub blub...


----------



## TopCat (May 20, 2020)

every 24 seconds...


----------



## TopCat (May 21, 2020)

9 seconds now...


----------



## existentialist (May 21, 2020)

TopCat said:


> 9 seconds now...


Have you been to bed, yet?


----------



## TopCat (May 21, 2020)

existentialist said:


> Have you been to bed, yet?


yes!


----------



## TopCat (May 21, 2020)

just added another 3 litre of apple juice and another kilo of brewing sugar.


----------



## TopCat (May 21, 2020)

wait for the pressure to rebuild and then....


----------



## TopCat (May 21, 2020)

blub!


----------



## TopCat (May 21, 2020)

this needs to be ready come July.


----------



## TopCat (May 21, 2020)

end of lockdown drunkenness.


----------



## TopCat (May 21, 2020)

5 second intervals now between blubs...


----------



## existentialist (May 22, 2020)

TopCat said:


> 5 second intervals now between blubs...


RUN AWAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!1!!!one!!!!!!!!1!!!


----------



## TopCat (May 22, 2020)

existentialist said:


> RUN AWAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!1!!!one!!!!!!!!1!!!


4 seconds now. i'm concerned.


----------



## TopCat (May 22, 2020)

I think the temp, the yeast and the strength might cause a froth.


----------



## heinous seamus (May 22, 2020)

Mine was going mental the first day but there's not much happening now. Almost 50 seconds between air bubbles. Anything to be concerned about?


----------



## existentialist (May 22, 2020)

heinous seamus said:


> Mine was going mental the first day but there's not much happening now. Almost 50 seconds between air bubbles. Anything to be concerned about?


If it's still going, that's all good. Changes in temperature can make a big difference to the speed of fermentation, and it will slow down once it's peaked, and the yeast is working through the available sugars.

The biochemistry is quite complex - the yeast is doing several different things at various stages in the process. This link is quite a useful start on what yeast is doing: What Is It? - How to Brew

(that whole book is well worth a read)


----------



## jontz01 (May 22, 2020)

Best batch of ale I've made recently was in a bucket, outside in the sun. Daytime temp mid 20's, overnight as low as 6. I left it in the fermenter (plastic bucket with cling film on top) for about 12 days. Lovely clean brew, nice residual sugars. Primed into plastic with brown sugar solution. Two days in the sun. Down the hatch. I just wish I could replicate it!


----------



## TopCat (May 23, 2020)

3 second blubs. not frothed yet.


----------



## heinous seamus (May 24, 2020)

I made another brew this morning. I've somehow lost the ability to convert from gallons to litres in the last 6 days so I ended up with much less beer than I was supposed to  

I added a bit more water when it was in the demijohn. I'd already taken a hydrometer reading though. I assume that reading is now useless?


----------



## TopCat (May 24, 2020)

heinous seamus said:


> I made another brew this morning. I've somehow lost the ability to convert from gallons to litres in the last 6 days so I ended up with much less beer than I was supposed to
> 
> I added a bit more water when it was in the demijohn. I'd already taken a hydrometer reading though. I assume that reading is now useless?


yes.


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## TopCat (May 28, 2020)

Still doing three second blubs, playing havoc with my tummy.


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## TopCat (Jun 6, 2020)

Slowed right down now. Going to leave it still.


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## heinous seamus (Jun 7, 2020)

My mam and dad had a market stall selling homebrew equipment in the early 80s. I just found this in the garage. I'm tempted to brew it up


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## TopCat (Jun 12, 2020)

TopCat said:


> Still doing three second blubs, playing havoc with my tummy.


Now blubs every thirty minutes.


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## jontz01 (Jun 12, 2020)

heinous seamus said:


> View attachment 216587
> 
> My mam and dad had a market stall selling homebrew equipment in the early 80s. I just found this in the garage. I'm tempted to brew it up


Do it!


----------



## TopCat (Jun 12, 2020)

heinous seamus said:


> View attachment 216587
> 
> My mam and dad had a market stall selling homebrew equipment in the early 80s. I just found this in the garage. I'm tempted to brew it up


Tell us your memories of the stall and customers?


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## heinous seamus (Jun 12, 2020)

I wasn't born yet! My mam tells me they struggled to make their pitch fees back most days though  There's still plenty of stock in the loft, hydrometers, demijohns, airlocks, heatbelts, crown-cappers.


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## TopCat (Jun 12, 2020)

heinous seamus said:


> I wasn't born yet! My mam tells me they struggled to make their pitch fees back most days though  There's still plenty of stock in the loft, hydrometers, demijohns, airlocks, heatbelts, crown-cappers.


Well hello....


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## TopCat (Jun 16, 2020)

Loads of my bottled stout blew up last night. Really annoyed. Thought the house was under attack at 4am. Fuck.


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## jontz01 (Jun 17, 2020)

TopCat said:


> Loads of my bottled stout blew up last night. Really annoyed. Thought the house was under attack at 4am. Fuck.



Fuck! I've had that happen too... hell of a clean up job. Was it in glass?

I only bottle into plastic screw cap these days for the same reason... 

Too much priming sugar do you think? Or brew not fermented out all the way?


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## Cid (Jun 30, 2020)

I’ve got bottles of elderflower champagne that are meant to get to a pretty scary number of CO2 volumes. In proper Champagne bottles, but the next few weeks will be er... interesting. They’re in a box in my workshop, so at least won’t have an early morning wake up call.


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## existentialist (Jun 30, 2020)

Cid said:


> I’ve got bottles of elderflower champagne that are meant to get to a pretty scary number of CO2 volumes. In proper Champagne bottles, but the next few weeks will be er... interesting. They’re in a box in my workshop, so at least won’t have an early morning wake up call.


Champagne bottles are good for at least 5 bar, so - unless someone's been a bit bonkers with their recipe - you should be good to go. Obviously, what you've capped the bottles with may be the weak link in the chain...


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## Cid (Jun 30, 2020)

existentialist said:


> Champagne bottles are good for at least 5 bar, so - unless someone's been a bit bonkers with their recipe - you should be good to go. Obviously, what you've capped the bottles with may be the weak link in the chain...



Caged. So we’ve either got banging fizz or banging bottles.


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## heinous seamus (Jul 15, 2020)

I'm just drinking the first bottle of my elderflower pale ale. It's quality


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## badseed (Jul 23, 2020)

TopCat said:


> Loads of my bottled stout blew up last night. Really annoyed. Thought the house was under attack at 4am. Fuck.


The plastic PET bottles are good for this, they release the pressure before they can explode. You can use them over and over.


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## TopCat (Jul 23, 2020)

I have a huge soup of stale stout and glass shards with maybe ten bottles intact that will prob blow up if I move the huge plastic crate they are in. 
I'm instead moving house tomorrow and abandoning this project to my son to sort out while I hold hands and that with my big love.


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## TopCat (Jul 23, 2020)

The recent still cider is really good. Fermented for 12 weeks. Reall clean and very strong. Mostly gone now. Big love remarked today on the two lonely but full demijohns I brought over. As in where is the rest? 

I smiled as I unloaded my air rifle, my kayak and my plant collection. 

All good.


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## Sasaferrato (Jul 23, 2020)

TopCat said:


> The recent still cider is really good. Fermented for 12 weeks. Reall clean and very strong. Mostly gone now. Big love remarked today on the two lonely but full demijohns I brought over. As in where is the rest?
> 
> I smiled as I unloaded my air rifle, my kayak and my plant collection.
> 
> All good.



I made an apple wine. Two demijohns, split a 40 pint cider kit between them, then added a kilo of sugar to each, very gently.

It was ready at New Year, I warned people that it was very strong, but of course it didn't taste strong. New Year's Day... can't remember what the movie the quote comes from, but, I did see dead people.


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## TopCat (Jul 23, 2020)

Sasaferrato said:


> I made an apple wine. Two demijohns, split a 40 pint cider kit between them, then added a kilo of sugar to each, very gently.
> 
> It was ready at New Year, I warned people that it was very strong, but of course it didn't taste strong. New Year's Day... can't remember what the movie the quote comes from, but, I did see dead people.


I served some of mine in pint glasses half full of ice. Gave the guest half a chance.


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## seeformiles (Aug 3, 2020)

First hedgerow plonk started today:

5g Rhubarb, strawberry, raspberry and blackberry
5g Whitecurrant (old work colleague called up and said she had a surfeit - about 10 lb 😎)

The season has started 😀


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## seeformiles (Aug 8, 2020)

Operation “Free Booze” is underway. 24 gallons of hedgerow plonk plopping away - flavours are: Whitecurrant & BlackBerry, Rhubarb & BlackBerry and just plain old BlackBerry. Watching the elderberries closely for the next wave. Already getting offers of apples for next month so this season may be mighty indeed!


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## existentialist (Aug 8, 2020)

I really want to get in amongst the blackberries this year. Jam, wine, crumbles (I'll probably just blanch and freeze the berries), gin, you name it, they're going in it...


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## seeformiles (Aug 8, 2020)

existentialist said:


> I really want to get in amongst the blackberries this year. Jam, wine, crumbles (I'll probably just blanch and freeze the berries), gin, you name it, they're going in it...



That’s the spirit! The cool thing is the BlackBerry season has barely started. All I’ve picked have been those highest up (which for a tall chap like me is no problem) while the vast majority remain green. Despite this each gallon has 3lb of ripe fruit in it 😎


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## existentialist (Aug 8, 2020)

seeformiles said:


> That’s the spirit! The cool thing is the BlackBerry season has barely started. All I’ve picked have been those highest up (which for a tall chap like me is no problem) while the vast majority remain green. Despite this each gallon has 3lb of ripe fruit in it 😎


We've got a fair way to go here in Wales - not seeing any evidence of fruit much near ripeness here yet...


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## jontz01 (Aug 9, 2020)

Anyone have experience with hopping a brew kit? I've just picked up 46g of freeze dried tangerine dream hops. Intending to add some to a Coopers European lager kit at approx 23L. Not sure of best method to use... I brew in plastic buclets with clingfim. Super basic... Any advice gratefully recieved. Cheers.


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## existentialist (Aug 9, 2020)

Let the fermentation get underway, and lob a fistful of hops in. You may want to use a hop bag (or a well boiled sock), or a strainer at racking time.


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## Scaggs (Aug 16, 2020)

jontz01 said:


> Anyone have experience with hopping a brew kit? I've just picked up 46g of freeze dried tangerine dream hops. Intending to add some to a Coopers European lager kit at approx 23L. Not sure of best method to use... I brew in plastic buclets with clingfim. Super basic... Any advice gratefully recieved. Cheers.


I only add pelleted hops to kits because I assume they are sterile. The Hops I grow myself I usually add to the boil when I'm doing an all grain brew. You could make an 'hop tea' with them and add them that way but I've not tried that yet.


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## seeformiles (Aug 19, 2020)

Tried my elderflower wine yesterday. Something must have gone badly wrong as it tastes fucking horrible - like creosote! Now I know what a new garden shed tastes like.

In better news, was out brambling this morning and noticed apples and elderberries are starting to ripen so will switch from blackberries to cider in a week or two. Did a lovely scrumpy with elderberry wine (ratio of 4:1) last year - complemented each other beautifully. 36 gallons of hedgerow plonk so far - it’s getting difficult to move around the house but the smell is great 🙂


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## seeformiles (Aug 27, 2020)

6 gallons of scrumpy squeezed today - first of the season. Good to clean down the equipment and get down to it. I’m averse to exercise for exercise’s sake but cranking an apple press for a couple of hours beats any gym 😃


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## seeformiles (Sep 9, 2020)

Just spent the morning scratting a car load of apples (18 gallons of scrumpy so far) - probably another 5-6 gallons in this bin of pulp 😎


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## seeformiles (Sep 10, 2020)

Racking off the hedgerow plonk before the cider season begins in earnest. Here’s my “Wall of Wine” (plus cider and mead) so far with 24 more gallons still to be packed away in a similar fashion. It’s all getting a bit silly really but must follow my instincts on this one - and try to work out where to store my tools and gardening equipment 😀


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## two sheds (Oct 5, 2020)

Anyone come across this?





__





						The Home Brew Experts - Love Brewing
					

Buy Your Home Brew Online




					www.lovebrewing.co.uk
				




A mate phoned and said he'd been to the shop in Chesterfield and they sell stills  They sell stills and the bloke told him that it's not illegal to distill your own alcohol as long as you don't sell it.

This seemed highly tempting to me so I looked at the site but right up front they say "It is illegal to manufacture spirits in the UK without a distiller's licence".

I checked and apparently if you distill without a licence you risk a £1000 fine and your still confiscated. This clearly didn't bother the bloke in the shop since he'll already have sold the still - the one my mate was considering (and who wouldn't?) cost £800. I checked their FAQs and there was no mention of this (nor for some reason of blindness nor explosions if something goes wrong).

They do sell lots of flavourings that apparently you can add to cheap vodka with (my mate tells me) really good results. I probably won't bother because Aldi do really good prices on gin, rum and port which are the ones I'm mainly interested in.


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## seeformiles (Oct 5, 2020)

two sheds said:


> Anyone come across this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



It’s perfectly legal to buy those electric stills but (a bit like buying certain seeds..) it’s for distilling water or extracting essential oils. The fact that you could use it for alcoholic distillation is acknowledged but not condoned (as many home brew shop owners have informed me with a wink 🙂)


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## Funky_monks (Dec 24, 2020)

two sheds said:


> Anyone come across this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, its akin to buying a bong, which, on no account should you use to smoke illicit substances.


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## existentialist (Dec 24, 2020)

Funky_monks said:


> Yeah, its akin to buying a bong, which, on no account should you use to smoke illicit substances.


There are legitimate uses for stills - I believe people use them to get essential oils out of stuff, for example.

I'm a bit dubious about the whole blindness/explosions thing, though. There are some basic precautions you have to take (you discard the first and final runnings, to keep the methanols out of it), but most of the "poisonous spirit" stuff was more about the way moonshine was often cooled by passing through car radiators, which have a lot of lead in them, that hot alcohol leaches out very effectively. Similarly, the explosion risk - while definitely there - is manageable with comparatively basic safety precautions, and these stills are often either electrically powered, or can be used on electric cookers, eliminating the naked flame/alcohol vapour issue.

I think it's still something to be approached with caution, but the fact is that the Revenue are keen to big up the fear angle is because they know they don't have a hope in hell of controlling small-scale spirit production in practice.

On a slightly tangential note, a friend of mine bought a property in Brittany - a collection of buildings that had housed a butcher's shop and abattoir, with outbuildings. Having moved in, he was going through the loft and found a sealed carboy which, on further examination, turned out to contain about 20 litres of "eau de vie du cidre" - Calvados, by any other name, and if not home-distilled, almost certainly made by the mobile still which comes around the villages once a year, providing you have the "grandfather" rights to use it. But I suspect there's a lot of quiet illegal distilling going on - you don't have to be in the social circle long before people start offering you strangely pale liquids from well-used Johnny Walker bottles  What they don't do is to sell it or share it openly.

ETA: it tasted very nice indeed.


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## ViolentPanda (Jan 15, 2021)

existentialist said:


> There are legitimate uses for stills - I believe people use them to get essential oils out of stuff, for example.
> 
> I'm a bit dubious about the whole blindness/explosions thing, though. There are some basic precautions you have to take (you discard the first and final runnings, to keep the methanols out of it), but most of the "poisonous spirit" stuff was more about the way moonshine was often cooled by passing through car radiators, which have a lot of lead in them, that hot alcohol leaches out very effectively. Similarly, the explosion risk - while definitely there - is manageable with comparatively basic safety precautions, and these stills are often either electrically powered, or can be used on electric cookers, eliminating the naked flame/alcohol vapour issue.
> 
> ...



If I'd just bought myself a small pot still from say, Amazon, I suspect that Calvados would be my 1st attempt, were I to be an inconsiderate defrauder of the Exchequer. 

Entirely coincidentally, I appear to have collected 24 litres of Lidl apple juice, several kilos of peeled, cored & frozen Bramleys, sugar & some high-alcohol fruit yeast. A nice project for the spring!

Also, found a reasonably-informative book called "The Joy of Home Distilling" by Rick Morris.


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## seeformiles (Feb 2, 2021)

First Scrumpy bottling from last year’s batch - 8 pints bottled, 300 or so to go...


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## telbert (Feb 14, 2021)

My first batch of Turbo Cider is now underway.  20 lt of Sainsbury's cheapest apple juice, cider yeast and nutrient . Ive insulated the space under my bench in the shed, put some doors on and installed a tube heater & thermostat .
Just have to wait for the magic to happen now.


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## Badgers (Feb 14, 2021)

That interests me telbert


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## telbert (Feb 14, 2021)

Badgers said:


> That interests me telbert


I shall update when things start to happen. In the meantime I still have a need for the alternative.


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## ViolentPanda (Feb 14, 2021)

telbert said:


> I shall update when things start to happen. In the meantime I still have a need for the alternative.
> View attachment 254386



Medium sweet? Your turbo cider will, of course, be drier than a vicar's wit, so may be worth exploring sweetening arrangements. Lactose is good, as long as you're not lactose-intolerant.


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## existentialist (Feb 14, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> Medium sweet? Your turbo cider will, of course, be drier than a vicar's wit, so may be worth exploring sweetening arrangements. Lactose is good, as long as you're not lactose-intolerant.


One of the nicest ways I found to drink it was to use something like elderflower cordial - put a slug of that in at pouring time. I've got a couple of bottles of Bottlegreen "winter berry" or something, which goes very nicely in a glass of mordantly dry cider.


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## ViolentPanda (Feb 14, 2021)

existentialist said:


> One of the nicest ways I found to drink it was to use something like elderflower cordial - put a slug of that in at pouring time. I've got a couple of bottles of Bottlegreen "winter berry" or something, which goes very nicely in a glass of mordantly dry cider.



My Slovakian neighbour's Hungarian partner has taken to using Sainsbury 50% juice blackcurrant cordial to temper his bone-dry 8% cider. 

I may have introduced him to blending it half & half with his homebrew stout, too.


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## telbert (Feb 14, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> Medium sweet? Your turbo cider will, of course, be drier than a vicar's wit, so may be worth exploring sweetening arrangements. Lactose is good, as long as you're not lactose-intolerant.


I like dry cider, I just bought the Westons  to try . Its quite Appley but too sweet for me. This is my go to home booze 
Although  I used to drink dry Blackthorn when I could get it easily.  If the TC turns out too dry for me I'll backsweeten(?) with Splendour .


----------



## ViolentPanda (Feb 14, 2021)

telbert said:


> I like dry cider, I just bought the Westons  to try . Its quite Appley but too sweet for me. This is my go to home booze View attachment 254389
> Although  I used to drink dry Blackthorn when I could get it easily.  If the TC turns out too dry for me I'll backsweeten(?) with Splendour .



It'll be drier than Thatchers Gold, unless the cider yeast you used can only tolerate +/-5% abv. Yep, the Westons medium sweet might as well be labelled "sweet", no "medium" about it. A mate used to back-sweeten his cider with fucking saccharine, FFS .

Got to prepare for a friend's plum harvest later this year. She has 2 mature plum trees on her allotment, & always has to compost loads, so I'm thinking I may cart a 30 litre blue food-safe bin up there, fill it with plums, take them home then pulp them up, bung in some fructose & a high-alcohol fruit yeast and then see whether I can turn out a decent slivovitz in time for Yule 2021.


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## telbert (Feb 14, 2021)

This is my first attempt at TC and originally bought just 4 litres of aj to see if it was as easy as people say and if I fucked it up I'd just bin it and try again. But then I found out you can add sweetening afterwards if it ends up uber dry so I did a full 20 lt brew. Also I'm  looking for a session cider at around 5% ( Westons  vintage dry knocks the bollocks out of me at 8.2).


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## existentialist (Feb 14, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> My Slovakian neighbour's Hungarian partner has taken to using Sainsbury 50% juice blackcurrant cordial to temper his bone-dry 8% cider.
> 
> I may have introduced him to blending it half & half with his homebrew stout, too.


So, basically, homebrew snakebite?


----------



## Chilli.s (Feb 14, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> If I'd just bought myself a small pot still from say, Amazon, I suspect that Calvados would be my 1st attempt, were I to be an inconsiderate defrauder of the Exchequer.
> 
> Entirely coincidentally, I appear to have collected 24 litres of Lidl apple juice, several kilos of peeled, cored & frozen Bramleys, sugar & some high-alcohol fruit yeast. A nice project for the spring!
> 
> Also, found a reasonably-informative book called "The Joy of Home Distilling" by Rick Morris.


Very interested in hearing how this goes


----------



## ViolentPanda (Feb 15, 2021)

existentialist said:


> So, basically, homebrew snakebite?



Yep, about 7% abv per pint (6% stout, 8% cider). He's juggling with the idea of an "imperial" stout at the moment.


----------



## telbert (Feb 18, 2021)

I have bubbles!!!
Just one or two every 5 minutes or so& the plastic bucket & lid looks under pressure.


----------



## telbert (Feb 24, 2021)

telbert said:


> I have bubbles!!!
> Just one or two every 5 minutes or so& the plastic bucket & lid looks under pressure.


The bubbles have now stopped after 5 days and not started again. The temperature dropped down to 13/14 degress so ive now put it o a heat mat at 24 degrees. Will the initial temperature drop have caused the fermentation to stop and will it start again on its own or will i need to add some more yeast?


----------



## dessiato (Feb 24, 2021)

telbert said:


> The bubbles have now stopped after 5 days and not started again. The temperature dropped down to 13/14 degress so ive now put it o a heat mat at 24 degrees. Will the initial temperature drop have caused the fermentation to stop and will it start again on its own or will i need to add some more yeast?


Yeast is quite a survivor. We freeze our fresh yeast and only activate it when we’re ready to use it. I would think warming it will get it a bit livelier. It’s also possible, perhaps, that it is done. How long as it bubbling?


----------



## telbert (Feb 24, 2021)

dessiato said:


> Yeast is quite a survivor. We freeze our fresh yeast and only activate it when we’re ready to use it. I would think warming it will get it a bit livelier. It’s also possible, perhaps, that it is done. How long as it bubbling?


5 days max, and it wasn't double lively.


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## existentialist (Feb 24, 2021)

telbert said:


> The bubbles have now stopped after 5 days and not started again. The temperature dropped down to 13/14 degress so ive now put it o a heat mat at 24 degrees. Will the initial temperature drop have caused the fermentation to stop and will it start again on its own or will i need to add some more yeast?


Have you got a hydrometer? If you do, you can check the gravity of the brew, and that will indicate whether fermentation has completed. If you haven't, draw off a small sample and see how sweet it is - but that's a much rougher guide.


----------



## dessiato (Feb 24, 2021)

telbert said:


> 5 days max, and it wasn't double lively.


Might just have a a slow fermentation, although that does sound unlikely. If I were you I’d warm it with a bit of fresh yeast and see what happens.

There‘ll be more experienced brewers than I along who will be able to give better advice I expect.


----------



## existentialist (Feb 24, 2021)

Fermentation will often stop, once temperatures get below 12-14C, but it will usually restart. If it doesn't, you have what is called a "stuck fermentation". There are various ways of resolving it: warming up is certainly an option, but be generally cautious about brewing at temperatures of 24C, because you'll get more complex alcohols, which can change the character of the brew, not always to its advantage.

If warming up doesn't work, find another sachet of brewer's yeast (or use a bit of baking yeast, but I'd regard that as "desperate measures"  ), and make up a little yeast batter with some warm (below blood heat) water and a little sugar. Keep it somewhere fairly warm until it starts to froth up, then stir it up and whip it into the brew - hopefully an infusion of busily active yeast will encourage the thing to start again.

Do remember that every time you open the fermentation vessel, you're increasing the risk of airborne contamination. No need to be paranoid, but keep it to a minimum - especially if you have a stuck fermentation, because the protective effect of both the higher alcohol content of a fully-fermented brew, and the carpet of CO2 over the surface, won't be there.


----------



## telbert (Feb 24, 2021)

I think i have cider!!
Ive dipped the hydrometer and its at bottom of the yellow bit where it says " Dry ,bottle". Ive tasted it and it tastes like very dry cider,still quite cloudy though.Should i leave this at a colder temperature now to let it clear before bottling?


----------



## existentialist (Feb 24, 2021)

telbert said:


> I think i have cider!!
> Ive dipped the hydrometer and its at bottom of the yellow bit where it says " Dry ,bottle". Ive tasted it and it tastes like very dry cider,still quite cloudy though.Should i leave this at a colder temperature now to let it clear before bottling?


Well, that's a trade-off! The sooner you bottle it, the less likely it is to become cider vinegar; on the other hand, not having a huge layer of yeast in the bottom of the bottle is an advantage. Perhaps give it a day or so - move the vessel to the point where you are going to decant it first, if you can - and then bottle and be damned!


----------



## dessiato (Feb 24, 2021)

Do people not use filtering so much these days? And what do you add (fullers earth?) to help clearing?


----------



## telbert (Feb 25, 2021)

existentialist said:


> Well, that's a trade-off! The sooner you bottle it, the less likely it is to become cider vinegar; on the other hand, not having a huge layer of yeast in the bottom of the bottle is an advantage. Perhaps give it a day or so - move the vessel to the point where you are going to decant it first, if you can - and then bottle and be damned!


Ive lifted the fermentation vessel to a worktop where i will rack of into demijohns/bottle. Its beginning to clear a little so should i leave it to clear completely for another day or two ( your comment about vinegar has wobbled me a bit) or rack it now and let it clear in the demijohn?. Also, im going to add sugar to half, but how much per litre?


----------



## existentialist (Feb 26, 2021)

telbert said:


> Ive lifted the fermentation vessel to a worktop where i will rack of into demijohns/bottle. Its beginning to clear a little so should i leave it to clear completely for another day or two ( your comment about vinegar has wobbled me a bit) or rack it now and let it clear in the demijohn?. Also, im going to add sugar to half, but how much per litre?


Priming sugar wise, I'd be going for a scant teaspoon per litre - from recollection, 80g of sugar in the whole batch should be about right. But I imagine you're not racking off the whole batch at once, so go with the teaspoon measure. 

Chances are you'll be fine leaving it another day or two, but don't worry about it dropping completely clear in that time - it will continue to settle in the bottle.


----------



## existentialist (Feb 26, 2021)

dessiato said:


> Do people not use filtering so much these days? And what do you add (fullers earth?) to help clearing?


Particularly if you're using kits, it's not usually necessary to add things to remove haze nowadays.


----------



## ViolentPanda (Feb 27, 2021)

dessiato said:


> Do people not use filtering so much these days? And what do you add (fullers earth?) to help clearing?



It's known as Bentonite nowadays, but yeah, fuller's earth is still used. Personally, I prefer carragheen.


----------



## ViolentPanda (Feb 27, 2021)

Chilli.s said:


> Very interested in hearing how this goes



I've been talked into doing a couple of batches of elderflower cider first, for a (hopeful) live gig on our estate in july. Obviously, to refresh guests free-of-charge, as opposed to for sale!

Then it'll be faux calvados, & after that I've been asked to do a small batch of corn whiskey/white dog/moonshine. The problem with corn whiskey is it has a very mild, sweet & fruity-ish flavour because it's un-aged, & even at 50% abv, it slips down way too easily! I remember buying a quart when I was in the US in the '80s, & drinking it over the course of 24 hrs. I spent the next 24 with the curtains drawn & the lights off, praying for Odin to take me to Valhalla.


----------



## existentialist (Feb 27, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> I've been talked into doing a couple of batches of elderflower cider first, for a (hopeful) live gig on our estate in july. Obviously, to refresh guests free-of-charge, as opposed to for sale!
> 
> Then it'll be faux calvados, & after that I've been asked to do a small batch of corn whiskey/white dog/moonshine. The problem with corn whiskey is it has a very mild, sweet & fruity-ish flavour because it's un-aged, & even at 50% abv, it slips down way too easily! I remember buying a quart when I was in the US in the '80s, & drinking it over the course of 24 hrs. I spent the next 24 with the curtains drawn & the lights off, praying for Odin to take me to Valhalla.


You are aware, aren't you, that it makes no difference legally whether you sell home brew or give it away - it's illegal for anyone other than you and your household to consume it unless duty is paid? 

You'll need to be very discreet.


----------



## ViolentPanda (Feb 27, 2021)

existentialist said:


> You are aware, aren't you, that it makes no difference legally whether you sell home brew or give it away - it's illegal for anyone other than you and your household to consume it unless duty is paid?
> 
> You'll need to be very discreet.



I'm aware!
If the revenooers turn up, I'll be waiting for them with my cutlass & flintlock pistols.


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## telbert (Apr 6, 2021)

Well,  i racked it off into 5 litre containers, added a teaspoon of sugar ( iirc ) and left it til last Saturday when  gave a bottle to my S.I.L. who seems to like it a lot. Its perfectly clear with a little sediment at the bottom, fairly dry and thankfully not too gassy and has a great apple flavour. I had my first  a pint about 45 mins ago,  took my time & i'm diving in to the second pint now.  I'll update after a few more ( hopeefully not from the khazi).


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## seeformiles (Aug 3, 2021)

The Hedgerow Plonk season has started here with a bang - 15 gallons of Rhubarb wine, 15 gallons of Whitecurrant wine and one gallon of “Summer Wine” ( made from random raspberries, cherries, strawberries, apples, etc. found on early morning walks but not enough of each to make a dedicated brew so all bunged in togethe) - smells OK and, at 70 plops per minute is fermenting vigorously 😎


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## TopCat (Aug 3, 2021)

Well I have got a bit of space and mu home brew equipment. After last years debacle of exploding stout and alcohol dependency inducing turbo cider I am going to do more considered brews. 

Maybe some wine. Might go get a load of blackberries. Be nice to wander about and pick them.


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## Sasaferrato (Aug 3, 2021)

TopCat said:


> Well I have got a bit of space and mu home brew equipment. After last years debacle of exploding stout and alcohol dependency inducing turbo cider I am going to do more considered brews.
> 
> Maybe some wine. Might go get a load of blackberries. Be nice to wander about and pick them.



I did an intense apple wine many years ago. It was a 40 pint kit split into two demijohns, with about a kilo of sugar added very gently to each. It was stunning in more ways than one. About 15%.


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## seeformiles (Aug 7, 2021)

First 5 gallons of blackberry wine started today (producing a nice yeasty bloom already 🙂)


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## TopCat (Aug 7, 2021)

I have to go pick more.


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## seeformiles (Aug 7, 2021)

TopCat said:


> I have to go pick more.



We’ll be out again tomorrow 😎


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## mr steev (Aug 8, 2021)

I've had a few years off brewing and wine making, but I'm going to start back up again.

I use Videne to sterilise stuff and have got loads left - I have a 500ml bottle and you only use a couple of mil each time. Does anyone know if it deteriates with age? I presume it doesn't, but it's probably about 8 years old and not been opened for 5 years.

I've also got a massive jar of honey, so I'm going to make some mead. A quick google says that I really should invest in some quality honey, and the jar I have is just supermarket own brand - is it's worth giving it a go? Or possibly flavour it with something?


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## seeformiles (Aug 9, 2021)

mr steev said:


> I've had a few years off brewing and wine making, but I'm going to start back up again.
> 
> I use Videne to sterilise stuff and have got loads left - I have a 500ml bottle and you only use a couple of mil each time. Does anyone know if it deteriates with age? I presume it doesn't, but it's probably about 8 years old and not been opened for 5 years.
> 
> I've also got a massive jar of honey, so I'm going to make some mead. A quick google says that I really should invest in some quality honey, and the jar I have is just supermarket own brand - is it's worth giving it a go? Or possibly flavour it with something?



I’ve made mead a couple of times. Takes a while to ferment out but I flavour it with Rosemary and ginger. Couple of Druid types I know seem to like it 🙂


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## seeformiles (Aug 9, 2021)

Another 5 gallons of blackberry started this morning. It’s getting a bit difficult to move round the house with all these bloody barrels but they provide a pleasant plopping chorus in the background.


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## Sasaferrato (Aug 9, 2021)

mr steev said:


> I've had a few years off brewing and wine making, but I'm going to start back up again.
> 
> I use Videne to sterilise stuff and have got loads left - I have a 500ml bottle and you only use a couple of mil each time. Does anyone know if it deteriates with age? I presume it doesn't, but it's probably about 8 years old and not been opened for 5 years.
> 
> I've also got a massive jar of honey, so I'm going to make some mead. A quick google says that I really should invest in some quality honey, and the jar I have is just supermarket own brand - is it's worth giving it a go? Or possibly flavour it with something?



Only drunk mead once. Dreadful hangover.


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## seeformiles (Aug 11, 2021)

More blackberry wine on the go but also the first ripe elderberries have appeared which is very good news indeed 😎


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## existentialist (Aug 11, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> More blackberry wine on the go but also the first ripe elderberries have appeared which is very good news indeed 😎


 Is there such a thing as *green* blackberry wine?  You know, like fried green tomatoes...


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## Chilli.s (Aug 11, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> elderberries


These have cyanide in them, does brewing them up into wine remove that?


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## existentialist (Aug 11, 2021)

Chilli.s said:


> These have cyanide in them, does brewing them up into wine remove that?


I think it's the wood that has a compound that decomposes into cyanide when heated - so long as you're only using berries, or flowers, you're absolutely fine.

ETA: also, from here,


> The leaves and uncooked berries are slightly toxic, but once cooked the fruits can be used in pies and jam. Elderberry wine, elderflower cordial and dried elderflowers are all still available in shops. A fine elderflower champagne can be made using the yeasts present in the blossoms. Dipped in batter the flowers make excellent fritters.


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## seeformiles (Aug 11, 2021)

existentialist said:


> Is there such a thing as *green* blackberry wine?  You know, like fried green tomatoes...



My best picking spots are those backing on to allotments where cultivars have escaped - something campanula mentioned - but the “regular” berries should be going mad in a week or so. Met a fellow brambler today and had a good old blether 🙂


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## Sasaferrato (Aug 12, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> More blackberry wine on the go but also the first ripe elderberries have appeared which is very good news indeed 😎



I made a Hambleton Bard port kit decades ago, five gallons. I used 3l of brandy to stop the fermentation by raising the ABV. It was delicious. In due time, when I went to buy another kit, they had stopped making it. The major ingredient was elderberries.


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## seeformiles (Aug 12, 2021)

Sasaferrato said:


> I made a Hambleton Bard port kit decades ago, five gallons. I used 3l of brandy to stop the fermentation by raising the ABV. It was delicious. In due time, when I went to buy another kit, they had stopped making it. The major ingredient was elderberries.



AFAIK Elderberries we’re highly rated by the Romans for wine in the absence of grapes in Britain


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## seeformiles (Aug 13, 2021)

Another 5 gallons of blackberry started today. May have to consider distilling some of the resulting wine for reasons of space. The cider season hasn’t even started yet and it’s already getting a bit silly…


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## seeformiles (Aug 14, 2021)

Check out my “Bramble Hands” - occupational hazard for berry pickers 🙂


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## Sasaferrato (Aug 15, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> Another 5 gallons of blackberry started today. May have to consider distilling some of the resulting wine for reasons of space. The cider season hasn’t even started yet and it’s already getting a bit silly…



I had one go at distilling, the still exploded and Mrs Sas arrived home midst the clear up operation. I get reminded occasionally, it was only in 1982.


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## seeformiles (Aug 15, 2021)

Sasaferrato said:


> I had one go at distilling, the still exploded and Mrs Sas arrived home midst the clear up operation. I get reminded occasionally, it was only in 1982.



My mate and I have a water cooled still incorporating an electric hot plate to avoid any explosion potential. Worked well on the scrumpy we distilled into about 20L of 68% abv spirit. Diluted to a more sociable 40% it’s a decent drop of ersatz Calvados - although a certain amount of “cask strength” spirit appears on high days and holidays 😎


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## Sasaferrato (Aug 15, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> My mate and I have a water cooled still incorporating an electric hot plate to avoid any explosion potential. Worked well on the scrumpy we distilled into about 20L of 68% abv spirit. Diluted to a more sociable 40% it’s a decent drop of ersatz Calvados - although a certain amount of “cask strength” spirit appears on high days and holidays 😎



I was using a demijohn in a pan of water, with a Leibig condenser 'borrowed' from the chemistry lab.


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## existentialist (Aug 15, 2021)

Sasaferrato said:


> I was using a demijohn in a pan of water, with a Leibig condenser 'borrowed' from the chemistry lab.


What caused the explosion? Vapour, or overpressure?


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## Sasaferrato (Aug 15, 2021)

existentialist said:


> What caused the explosion? Vapour, or overpressure?



Don't know, but it made a hell of a bang, and mess.


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## seeformiles (Aug 26, 2021)

Been given 8 stone of apples from a friend whose tree collapsed under the weight of the fruit and uprooted it completely. It is a wee bit early for apples but can’t waste them so I’m mixing them with blackberries until it’s the season proper. Will probably make about 25 gallons or so so just made the first 5 this morning


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## Idaho (Aug 28, 2021)

Cider day:


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## Idaho (Aug 28, 2021)

I got a hydrometer with the press. Never used one... Is it easy?


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## aqua (Aug 28, 2021)

Idaho said:


> I got a hydrometer with the press. Never used one... Is it easy?


I used to use one so it can't be that difficult 😂 but otherwise I lived in fear of making cider that was really jet fuel 😂


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## Idaho (Aug 28, 2021)

The stronger the better!


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## aqua (Aug 28, 2021)

Idaho said:


> The stronger the better!


Yes and no 😂


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## seeformiles (Sep 19, 2021)

Just collected a car boot full of red fleshed apples from a friend 20 miles away. Well worth the journey. They’ll be squeezed over the next few days for scrumpy 😎


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 8, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> My mate and I have a water cooled still incorporating an electric hot plate to avoid any explosion potential. Worked well on the scrumpy we distilled into about 20L of 68% abv spirit. Diluted to a more sociable 40% it’s a decent drop of ersatz Calvados - although a certain amount of “cask strength” spirit appears on high days and holidays 😎


I have to ask: Have you barrelled any, in order to age it into mellowness?


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## Idaho (Oct 8, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> I have to ask: Have you barrelled any, in order to age it into mellowness?


I've an ambition to distill then barrel my cider one day. After 10 years the "angel's share" should reduce a 70% spirit to around 40% I believe (I might not be accurate).


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 8, 2021)

Idaho said:


> I've an ambition to distill then barrel my cider one day. After 10 years the "angel's share" should reduce a 70% spirit to around 40% I believe (I might not be accurate).


Isn't it more likely that - all things being equal - what spirit you lose to evaporation, is balanced by the water you lose to the same? 
I'm tempted to attempt some apple brandy myself, one of these days. Just enough to fill a 10 litre cask, mind.


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## seeformiles (Oct 9, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> I have to ask: Have you barrelled any, in order to age it into mellowness?



Yes we did. We bought a gallon capacity toasted oak barrel (from Italy iirc) and gave the spirit a month in there to pleasing effect 🙂


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 9, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> Yes we did. We bought a gallon capacity toasted oak barrel (from Italy iirc) and gave the spirit a month in there to pleasing effect 🙂


A Hungarian mate has offered to bring me back a barrel or two made by his cooper brother, next time he drives to Hungary. Hungarian oak is nice & mellow.


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## seeformiles (Oct 10, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> A Hungarian mate has offered to bring me back a barrel or two made by his cooper brother, next time he drives to Hungary. Hungarian oak is nice & mellow.



The chap in Italy asked what we were intending to make and made the barrel accordingly. Iirc one month in the 1 gallon barrel is equivalent to 6 months in a larger capacity vessel. What spirit are you making?


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## seeformiles (Oct 10, 2021)

Scrumpy production so far - 42 gallons (& counting) - lots of plopping and fruity smells in the garage

ETA Note “Wall O’ Wine to the right (about 40 gallons of blackberry, elderberry and rhubarb)


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 10, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> The chap in Italy asked what we were intending to make and made the barrel accordingly. Iirc one month in the 1 gallon barrel is equivalent to 6 months in a larger capacity vessel. What spirit are you making?


I've already got some appley stuff sitting in a 2 gallon carboy, with some lightly-toasted ex-bourbon barrel bits in it - for about another 6 months, at which time it'll be blended down to 45% ABV.
What I want the barrel for, is slivovitz (which is rarely aged beyond a yr). I have dibs on a couple of peoples' plum harvest next yr, so I'm hoping to fill a couple of 60 litre drums with the (90% stoned) fruit, give it a buzz with a paint mixer blade, then chuck some turbo yeast in. This has worked for my friend, who got about 12 bottles of 50% ABV at the last knockings from his. I'd settle for half a dozen, as it'd take me a couple of yrs to drink them. 
Of course, once I make sure my booze isn't toxic (human experimentation, on myself!), I give a lot away.


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## seeformiles (Oct 11, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> I've already got some appley stuff sitting in a 2 gallon carboy, with some lightly-toasted ex-bourbon barrel bits in it - for about another 6 months, at which time it'll be blended down to 45% ABV.
> What I want the barrel for, is slivovitz (which is rarely aged beyond a yr). I have dibs on a couple of peoples' plum harvest next yr, so I'm hoping to fill a couple of 60 litre drums with the (90% stoned) fruit, give it a buzz with a paint mixer blade, then chuck some turbo yeast in. This has worked for my friend, who got about 12 bottles of 50% ABV at the last knockings from his. I'd settle for half a dozen, as it'd take me a couple of yrs to drink them.
> Of course, once I make sure my booze isn't toxic (human experimentation, on myself!), I give a lot away.



Sounds good - and turbo yeast is definitely the way to go for a quick result of decent strength. We’ve had a crack at making “Plum Jerkum” before but the pulp was a right bugger to press and the result was one of the driest drinks ever. However, once distilled and mixed with sweet apple juice it was quite a decent Jagermeister type digestif. Our ersatz Calvados making came about after a vast scrumpy overproduction following the purchase of half a tonne of ex-supermarket apples (£50 - bargain!) from a bloke in Derbyshire that took a transit van plus trailer to take back to Leeds. They were all high sugar fruit e.g. Pink Ladies and the like that made 120+ gallons of insanely strong (12%+) cider so we had plenty to experiment with. We haven’t killed anyone (yet..) with the resulting spirit but, during distillation, we were careful to discard any run off collected before the desired temperature was reached (& on the way back down) to be on the safe side. Look forward to hearing how yours turns out.


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 12, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> Sounds good - and turbo yeast is definitely the way to go for a quick result of decent strength. We’ve had a crack at making “Plum Jerkum” before but the pulp was a right bugger to press and the result was one of the driest drinks ever. However, once distilled and mixed with sweet apple juice it was quite a decent Jagermeister type digestif. Our ersatz Calvados making came about after a vast scrumpy overproduction following the purchase of half a tonne of ex-supermarket apples (£50 - bargain!) from a bloke in Derbyshire that took a transit van plus trailer to take back to Leeds. They were all high sugar fruit e.g. Pink Ladies and the like that made 120+ gallons of insanely strong (12%+) cider so we had plenty to experiment with. We haven’t killed anyone (yet..) with the resulting spirit but, during distillation, we were careful to discard any run off collected before the desired temperature was reached (& on the way back down) to be on the safe side. Look forward to hearing how yours turns out.


I've been told to bung a kilo of lactose in each barrel of plum pulp, in order to make it sippable by someone with taste buds. Viktor says that at home they call it "raketa" - "rocket" - & it's usually 55% ABV. 
Discarding the faints & tails is always a good move with any distillation. We even knew that as insane teenagers making "vodka" from potatoes, with the assistance of a leibig condensor!


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## seeformiles (Oct 13, 2021)

Took delivery of a huge bag of pears yesterday. Have milled and juiced them and mixed with some N.London apples at a ratio of 5:1. Looking forward to the Perry/Cider blend after its slow 3 month winter fermentation. One reason to look forward to Spring 🙂


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## seeformiles (Oct 13, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> I've been told to bung a kilo of lactose in each barrel of plum pulp, in order to make it sippable by someone with taste buds. Viktor says that at home they call it "raketa" - "rocket" - & it's usually 55% ABV.
> Discarding the faints & tails is always a good move with any distillation. We even knew that as insane teenagers making "vodka" from potatoes, with the assistance of a leibig condensor!



Glad the “dry plum” thing isn’t just my experience. Saying that, proper Schwartzwalder Schwetchingen Wasser is a beautiful thing 🙂


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 13, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> Glad the “dry plum” thing isn’t just my experience. Saying that, proper Schwartzwalder Schwetchingen Wasser is a beautiful thing 🙂


Sliwowice is kind of a minority thing in an age of cheap Bourbon & Scotch, & in Hungary it comes with the same social cachet as moonshine, as most is made by cooperatives with stills - government-inspected - & taxed (very low compared to booze tax here), but taken home in everything from kilner jars, to flagons, to fuel cans! Apparently the lactose helps make it palatable to people who still have tastebuds!

Germany fruit "eau de vies" are always nice. Greebo used to always buy a bottle of zwetschken wasser. I always went for sour cherry or blackcurrant, myself. There's some nice flavoured schnapps out there too. I'm not talking about the Berentzen-type stuff (although it's great in its place), I mean stuff made by Spitz, Hodl Hof, Munchner Kindl etc - 35-45% ABV, full of fruity flavours. Not dry, not sweet, just right on the nail. Obst (apple & pear) schnapps is fantastic, Haselnuss tastes totally unlike what you would expect, & Enzian (gentian) will pucker your mouth tighter than a whale's ringpiece - bitter as fuck!!!
I'd love to find a decent book on distilling German-style flavoured schnapps. Korn & Doppelkorn are simple, but I suspect the flavoured, non-sugared ones are more complicated.


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## seeformiles (Oct 13, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> Sliwowice is kind of a minority thing in an age of cheap Bourbon & Scotch, & in Hungary it comes with the same social cachet as moonshine, as most is made by cooperatives with stills - government-inspected - & taxed (very low compared to booze tax here), but taken home in everything from kilner jars, to flagons, to fuel cans! Apparently the lactose helps make it palatable to people who still have tastebuds!
> 
> Germany fruit "eau de vies" are always nice. Greebo used to always buy a bottle of zwetschken wasser. I always went for sour cherry or blackcurrant, myself. There's some nice flavoured schnapps out there too. I'm not talking about the Berentzen-type stuff (although it's great in its place), I mean stuff made by Spitz, Hodl Hof, Munchner Kindl etc - 35-45% ABV, full of fruity flavours. Not dry, not sweet, just right on the nail. Obst (apple & pear) schnapps is fantastic, Haselnuss tastes totally unlike what you would expect, & Enzian (gentian) will pucker your mouth tighter than a whale's ringpiece - bitter as fuck!!!
> I'd love to find a decent book on distilling German-style flavoured schnapps. Korn & Doppelkorn are simple, but I suspect the flavoured, non-sugared ones are more complicated.



My mate plays the Tarragato (Hungarian clarinet) and was invited to play along with their annual festival. He was told to just book his flight and they would take care of the rest. So, when he arrived he spent two weeks of playing in various historical locations and wine, spirit and beer cellars with all bed and board taken care of. He came back with some fabulous Polinka - pretty much just schnapps but with some great fruit variations not found in Germany. Very cool 😎


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 13, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> My mate plays the Tarragato (Hungarian clarinet) and was invited to play along with their annual festival. He was told to just book his flight and they would take care of the rest. So, when he arrived he spent two weeks of playing in various historical locations and wine, spirit and beer cellars with all bed and board taken care of. He came back with some fabulous Polinka - pretty much just schnapps but with some great fruit variations not found in Germany. Very cool 😎


Hungarians are VERY VERY precious & proud of their palinkas. They DO have a massive amount of flavours - some sane, some insane! - & they go from standard strength, up to about 70% ABV. They've also recently bought into the whole "ageing in wine/bourbon/brandy casks" thing, which has introduced even more flavours into the mix. The main cities have palinka shops like Edinburgh has single malt shops. just shelf after shelf after shelf of bottles, hundreds of varieties, & everything from reasonably priced, to "can only be afforded by Viktor Orban & his mates"!


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## Gin n tonic (Oct 13, 2021)

My Grams says we had some moonshiners in our family history. I think that's pretty cool, but no one wants to talk much about it. I'd love to know so I'm planning a family tree, they take forever tho


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## seeformiles (Oct 15, 2021)

Gin n tonic said:


> My Grams says we had some moonshiners in our family history. I think that's pretty cool, but no one wants to talk much about it. I'd love to know so I'm planning a family tree, they take forever tho



My friend’s grandma ran a big moonshine operation from a farm on the border of Yorks & Lancs. She was busted by the coppers in 1974 (she showed me the newspaper clippings) and, when she went to visit the farm a few years ago, discovered that the current occupant was one of the arresting officers! 

My great uncle ran a poteen still at Belfast shipyard and my German great grandmother made her own schnapps in the Black Forest. My Ma is quite pleased that I’m keeping an old family tradition alive with my modest efforts.


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 16, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> My friend’s grandma ran a big moonshine operation from a farm on the border of Yorks & Lancs. She was busted by the coppers in 1974 (she showed me the newspaper clippings) and, when she went to visit the farm a few years ago, discovered that the current occupant was one of the arresting officers!
> 
> My great uncle ran a poteen still at Belfast shipyard and my German great grandmother made her own schnapps in the Black Forest. My Ma is quite pleased that I’m keeping an old family tradition alive with my modest efforts.


"Family tradition" be damned! It's obviously in your genes!!! You've inherited a lust to cheat the state out of tax revenue though the medium of untaxed alcohol.


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## seeformiles (Oct 16, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> "Family tradition" be damned! It's obviously in your genes!!! You've inherited a lust to cheat the state out of tax revenue though the medium of untaxed alcohol.



Got my number 😉


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 16, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> Got my number 😉


I'm guessing there's an "Uncle Jessie" somewhere in your family?


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## seeformiles (Oct 16, 2021)

ViolentPanda said:


> I'm guessing there's an "Uncle Jessie" somewhere in your family?



More than a couple 😀


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 16, 2021)

seeformiles said:


> More than a couple 😀


I've several uncles who've all inherited a Del-boy" gene. It's quite embarrassing listening to a bunch of septuagenarian wheeler-dealers, sometimes...


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## seeformiles (Nov 4, 2021)

Found enough late and near frozen blackberries and elderberries to make one last gallon of wine. It’s been one hell of a season - 80 gallons of hedgerow plonk and 60 gallons of scrumpy. With any luck this should keep us warm through the winter and last us until early next summer


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## seeformiles (Dec 6, 2021)

First of the scrumpy (Apple, Blackberry & Elderberry) bottled and labelled for Xmas gifts


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## seeformiles (Jun 5, 2022)

The first foraged hedgerow plonk on the year - 2 gallons of elderflower champagne (plus another gallon of cordial for summer cocktails)


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## TopCat (Jun 5, 2022)

seeformiles said:


> The first foraged hedgerow plonk on the year - 2 gallons of elderflower champagne (plus another gallon of cordial for summer cocktails)
> 
> View attachment 325690


Top work. Tell us how you made the elder flower champagne please?


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## jontz01 (Jun 5, 2022)

Elderflower champagne is the absolute best. My mum used to make it when we were little, for some reason she buried the bottles somewhere down the bottom of the garden. Most likely to keep us from snaffling it.

I had a still in NZ as it was legal. Used to mix vodka with elder cordial and call it liquid gold.


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## extra dry (Jun 5, 2022)

I remember my mum making it and being nervous if it tasted bad, it was lush.


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## seeformiles (Jun 5, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Top work. Tell us how you made the elder flower champagne please?


Ingredients:

20 heads of elderflower
2kg sugar
Juice and zest of 6 lemons
Yeast
Water

Method

1) In a large saucepan, dissolve 2kg sugar in 4L hot water
2) Using a fork, separate all the elderflowers from their heads
3) When sugar is dissolved in the water, transfer the liquid to a fermentation bucket with airlock.
4) Add the lemon juice & zest and elderflowers
5) Add 1tsp champagne yeast
6) Leave to ferment for a week
7)At this point, you can transfer to screw-top bottles (afteryou may have to occasionally relieve the pressure caused by continuing fermentation) or transfer to another fermentation bucket and allow to ferment out completely. The latter will not have the characteristic fizz but will make a more alcoholic wine.

Tastes like drowning in a field of flowers 🌸


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## TopCat (Jun 5, 2022)

seeformiles said:


> Ingredients:
> 
> 20 heads of elderflower
> 2kg sugar
> ...


Thanks for taking the trouble. x


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## Sasaferrato (Jun 5, 2022)

jontz01 said:


> Elderflower champagne is the absolute best. My mum used to make it when we were little, for some reason she buried the bottles somewhere down the bottom of the garden. Most likely to keep us from snaffling it.
> 
> *I had a still in NZ as it was legal*. Used to mix vodka with elder cordial and call it liquid gold.


😮


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## Wolveryeti (Jun 11, 2022)

What is the best way to siphon brews into bottles? Have been siphoning using a length of hose into bottles in the sink but it's a bit of a messy approach and wondered if I could improve on it..


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## Sasaferrato (Jun 11, 2022)

Wolveryeti said:


> What is the best way to siphon brews into bottles? Have been siphoning using a length of hose into bottles in the sink but it's a bit of a messy approach and wondered if I could improve on it..


Put a spring clip on your tube, once each bottle is filled, it clips the tube shut, but maintains your 'suction', but stops overrun.


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## Scaggs (Jun 11, 2022)

Wolveryeti said:


> What is the best way to siphon brews into bottles? Have been siphoning using a length of hose into bottles in the sink but it's a bit of a messy approach and wondered if I could improve on it..


I've always used these:








						Little Bottler Complete with Tap
					

This an essential tool for bottle beer or cider.  Allows precise and easy filling of bottles, and limits foaming. Just what you need for bottling beer or cider.




					www.lovebrewing.co.uk


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## TopCat (Jun 11, 2022)

I just used to get overspill everywhere


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## friedaweed (Jun 11, 2022)

Wilkos do spring loaded bottle wand for a couple of quid. Really easy to use.


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## friedaweed (Jun 11, 2022)

This sort of thing









						Little Bottler (Automatic Bottle Filler) Bottling Stick - Stick Only
					

The Little Bottler is designed to swiftly and efficiently fill your bottles from your fermenter. The Little Bottler bottling stick fits into a dispensing tap with a narrow nose which can be used as usual. It also fits 1/2" bore PVC tubing. When the filling tube is fitted, inserting it into a...




					www.biggerjugs.co.uk


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## seeformiles (Jun 15, 2022)

Wolveryeti said:


> What is the best way to siphon brews into bottles? Have been siphoning using a length of hose into bottles in the sink but it's a bit of a messy approach and wondered if I could improve on it..


I siphon the brew into a 4 pint measuring jug then, using a funnel, fill up the bottles. Quicker and much less hassle all round. 🙂


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## seeformiles (Jul 4, 2022)

Bottling last November’s Apple/Pear/Elderberry/Blackberry scrumpy.m An end of season brew composed of many fruits since there wasn’t enough of any to do a solo 5 gallon. I give you “Red Death”


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## seeformiles (Jul 22, 2022)

Just had my first offer of apples from what is promising to be a bumper harvest. Bit too early to set up the cider press just yet but I reckon it’ll be getting plenty of use this autumn. 😎

(Amazed at how much wine/cider left over from last year - found 10 gallons of blackberry wine at the back of the garage. Same feeling you get when putting on a pair of seldom worn trousers and finding a £20 note in the pocket)


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## TopCat (Jul 25, 2022)

Any recipes for blackberries wine?


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## friedaweed (Jul 25, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Any recipes for blackberries wine?


I've got a book with one in somewhere. I'll ask her ladyship later.


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## friedaweed (Jul 25, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Any recipes for blackberries wine?


There yer go our kid. 



It's from an 80s book called Country wines and cordials.


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## friedaweed (Jul 25, 2022)

Oh hang on you want Blackberry, let me flick a few pages....


----------



## TopCat (Jul 25, 2022)

friedaweed said:


> Oh hang on you want Blackberry, let me flick a few pages....
> 
> View attachment 334440
> 
> View attachment 334439


Many thanks.


----------



## seeformiles (Jul 26, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Any recipes for blackberries wine?


My go-to is this one that’s been refined through trial and error:

For 1 gallon I would use 1.5kg of blackberries

1) Place the blackberries in a food grade plastic container with a lid and add 2 pints of water
2) Use a hand blender to pulverise the fruit, add a crushed Campden tablet and leave overnight
3) Using a straining bag (a thin tea-towel or old clean T-shirt will do) strain the mixture and discard the pulp
4) Place resulting liquid in a pan and dissolve a pound of sugar in it.
5) Once cool, pour into a demijohn, top up water to the gallon mark and add a tsp of yeast and a tsp yeast nutrient.
6) Seal with a fermentation lock, put in a warm place and allow to ferment out. This will vary depending on time of year or house temperature but when no more bubbles rise, it’s done.
7) Siphon off taking care to leave the sludge at the bottom of the demijohn and, once in a fresh container, add a Campden tablet to stop any further fermentation.
8) Put in a cool place to stabilise and clear. 

It will be drinkable now but will taste much better after 6 months.


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## TopCat (Jul 27, 2022)

I got another load of blackberries today. 3.7 kilo. My delivery from Willco with new brewing kit arrived so I got to it. 

I started 23 litres of blackberry wine, 23 litres of a real ale (that came with hops) and a velvet stout, again 23 litres. Set up a little paddling pool to act as a bunded spill tray in the spare room and put all three in that. 

I am going to avoid bottles if I can for the beer. They are such a faff. I am interested in pressure barrels but Wilco ones are a bag o' shite. Any recommendations?


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 27, 2022)

TopCat said:


> I got another load of blackberries today. 3.7 kilo. My delivery from Willco with new brewing kit arrived so I got to it.
> 
> I started 23 litres of blackberry wine, 23 litres of a real ale (that came with hops) and a velvet stout, again 23 litres. Set up a little paddling pool to act as a bunded spill tray in the spare room and put all three in that.
> 
> I am going to avoid bottles if I can for the beer. They are such a faff. I am interested in pressure barrels but Wilco ones are a bag o' shite. Any recommendations?


Not sure what they're like now but I have a couple of wilco pressure barrels that have been fine for me. Greasing the rubbers has always been the main learning point for me. Have you looked at the 5 litre can set ups TC? Bit more money but saves you having all your brew in one big bucket.


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## seeformiles (Jul 28, 2022)

6 gallons of blackberry and apple started yesterday. I know the apples are far from ripe but they were given to me by a friend who had to reduce her tree quite drastically after its size was causing a bit of neighbourly friction and the shock made all the fruit fall off. Rather than waste them, I thought they’d contribute a nice dryness to the brew. We shall see.


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## TopCat (Jul 28, 2022)

friedaweed said:


> Have you looked at the 5 litre can set ups TC? Bit more money but saves you having all your brew in one big bucket.


Tell me more?


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 28, 2022)

These sort of things...









						Mini Beer Keg - Ampulla Packaging - 0161 367 1414
					

The Mini Beer Keg is available with no minimum order value, or in bulk for large discounts. Buy from Ampulla Packaging today & save!




					www.ampulla.co.uk
				




There's a few hacks online for reusing supermarket bought ones. Currently Home and Bargains are doing 5ltr ones with Warstiener in at similar cost but you get to drink 5 ltrs of top Gerry beer before you reuse them. What's to not love about that? 

I did some a few years ago and they made great criggy gifts. You just give them a light prime and seal and they keep a lot longer than a brew in a full barrel.

These guys have them on offer full of sexy brew.









						Durham Brewery Mini Kegs
					

Can't get to the pub for your favourite Durham brewery beer? Or just having a few 'select friends' round for a drink, who's on your list?? We have a selection of 3 Durham Brewery beers 5ltr mini kegs to choose from (select from the drop down menu) Equivalent to approximately 8.8 pints. Store in...




					www.northumbriangifts.co.uk


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## friedaweed (Jul 28, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Tell me more?


As above


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## friedaweed (Jul 28, 2022)

The other one is to just get an old pub keg and get yoursell a handpump.


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## TopCat (Jul 29, 2022)

Thanks for the info. I was looking at these recently. Save lugging Demi johns about.


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## friedaweed (Jul 29, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Thanks for the info. I was looking at these recently. Save lugging Demi johns about. View attachment 335120


Yeah thats the proper stuff. If you can afford them then they are worth it.

I just picked up a 5ltr of Budvar for 15 sovs in Home Bargains because the kids are here for a bbq next weekend. If you want the empty I'll send it you. 

You used to be able to get the can ones like the commercial brewers use for about £8 a pop with bungs so do some research.

The thing I found about doing a full poly barrel was by the time you got half way through a keg of stout it started bananaing and went down hill. 

The small kegs keep it longer and the ale matures better. 

I cant brew currently so I'm a bit jealous mate. I'm just making sloe gin this year for the Mrs and Christmas gifts


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## TopCat (Jul 30, 2022)

friedaweed said:


> Yeah thats the proper stuff. If you can afford them then they are worth it.
> 
> I just picked up a 5ltr of Budvar for 15 sovs in Home Bargains because the kids are here for a bbq next weekend. If you want the empty I'll send it you.
> 
> ...


Brewing is taking my mind off other hobbies as it's too hot for them.


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## TopCat (Jul 30, 2022)

I want these. TripleJ Stainless Steel 10L Mini keg Growler


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## TopCat (Jul 30, 2022)

My wine and beer are going fucking mental.


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## TopCat (Jul 30, 2022)

If I obtained a pub style beer keg, a big one, can I modify the top to suit my needs or get an adapter? Anyone know?
Two are for sale, forty quid for two x 50 litre.


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## friedaweed (Jul 30, 2022)

TopCat said:


> If I obtained a pub style beer keg, a big one, can I modify the top to suit my needs or get an adapter? Anyone know?
> Two are for sale, forty quid for two x 50 litre.


Yup you can just buy a hand pump adapter and if you want to go whole hog you can get a Co2 line in as well.. 

I acquired mine from a local boozer a few years back. I just asked them if they had any spare and the guy gave me two Guinness ones that had been the yard for donks. 

If you can find a closed down pub there'll be loads in the yard. Its definately worth asking your local as they end up with spares they're happy to get rid of.

I made a planter out of one of them.


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## friedaweed (Jul 30, 2022)

They do half kegs as well which would be much better for HB


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## TopCat (Jul 30, 2022)

It’s encouraging. I am thinking why not? Do two identical 25 litre brews and keg it. 

I’m a bit unnerved by predicted £500 a month gas and lecky bills this winter. First stage of coping is how to have current lifestyle for cheaper. 

Brewing again has to be a tactic.


----------



## friedaweed (Jul 30, 2022)

TopCat said:


> It’s encouraging. I am thinking why not? Do two identical 25 litre brews and keg it.
> 
> I’m a bit unnerved by predicted £500 a month gas and lecky bills this winter. First stage of coping is how to have current lifestyle for cheaper.
> 
> Brewing again has to be a tactic.


Yep definitely a no bariner brewing your own grog. I just haven't got the space in the gaff yet. I'm just about to take the slate roof off our place, insulate, felt batten and relay it. So that'll keep me busy for a while.

Then the hobby room is getting taken back to bare brick and lime plastered. Once that's done I'll have a space to brew ale again. 

I do miss brewing beer.


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## seeformiles (Aug 5, 2022)

Cleared out the garage ready for the hedgerow plonk brewing season and siphoned off the remainder of last year’s brews (cider, wine and mead) - just under 5 gallons plus another 2 gallons in pint bottles. With the first blackberry wine of the year almost fermented out, I’m pleased that enough was brewed last year to keep us in free booze (well about 10p per litre) up to and beyond the start of this season 😎


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## TopCat (Aug 10, 2022)

Ordered two king kegs. I can’t be arsed with bottles anymore.


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## seeformiles (Aug 10, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Ordered two king kegs. I can’t be arsed with bottles anymore.


I store my booze in gallon containers but will bottle if giving out homebrew as gifts. As for the bottles, I have a neighbour who is a great source of real ale bottles but, if there’s a lot to be done I go to the bottle bank and make a withdrawal. Supermarket security tend to scratch their heads when I do this though.


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## friedaweed (Aug 10, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Ordered two king kegs. I can’t be arsed with bottles anymore.


Top man.


----------



## friedaweed (Aug 11, 2022)

seeformiles said:


> I store my booze in gallon containers but will bottle if giving out homebrew as gifts. As for the bottles, I have a neighbour who is a great source of real ale bottles but, if there’s a lot to be done I go to the bottle bank and make a withdrawal. Supermarket security tend to scratch their heads when I do this though.


I've always done OK for bottles. My mate works for Guinness and if they have a line break involving a pallet of bottles the lot goes in the sin bin. It's a expensive part if homebrewing if you can't source freebs.


----------



## two sheds (Aug 11, 2022)

My problem is keeping everything clean I'll swear I do it all properly but it comes out not right


----------



## friedaweed (Aug 11, 2022)

two sheds said:


> My problem is keeping everything clean I'll swear I do it all properly but it comes out not right


Starsan.


----------



## two sheds (Aug 11, 2022)

Will give it a try, ta. I do use VWP but I must be missing bits.


----------



## two sheds (Aug 11, 2022)

friedaweed said:


> Starsan.


Mainly from the US costs £20 plus £60 postage  One place I can see it for £11 postage (plus possible duty, like the others). Otherwise Chemsan seems available over here it does say similar to Starsan. Any experience of that?

eta: is ok I found some from UK, ta


----------



## TopCat (Aug 11, 2022)

I always used thin bleach and rinse a lot. I have now upgraded to some Wilco stuff.


----------



## existentialist (Aug 13, 2022)

I swear by Wilco fabric whitener. Oxy bleach, innit, cheap, and no perfume.


----------



## friedaweed (Aug 13, 2022)

two sheds said:


> Mainly from the US costs £20 plus £60 postage  One place I can see it for £11 postage (plus possible duty, like the others). Otherwise Chemsan seems available over here it does say similar to Starsan. Any experience of that?
> 
> eta: is ok I found some from UK, ta


I've had a bottle of starsan now for nay on 15 years and it's still 2 thirds full. You only need a couple of drops in a spray bottle and it's no rins. I think it's less than 5ml in a whole fermentation bucked and once it was in the to clean the bucket I threw the bottles the hoses the lot in and then started at scratch. 

Brew co do it for 13 quid. It'll last you for years and it's food grade. I used to use thin bleach on a stubborn barrel but I wouldn't want that in my ale.

If anyone's desperate you can have half of mine.


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## friedaweed (Aug 13, 2022)

existentialist said:


> I swear by Wilco fabric whitener. Oxy bleach, innit, cheap, and no perfume.


Yeah but your going to end up with residue of it in terms brew innit.


----------



## two sheds (Aug 13, 2022)

friedaweed said:


> I've had a bottle of starsan now for nay on 15 years and it's still 2 thirds full. You only need a couple of drops in a spray bottle and it's no rins. I think it's less than 5ml in a whole fermentation bucked and once it was in the to clean the bucket I threw the bottles the hoses the lot in and then started at scratch.
> 
> Brew co do it for 13 quid. It'll last you for years and it's food grade. I used to use thin bleach on a stubborn barrel but I wouldn't want that in my ale.
> 
> If anyone's desperate you can have half of mine.


Ordered and arrived ta  glad you gave me instructions though I shall take note


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## friedaweed (Aug 14, 2022)

two sheds said:


> Ordered and arrived ta  glad you gave me instructions though I shall take note


As we all do mate.


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## seeformiles (Sep 3, 2022)

Well this is a fine to-do! As the berry season starts to wane, it’s been a busy time so, by happy circumstance there’s no more room in the garage for any more wine and these fermenters have been forced to sit on the patio (all 24 gallons 😎). The apple season is about to kick off so will have to box/bottle/drink what we can to make some room.


----------



## TopCat (Sep 3, 2022)

seeformiles said:


> Well this is a fine to-do! As the berry season starts to wane, it’s been a busy time so, by happy circumstance there’s no more room in the garage for any more wine and these fermenters have been forced to sit on the patio (all 24 gallons 😎). The apple season is about to kick off so will have to box/bottle/drink what we can to make some room.
> 
> View attachment 340820


Top work 
I’m drinking my 2022 berry wine now. Needs must but it’s great. 

My beer in the king keg is good too. No more bottle faffing. 

Pity all my jam is gone though. I might go visit a pal in Yorkshire. Berries there are not yet ripe. Pick berries and wreck his kitchen.


----------



## seeformiles (Sep 3, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Top work
> I’m drinking my 2022 berry wine now. Needs must but it’s great.
> 
> My beer in the king keg is good too. No more bottle faffing.
> ...


Our first brew of 2022 is drinking nicely at the moment - early summer mix of crab apples, blackberries and wild raspberries with the raspberry coming to the fore. At the moment the elderberries are in their prime so looking forward to sampling the resulting elder/blackberry combos  😋.

(I’m in Yorkshire and the early berries are just starting to decline/rot a bit but there’s still a lot of late developers for the picking.)


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## seeformiles (Sep 23, 2022)

First 5 gallons of scrumpy of 2022 squeezed this morning. Several calls with offers of apples as well so hopefully a good cider season to supplement the 60 gallon legacy that the berry season has left. I love this time of year 🙂


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## TopCat (Sep 26, 2022)

I got busy and started two ales, a turbo cider and a red wine (merlot). All 40 pints each. 
It's getting harder to do the turbo cider as Asda and Lidl are applying restrictions on how much apple juice you can buy. I had to do a lot of walking to different shops today. Keeps me fit I guess...


----------



## friedaweed (Sep 26, 2022)

TopCat said:


> I got busy and started two ales, a turbo cider and a red wine (merlot). All 40 pints each.
> It's getting harder to do the turbo cider as Asda and Lidl are applying restrictions on how much apple juice you can buy. I had to do a lot of walking to different shops today. Keeps me fit I guess...


Which ales are you making TC?


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## TopCat (Sep 26, 2022)

friedaweed said:


> Which ales are you making TC?


One is a posh two tin IPA. The other a one tin cheaper ale. I got a load of liquid malt and used that as well as a bit of dextrose. I hate having to heat the ale to ferment it so it's all go as the background temps are perfect. I have been using a bubbler in the water for 48 hours to get the chlorine out and also PH'd the water to 6.5.


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## TopCat (Sep 26, 2022)

seeformiles said:


> First 5 gallons of scrumpy of 2022 squeezed this morning. Several calls with offers of apples as well so hopefully a good cider season to supplement the 60 gallon legacy that the berry season has left. I love this time of year 🙂


Have you got a big press?


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## seeformiles (Sep 26, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Have you got a big press?


It’s a medium 2 gallon capacity press. Works fine for me. Will post a pic when daylight allows 🙂


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## TopCat (Sep 26, 2022)

seeformiles said:


> It’s a medium 2 gallon capacity press. Works fine for me. Will post a pic when daylight allows 🙂


I saw some east European ones, proper hydraulic, robust.


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## friedaweed (Sep 26, 2022)

TopCat said:


> One is a posh two tin IPA. The other a one tin cheaper ale. I got a load of liquid malt and used that as well as a bit of dextrose. I hate having to heat the ale to ferment it so it's all go as the background temps are perfect. I have been using a bubbler in the water for 48 hours to get the chlorine out and also PH'd the water to 6.5.


Nice. I got a bit homesick for making beer at the weekend when I discovered one of our hedges was full of hop plants. I'm going to dry them and keep them for next year.


----------



## seeformiles (Sep 27, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Have you got a big press?


Just a medium one - cost about £120 10 years ago. I find it more efficient than a larger press and, with a big barrel of apple pulp, I can squeeze about 5 gallons in half an hour. Forgive the mess…


----------



## TopCat (Sep 27, 2022)

seeformiles said:


> Just a medium one - cost about £120 10 years ago. I find it more efficient than a larger press and, with a big barrel of apple pulp, I can squeeze about 5 gallons in half an hour. Forgive the mess…
> 
> View attachment 344616


I have the same press! It’s proving really useful.


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## TopCat (Sep 27, 2022)

How do you pulp the apples? Can you describe the process?


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## seeformiles (Sep 27, 2022)

TopCat said:


> How do you pulp the apples? Can you describe the process?


There’s a lot of gadgets out there for scratting them. A lot of them involve a lot of physical effort for minimal results. When I’ve got a serious amount of apples (1/2 ton or more) I use the “fruit shark”. This miracle from the Czech Republic pulps whole apples effortlessly with much sound and fury but is a bit of a bugger to clean afterwards.

Behold, the mighty fruit shark:


For smaller quantities, I halve them (or quarter them if they’re big buggers) and pulp them in a food processor, put the pulp into a sterilised dustbin and squeeze the pulp in batches (or “Cheeses” if we’re going to use the correct lingo 😉) into 6 gallon fermenters. Once squeezed, I add one Campden tablet per gallon (to kill all nasties and any wild yeasts) and leave overnight. Next day, I’ll add about 4kg of sugar to beef up the alcohol content, and a tsp each of champagne yeast and yeast nutrient. I’ll leave it to ferment slowly for about 3 months before racking it off and bottling. It produces a cider btw 7% and 10% abv so best drunk in halves to avoid social embarrassment and legal problems.


----------



## TopCat (Sep 30, 2022)

Well I have three beers, a cider and a wine on the go now. All 40 pints each. I got the usual "it's not working" after I cast my yeast. Now I am glad the lot are bunded e.g. sit in a paddling pool to catch foaming spillage. 

I have had problems with my two King Kegs I got recently. I lost pressure in one and had to keep gassing it until I had no gas left. I lost beer. Boo. I think I over tightened the lids maybe. Anyway I have bought a pair of pressure gauges. I will drill the lids of the kegs, fit the gauges and get a new gas refill. Then  test with water and hopefully have all set for when the first two beers are ready. The third will be decanted off the yeast and stored in another full bucket. 

My home stinks of ale and the sound of the bubbling is giving me a queasy belly.


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## kenny g (Oct 4, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Well I have three beers, a cider and a wine on the go now. All 40 pints each. I got the usual "it's not working" after I cast my yeast. Now I am glad the lot are bunded e.g. sit in a paddling pool to catch foaming spillage.
> 
> I have had problems with my two King Kegs I got recently. I lost pressure in one and had to keep gassing it until I had no gas left. I lost beer. Boo. I think I over tightened the lids maybe. Anyway I have bought a pair of pressure gauges. I will drill the lids of the kegs, fit the gauges and get a new gas refill. Then  test with water and hopefully have all set for when the first two beers are ready. The third will be decanted off the yeast and stored in another full bucket.
> 
> My home stinks of ale and the sound of the bubbling is giving me a queasy belly.


My king keg was used once and I couldn't get it to work due to leaks so sitting in a box. 2 litre fizzy drink PET bottles work well. Haven't brewed since I smashed my wrist back in August but am now getting the urge...


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 28, 2022)

Teaching a neighbour how to brew. She's from Hungary, where the beer selection is...lacking.
To ease her into it, we did a Mangrove Jack kit - the one for a raspberry Berliner Weisse. Came out lovely.
Next we're doing a honey & elderflower ale from basic ingredients - malt, honey, hops & elderflowers, plus some Nottingham Ale yeast.
Weirdly, homebrew hasn't really taken off in Hungary, although this may be because Czech beers are easy & cheap to come by.


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## friedaweed (Oct 28, 2022)

ViolentPanda said:


> Teaching a neighbour how to brew. She's from Hungary, where the beer selection is...lacking.
> To ease her into it, we did a Mangrove Jack kit - the one for a raspberry Berliner Weisse. Came out lovely.
> Next we're doing a honey & elderflower ale from basic ingredients - malt, honey, hops & elderflowers, plus some Nottingham Ale yeast.
> Weirdly, homebrew hasn't really taken off in Hungary, although this may be because Czech beers are easy & cheap to come by.


If you both enjoyed the Raspberry Weisse mate, and you haven't already, give this a try


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## TopCat (Oct 29, 2022)

Having another go with my King Kegs. I have bought pressure gauges that will be fitted into the lids. Got brews ready to go in them. 

Bought two glass containers. 26 litres  each. Good value and great for bulk ageing wine.


----------



## TopCat (Oct 30, 2022)

Anyopne ever tried one of these cleaner gadgets? Bottle Washer Wine Rinser Brass Carboy Jet Beer Cleaning Homebrew Single Blast   | eBay


----------



## friedaweed (Oct 30, 2022)

TopCat said:


> Anyopne ever tried one of these cleaner gadgets? Bottle Washer Wine Rinser Brass Carboy Jet Beer Cleaning Homebrew Single Blast   | eBay


Na always done the soak and rinse. Is to clean your carboys..fnar! fnar! 

It's the only way to enjoy anal play without the mess I've heard. 😉 ViolentPanda loaned me his once butt it was a bit of a squeeze getting it in.


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## TopCat (Nov 1, 2022)

My new 26 litre glass carboys. On the left is a “Merlot”, on the right a turbo cider. 
Next pic is two ales racked off plus a racked off ale in one of my King kegs. The other keg I broke the tap trying to do it up tight.


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## friedaweed (Nov 1, 2022)

Top work


----------



## TopCat (Nov 5, 2022)

Well I had pressure leaks on one King Keg and snapped the tap off the other. Sigh. So got a replacement tap and after cleaning etc tested with water. Pressure holds, yay! So syphoning the beer out of the pressure losing barrel into the good one. 
Then try and fix the leaking one. It's coming out of the lid seal and out of the pressure release valve on the S30 intake . I got a few full CO2 bottles off the fleabay so that's good. Hopefully get to drink this lot soon.


----------



## Pickman's model (Nov 5, 2022)




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## two sheds (Nov 10, 2022)

Am finally finally now that the temperature has dropped  going to have another go at brewing beer. I think my previous major problem (getting stuff clean) is now addressed thank you friedaweed . Next is temperature control. I put stuff in a (good) sleeping bag but then go off and forget it so the temperature from the heating pad varies wildly . So, this look good?


----------



## friedaweed (Nov 10, 2022)

two sheds said:


> Am finally finally now that the temperature has dropped  going to have another go at brewing beer. I think my previous major problem (getting stuff clean) is now addressed thank you friedaweed . Next is temperature control. I put stuff in a (good) sleeping bag but then go off and forget it so the temperature from the heating pad varies wildly . So, this look good?


I've never worried about temperatures because my old gaff was fairly constant temp in the kitchen when I brewed which was mainly early and late summer. One year I did a winter brew of 'Ditch's Stout' using a cheap aquarium heater which cost about 12 quid. I still have it somewhere if you want it. I know nothing of heat mats and temp controllers.

It was the best keg of stout I've made and was drunk in 3 sittings by me and my mates. One of whome worked at Guinness in Runcorn and he declared it better than the Liffey tar itself.

Here's the masterclass from the man himself. I bet he's deed now, from electric shock, found in a puddle of his own piss holding a plasterers mixing paddle 



			" Ditch's Stout " Master Class ..... - Home Brew Forum


----------



## SysOut (Nov 10, 2022)

stumbled on this


			Brewtarget
		



> Brewtarget is      _FREE_ brewing software, and an open source beer recipe creation tool available for Linux, Mac, and Windows. It automatically calculates color, bitterness, and other parameters for you while you drag and drop ingredients into the recipe. Brewtarget also has many other tools such as priming sugar calculators, OG correction help, and a unique mash designing tool. It also can export and import recipes in BeerXML, allowing you to easily share recipes with friends who use BeerSmith or other programs. All of this means that Brewtarget is your single, free, go-to tool when crafting your beer recipes.
> Download it!


----------



## TopCat (Nov 10, 2022)

SysOut said:


> stumbled on this
> 
> 
> Brewtarget


Try it and please report back.


----------



## TopCat (Dec 14, 2022)

I feel I over reached a bit this year with the brewing. I get big bursts of energy and optimistic visions of success followed by periods of achieving fuck all and getting a tad gloomy. 

Anyway I started a lot of brews and saved up for two King Kegs. I have not been able to get the King Kegs to hold pressure. I am experimenting with water and have installed pressure gauges but no success. Today is another go as it's getting urgent. I am installing new pressure relief valve rubbers. I have flattened and smoothed the main opening.  Then experiment with how tight to do the lid up. I don't want to deform the O ring.. 

I am hopeful but still. As a plan B I have saved up loads of bottles and these are are clean and about to be sterilised. I can get 30 litres bottled up for sure. Bottling up posed other issues though. These brews were intended for the keg and to be carbonated via CO2.  Consequently when the primary fermentation was complete I racked them off into new containers and added a Camden tablet to stop any fermentation.  I have therefore got to restart a little carbonating fermentation in the bottle. 

I assume the yeast is dead so am looking at adding a little fresh yeast with sufficient sugar  to water and starting it off before adding it to the big container, then bottling , after "a bit". 

Any thoughts, top tips, welcome.


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## friedaweed (Dec 14, 2022)

TopCat said:


> I feel I over reached a bit this year with the brewing. I get big bursts of energy and optimistic visions of success followed by periods of achieving fuck all and getting a tad gloomy.
> 
> Anyway I started a lot of brews and saved up for two King Kegs. I have not been able to get the King Kegs to hold pressure. I am experimenting with water and have installed pressure gauges but no success. Today is another go as it's getting urgent. I am installing new pressure relief valve rubbers. I have flattened and smoothed the main opening.  Then experiment with how tight to do the lid up. I don't want to deform the O ring..
> 
> ...


You could try a test bottle to see if there's any activity left in the yeast in the ale still. I've done that successfully after a couple of weeks but the bottled result wasn't my finest. 

A yeast starter could work but it depends on the abv you already have in the keg.  Secondary ferment might be more successful like you would with a Belgian ale. Can you get hold of a Belgian ale yeast like a tripple or a bock?


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## friedaweed (Dec 14, 2022)

What I mean is if your current ABV is already at the higher end of the peak performance of your ale yeast you might not get it to take. An yeast that can handle a higher abv will happily get started in the keg with something like a candy sugar or some glucose.

I've bulked stored ale for this sort of stuff quite successfully aiming for something around 8-9%. I assume your current kegs are chilled?


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## TopCat (Dec 15, 2022)

I used a high alcohol yeast and some honey and mixed it in. All the bottling has been done now. Nice to see clean, capped bottles. One King keg is now holding gas. I got a bit pissed last night testing the kegged beer.  It was very nice.


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## friedaweed (Dec 15, 2022)

TopCat said:


> I used a high alcohol yeast and some honey and mixed it in. All the bottling has been done now. Nice to see clean, capped bottles. One King keg is now holding gas. I got a bit pissed last night testing the kegged beer.  It was very nice.


How much honey?


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## TopCat (Dec 15, 2022)

friedaweed said:


> How much honey?


100 grams. Thirty litres of beer.


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## friedaweed (Dec 15, 2022)

TopCat said:


> 100 grams. Thirty litres of beer.


Should be lively then 😀

It's good fun getting in and out of tangles with yer beer. I've missed my brewing this year.


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## TopCat (Dec 15, 2022)

I'm worried about Christmas bottle bombs now.


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## Funky_monks (Dec 15, 2022)

I'd forgotten all about this thread. Chistmas mead bubbling away net to the burner.
Not sure it'll clear by then, its been cold. 
used Aldis orange blossom honey and a squeezed fresh orange, hopefully might add a bit of acid. The raisins seem to collect at the top....


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## friedaweed (Dec 15, 2022)

TopCat said:


> I'm worried about Christmas bottle bombs now.


Should be fine.


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## Funky_monks (Dec 15, 2022)

TopCat said:


> My new 26 litre glass carboys. On the left is a “Merlot”, on the right a turbo cider........


Where d'you get glass carboys that size?

I've got a couple of the old glass dairy tanks that are about that size, but the hole in the top is about 2" and threaded.......


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## TopCat (Dec 16, 2022)

Funky_monks said:


> Where d'you get glass carboys that size?
> 
> I've got a couple of the old glass dairy tanks that are about that size, but the hole in the top is about 2" and threaded.......


Ebay. About twenty five quid each, 25 litre.


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## kenny g (Saturday at 4:37 PM)

I bought a king keg for my first brew months ago and could never get it to hold the pressure so gave up. Kegthat have some videos on them which I find far too complex and it's gathering dust. Now use glass bottles and 2 litre coke or fizzy water bottles. Would love to get the king keg to work but worried about screwing up a brew.


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## existentialist (Saturday at 5:56 PM)

kenny g said:


> I bought a king keg for my first brew months ago and could never get it to hold the pressure so gave up. Kegthat have some videos on them which I find far too complex and it's gathering dust. Now use glass bottles and 2 litre coke or fizzy water bottles. Would love to get the king keg to work but worried about screwing up a brew.


I got one, years ago, and really never quite got it to work satisfactorily either.


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