http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Brew UK Forum » Forum: Beer Kits - Recent Topics en Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:34:36 +0000 http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/muntons-lager-flat#post-30518 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:11:05 +0000 Matty Cook 30518@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>My latest batch of lager , Muntons connoisseur lager has turned out tasting ok(ish) but its flat, there are a few tiny bubbles but its like the bottles have been opened for a day or so and gone flat.<br /> I followed all instructions, before I bottled I added 85g of sugar to 23l before bottling, when I made my Coopers lager I added a teaspoon of sugar to each bottle and turned out really nice and fizzy.<br /> Is it supposed to be flat? I have to add lemonade to give it any fizz &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_neutral.gif&quot; title=&quot;:|&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/kit-yeast-or-bought-yeast#post-30489 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:37:12 +0000 AKMild 30489@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I&#39;ve seen several people refer to the fact that the yeast sachet that comes with a kit can be old and therefore unreliable, and that they always buy their own choice of yeast to use. I&#39;ve not had a yeast failure with the sachets in the five kits that I&#39;ve done, but I couldn&#39;t tell from looking at the sachets themselves how old they are. The kit has a &#39;best before&#39; date which could refer to the yeast element, but does anyone have any thought on best practice here? If I were to buy my own yeast, what would I be looking for, given that I tend to brew fairly standard bitters (Wherry, St Peter&#39;s Ruby Red, Colne Valley, Nog and Highland Heavy are typical)? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/st-peters-ruby-red-2-quick-questions#post-30467 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:50:38 +0000 aderuk 30467@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Morning all I am going to be making this today and was wondering ,do you stir the hop pack in or just sprinkle it on top before sprinkling the yeast?<br /> Also when stiring the wort and water it creates a foamy head is it ok to sprinkle yeast straight on to the foam or should i let the foam subside first?</p> <p>Thanks........ </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/tweaked-wherry-looking-dicey#post-30304 Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:26:32 +0000 AKMild 30304@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>My fourth kit brew has been a tweaked Wherry, which went into the barrel three weeks ago. I&#39;ve taken a sample at two weeks and (tonight) at three weeks, and what I&#39;m getting does not feel right! After four weeks, my previous brews were all very lively out of the barrel and were nice and clear. Now, I know this has only been in the barrel for three weeks, but it&#39;s flat as a pancake, very cloudy and full of bits. The bits may be bits of hop following the dry hop, so I&#39;m not really worried about them, but the beer does not taste right and although I don&#39;t like fizzy beer, I would have thought that the three weeks it&#39;s been in the barrel would have generated some CO2 (I batch primed it).</p> <p>I&#39;m guessing that the cap may have leaked, which would explain the lack of CO2, but should the beer be so cloudy after three weeks? Can I save it with a CO2 cylinder and/or finings?</p> <p>This was the brew where I had a bit of trouble siphoning (see my previous post), and I&#39;ve had bad feelings about it ever since. Who said you couldn&#39;t go wrong with a Wherry kit? Any advice or helpful remarks much appreciated!</p> <p>Keith </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/16-oc-too-cold-to-ferment#post-30343 Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:47:03 +0000 alligator 30343@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi there,</p> <p>Looking for some advice...</p> <p>Relatively new to this homebrewing mullarkey, so wondered if anyone can let me know how critical the temperature is to fermentation? How cold is too cold?</p> <p>Currently had my homebrew in the FV for around a week, didn&#39;t do much for the first day, then went like the clappers for about 24 hours (18oC) and since hardly bubbled at all... temperature has dropped to 16oC. Is this too cold to ferment, or has the yeast simply finished doing it&#39;s business?</p> <p>After reading various posts on this forum, i&#39;m planning to leave for another week in the FV until transferring to a barrel to prime and condition... does this sound sensible?</p> <p>Any help/advice much appreciated.</p> <p>Thanks in advance,</p> <p>Alligator </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/coopers-brewmaster-sparkiling-ale-question#post-30291 Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:06:58 +0000 beertaster1 30291@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi everyone</p> <p>was looking for some advice can i use 1 kg of muntons brew enhancer in stead of the following </p> <p>Designed to be brewed with 1.5kg Light Malt Extract, 500g Light Dry Malt and 300g </p> <p>any advice much appriciated &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_biggrin.gif&quot; title=&quot;:D&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/ginger-beer-explosion#post-24460 Sun, 18 Dec 2011 12:26:19 +0000 skodaboy 24460@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello all,</p> <p>Hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas brewing.</p> <p>I have a very specific question. I have brewed ginger beer and bottled it- following the recipe on this site. I have used the champagne yeast, which has a fermentation range of about 7-35degrees (if memory serves). However, once I bottled the beer, I moved the bottles outside to ferment. At the moment the outside temperature is about 8 degrees during the day time and much less at night. The botttles haven&#39;t exploded yet and it&#39;s been over a week. </p> <p>I am aware that soon the weather will get to freezing and the bottles will explode from the expansion of the beer. But, if I bring the beer inside, the fermentation might pick up and the bottles might also explode.</p> <p>I&#39;m a newbie to bottling and would just like to know the risk of bringing the bottles inside. Sorry for the rambling details,</p> <p>Skodaboy </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/help-and-advice-please#post-30094 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:27:49 +0000 Leemo 30094@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi everyone</p> <p>Please be gentle with me I&#39;m new.<br /> I have been looking at getting my first full starter kit, i drink most things but prefer a good spec hen, hob gob and the likes. I asked advice at brew uk which set up would be best and because I really want to bottle they advised me to get the coopers kit.</p> <p>I was wondering what everyone else thought, I plan to make more ales like the wherry.<br /> Reading past posts you transfer from first stage to another bucket to then bottle but the coopers kit claims to be an all in one.</p> <p>Any help would be great </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/coopers-european-lager-1#post-28838 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:27:31 +0000 aderuk 28838@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I had one of these in the cupboard from a while ago and as i have nothing on the go i made it up last week,i used mauribrew 497 yeast instead of the yeast that came with the kit and 1kg of brewing sugar.Its now almost ready to batch prime and bottle.Now i got to thinking that when i made the tettnag extract kit after fermentation i split into 4 x 5L and put them in the fridge for 2 weeks (as per instructions) and then batch primed and bottled(great lager kit).<br /> Now my question is ,is it worth spliting and put 2 x 5L in the fridge for 2 weeks (kind of experimental) then batch prime and bottle whats left in the FV.Would i get an improved lager taste or would I be wasting my time ? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/newbie-question-co2-cartridges#post-29950 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:30:30 +0000 justinjerez 29950@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello. I&#39;ve recently started this new and exciting game with a St Peters golden ale kit. </p> <p>I live in a part of Spain where CO2 cartridges seem to be virtually unheard of and I know nothing about them myself, having never used one. </p> <p>I&#39;ve tried all the catering shops (thinking squirty cream canisters and soda streams), but no. The only place with any kind of CO2 cartridge was the bike shop where I bought two cartridges with threaded neck, but these are way bigger than the plastic holder (screws into the barrel top) which came with the kit. They are 16g, and obviously the wrong size.</p> <p>Can I use the 16g cartridges without the holder? Does the whole cartridge discharge once the seal is broken or is there some kind of valve mechanism in the neck? If this is not possible, then I assume the 8g cartridge is the correct size? I can get them ordered if this is the case.</p> <p>Thanks! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/kit-enhancement-black-ipa#post-29952 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:21:49 +0000 Barracuda 29952@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hey all.</p> <p>If I wanted to take an IPA beer kit (For example, Coopers) and steep some malts to make it into a pseudo Black IPA, would you suggest Dark Crystal or Roasted Dark malts to add the colour? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brew-3-st-peters-golden-ale#post-29890 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:44:59 +0000 merlin 29890@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Enjoyed Wherry 1.. sampling Wherry 2 (kegged 3 weeks ago )which, is more hoppy and too my liking. Another week and I will then slowly reduce the keg level with my son and friends. I have been very impressed with this, can I say, these &#39;&#39;modern kits&#39;&#39;. I&#39;m hoping the Golden Ale is as good, I have a question regarding this kit and it&#39;s need for to look good i.e.&#39;clear &amp; bright&#39; just because it is a lighter ale, more so than Wherry. Is it ok to use Isinglas finings along with the 80gr priming extract as I syphon it into the keg, will it effect/stop the C02 production and conditioning. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brew-belts-and-temp-control#post-27548 Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:11:43 +0000 mereapprentice 27548@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi Folks</p> <p>I have a brew-belt which I use on my fermenter, as I am obliged to place it in an unheated room in the house. General advice seems to be to ferment at between 18 - 22 degrees. The belt&#39;s instructions refer to outside temperature and &#39;inches height&#39; to control temperature, but I think my intial ferments always go too high. Fermentation is usually stopped after 5 days, and I can detect a flowery note to my recent brews. I only have one of the crappy stick-on thermometer strips that came with the initial kit, which I don&#39;t trust at all. Don&#39;t really want to be taking the lid off and taking temp readings with a &#39;real thermometer, do I? Any users of brew-belts out there who can impart some advice? In weather like today (roughly 7 degrees outside), how high up the bin would you place your belt?</p> <p>Thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/more-questions-hydrometer-reading-etc-with-photo#post-29781 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:36:16 +0000 Gazaloid 29781@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all,</p> <p>First and foremost, a big thanks to everyone on the site for passing on the knowledge which has allowed me to brew my first beer. After 14 days of checking up on the FV, I&#39;ve now managed to siphon the brew off to my keg and am really looking forward to tasting it afer accidentally getting a mouthful during the transfer &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_biggrin.gif&quot; title=&quot;:D&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> <p>I&#39;d be really grateful if you could help with a few questions:</p> <p>1. I&#39;ve been reading about hydrometers and although a lot of people are talking about different final readings (e.g. 1012-1014 etc), I was wondering what the reading on this attached pic is - <a href="http://tinypic.com/r/24exdlu/7" rel="nofollow">http://tinypic.com/r/24exdlu/7</a><br /> The reason why I ask is that it looks to me like it&#39;s sitting at around 16 on the scale (10 plus the three gradient markings which I assume are quantities of 2). So how does that reading get translated into the 1012/1014 format? </p> <p>2. Once that&#39;s sorted, I&#39;m curious to understand how does this reading looks for a St Peter&#39;s Ruby Red? </p> <p>3. I added 70g of sugar to the first couple of pints that I transferred to the keg. I literally dropped it into the keg and gave it a good shake and stir - will this affect the CO2 or would it have been better to mix with warm water (as I later discovered on the forum here)?</p> <p>4. I&#39;m leaving it to gas-up at the same temperature as it fermented (between 20-23 degrees) but then plan moving it somewhere cooler to clear and condition. The porch is quite a bit cooler at around 10 degrees - is this too low?</p> <p>5. And finally (sorry!) - I have the injector cap on in case I run out of CO2 but was wondering how to top it up? How long do you let the gas canister sit on top for?? Is it a short burst or does it simply sit in place?</p> <p>So many questions...apologies...but I&#39;m getting excited at the prospect of getting stuck into this! Second kit is being ordered tonight (think I&#39;ll go for the Wherry).</p> <p>Thanks again all.</p> <p>G </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-batch#post-29630 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:32:39 +0000 beany151067 29630@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>well i have just drunk 4 pints of my first batch of youngs lager a little flat but now i have to find my bed.... </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/great-eastern-ale#post-28126 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:05:12 +0000 Simple Simon 28126@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello all, I would like to say thank you as I had a bit of a problem with getting fermentation to start. A quick trawl through the forum and hey presto problem solved. Fermentation under way thanks to placing the FV next to the radiator and putting a blanket over it has done the trick.<br /> I added three tablespoons of honey to the FV as a bit of an extra taste, however the OG reading was 1032 but I don&#39;t know the temp is this right. I would say it was a low temp as that&#39;s why fermentation didn&#39;t start. Is this OG okay or is it low, which will give me a weak finished beer? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/a-beginners-question-re-leaving-the-beer-in-the-fermenting-bucket#post-29689 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:56:45 +0000 robdogs 29689@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello fellow brewers!<br /> I have a question regarding the amount of time I can leave my brew in the fermenting bucket before bottling it. It&#39;s been in for 14 days and I&#39;m just waiting for my bottles to be delivered so I can syphon it all off (I was a bit lax in ordering them). If I leave the beer in the vessel for longer than a fortnight, will it impair the taste? Any advice is very useful.<br /> Cheers!<br /> Anthony </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/nelsons-revenge-too-much-water-1#post-29432 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:21:19 +0000 Chile_uk 29432@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all, </p> <p>I have just mixed up and put into FV my xmas present of Nelson&#39;s Revenge. I made it up according to instructions but the only part i have got wrong is the amount of water i put in. I measured out the 3.5 litres of boiling water and mixed the malt extract. Then filled up using a 4 litre vessel in these increments 3.5 - 7.5 - 11.5 - 15.5 - 19.5. Then when i looked at the side of the FV, it was near enough to the 23 litre mark! So i didn&#39;t put in the last 1 litre per instructions. Hopefully my FV shows it wrong as i want this one to turn out nice!</p> <p>What will a little but too much water do? is there anyway i can remedy it? i want to get it to 5% then bottle it. Gonna keep it in primary for 10 days then bottle it into 1 litre pets. </p> <p>Any suggestions?</p> <p>Cheers </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/using-honey-golden-syrup-herbs-with-a-kit-brew#post-18433 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:03:16 +0000 Loz 18433@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi,<br /> I&#39;d really like to try using honey &amp;/or golden syrup in my kit brews.<br /> Seen a lot of info regarding extract &amp; all grain brewing, but none for kits.</p> <p>Would simply priming a few bottles with it work ok? </p> <p>How much to use per bottle? (I&#39;ve heard to go light with honey to avoid explosions!)</p> <p>Also I have Lovage herb growing in my garden &amp; think it would work well with beer. Should I go for a secondary &amp; steep it for a few days before priming? Or put it in the primary? (I suspect not...)</p> <p>I&#39;m not going to risk a whole 5gallon brew with this, just a few bottles worth at first...</p> <p>Cheers! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wherry-still-bubbling-after-14-days#post-29100 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:01:27 +0000 happystamps 29100@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all, I&#39;m a bit new to this so I apologise in advance for the &quot;newb&quot; question, and would like to say thanks for all the info I&#39;ve already had from this forum- reading other people&#39;s posts has helped me quite a bit.<br /> Anyway, I&#39;ve a Wherry kit that&#39;s been in my FV for 14 days now, gravity has been 1.01 for the last 2 days, (started out at 1.03, although that was after adding the yeast). I&#39;m using a &quot;bubbler&quot; style airlock, as the original popped off one day and I couldn&#39;t find the top. It&#39;s still bubbling every half an hour or so, and i&#39;m concerned that it&#39;s not done yet.<br /> I&#39;m just worried that if i barrel it now, I&#39;ll have screwed something up... can anybody help?<br /> Thanks in advance, Simon </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/a-decent-pilsner-kit#post-87 Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:00:45 +0000 mikehawley 87@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi Guys</p> <p>Well my first brew (Coopers Australian) is going to be bottled up this weekend after spending a week in my garage which has dropped to a very chilly 2 degrees over the past couple of days bbbbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrr. Guessing winter is going to be good for brewing lager!!</p> <p>Anyway, I'm going to get another brew on the go. Now I really like Amstel, and German/Czech Pilsners.</p> <p>Has anyone got any ideas of a good kit to use for a nice pilsner, and any differences in brewing.</p> <p>I would love to have a go at AG, but with this being my second brew (and not actually knowing what the first one has turned out like yet), i think I'll play it safe lol!</p> <p>So if anyone has any reccomendations for a good pilsner, i'm all ears</p> <p>Cheers Guys</p> <p>Mike </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/newbie-2#post-28454 Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:42:03 +0000 braze 28454@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi All</p> <p>Wish I&#39;d discovered this forum prior to testing out the Youngs microwbrewery kit that I received for Christmas. I don&#39;t think I&#39;ve gone too far wrong but having read a few posts I think my next attempt will be better. I have just brewed the Woodfords Wherry kit, sadly the hydrometer was smashed when I opened the kit so I wasn&#39;t able to monitor the gravity. I transferred to the barrel after 10 days (guess I should have left it another four). My house is pretty much the same temperature everywhere and I have no outside buildings so the beer stayed at around 20C throughout. I tried the beer last night, it had been in the barrel for 11 days. It was drinkable but very bitter (more than my taste), will this improve if I don&#39;t touch it for another 10 days or so? I added 85g of sugar at barreling.<br /> Any advice greatly appreciated.<br /> Cheers </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wherry-question#post-28617 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:12:36 +0000 aderuk 28617@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I have some more wherry on order but was wondering as it is a two tin pack are both tins identical, and if they are could i make 10L up in one FV from one tin ,and another 10L from the other tin in another Fv.Only asking as i wanted to dry hop one batch to see if there is much difference.</p> <p>Also while im asking ,say the coopers for example the one tin kits that do 23L ,what would happen if you used two tins for one 23L batch.</p> <p>Thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hydrometer-reading-too-low#post-28488 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:15:05 +0000 dht1984 28488@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello all, I&#39;m new to homebrewing and having a go at a kit bitter (a Christmas present). It&#39;s been fermenting for six days now. I took a hydrometer reading yesterday which came out at 1.007. This seemed to tally with what I&#39;d been led to expect as a final reading and I was all set to bottle tomorrow if the reading stayed constant, but today the reading has dropped to 1.003. This is a bit lower than I was expecting, given the sort of numbers I&#39;ve been reading elsewhere. Is this likely to be a problem? Any ideas as to the cause? To be honest, I&#39;m not entirely sure how accurate the hyrdometer readings are: the hydrometer came in the kit and it doesn&#39;t say what it is calibrated to. I&#39;m assuming it&#39;s 20C. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/beer-kit-bought-for-dad-am-i-doing-this-right#post-28497 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:52:06 +0000 ellinoz 28497@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all,</p> <p>I bought a beer-brewing kit for my Dad for Christmas. He&#39;s ill and is unfortunately unable to do it himself now, so my uncle started it last week. It&#39;s a Youngs Harvest Bitter kit, and we used Munton&#39;s Enhancer. </p> <p>I know my uncle sterilised everything before he started, and I think he put in the malt syrup stuff (see how technical I am!) and then added the Muntons before topping up with cold water. He didn&#39;t go up to the top of the bin - 35 pints, instead of 40. He then sprinkled the yeast on top - didn&#39;t stir it, left the lid balanced on top, not pressed on, and put it into a cupboard. </p> <p>This is the crucial bit: he then threw the instructions away!</p> <p>So I&#39;m trying to work out what to do from this forum, but would love a bit of advice to make sure I&#39;m doing this right: </p> <p>- The kit was started on 11 Jan. No hydrometer reading was taken!<br /> - I took a reading on 18 Jan (this Weds) and the reading was 1.012. We don&#39;t have a thermometer that will read it (our medical one just screams &#39;Low!&#39; at us, so I know the beer would be suffering from severe hypothermia if it were human...) so I can&#39;t tell if it&#39;s 20C. If necessary I&#39;ll order a thermometer from the internet.<br /> - I took a reading again today and it still says 1.012 so it seems stable. The thing is, I read somewhere that you shouldn&#39;t bottle it until it gets to 1.006, and other advice on the site saying that it never/rarely gets that low. Is it OK to start bottling it now do you think?</p> <p>Finally - there&#39;s some greyish scuzz on the surface of the beer, and a few inches of it around the edge of the bin just above the liquid level too. When I bottle it, do I need to do some sort of filtering to get rid of this or am I OK to just use the hose provided and siphon the booze into the bottles?</p> <p>Sorry for all the questions - we really would like Dad to be able to enjoy a good pint as he&#39;s poorly, but obviously poisoning him is not the desired result!</p> <p>Thanks!<br /> Ellie </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/broke-hydrometer#post-28494 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:18:50 +0000 Spenglatron 28494@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>All,</p> <p>For some stupid reason I put my sample taken for a hydrometer reading back in th FV. Once sealed up and placed somewhere warm, I then went to clean the bomb site known as a kitchen.</p> <p>The is when I found the hydrometer smashed and my sample pot full of black balls.</p> <p>Not sure if I should ditch the batch and put it down to experience &amp; stupidity, or just leave it a week and bottle it up anyway.</p> <p>Glad for some help.</p> <p>Thanks. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/tom-caxton-real-ale-hop-enhancer#post-15689 Mon, 30 May 2011 15:03:07 +0000 Jim 15689@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi there,</p> <p>Am very new to the wonderful world of home brew and put my second brew on this morning, Tom Caxton Real Ale (first brew is BREWFERM Tarwebier that is beginning to look good!).</p> <p>The Caxton Real Ale kit comes with a Hop Enhancer of which I used a third (don&#39;t like it too bitter) but messed up and instead of adding it as step 4 (with the dark spray malt to hot water) I added it at step 7 with the yeast after adding the 19 litres of cold water, darn!!</p> <p>Will this have a significant effect to the outcome, have I massively messed it up!!</p> <p>Jim. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-brew-kit#post-28152 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:06:08 +0000 powertoolpete 28152@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I am half way through making my first lot of beer and I was told that I needed to leave the Coopers Lager in the bucket for 10 days before putting into the keg, I have now found out that most websites tell you leave for 4-6 days. How will this affect my beer? Should I continue or bin it and try again?<br /> Pete </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/panic-panic-heeelp#post-28239 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:42:14 +0000 Dan2002 28239@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>OK, just checked gravity in wherry again and it&#39;s ready for barreling. I&#39;ve transferred the brew into my new barrel, vase lined the cap up per instructions and left it in the kitchen with some sugar to prime - the problem is I&#39;m getting drips around the seal of the barrel tap - WHAT DO I DO??? It&#39;s not loads but with pressure likely to build can I leave it or should I take other action - HEEEELLLLLP!!! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/worried-man#post-25085 Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:31:24 +0000 johnwill666 25085@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>not at all sure what to do with my muntons gold old conkerwood ale ,its been in the fermenter bubbling away very regular after a fastish start 15-30 secs now every 60 secs at approx 20c for 14 days took a reading yesterday of 1.022 when the kit says 1.014,today still 1.022,temp inside fv 23c,would this account for the difference ,the wort is still bubbling every 60 secs,and because of a big foamy head and an attack of thirst never took a reading at the start of the brew which i now regret,and promise by the Mighty Brew God not to miss again.C</p> <p>hristmas drink went down great,2nd barrel of st peters red,and a barrel of blackmoor stout not much left in neither,all the shop brought still under the table untouched (emergency supplies)would be very grateful for some advice,wishing all merry chritmas and a happy new year. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/milestonedasher-the-flasher#post-26686 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:29:34 +0000 Mark81 26686@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Evening all.<br /> I have seen in my local homebrew shop today that Milestone Dasher the Flasher is on offer. Probably because Xmas is over. Anyway I believe some of you have been drinking this over Xmas (seamus48).<br /> Is it any good? I was thinking of getting one and saving it until its near expiration date then brewing and leaving for Xmas. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/dark-wherry#post-27710 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:21:35 +0000 Formicidae 27710@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi there,</p> <p>New to the forum (although introduced by my dad, &#39;Merlin&#39;).</p> <p>We&#39;ve just put down my first home brew using a standard Woodfordes Wherry kit, but with a couple of tweaks:</p> <p>1. Steeping Goldings hops and then adding liquid at fermentation stage.<br /> 2. Dry hopping,a gain with Goldings hops, after 4 days.</p> <p>All appears to be going well, with lots of bubbling by the little yeasty beasties in the first week (although this has calmed down now - approx. 8 days since started).</p> <p>I was just wondering whether the colour of the brew is &#39;right&#39; as it appears to have got darker and darker since we put it down last weekend. I&#39;ve attached a pic.</p> <p><img src="https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D6532803_81_7825445678"></p> <p>Would be grateful for your comments/suggestions.</p> <p>Thanks,</p> <p>Jonny </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/keg-beer-into-bottles#post-26264 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 01:02:08 +0000 iceman 26264@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Am I right in thinking that once you put your brew in a keg you can take some out and bottle it. I seem to remember doing this but cant remember how long I left it in the keg before I drew a few bottles off.<br /> The reason for asking is that I have put my first brew (Brupacks Pride of Yorkshire) in a keg today and was wanting to get another one going doing a few alterations. So I was thinking of bottling say 4 500ml bottles from this kit and 4 from the next to see what the difference is. I have primed the barrel with sugar.<br /> Should I draw the bottles straight away or wait a week and should I prime the bottles or just straight from the keg to bottle and store away. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/noob-needing-bit-of-help#post-25466 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:53:38 +0000 iceman 25466@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all just got back into making home brew after 15 years and I have forgot a few things.<br /> I got a complete kit with king keg barrel bin and kit heating belt and all the other bits and bobs needed.<br /> The brew is Pride of Yorkshire by Brupaks. I used the yeast that came with the kit but after reading on here it would have been better getting a different one but two late now.<br /> So I followed the instructions to the letter put the fv in my conservatory (out of the way of everyone) and put the heating belt on.<br /> I have a steady temp of about 18-20 with a stick on thermometer on the outside of the bin.<br /> I started the brew 3 days ago and it foamed up as it should but know looks like it is going flat already.<br /> This seems to have done very quick is this normal or has something gone wrong I am going to check the gravity in the morning to see what I get. Also when I put it in my barrel should I put the heating belt on it for a couple of weeks.<br /> Thank You<br /> Mark </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/imrpoving-a-budget-kit#post-27576 Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:00:40 +0000 wyndham 27576@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi I have been given a Youngs Harvest Yorkshire Bitter kit, a great and very generous gift over the festive season. I have however in the past had poor success with the basic/budget kits and moved onto using hops and grain and malt extract brewing, which I have had some real success with. The beers are always full bodied and full flavored, better than the pub me thinks.</p> <p>Can anyone recommend what I could do with this to vastly improve the quality? should I add malt extract instead of sugar, try a different yeast, or even add more grain and hops?</p> <p>Thanks in advance! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/youngs-sanitiser#post-27505 Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:53:06 +0000 simond_86 27505@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello All!</p> <p>I&#39;m just about to start my 2nd brew, still waiting on the first to condition. But have a question about the sanitiser (Youngs) that came with my micro brewery. When I&#39;ve made up a solution and finished sanitising my equipment today, can I keep the solution in my other bucket till I&#39;m going to bottle in a couple of weeks? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/5-questions-from-a-newbie#post-27321 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:15:50 +0000 henryhenryhenry 27321@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi,</p> <p>1) I have been brewing Coopers Australian Pale Ale with Brew Enhancer 2 for 2 weeks at temperatures of 15C-23C (Mostly around the bottom end of this scale, which I think is a little cold, will have to fix this next time round). It hasn&#39;t been bubbling in the airlock recently so I pressed on the lid a little bit yesterday to equalise the 2 levels of water and today they have moved a couple of millimetres (But I can&#39;t tell if this is just due to temperature fluctuations or fermentation at very slow speeds). I got a home brew book the other day that recommended I took the last 2 digits of my gravity divide it by ten and primary ferment it for this long. My OG was 1041 so I planned to leave it for another 2 weeks but I&#39;m a little worried my Yeast could die without food (or will it just go dormant?), I think I need some living Yeast when I transfer to my keg with extra sugar to make it fizzy? </p> <p>2) I have been looking round the internet at how much sugar I should add when I transfer to my keg and I&#39;ve got all kinds of answers, I was thinking maybe 150grams of granulated sugar, what do you think? </p> <p>3) I have 10 small canisters containing 8grams of CO2, do they need to be added as well as sugar to the keg upon kegging, or just towards the end when the tap gets a bit slow? </p> <p>4) How long should the Brew be left in the keg and What sort of temperatures should my keg be? (sorry that question was sort of compound :lol:)</p> <p>5) Can you use CO2 cannisters by using your strength/weight or do I need an injector?</p> <p>Thank you very much in advance, I really appreciate it! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wherry-first-brew-ever-help#post-26035 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:15:45 +0000 Dan2002 26035@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi,</p> <p>I&#39;ve been enjoying beer boxes from Woodfordes for a while now and was bought a Wherry Micro-brewery for Christmas. I&#39;ve just started fermentation of the first batch and have a few (probably silly) questions that I was hoping someone may be able to help with?:-</p> <p>1) Should I be using something like supermarket spring water for the added cold water per instructions or is tap water OK - I&#39;ve tried the latter?<br /> 2) The hydrometer measure 1.038 at this stage, I&#39;ve seen the forum quoting around 1.012 for Woodfordes BUT the instructions on the Hydrometer say don&#39;t keg until under 1.006 due to pressure risk - which should I be looking for and is there pressure issues if I&#39;m using the Youngs kit barrel with the CO2 brass value on top? Is my current reading correct?<br /> 3) How can I tell the alcohol content of the brew at any given stage?<br /> 4) My airlock valve is around half full with water when shut - is this right? It sticks a little when closed and if I nudge it bubbles up. Should I be keeping it closed or leave it to it&#39;s own devices (it seems to gradually rise up quite a way on its own?)<br /> 5) In around 10 days (box says 6, forum 14) I was going to move it into my barrel, I assume I can just remove the lid on the fermenter at this stage and not worry too much about the air around the brew???<br /> 6) Any syphoning tips, I struggled to keep a constant flow for my hydrometer sample first time around?<br /> 7) How long will the beer keep in the barrel?<br /> &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_cool.gif&quot; title=&quot;8)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; Will I be OK to put the barrel in my garage a couple of days after transfer - how sensitive is it to temperature at this stage?</p> <p>Sorry so many Q&#39;s - thanks to anyone who can help - it will be much appreciated,</p> <p>Dan </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/can-i#post-27053 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:56:11 +0000 johnwill666 27053@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I have 2 wherrys to brew,could i use a pack of nottingham yeast in one and both packs of yeast that come with the kits in the other ,i think it would be ok but need guidance. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/a-bit-of-advice-needed-for-christmas-ale#post-23706 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:01:49 +0000 flacky2000 23706@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi there, I&#39;m very new to home brewing and this is only my second effort and to keep with the Christmas spirit I decided to go with the Muntons premium gold santa.<br /> The beers has now been fermenting for about 2 weeks at about 15 degrees and i&#39;m concerned that the temperature is too low and it has not finished fermenting (I had to do it at my work due to space issues at home). I have taken a hydrometer reading two days ago and today and the reading is 1.020 which I have been told is still a bit high, is this true? I thought that if the hydrometer reading stayed consistent then it was finished fermenting.<br /> Also there is quite a lot of sediment still in the FV so what will happen to this as I obviously don&#39;t want to drink it.<br /> Moving on; I plan to bottle some of the beer and then put the rest into a barrel, what sugar / malt extract would anyone recommend using and how much?</p> <p>Thanks a lot for your time </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/use-by-date#post-27021 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:26:12 +0000 sohereweare 27021@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi folks, can anyone advise how long a brew would last once put in barrel?</p> <p>I currently have a third of one in my garage for a while and unsure how long i&#39;ve got to finish it...</p> <p>Thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/starting-another-kit#post-26140 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:01:19 +0000 mugins 26140@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>i just about to start another young kit.and i was wondering about the sugar.if i replace the household sugar with Dried Malt Extract.how much will i need to use.to replace 1kg of sugar. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/good-week-for-free-brew-kit-stuff#post-26661 Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:43:52 +0000 jezmondo 26661@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Well what a week..</p> <p>1,I got a free keg from my father inlaw</p> <p>2, a load of stuff from free cycle,roto brew keg,fermenter,immersion heater,spoon,co2 canister</p> <p>3,and just when i thought that was enough my last customer today said he had some glass brew beer beer bottles,made for the job in crates,prob 30 or so.</p> <p>The fermenter and keg from free cycle is quite old,and a bit yellow,but all very clean,and boxed with instructions!!! i take it if the plastic goes yellow thats ok???</p> <p>looks like loads want to get rid of brew stuff ,but also loads who want to get into it,so keep your eyes ot </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/chocolate-stout#post-26494 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:54:56 +0000 davidjohnpayne1980 26494@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all<br /> I&#39;ve just put a coopers stout on. I made it with 1kg Dark spray malt and intent to leave it in FV for 2 weeks/until gravity remains stable.<br /> I then want to keg it. </p> <p>Would people recommend 80g brewing sugar, or something else? Treacle?</p> <p>I also would like to add some cocoa nibs to make a young&#39;s styles chocolate beer. Has anyone tried this?</p> <p>If so did it taste nice? and how many grammes of nibs and when did you add them?</p> <p>Thanks</p> <p>Dave </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/storing-hops#post-26381 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:30:32 +0000 AKMild 26381@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I bought some vacuum-packed hops to use in a tweaked Wherry recently but didn&#39;t use them all. I&#39;ve pegged the bag, but it&#39;s been a room tempreature for a fortnight since I opened it. Will these hops keep, or should I compost them now and use a freezer in future? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brew-buddy-kit#post-25902 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:36:27 +0000 DamoWarrior 25902@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi I have been wine making for 5 years nothing fancy just using the syrup solutions, I have just been given a brew buddy kit for christmas but I would like to know how to get the beer, lager, stout, bitter how it is in a pub with fizz(carbonated) I dont have a barrel I was just going to bottle the stuff.</p> <p>What else do I need??</p> <p>How much will it cost me???</p> <p>Cheers Damo </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/thank-you-%e2%80%93%c2%a0and-watch-out-for-that-vaseline#post-26188 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:59:48 +0000 jamesianbriggs 26188@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I&#39;d imagine I&#39;m not alone in lurking on here while the first Wherry ferments. But today I wanted to break cover and say thank you for this forum&#39;s collective wisdom – and particularly to Saracen.</p> <p>Having barreled said Wherry this evening, I was screwing on the keg lid and noticed that the faint circle of the rubber washer looked a bit asymetrical through the plastic. I doubt I&#39;d have noticed usually but somewhere in the back of my mind, a bell rang. And sure enough – as predicted here –  I&#39;d put a bit too much Vaseline on and the washer had popped out of its groove.</p> <p>Five minutes of swearing and boiling water later, all is well.</p> <p>These are the things they don&#39;t warn you about in the instructions. So thank you!</p> <p>Amarillo kit in post... </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/dry-hopping-woes#post-26176 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:46:31 +0000 AKMild 26176@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Three days after making up a Wherry kit with spraymalt I added a handful of hops, per Saracen&#39;s tweak. Came to siphoning into a secondary FV today prior to kegging and I didn&#39;t think it through properly and ended up with hops clogging the siphon tube, and having to continually start siphoning again, which I&#39;m sure didn&#39;t do the brew any good. Ended up with soggy hops everywhere and the brew exposed to more air than I would have liked. Hope it turns out OK, but if not, it&#39;s a lesson learned! &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_sad.gif&quot; title=&quot;:(&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; I&#39;ll probably try a muslin bag or hop tea next time. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/where-is-the-sugar#post-25899 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:30:12 +0000 Tim 25899@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I have been brewing beer for about a year now and have so far only have only used the type of beer kits that don&#39;t require additional sugar such as <a href="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/woodfordes-wherry-bitter-3kg-40pt.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/woodfordes-wherry-bitter-3kg-40pt.html</a>.</p> <p>I&#39;d like to try some others such as <a href="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/beerkits/coopers/coopers-brewmaster-india-pale-ale-1-7kg.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/beerkits/coopers/coopers-brewmaster-india-pale-ale-1-7kg.html</a> The description for this product says &#39;1Kg of additional sugar required.&#39; but I&#39;m not sure what sugar I should be using.</p> <p>I can see spraymalts on the brewuk website, but I think I can also use &#39;brewers sugar&#39; which I think is a cheaper option? I can&#39;t find anything on the website called &#39;brewers sugar&#39; though. Can someone point me in the right direction, or could I just use ordinary caster sugar from the supermarket? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/recommendations-for-a-second-brew#post-24845 Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:19:28 +0000 Gunhoe 24845@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all,<br /> Looking for some suggestions for my second brew, my first was a young&#39;s larger.the one that came with the kit.<br /> It all seems to have gone well enough, after about 28 days I have a clear largerish tasting bevaridge that I&#39;m happily supping my way through,<br /> but the only thing is, it doesn&#39;t have any real kick to it, to be honest it&#39;s a bit boring. I think that i rushed though the first stage of fermentation as it doesn&#39;t seem to have any alcoholic propertys. Not sure if I should give the young&#39;s one another go or move on to a pale ale.<br /> As so many of you seem to really know you stuff would appreciate your input.</p> <p>Cheers<br /> Matt </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/to-save-me-experimenting#post-25684 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:52:03 +0000 popey 25684@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>HI,<br /> As i bottle all my ale,i would like to know, if i steep some hops in water at 80c for 30mins,would i get the same result as, dry hopping,whether or not i just throw the hops into the wort, or put them in a muslin bag, all im after is a bit of aroma and flavour, and the the most easy way to achieve it.To me steeping is the most obvious method, but i could be wrong.<br /> Popey </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/some-advice-required#post-25658 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:23:13 +0000 robdogs 25658@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello,<br /> I&#39;m new to brewing and I have a couple of questions that I hope someone kind can answer.</p> <p>The first question I have is: When the kit (a Youngs Heavy kit) says &quot;add hot water&quot;, do they mean boiling water? I have read that water from the hot tap is unsafe to drink and I&#39;m somewhat unwilling to make myself ill.</p> <p>The second question is: Can glucose (from Holland and Barrett) be used as a substitute for Brewing Sugar? I have read up on this and brewing sugar appears to be just glucose, but the Holland and Barrett glucose pack I&#39;ve bought is fortified with Vitamin C. Will this impair the brewing process?</p> <p>Big thanks to anyone who knows the answers to these questions. Cheers! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/just-brewed-my-first-kit-st-peters-golden-ale-champion#post-25582 Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:55:44 +0000 paul881 25582@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I am so chuffed with the kit I bought. I am a real lover of Oxford Gold and this is very close to it IMHO - or as close as makes no odds. Aficionado&#39;s will probably say &quot;rubbish&quot; but to me it tastes very similar and I can do a side by side tasting.</p> <p>I brewed it in a spare bathroom at 22 deg and then syphoned it into the barrel adding sugar and then stored it in a cooler place at 18 deg for two weeks.</p> <p>Its come out great - clear with a good head on it and a good taste. What more could you ask for?</p> <p>Now planning another brew; St Peter&#39;s Gold again. Any suggestions for making it even better? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/fermentation-issue#post-25599 Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:57:18 +0000 baroninlondon 25599@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all</p> <p>Bit miffed...I started brewing some Woodfords Nog. First set temp at around 24*c and it started fermenting quickly and after 24hrs it wasn&#39;t going crazy but popping top of valve off and going for it! I turned the temp down to 21/22*c max with the idea of a gentle fermentation for a few days and it completely stopped. For two days (im on day three now) it appears fermentation has entirely stopped (IE no bubbles at all). Ive checked hydrometer - starting 1032 weight prior to yeast and now is 1012 or 5.5 potential alcohol and now reads 2.2 (which means 3.3% current alcohol level). I looked at some forum postings and decided to sterilise spoon and give the contents a good mix and reseal. I noticed there was no sludge in the bottom like last time - suggesting done. Will keep at about 20/21*c and will hope for a little more reaction. However can anyone advise what &#39;state&#39; my beer might be in and what I should do? Bit worried if fermentation is over Im exposing to much &#39;air&#39; during stir etc...any thoughts from you excellent experts are encouraged!</p> <p>Baron </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/couple-of-questions-re-kitsdmehops#post-25682 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:43:54 +0000 Barracuda 25682@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Good Evening Brewers, </p> <p>I&#39;m heading ever closer to playing with my first Kit, having drunk much of my Ginger-Spiced Cider over Christmas/NY (Turned out very dry, but very tasty), my main FV is currently fermenting Rioja, and once thats bottled it&#39;s all clear for a beer.</p> <p>There are a couple of questions that have arisen whilst chatting to my Home-Brewing friend, as we discuss our new hobby.</p> <p>Firstly, I understand that Beer kits are one or two can, and two can includes the fermentable malts. So my basic question is.. what&#39;s in a one can then? It&#39;s still malt derived from grains? Is it just malts that haven&#39;t had the starches/sugars extracted, therefore the un-fermentable parts of the beer?</p> <p>Secondly. I&#39;m certainly sold on the idea of using DME instead of plain sugars for the extra body, but my question here is.. what difference does using light/medium/dark dry extracts really make (to the taste/texture) Is it significant? I ask because I&#39;m tempted to use Medium or Amber (depending on the kit i&#39;m adding to) as I like the idea of a bold malts, and deep amber colour.</p> <p>Finally. I&#39;m loving Amarillo Hops at the moment. They smell great, and I know this forum is also a fan. I may be starting with a basic kit, but I&#39;d like to add some hops, both for additional flavour and that delicious smell. Can anyone suggest a Kit that would work well using Medium DME and Amarillo Hops? I&#39;m looking at the Coopers Brewmaster IPA and the St Peters Golden Ale as candidates.</p> <p>I know that sensible advice would be to do a kit, and then see what additions would suit it, but I enjoy making something &#39;my own&#39;, even from the first go.. Plus I don&#39;t really have the cash (or the bottles) to keep brewing different versions of a brew right now.</p> <p>I realise these are pretty basic questions by an inexperienced brewer, but I thank you again for your valuable opinions. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/basic-lagering#post-21086 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:42:38 +0000 Goliath 21086@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Well...<br /> I was gifted a Cooper&#39;s European Lager kit a while ago, bought some DME and lager flavapak and stuck it in a fermenter starting off at around 18C. The room temp has now dropped to about 15C. I&#39;ve read a lot about lagering, and to be honest, it has left me quite confused as to what to do! Seems like there&#39;s more than one way to skin a cat...<br /> I know I haven&#39;t lagered this properly, but wondered if it&#39;d be possible after fermentation to rack into 5 litre bottles (sealed or airlocked?) and stick in a broken freezer (still gets very cold, just doesn&#39;t freeze) to lager/condition. Would this be beneficial? Then after however long, bottle as usual.<br /> I planned to stick the fermenter in the broken freezer, but after cleaning it and pulling the shelves out, I realised the top shelf has the element fixed to it on the underside and I can&#39;t remove it. Several 5 litre bottles would fit in there no problem. does this sound like a good way to go?</p> <p>Any other ideas/suggestions/advice greatly appreciated &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/edme-superbrew-irish-stout#post-25517 Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:09:59 +0000 AKMild 25517@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all,</p> <p>Thinking about brewing an Irish stout kit and the EDME one seems to have received favourable reviews. However, as it&#39;s a one-can kit I imagine it will call for lots of sugar. Can anyone recommend whether I should use &#39;ordinary&#39; sugar or will I get a better result using a spraymalt?</p> <p>Cheers!</p> <p>Keith </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/high-abv-stout#post-25356 Sat, 31 Dec 2011 19:22:50 +0000 PaulGee 25356@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Greetings all</p> <p>Newbie to these forums and looking for some advice.</p> <p>Is it possible to make a strong stout 8%+ ABV with kits and modifiers? Ideally I&#39;d like to make 10-12 litres so was thinking of using the Brupaks Irish Extra Stout as a base and a quality yeast.</p> <p>Any help wil be greatly appreciated.</p> <p>Cheers</p> <p>Paul </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/getting-woodfords-more-watery#post-25399 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:31:21 +0000 baroninlondon 25399@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all</p> <p>After a successful first go at the home brew wherry best kit Im embarking on improving the quality of what Im producing. My main issue is about the texture of the beer. Wherry (in Norfolk) is a very watery beer with a thin but creamy head to it. My barrel produces much thicker and gassier texture which doesnt taste too far off in flavour but a bit ruined by the texture. Does anyone have any tips about getting it more watery? Someone did mention that I might need to move to the metal barrel and use the bigger C02 injector and thus avoid conditioning the beer which adds more C02 to the beer...thats getting a bit more pricey...any thoughts as always are welcome from you all.</p> <p>Happy brewing </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/st-peters-ipa-experiment#post-23705 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:31:14 +0000 dillond666 23705@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I&#39;ve tried a wee experiment. I boiled 35g of Tettnang hops in water for 8 mins then let stand for 2 mins. I added the hop tea to the FV and bunged in the St Peters IPA malt extract in along with 1kg of light spraymalt. Topped up to 24l I then bunged in another 40g of Tettnang hops and a sachet of Safale S-04 yeast. OG was 1540.<br /> It&#39;s bubbling steadily but not ferociously. I&#39;ll update this thread when it&#39;s done to let you all know if it&#39;s rubbish or not......fingers crossed &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_wink.gif&quot; title=&quot;;-)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; Anyone know how to clone Brewdog Punk IPA? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/7-days-and-still-the-odd-bubble-in-air-trap#post-25384 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 11:08:54 +0000 jezmondo 25384@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>thought after 7 days the bubbles would have stoped,not sure at what point to use the hydrometer ..i dont want to open lid unless needed..</p> <p>do you have to wait until no bubbles at all in air lock?</p> <p>sorry for basic one just my 1st brew!</p> <p>Thanks guys </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-brew-kit-started-now-the-paranoia-sets-in#post-23497 Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:01:28 +0000 dabossman 23497@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>First Post - So hello to you all!</p> <p>So I took the plunge on Friday and kicked off my Coopers Wheat Beer Kit, following the instructions to the letter.</p> <p>However, I have some concerns that I wanted to share and get your feedback on.</p> <p>My main fear is that I pitched the yeast at too high a temp (27 degrees from memory).</p> <p>O.G. was 1036.</p> <p>The bin was immediatly stored next to my immersion heater and where the room temp can burst up to 24 degrees, but in the main sits around 21-22 degrees.</p> <p>Looking at the bin 24hrs in I could see that that foam had risen 3-4 inches before subsiding to a couple of cm&#39;s and as of today (3 days in) there is now a very thin layer of bubbles covering approximately 50% of the surface.</p> <p>Before I removed the bin collar there was a hint of sulphur smell escaping, but this appears to be dying down now and I understand it&#39;s quite normal for wheat beers in the early stages of fermentation.</p> <p>So, given what I have described above should I be concerned and is there anything else I should be doing before starting to take gravity readings on Day 6 (as advised by Coopers)?</p> <p>Regards<br /> D. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/fermenting-at-25c-what-changes-to-make#post-25201 Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:11:55 +0000 Richard 25201@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>As its so cold in the house now (15c) the only place I can brew is in the utility room which sits at a cosy temp of 25c due to the boiler/tank being in there. Wondering if I kept the fermenting bucket down low would this be too warm. Usually I just leave the FV in the lounge which is 20c room temp but as the heating is off when I&#39;m working away during the week it&#39;ll get rather nippy!</p> <p>So what would you go for...the cooler temps and a bit longer or the 25c and a bit more fermenting than usual.</p> <p>On the other hand the Utility room is excellent for pizza bases. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-time-brewing-scummy-ring-appeared#post-25167 Thu, 29 Dec 2011 04:49:16 +0000 gordonash 25167@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>So this is my first time brewing and overnight these scummy marking have appeared about an inch above the waterline. Im just worried that it is all the yeast thats clung to the sides and not been mixed it properly.</p> <p><a href="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gordon_ash/photo.JPG" rel="nofollow">http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gordon_ash/photo.JPG</a></p> <p>Am i fine or worrying over nothing?</p> <p>Also my beer kits suggested temps are 18-20 but the most stable place i could find in my flat is a constant 22. Will this be ok?</p> <p>Many thanks in advance. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/which-starter-kit-should-i-go-for#post-25086 Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:31:35 +0000 Timmy_sd 25086@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I have never brewed before but I have been given a Brubox London Bitter Brewing System for Christmas and I am already very much looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Several days into the process and fermenting nicely.</p> <p>However, I am already looking ahead to what I might do next and although the Brubox system is reusable I am interested in maybe doing something more involved, so have been looking at microbrewry starter kits. I have narrowed it down to 2 (subject to any alternative suggestions0:</p> <p>Milestone Real Ale Starter Kit (<a href="http://www.brew-it-yourself.co.uk/shop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=899&amp;osCsid=f187e32a82cbfad3e773eb400a0ab593" rel="nofollow">http://www.brew-it-yourself.co.uk/shop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=899&amp;osCsid=f187e32a82cbfad3e773eb400a0ab593</a>) which comes with a ‘King Keg’ barrel with top tap and a 23ltr fermentation bucket </p> <p>OR</p> <p>St Peters Microbrewery 40 pint Starter Set (<a href="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/micro/complete-st-peters-starter-equipment-set.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/micro/complete-st-peters-starter-equipment-set.html</a>) which has a larger 33ltr fermentation bucket but a bottom tap barrel. </p> <p>I’m sure these are very similar but need to know whether it would be better to go for smaller fermentation bucket with supposedly superior top tap barrel or the larger fermentation bucket with bottom tap barrel. I understand that the beer kit is personal taste, so just need to know about the hardware choice.</p> <p>Thanks in advance for any help! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/second-brew#post-24476 Sun, 18 Dec 2011 17:05:59 +0000 GFC 24476@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all</p> <p>Just taken a hydro reading of my Muntons Smugglers brew which has been in the FV for 13 days now. Brewed to around 37 pfs and the reading is around 1.016. I&#39;m going to take another reading tomorrow, if the same do you think it&#39;s a little high, maybe give it a stir to see if it can go a bit lower? Temp has been around 20 to 22.<br /> Hasn&#39;t really been bubbling this week at all.</p> <p>Thx </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/3hr-bottling-session-deserves-a-good-pint#post-24847 Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:22:53 +0000 cris 24847@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Just finished a 3hr bottling session putting my 40pt Coopers Larger in a mix of PET and glass after 9 days in the FV.<br /> All that effort deserves one (or more) of these<br /> <a href="//s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb230/pagandog/Brewing/?action=view&amp;current=StPeters1.jpg&quot;"></a></p> <p>St Peter&#39;s Gold from a screw top PET plastic bottled stored for 3 months in the garden shed. The flavours have really balanced out nicley after this period of time and as I am trying to show in the pic condition is great with a constant stream of small bubbles. Think my next kit will have to be another one of these, a really nice pint.</p> <p>Happy Xmas </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/think-im-ready-to-do-my-first-brew#post-24670 Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:16:24 +0000 Lord_David13 24670@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Well the missing steriliser has now arrived for my starter wherry kit so i think i am now ready to start brewing and tonight is the night to start &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:-)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> <p>Any tips for a complete novice? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wherry-kits#post-24272 Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:01:20 +0000 figaro48 24272@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Can anyone tell me why the wherry kits should come out as av 4.5% (as stated on the package) when if you buy a pint in a pub it has an av of 3.8%. Although certainly a good ale, and I am not knocking it, it is nothing like the wherry in the pub, its too strong.<br /> The Norfolk Nogg certainly resembles the true product. I have had great success in following G.W. book of British brewing and find that if I want an ale of 4.5% plus I have all I need there. I have had great results from Batemans XXB: Brakspears Special: and Black Sheep etc so why does wherry not conform to the true article </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/minimum-keg-maturing-temp-please#post-24557 Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:30:23 +0000 fredtucker@tiscali.co.uk 24557@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I have just barrelled and primed for 6 days a Muntons Black Pearl stout. I have now moved the barrel to condition in my back porch which is about 8 degrees but will get colder at times. Is this going to be too cold? How cold can the beer go before it is affected? many thanks for any help.<br /> Fred. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-brew-1#post-21948 Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:47:29 +0000 GFC 21948@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi<br /> First post and first Wherry brew started yesterday and bubbling away nicely this morning &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:-)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> <p>I&#39;ve followed the steps and all seemed to go ok but have been wondering whether the temp (around 22 - 24) is going to be too high for the Primary? Also, having read through these forums and looking at dry hopping was wondering if it would be worthwhile adding in some Goldings or leave for another brew and maybe follow Saracen&#39;s tweak? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/tarting-up-a-cooper-real-ale-kit#post-16447 Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:21:03 +0000 Jim 16447@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Guys,</p> <p>I am going to do a Cooper Real Ale kit and am thinking about tarting it up. I did a Caxton Real Ale with Dark Spray Malt and it really enhanced the brew. I am thinking a Light Spray Malt for the Cooper Ale? Anyone done this before, any views?</p> <p>Cheers,</p> <p>Jim. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/query-og#post-24434 Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:08:14 +0000 pauljackson 24434@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>On my second brew and the OG was 1006 which i thought was low and start temp was 24c which dropped to 18 on day 3 and has been this since - now day 11. FG readings from day 6 started at 994 and have been slowly rising - now at 1005. Does this seem right ? is it the temp ? is it just slow or have i created a very week lager ? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/i-want-good-head-for-xmas#post-24260 Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:39:31 +0000 kaptinkurtz 24260@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I bottled a barrel load of Muntons Connoisseur&#39;s Wheat Beer at the weekend, and it&#39;s been sitting in a nice warm place for 4 days. I opened a warm bottle last night, and whilst it hissed nicely as I popped the cap, and fizzed happily when I poured it, there was no discernible head. Im not convinced its as carbonated as it could be, and I may not have the caps on properly, although I did tighten them pretty well - they&#39;re a beggar to open. Im using Coopers 500ml PET bottles and had no problems with getting fizz into my last batch of ginger beer (it all exploded). I primed a clean barrel with brewing sugar and siphoned the beer into this to mix properly before bottling...<br /> Any ideas?... I can drink it without, but it sort of looks and tastes better with.<br /> Will leaving it to cool and condition help? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/should-i-be-wherried#post-24199 Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:53:30 +0000 Barnatosghost 24199@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Good evening experts!<br /> I hope you can help steer me back on course or put my mind at rest.</p> <p>First ever go at this was saturday am with a wherry kit and new basic equipment. I followed the rules and by sunday am i was proudly staring at a nicely bubbling airlock.</p> <p>By monday night it had stopped, and as i write it is still stopped. The FV is sitting on an electric blanket on low in a cupboard in the lounge and the internal temp of the cupboard is 18-20c.</p> <p>Looking through the side there&#39;s a bit of a head, and about 10mm of lighter sediment in the bottom, though i haven&#39;t taken the lid off to investigate.</p> <p>Have I baked it? Should I stir it?</p> <p>Please help - there&#39;s a lot of domestic one-upmanship riding on the success of this brew! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/co2-vavle#post-23987 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:17:53 +0000 gaz-manc 23987@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi guys,</p> <p>Very quick question from a beginner! </p> <p>Successfully brewed beer in keg. Left it settle for a few weeks, but what am I supposed to do with the Co2 valve thing? When should I attach it to the top of the keg and what does it do?</p> <p>Thanks in advance!!!</p> <p>Gaz </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/st-peters-ipa-or-is-it#post-20913 Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:34:56 +0000 Hot_Toddy 20913@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello Forum!</p> <p>This is my first post on here, but I&#39;ve been lurking and taking in your collective valuable advice for a while. It&#39;s been a real help for a beginner, so many thanks.</p> <p>I&#39;ve just opened the first bottles of my first brew, which was the St Peters IPA kit bought through this site. My method was a hybrid of the kit instructions and the wisdom that I read on here: 10 days in primary, then racked into a second FV with a sugar solution to bulk prime, and bottled from there. I tried it before bottling, and it had quite a distinct tangy taste which wasn’t all that pleasant. After 4 weeks of bottle-conditioning it now tastes much better, and has a good fizz to it. </p> <p>However, I’m not convinced that it’s the IPA! It looks and tastes like a ruby ale, which just happens to be the other St Peters kit that is available. Maybe I’m being daft, but I’m wondering if the unmarked tins that came in the IPA box were in fact the Ruby Red Ale. I don’t mind, because it tastes nice and it’s all a big experiment anyway!</p> <p>I had some beer left after filling all of my galss bottles, so used a plastic bottle as well rather than pour it away.</p> <p>Photos below (if they work). Has anyone else here done a St Peters kit? Did your IPA look anything like mine? </p> <p><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lIbp_YNWTu8/Tpg5MuQqwdI/AAAAAAAAAAg/SrlXC2MQrH8/s800/Beer.jpg"></p> <p><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jVs9w6JnVFU/Tpg5MhzusgI/AAAAAAAAAAk/qRs_l6FGjPc/s800/beer2.jpg"></p> <p>I’ve just bought a big stock-pot, so it’s extract next... (walks before he can crawl).</p> <p>Toddy. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/temperature-concerns#post-23855 Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:56:28 +0000 superpaul 23855@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all,<br /> After some advice, I have just secondary fermented my latest brew and put it out into my shed to condition, as I always do. However I am a bit concerned because its very cold out, could this affect my beer? ( 40 pints Woodfordes Wherry in bottles and 40 pints Milestone Donner &amp; Blitzed in barrel ). Any info or advice would be greatly welcomed.<br /> Many thanks,<br /> Paul. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/st-peters-ruby-red-and-brew-enhancer#post-21181 Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:16:54 +0000 Kilifin 21181@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Just a bit of advice required gents. I&#39;ve just bought a st peters ruby red ale was was wondering if adding brew enhancer instead of sugar at the priming stage would be better. I know it&#39;s a premium kit and don&#39;t really need anything else but would it be better???? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/cant-bottle-very-frustrating#post-23893 Sat, 10 Dec 2011 22:00:10 +0000 Mark 23893@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Anybody been frustrated at not being able to bottle or barrel a brew through illness?<br /> Me i am BUNGED up with a CORKER of a cold, i am sneezing everywhere and coughing as well.<br /> I have 23 litres of wine ready to bottle and go in a winebox and also some cider to bottle but i dare not risk it through fear of my germs getting into the brews. Good point though is extra conditioning for both but bad point is i cannot get me next brew on. Hopefully be middle of next week or if worst comes to worst end of week to get the job done.<br /> Anyone else had delays through illness and fearful of bottling/barreling? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/sediment-preventing-carbonation#post-22588 Fri, 25 Nov 2011 22:02:39 +0000 nuck-thompson 22588@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>ive got wherrys conditioning in the bottle, there a good bit of sediment at the bottom, loads more than y previous kit. im pretty sure i rushed into bottling after 7 days in the FV.</p> <p>i used carbonation drops. opened a bottle tonight after 2 weeks in the bottle, and head no fizz what so ever.<br /> tasted completely flat.</p> <p>could the sediment have stoped carbonation?</p> <p>help please. cheers </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/steeping-hop-tea#post-23247 Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:27:34 +0000 popey 23247@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi,<br /> Can any body tell the difference between steeping and hop tea,and also the technique, for malt kits.<br /> Thank you in advance<br /> Popey </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/another-successful-brew#post-23347 Sat, 03 Dec 2011 19:58:44 +0000 beerlover1983 23347@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Did a wherry about 4 weeks ago and did saracens tweek.But used nelson sauvin hops went for 15g in the end.</p> <p>And must says the tweek really makes this kit better doesnt seem as watery as my first wherry and the hops are great not too over powering but enough to notice them.</p> <p>I decided to go for this as a easy xmas brew before doing some more great extracts in the new year. Ive got plenty of amarillo left .And suprisingly summer ale which has been in the bottle months now &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> <p>Cheers saracen your tweek is a winner </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/stout-kits-fermentables#post-22359 Thu, 24 Nov 2011 07:15:41 +0000 rbw0471 22359@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi guys</p> <p>Well i bottles up my first brew last night (Wherry) and am gonna start off my second today (Coopers APA), </p> <p>I figured it was time to get the the supplies in for brew no. 3. Im planning to do a stout, probably a Edme&#39;s or Coopers Irish Stout, has anyone done either/ can recommend either? Also, what should i use in the way of fermentables? I&#39;d quite like to beef it up a bit; 1kg Dark Spraymalt plus brewing sugar??? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/beer-in-a-wine-bottle#post-23184 Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:29:29 +0000 Starkie 23184@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi All,</p> <p>Just bottled a Kriek Cherry beer kitand looking forward to it. However when it came to bottling , as I a have non uniformed collection of bottles, it quickly became apparent I was going to run out of bottles!</p> <p>so for last pint and a half I put it into a wine bottle and corked it. Its the only available vessel I had. I plan to get it in a proper bottle tomorrow. </p> <p>Just out of interest, what would happne to the beer in a corked wine bottle? would it go flat? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/more-yeast-questions#post-23133 Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:03:13 +0000 Mark 23133@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>After being told by Nath and Saracen how to make a yeast starter and split yeast i was wondering if i could split the wyeast 4766 which is ment for cider? Being the cider kits with addition of pure apple juice have no malt ingredients i will not be able to make up the yeast starter with spraymalt so will brewing sugar suffice? or can no starter be made up and then i will simply have to smack the yeast pack and add straight to the fermenting bin. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/best-beerk-kit-available-on-this-site#post-22594 Fri, 25 Nov 2011 22:29:34 +0000 nuck-thompson 22594@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>of all the kits available on this site, which is a really good one to be doing?<br /> bit gutted about my current batch so need a pick me up with another brew.<br /> suggestions? i&#39;ll happy do any type etc </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/does-the-aussia-lager-improve-much-with-age#post-22896 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:26:15 +0000 DominicJ 22896@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I bottled my australian lager yesterday after 9 days in the fermenting bin, it didnt taste, off, but it wasnt very nice either.<br /> Any thoughts? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/small-batch-question#post-22526 Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:40:40 +0000 paul_h5 22526@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I want to make some small batches to experiment with adapting beer kits. </p> <p>Would there be anything wrong with using the whole can from a single can kit, half the volume of water and no sugar? </p> <p>I&#39;m guessing this will replicate using one can from a two can kit, but not sure if the contents are different. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/its-christmas-brew-time#post-21083 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:04:52 +0000 PMA 21083@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Morning all,</p> <p>It&#39;s that time of year where I&#39;m going to get my Christmas brew underway! Yippee!</p> <p>I&#39;m going to use my Wherry Kit (freebie from last year&#39;s Christmas present!) but I&#39;ve also just ordered:</p> <p>500gm Light Spraymalt<br /> Safale S-04 yeast<br /> 100gm Goldings</p> <p>I want to do the Saracen Wherry Pimp to really get something good to drink over the festive period. I know there is information regarding this method around here somewhere, but if anybody would be so kind as to give me a laymans terms breakdown of what to do to get it spot on I&#39;d be really in your debt. I forget now what I did with my first Wherry, and I&#39;m a little concerned that I haven&#39;t ordered any Campdens (although i didn&#39;t use any last time, I&#39;m not sure if I could get a better result with them) or should I use bottled water instead? Lots of questions, lots of hope.</p> <p>Please let me get this right! I don&#39;t want another failure (like my Amarillo!)</p> <p>Thank you BrewUk folk &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wherry-in-time-for-christmas#post-22550 Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:52:01 +0000 Chile_uk 22550@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi guys, i am well and truly addicted to brewing now! </p> <p>I have a few questions. I want to buy the woodfordes wherry kit in time for the xmas holidays (16th December) If i buy it on the 30th November and get it into the fermenter will it be ready? </p> <p>Also do i really need a fermenting tube with an airlock? The guy at the shop said to put the tin in with the required water and just let the lid sit on top and not fasten it. </p> <p>Also i want to bottle it rather than keg it, is this a good idea? I am getting through my coopers lager in bottles (PET) and keeping them for the wherry. How do i clean them? i have been rinsing them out after consumption and storing them away ready for the next brew.</p> <p>Cheers fellow brewers! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/dry-hopping-clarification-needed-please#post-22764 Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:39:25 +0000 dillond666 22764@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi, newbie questions.<br /> Do I really need to dry hop in a second fermenter? I was hoping you could just chuck the hops in the primary fermenter after fermentation is complete, I have been leaving the beer in the primary fermenter for two weeks in my previous brews.<br /> Would simmering the hops for 15mins into a hop tea before I put the kit together do the same for the taste as dry hopping?<br /> The plan is to use a St Peters IPA with 1kg light spray malt and some Tetnang hops I&#39;ve got already. I&#39;ve been drinking Brew Dog Punk IPA and Brew Dog Hardcore IPA (Lovely, kick ass)and want to try my hand at an IPA style. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/totally-baffled-by-corney-kegs#post-22838 Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:43:40 +0000 Kilifin 22838@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>The Corney thing has me a bit baffled. I was recently given 2 corneys with no attachments. I&#39;ve gathered from reading the site what extra equipment I need and how to set it up. What I don&#39;t understand is the brewing process. I&#39;ve read that there is no sediment in a corney? So do I keep the brew in the fv for an extra few days to help it clear? Could someone explain the process to me please? It sounds like the way to go! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/coopers-stout-1#post-22241 Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:40:30 +0000 nuck-thompson 22241@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Any experiences? Tips? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/newbie-question#post-21827 Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:10:02 +0000 newbrew 21827@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi,</p> <p>I started my first ever home brew approximately 48 hours ago using the woodfordes wherry micro brewery kit from this website. I followed the included instructions and when I checked after 24 hours there was a thick layer of krausen on top of the liquid. I&#39;ve just checked again and it has almost entirely disappeared. I didn&#39;t expect that to happen so quickly. Is this likely to be a problem?</p> <p>Many thanks in advance for any repsonses. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/peletts#post-22309 Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:33:42 +0000 popey 22309@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi,<br /> If i dry hop with peletts,will i get the same result as using vacuum packed leaf hops, also would i use the same quantity.<br /> Thanks,<br /> Popey </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/just-about-to-bottle-my-nog#post-22255 Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:16:32 +0000 Deanie 22255@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I&#39;m just about to bottle my Woodforde&#39;s Nog. My first brew, a Wherry, I kegged adding 65g of light spraymalt to the keg. It&#39;s tasting absolutely fantastic and has no chance of lasting &#39;till to Christmas. It tasted good when I first kegged it but three weeks later it is nectar. I&#39;ll definitely be trying the &#39;pimped&#39; version after Christmas.</p> <p>Anyway I digress, do I add a similar amount of spraymalt to the Nog for conditioning if I&#39;m going to bottle it? I&#39;m sure I read somewhere it was recommended to add more if it was going into bottles. Though it&#39;s possible I dreamt that, possibly in a Wherry induced haze.</p> <p>And what&#39;s the best method? draw off a litre or so, heat gently and disolve the malt before cooling and adding back to the Nog, a little stir and then bottle ?</p> <p>Thanks in advance for any advice. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/tettnang-tiger-lager-1#post-21843 Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:53:55 +0000 aderuk 21843@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Having a go at this at the weekend and just a little worried about the various temps in the recipe<br /> no1, 24hrs at 20c no probs<br /> no2, 5 days at 12c my garage ranges from 9-13c would this be ok<br /> no3, 2 weeks at 2-3c should be ok in the outside fridge.</p> <p>so will no 2 the garage be ok or should i leave it in there longer than the 5 days suggest? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/tweaking-coopers-ipa#post-21087 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:10:28 +0000 Ralph 21087@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi All</p> <p>Been browsing for a while and have got a couple of kits under my belt the St.Peters Ruby Red which i&#39;m drinking and a Milestone Donnor and Blitzed conditioning ready for christmas, both have gone really well and taste great.</p> <p>Now I wanted to try something a little different a bit more e</p> <p>I was going to make up a Cooper IPA kit using 500g Light Spraymalt and 300g of Muntons Beer Kit Enhancer instead of the sugar. For a start will this work???</p> <p>Then after the primary fermentation I wanted to dry hop in a secondary fermentation vessel for three days.<br /> Using either: 15g Nelson Sauvin, Saaz or Styrian Goldings. Which would anyone recommend.</p> <p>Then after three day in the secondary fermentor I was going to barrel this and leave it for 3-4 week before drinking.</p> <p>Anyway that my plan let me know what you think. Thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brew-in-time-for-xmas#post-22064 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:29:09 +0000 rbw0471 22064@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hey guys</p> <p>I have been lurking around here for a week or two soaking up the knowledge.....</p> <p>I have my first brew fermenting (Wherry) which i am planning to bottle this weekend, i was hoping to get a second ale on the go in time for Xmas / NY, can anyone recommend one which i could get ready in that time?</p> <p>Many Thanks</p> <p>Alan </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/a-fast-lager-for-xmas#post-22046 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:48:43 +0000 Kilifin 22046@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>i know i&#39;ve left it very late but could anybody please suggest a lager that would be half decent in time for the xmas/new year???? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/st-peters-ruby-red-any-advice#post-21685 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:43:28 +0000 nuck-thompson 21685@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Just bought a kit of this stuff after seeing craig tube wetting his pants about it. any advice? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/coopers-ginger-beer-bottled#post-21990 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:27:33 +0000 DominicJ 21990@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I just bottled my Coopers Ginger Beer, 4 teaspoons of sugar per bottle (couldnt remember, figure can always &quot;breathe&quot; them in a couple of days if too much.<br /> Had a &quot;wee nip&quot; when I was bottling and I really wasnt impressed, so I hope it improves with age..... </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wherrys-bottle-sediment#post-21979 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:07:19 +0000 nuck-thompson 21979@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>anyone whos bottled wherrys..... the sediment after two days in the bottom looks like a pale mud, quite thick. is this normal? it looks horrible. did i do something wrong? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/sterilising-bottles-1#post-21957 Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:56:48 +0000 davidjohnpayne1980 21957@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi</p> <p>I sterilised my bottles yesterday using this stuf....</p> <p>VinClasse® Cleaner Steriliser</p> <p>I left solution in the plastic bottles for 15 minutes (filled with hot water then added a teaspoon to each) ensured they weree full to the brim and then added the caps, and glass bottles fully submerged for 15 minutes.</p> <p>Did I leave them long enough. they were new bottles but I&#39;m worried I may have messed up. The solution says a barrel just needs 10 mintes exposure to the solution so i&#39;m hoping i;m ok</p> <p>Can anyone please put my mind at rest!!!</p> <p>Thanks</p> <p>Dave </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/st-austell-big-smoke-recipe#post-21971 Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:03:18 +0000 neil dm 21971@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all, not been on here for a while and need to get some winter ale on for Christmas. I&#39;m tempted to try the St. Austell recipe &amp; wondered if others had tried it . </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wherry-kit-question#post-21908 Sun, 13 Nov 2011 20:48:18 +0000 richc 21908@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello, brewing my second Woodfordes kit, this time the Wherry. Its been fermenting vigorously for 6 days now and is still bubbling away. I bottled the last kit at this point as according to the box instructions and this turned out well (it was the Great Easter Ale). My question is, should I leave it longer this time before priming and bottling? I have a brewers book which recommends leaving the beer for at least 2 weeks before bottling..</p> <p>Any advice greatly appreciated,<br /> Rich. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/muntons-gold-ipa-pimping-ideas#post-21903 Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:04:07 +0000 Rhys 21903@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Has anyone ever done the above kit?</p> <p>I&#39;ve been gifted one by someone who had bought two and didn&#39;t like the results (plus the fermentation stuck) of the first kit. </p> <p>I was considering having a go at pimping it like people have mentioned doing to the Wherry kits! My plan was swap the Yeast for the White Labs Burton Ale Yeast and then Dry Hop with 20g of Golding (Worcester) Hops after the Krausen has died off. I&#39;ve considered steeping some grains or adding a Hop tea but don&#39;t know if that would change the character of the IPA too much?</p> <p>Thoughts and Suggestions will be greatly appreciated!</p> <p>Rhys </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/coopers-lager-bottling#post-21931 Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:51:02 +0000 Chile_uk 21931@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi guys,</p> <p>Newbie brewer here. Purchased the coopers lager kit and all has gone well so far. Had a bit of trouble with the readings for OG (1025)and FG (994) but may have been because I put in 25 litres of water and not 23. I&#39;ve bottled the batch as it is my first ever brew and want to see the results. How long should the brew be in the bottle before I can drink it? I&#39;ve read it should be at 70 degrees for three weeks then it should be carbonated. I used the coopers carbonation drops and have put the bottles in the cupboard in the kitchen but felt it was to cold for the carbonation to start so put them in the airing cupboard. Gonna do that for a week then bring them back to the cold cupboard. Any advice on how to store the brews would be welcome! And does anyone know whether or not it is good to get a keg? Not sure it lasts as long as bottles? </p> <p>Cheers </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/donner-and-blitzed-bottling#post-21898 Sun, 13 Nov 2011 10:38:50 +0000 davidjohnpayne1980 21898@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi<br /> Basic question here! I have had my D&amp;B in the FV for 2 weeks now and gravity has dropped to 1009. I want to bottle it today. I am bottling in a mix of prebrough swing tops 500mls and plastic 750mls.<br /> I intend to keep them indoors at around 20 degrees for a week to ten days and then store in the shed</p> <p>My question is... Will it be too cold in the shed, can I keep them in a plastic storage box outside the back door or will that be too cold?<br /> If it is too cold, what should I do? Wrap a towel around them?</p> <p>Thanks for any advice </p> <p>Dave </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/blackburn#post-20240 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:34:24 +0000 Beer Guzzler 20240@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Anyone know where you can buy beer kits in blackburn lancashire? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/moving-on-from-beer-kits#post-21781 Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:36:27 +0000 nuck-thompson 21781@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I&#39;m keen to progress with the process, granted ive only done 3 batches of beer i total using kits, but im keen to get on with things and become knowledgeable in this field.</p> <p>what would you recommmend the next step be which isnt going to make me go &quot;eerr what??&quot;</p> <p>ta </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/vacuum-packed-hops#post-21805 Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:45:21 +0000 popey 21805@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi All,<br /> Just brought some Youngs vacuum packed hops,its the one that comes in a gold wrapper, and its a solid mass of hop leaves, how to i dry hop with it, it is so solid, i had a job to cut it, i know that there will be away to do it ,looking forward to your answers,<br /> Thank you Popey </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/a-nog-mistake#post-21690 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:52:23 +0000 Deanie 21690@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Good morning everyone.</p> <p>First time poster and brewer here. I currently have a Wherry conditioning in the barrel, and I have to say it tasted quite good even before conditioning so I must have done something right.</p> <p>So last night I decided to get a Wooodfordes Nog started ready to be bottled in time for Christmas and here is my mistake. I&#39;m convinced that I&#39;ve made it up to 26l rather than 23, I&#39;m putting it down to being tired and in a rush rather than being a complete idiot &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; I had 23l of water standing overnight then merrily boiled up another 3 to add to the contents of the tins, hence the 26l and why the hydrometer resding was hovering around 1.020 !</p> <p>Now to my question(s)</p> <p>Can I simply draw off the extra 3l and perhaps add some spraymalt to beef it back up again?<br /> If so how much spraymalt to add?<br /> Will it disolve ok or should I draw off a few extra litres into an sterilised bucket and disolve it in there?</p> <p>Probably very basic questions I know, but any advice is appreciated.</p> <p>Cheers and happy brewing</p> <p>Deanie </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/too-much-priming-sugar#post-21758 Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:32:52 +0000 Starkie 21758@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Evening all,</p> <p>After a bit of a break from beer kits (making cider from apples put me off for 6 weeks)I&#39;ve tonight put a wherry on for xmas.</p> <p>Like the know it all I am, I&#39;ve just put the beer into a barrel with what I believe to be far to much priming sugar. I chucked in 200g, then had a thought... should it be more along the lines of 80g? I chucked the instructions - Flip</p> <p>Will this spoil the beer, make it sweat tasting? Is there anything I could do to improve/save the beer. We&#39;ve got a house full for xmas and I wanted the beer to be barn-storming </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/og-reading#post-21709 Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:11:49 +0000 aderuk 21709@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi All,<br /> I have just ordered some more bits and pieces for my next 3 brews,I just wanted to know for definate if you take a gravity reading before adding yeast or just after,as some of the recipes seem to read after yeast added and some before yeast added.I know some of the recipe instructions seem a bit hit and miss.<br /> Would be great if somebody could clarify it for me.</p> <p>Thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/transfering-to-bottling-bucket#post-21736 Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:18:05 +0000 nuck-thompson 21736@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>This being my 2nd attempt, I was going to do the same as I did first time around.<br /> Siphon the beer into a bucket with a tap and a bottling wand.then bottle it straight away.</p> <p>Any tips on whether this is ok or there is a way to get better results? ie. Should I transfer it then leave it in the bottling bucket for X amount of time before bottling?</p> <p> Cheers </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/belgian-christmas-beer-kit#post-21677 Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:41:44 +0000 nuck-thompson 21677@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p><a href="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/beerkits/botw-belgian-christmas.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/beerkits/botw-belgian-christmas.html</a></p> <p>hi, first post one here.</p> <p>anyone brewed the above kit?</p> <p>what does i come with? and what were the results like?</p> <p>ta </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wherrys#post-21682 Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:31:43 +0000 nuck-thompson 21682@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>hi,</p> <p>can i use coopers carbonation drops in the bottles with wherrys? or does it have to be priming sugar?</p> <p>thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/two-dry-hopping-questions#post-21633 Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:39:11 +0000 popey 21633@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi Every one,<br /> I bottle my beer, and dry hop using a muslin bag, my first question is:What is the difference between dry hopping in the primary f v, as apposed to the secondary f v.<br /> No 2:Should the muslin bag be weighted down, so that it sinks, or just let it float.</p> <p>Thanks in advance<br /> Popey </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/muntons-smugglers-ale#post-21587 Sat, 05 Nov 2011 23:34:32 +0000 Leebo 21587@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all it&#39;s the first time I have brewed a Muntons kit and it does not want to clear has anybody had this problem it was in the fv for two weeks and it now been bottled for six weeks and chilling in the garage ? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/st-peters-golden-ale#post-21513 Wed, 02 Nov 2011 23:20:56 +0000 Jackfla5h 21513@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I&#39;ve got a St Peters Golden calling me from under the stairs! it&#39;s been in the keg for just over 3 weeks. Has anyone any experience on how long to prime this ale? I heard 6 weeks but I don&#39;t think I can wait that long &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_biggrin.gif&quot; title=&quot;:D&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/is-my-brew-going-to-be-in-the-fv-for-too-long#post-21561 Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:18:10 +0000 Kilifin 21561@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I put a st peters ruby red ale on 9 days ago. My airlock has stopped bubbling but there is still plenty of pressure under the lid (if I press it gently the airlock bubbles) I took a reading tonight and it was 1014. Was gonna leave it a few days longer but I&#39;m off to b&#39;ham tomorrow for a week. Would I be best leaving it until next week (16 days in the fv) or barrel it tonight/tomorrow morning? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/new-to-brewing#post-21515 Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:47:34 +0000 johnwill666 21515@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>After tasting my sons first wine brew had to give it a go.The wife got me a st peters ruby red ale,and a youngs harvest stout.I did the ale first maybe fermented a bit warm 24 c bubbled like crazy for a few days settled down and i barreled at day 9 when it had stopped for a few days and read a constant 1.014,forgot to take a reading at the begining.It looked good and smelt good,got excited,rushed out got another barrel,and instead of sugar used a geordie enhancer kit for the stout,followed the instructions,but it was in that last hot week we had so at 2 in the morning i put the yeast in ,i was so tired but it went in at 26c,In the morning it had foamed into the airlock stopped working after 5 days,barreled at 7 days og was 1,050 fv 1.015.Managed to wait a fortnight before tasting the ale,absolutley delicious,a week later tasted the stout,fantastic best stout i ever tasted .The pubs will suffer ,can,t buy beer this good,got another ruby red brewing,brought another barrel,and a stout will be started as soon as a barrel is empty,won,t be long .Now i am a true convert and all my questions and queries are soon solved on this excellent site so a big thankyou,live long and prosper ,cheers. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/beer-kits-sizes-how-many-pints-do-they-make#post-21440 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:44:18 +0000 solorize 21440@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi,</p> <p>Just a quick question.</p> <p>Are the amount of pints made from a kit in direct relation to the kit&#39;s weight?</p> <p>i.e. there are kits of;<br /> 1.8kg<br /> 3.0kg<br /> 3.6kg</p> <p>I guess that the 1.8kg kits you need to add an extra 1kg of sugar to<br /> where the other 3.0kg &amp; 3.6kg do not need the additional sugar.</p> <p>I have so far only really made kits that are 3.0kg and have stated that<br /> they are 40pint.</p> <p>But I would like to try a few other brewa&#39;s but want to make sure they make 40pints,<br /> otherwise they would not last me too long &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_wink.gif&quot; title=&quot;;-)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/tinkit-with-no-label-any-ideas#post-20696 Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:25:14 +0000 Beaveridge 20696@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I am new to brewing. A friend at work has given me some of his old kit, a tin with no label (he bought cheap from internet but knows its ale not lager), Geordie brand instruction leaflet, 6 grams Muntons Active Brewing Yeast and Goldings Hop Powder. Ive done a lot of reading on this forum and have a fair idea of what to do but just need a confidence boost due to mix and match nature. but need a bit of help. Also the brewing bin smells a bit frusty. I cleaned with fairey liquid but not much better. Any cleaning advice? I heard bleach can be used provided washed thoughroughly after.<br /> Thanks in advance. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/i-have-just-barrelled-my-first-brew-woodfordes-wherry-lack-of-krausen#post-21463 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:10:31 +0000 wildcrewe 21463@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I have just barrelled my first brew woodfordes Wherry &amp; there seems to be a lack of krausen on the top is this normal after fermenting.<br /> It has been fermenting for 7 days? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/co2-catridges-pin-valve-cap#post-21439 Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:17:45 +0000 Daz_P 21439@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi All,</p> <p>I&#39;m into my second brew after really enjoying the process, and results!, of my first(Coopers Pale Ale).</p> <p>It&#39;s in the keg (Coopers Indian Pale Ale this time with Flavapak hops used for extra body/flavour) for second fermentation before hitting the depths of the cold garage cupboard for 6/7 weeks until it&#39;s unleashed.</p> <p>On the first brew I started to lose pressure in my barrel towards the end (around 8/9 pints left)so made the mistake of loosening the cap to let air in and pressure flow, which of course spoilt the taste of the beer after that evening onwards.</p> <p>So for this brew i&#39;ve purchased the 8g CO2 cartridges for my barrel, which is a 5gl one with a pin valve cap, to add required pressure if needed when I start chipping away at it.</p> <p>Can I seek advice as to whether I need some kind of device/piece of kit to use the cartridges or do they simply come out of the packet and straight onto the valve and hey presto i&#39;m done? </p> <p>Further to this, i&#39;m in the process of buying a second keg, now I know this is a hobby that&#39;s around to stay, so any advice on kegs/barrels to buy as mine is just the basic one that came with the starter kit but seems to do just the job to be fair and i&#39;m tempted to buy the same again? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/effective-keg-sterilisation#post-20972 Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:09:22 +0000 Jswood007 20972@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi All,</p> <p>Just wanted to check how any litres of water you would need to add to a keg to sterilise it effectively. I am using a one teaspoon of Sodium Metabisulphate per pint and using about 15 litres of cold water in the keg. Is this enough?? I then put a sealed cap on the keg and shake regularly over a 30 minute period. Then rinse thoroughly.</p> <p>Many thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-brew-may-have-gone-wrong-could-i-have-some-help-rectifying-it#post-21204 Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:00:10 +0000 niko-time 21204@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi guys, I purchased the Woodfordes Microbrewery set and asked for Nelson&#39;s Revenge instead of the usual Wherry. After following the instructions my beer should be about ready now, but after pulling a couple of pints (I used a keg instead of bottles) the beer is quite sedimentary and just doesn&#39;t taste very nice (not bitter but perhaps a little watery? Although it was too cold so that may contribute to it). The instructions provided said that I did not need to use sugar as it was an all malt kit, but should I have put that in at the start of the secondary fermentation? I made sure the hydrometer was at the recommended level but when syphoning there was still yeast (at least, it may have been yeast...I really don&#39;t know very much) on the surface of the beer. </p> <p>Any tips on how to sort this out? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/woodfordes-microbrewery-airlock#post-21307 Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:16:24 +0000 wildcrewe 21307@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I started my first Home brew with a Woodfordes wherry Microbrewery.<br /> I Started it on the Tuesday evening. I have come home from work today (Thursday) &amp; found the the top has blown off the Airlock.<br /> Has my Brew been contaminated?<br /> Now purchased a bubble chamber Airlock.<br /> I don&#39;t know how long the Lid was off the original Airlock? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/silly-old-father-in-law-has-messed-up-his-wherry#post-21264 Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:20:04 +0000 Kilifin 21264@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I bought a wherry brew kit for my dad in law for his b&#39;day and it seems he has had a mere! He was just watching me make up a st peters red ale when he stated &quot;oh no I think I put too much water in my fv&quot; it seems he has put 6 instead of 5 gallons of water in. He said that it brewed ok and he transferred it to a barrel. Now he said that when he opens the tap hardly any is coming out (I take it this is due to air in his barrel or 2nd fermentation not taking place???) he also says that it&#39;s still cloudy and bits seem to be floating in it. It&#39;s been in the barrel for 3 weeks. I&#39;m no expert so I told him I&#39;d put it out to u guys. Is his wherry wrecked and for the drain or could it still be saved? It would be a shame to waste a wherry! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/desperados#post-14771 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 17:07:03 +0000 Phalgoth 14771@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>i dont know if many of you have tried the this wonderfull tequila infused artform but for me its my favourite beer ever! And i was wondering if there is anyway to re-create this type of concoction from scratch? (and i dont mean with a can of fosters and a bottle of tequila because trust me that ends up messy!) </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/headcracker-fermenting-question#post-20902 Thu, 13 Oct 2011 23:02:31 +0000 cris 20902@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Appologies for this fairly basic question, but I am a litle concerned for my fermentation of Woodfords Headcracker.</p> <p>I made the kit up on 9th Oct all as instructions OG 1042 (was expecting a little higher). Fermentation seemed to happen fairly quickly and by 12th the reading was less than 1000. Looking in the bucket today there are lots of lumps just under the surface, is this right. (see photo)</p> <p>Do I wait for these lumps settle before bottling? I was thinking of bottling this weekend.</p> <p>Thanks for any help.</p> <p><img src="http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb230/pagandog/Brewing/FV.jpg"> </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/a-vote-for-coopers-ipa#post-20990 Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:29:19 +0000 mereapprentice 20990@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi Everyone</p> <p>Grateful for all the advice I&#39;ve received on the forum, so am passing on my limited experience in case anyone else might want to try my &#39;trial-by-error&#39; standard mix.</p> <p>I&#39;ve found (by luck) a really good recipe for a lovely hoppy IPA by using the following:</p> <p>Coopers IPA kit (single can)<br /> 400g Spraymalt light<br /> 400g Muntons Beer Enhancer<br /> 1 pack of Flavapak hops/grains bags</p> <p>Works out a bit cheaper than the two-can kits once postage taken into account, but more importantly the result is a superb beer which is finished in the primary fermentor after a week, and clear &amp; eminently drinkable after two in the barrel. No doubt would be better for being left, but somehow that hasn&#39;t happened yet... &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_lol.gif&quot; title=&quot;:lol:&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/to-reydrate-or-not-to-rehydrate#post-21200 Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:27:36 +0000 PMA 21200@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Morning gents,</p> <p>still waiting for my pimping products to arrive for my next Wherry, one of which is Safale S-04 yeast.</p> <p>I&#39;m keen to do everything I can to make it wonderful, so with regards to the yeast, would it be worth my while reydrating first or pitch straight in? I&#39;ve heard before that dry pitching may not be as successful as reydrating first but as I&#39;ve never tried it I&#39;m really none the wiser.</p> <p>Thoughts? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/newbie-to-home-brewing-and-after-a-bit-of-advice#post-19935 Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:01:34 +0000 aderuk 19935@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi All my first post.</p> <p>I have just ordered the coopers lager starter kit.</p> <p>Q1 Would anyone advise me to add anything else to the kit for my first attempt ?</p> <p>Q2 Getting a bit ahead of myself ,but once the first batch is underway what would i need to buy for attempt no2?.I know i need the coopers lager pack(may try the mexican one) but it would be great if someone could put up a list of other things i will need.I know it seems i am being a bit lazy ,but i just want to make sure i order the right things.<br /> Thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/ale-not-clear#post-21098 Sat, 22 Oct 2011 08:27:01 +0000 popey 21098@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>My Coopers Real Ale had a good firmentation, i dry hopped it with a hand full of hops floating on the top, it went down to 1010, i put it in a secondary fv in a cooler position the room is 18-20c,but after 10 days it is still showing no signs of clearing, but the smell and taste is realy good. Is this normal, or dose this style of beer take longer to clear. I followed Saracen&#39;s method of brewing this ale, and believe me, if you like real ale, give it a go.<br /> Popey </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/werrys-still-fermenting#post-20539 Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:52:43 +0000 Liam 20539@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hey I&#39;ve had my werrys fermenting for 2weeks now. Kept at 22 deg and bubbles are still being produced. Is this normal? The instructions said about 7-10 days?</p> <p>Thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/coopers-canadian-blonde-tastes-like-cider#post-7937 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:48:41 +0000 Brewster365 7937@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>All</p> <p>Due to the constant temperature in my house (between 17 and 19) i decided to use a real lager yeast things went pretty well but when i tasted it after 11 days (primary fermentation) it tastes like cider, i also did a European lager at the same time and it tastes just like beer, can anyone help me with this or is my beer lost for ever. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/malt-1#post-21089 Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:20:24 +0000 madlen_lieb 21089@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>hi guys,</p> <p>just had the idea, that it might be fun, to make the malt for the beer kit myself. to experiment with the flavour and moving a little bit closer to the next step.</p> <p>does anybody know, which equipment i need?</p> <p>the brewing books never mention thing like this. it seams that you can do either all grain or kits only &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_sad.gif&quot; title=&quot;:(&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> <p>how big should the pan be?<br /> how long to &quot;cook&quot; it</p> <p>which malt(mixture) for an lager/ pilsner? and ho much?</p> <p>could i transfer the hot malt directly in the fermentation bucked, together with the kit stuff an than adjust the temp with cold bottle water for the final 23 liters?</p> <p>lg madlen </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/cheeky-2-week-st-peters-taster#post-20950 Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:34:30 +0000 cris 20950@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Thought I would share tonight&#39;s sampling.</p> <p>As I have said here before I am returning to homebrewing after 25 years away. The first kit I was guided to by the shop here, was a St Peters Golden Ale.</p> <p>Thought I would try a cheeky taster after only two weeks in the bottle.</p> <p>I must say I am very impressed with flavour, body and carbonation. If I can just leave it alone for a bit longer I guess it will improve further and clear more, as it&#39;s certainly not cleared jet.</p> <p>I will definately put another of these in the FV and quickly, as after tonight&#39;s tasting, the 35 bottles in the shed won&#39;t last anywhere near the Christmas hols.</p> <p><img src="http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb230/pagandog/StPBottle.jpg"><br /> <img src="http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb230/pagandog/Glass.jpg"> </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wherry-tweaking-advice#post-20681 Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:16:02 +0000 beerlover1983 20681@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Right the brewfridge is empty .I fancy going to a wherry so i already have my dry malt to add 250grm and some nelson sauvin hops for dry hopping.</p> <p>My question is do you get much more abv or anything from adding 500grm of the dry malt.</p> <p>And if i want to make it really hoppy could i make a hop tea with some of the hops(unsure on quantity) add that to wort at start.</p> <p>Then also dry hop with 10-30 grms after three days </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/coopers-mexican-is-it-ok-to-ferment-at-16-18c#post-20672 Sat, 08 Oct 2011 11:55:28 +0000 aderuk 20672@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Also i have the yeast it came with and i have a mauribrew 497 which one would be best ? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/coopers-pilsener-keeping-the-yeast#post-20703 Sun, 09 Oct 2011 09:35:08 +0000 HicHaecHoc 20703@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi Guys<br /> Started a Thomas Cooper&#39;s Brewmaster Pilsener on the 25/9/11 in a polypropylene container fitted with an airlock. It was a bit slow to get going but after giving it a damn good shake it took off. Once it had stopped fermenting it was bottled late last night. I like PET bottles, you can squeeze them to get a feel for how much pressure is inside, they don&#39;t explode (I&#39;m told you get white stress marks forming first) and they go in the frige easily. Anyway, at the end of the syphoning I poured the dregs into a couple of small bottles. This morning I found the dregs had gone after the priming sugar and these two bottles were rigid with pressure which I have carefully released. I&#39;m intending pouring one away and keeping the other in the fridge as an insurance should the next brew stick but has anyone any comments on how long it will stay viable like this?<br /> Cheers<br /> Hic</p> <p><img src="http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff482/B164D/ThomasCoopersPilsener.jpg"> </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/what-should-i-add-for-a-good-stout#post-20673 Sat, 08 Oct 2011 12:28:59 +0000 Kilifin 20673@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi newbie here just wondering what I should add to coopers stout to make it better? Also I&#39;ve heard some say to use 2 tins instead of one? Would this work better? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/bottle-storage-temperature#post-20657 Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:43:26 +0000 cris 20657@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi, I am returning to homebrew after 25+ years away. I bottled 36pts of St Peter&#39;s Gold Ale a week ago and it&#39;s been left indoors since then. I plan to move it outside for &quot;cooler storage&quot; tomorow but there is no temperature guidence on the box. Chosen place at the moment is a timber shed with the window screened and ill fitting door. Is this likely to be OK, advice on what sort of temperature fluctuations are acceptable at this stage would be helpful.<br /> Thanks<br /> Chris </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/suggest-a-new-brew#post-20641 Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:45:56 +0000 Wookie 20641@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I&#39;ve made 2 batches of &#39;Woodfordes Wherry&#39; and I&#39;m looking for something else now as other people don&#39;t tend to like the darker Ales. I&#39;m looking for a light ale or a lager of some sort(is it even possible to make lagers? )</p> <p>Any suggestions? &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/ideas-for-next-kit-purchase#post-20584 Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:22:39 +0000 Liam 20584@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Ok looking to buy my next premium kit. What do people suggest? Looking for a good all rounded ale maybe an ipa? After something with a good flavour. All suggestions appreciated </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/should-i-add-more-sugar#post-20337 Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:57:09 +0000 aderuk 20337@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi guys ,I have my first batch of coopers lager 40 pints now bottled (since saturday).I done a batch prime before bottling up as suggested (85g of sugar boiled in 200ml of water,which = 2g per bottle)now im not sure if this is enough for lager As the instructions say add 6g per bottle.Can anyone offer any advice,if i need more sugar etc and if i do will be ok to open bottles to add more. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/help-can-i-bottle-my-brew-yet-newbee#post-20530 Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:22:07 +0000 sionwynj 20530@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>When can I bottle my brew, its had a sg of 1.10 for 3 days now, don&#39;t want pet 500ml bottles to explode! And is it ok to put 1 carbonation drop in each, it says on paket 1 per 750ml? Newbee </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/secondary-with-out-priming#post-20467 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:08:48 +0000 popey 20467@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi,<br /> After 12 days in primary fv,i have now transfered my Wherry into a secondary fermentation vessel with out adding priming sugar, because i am not able to bottle for at least another four days, and my question&#39;s are:<br /> 1 How long can i leave it in this state.<br /> 2 Should i close the fv lid tight ,i do not have an air lock.<br /> 3 When im ready, how do i add the priming sugar.<br /> Thanks in advance,<br /> Poppey </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/which-fvhelp-please#post-20448 Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:48:02 +0000 binny 20448@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Guys,</p> <p>So Im relatively new to this game and started out with a Coopers Microbrewery kit. The damn kids while &quot;attempting&quot; to get something from the shed has just ruined my FV by breaking off the tap and subsequently my brew has disappeared all over the shed floor (nice aroma but awful mess).</p> <p>Im now having to get another FV but unsure which one, obviously need a minimum of 23lt so was think of this times 2 (second one to use as my priming/bottling tank) <a href="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/containers/fermenters/25-litre-fermentation-grommet-vessel-fitted-with-drum-tap.html">null</a></p> <p>Problem is that I don&#39;t know what the difference is with a standard lid and one drilled for airlock????</p> <p>Cheers </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/maintaining-optimum-tempadvice-needed-please#post-20381 Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:32:43 +0000 binny 20381@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Guys,</p> <p>Basically the other half has banned me from keeping my Brew in the airing cupboard for the first week (booooo &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_sad.gif&quot; title=&quot;:(&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; ), been trying to think of an alternative and......thought about popping to B&amp;Q to buy me a cheap heating jacket for the old hot water tanks, wrap this round and use a couple of bungee cords to keep it secure.</p> <p>Has anyone else tried this? Does it / would it work?</p> <p>Many thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-time-brewing-cant-keep-temperature-down#post-20318 Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:10:35 +0000 richard riley 20318@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi, some advise please. Have brewed my first beer, but live in spain and could not keep temperature down below 26 degrees and the resulting beer tastes fine but it a bit cloudy and there are sediment lumps in the beer and can not get any fizz into the beer even with a cannister. Is there anything I can do to recover this attempt? Thanks Richard </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/newbie-question-coopers-english-bitter#post-19976 Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:49:30 +0000 Ricardo1883 19976@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello Everyone!</p> <p>Like many similar threads started by &quot;learners&quot; I will start by saying I have been reading with interest many of the threads on here and pretty much everything is covered, there are 2 queries I have:</p> <p>1, I have taken delivery (from brewuk naturally) of the coopers starter kit with english bitter and brew enhancer 1, i also added 1kg of youngs brewing sugar to the order to get free delivery! Upon opening the box I note that the can states that it recommends 500g of coopers light dry malt. Do I need to make a further purchase or should i make use of the enhancer or sugar I have received? Any advice would be gratefully received!</p> <p>2, Carbonation Drops, when bottling this brew, shall I use 1 drop or 2? I have seen 1 drop recommended on certain forums but this is not mentioned in the instructions that came with it, again any opinions would be gratefully received!</p> <p>Many thanks for taking the time to read my 1st post!</p> <p>Regards</p> <p>Ricardo 1883<br /> ALWAYS GAS! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/coopers-brewmaster-sparkling-ale-advice-needed#post-20241 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:22:36 +0000 binny 20241@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Guys, </p> <p>looking to do this as my next batch but Im a little confused (doesn&#39;t take alot to be fair)</p> <p>The overview states &quot;Designed to be brewed with 1.5kg Light Malt Extract, 500g Light Dry Malt and 300g Dextrose/Sugar&quot;</p> <p>Yet in the Product description it says &quot;1Kg of additional sugar required&quot;</p> <p>So which is it? 300g or 1Kg or 1.3Kg?</p> <p>Or circumvent the need for it by brewing with 2 cans?</p> <p>Thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/roll-on-winter#post-20266 Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:27:58 +0000 stray66uk 20266@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>My wherry is conditioning supposedly outside in an outbuilding. The only problem is its sat at 19 degrees ! When I last made homebrew years ago we were obsessed with keeping it warm. Now its a constant struggle keeping it cool. Again roll on winter &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_mrgreen.gif&quot; title=&quot;:mrgreen:&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/primary-fermenation#post-20228 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:21:00 +0000 popey 20228@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>My Werry is now down to 1010,in four days, and i want to keep it in the primary fv for a good two weeks, or more.<br /> My question is,as i dont use an air lock, should i snap the lid tight, or crack it open a little bit.<br /> Thank you </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brewers-choice#post-8010 Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:07:45 +0000 zolajack 8010@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I may be having a senior moment , but where it says &quot; add the bag of malt extract to the formenting vessel and stir,&quot; it then says add your chosen ingredient, (1) Sugar, (2)spray dried Malt extract,1Kg (3) Brupack premium grade malt extract 1.5Kg these 3, I presume, needs to be bought seperately, I&#39;m thinking I&#39;ve alredy added the bag of malt extract, why do I need to add some more , it&#39;s very confusing. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/no-sugar-added-at-secondary-fermentation-help#post-20047 Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:47:36 +0000 Jswood007 20047@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Is it time to start again???</p> <p>Just sampled my St Peter&#39;s ruby red ale tonight. Absolutely great from the bottle. Bottled x 20 500ml the rest went into the keg on 30/7.<br /> The keg beer is flat and darker than the bottled ale and not as clear. I have been reflecting and I am now pretty sure that I did not put any sugar into the keg when splitting the beer into bottle and keg!<br /> The question is can this beer be saved?? or must I discard it? It is a a very good pint and I was hoping to compare if the bottle ale would compare to the Keg ale.</p> <p>Hope that you can advise me what to do. I have another Ale ready to go, but like so many hate to see beer go to waste.</p> <p>jswood007 </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/santas-winter-warmer#post-18990 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:23:40 +0000 robabsalom 18990@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all</p> <p>I&#39;m going to be starting this one of for xmas in the next week so that it&#39;s got a decent amount of time to condition for Christmas. I wondered if anyone done this kit before and has any tips od recommendation?</p> <p>Also, I&#39;ve still got 250gms of extra light spray malt knocking around, is it work adding this when i make up the kit as I did with the Wherry recently?</p> <p>I&#39;m after a high ABV for this one (being xmas and all!) so was wondering if i could maybe reduce the amount of water that I add a bit. Is this ok to do or will it potentially ruin the final beer? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/flat-beer-needs-saving#post-20195 Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:26:45 +0000 Iestyn 20195@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all,</p> <p>My cooper&#39;s bitter has been conditioning in a barrel for 3 weeks now. I added plenty of dextrose in 2nd ferment stage but I&#39;m pretty sure the valve on my (borrowed) barrel is faulty (I heard hissing noises in 2nd ferm). </p> <p>The ale&#39;s nice but a bit dull without the bubbles and hasn&#39;t cleared completely yet, so, what would happen if I were to bottle it and add a cooper&#39;s co2 drop in each bottle - would I get a sweet beer, or would there be some living yeast left to munch on the sugar?</p> <p>Any advice appreciated - don&#39;t want to waste a drop!</p> <p>Iestyn </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/noob-brewer-question#post-20137 Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:16:46 +0000 binny 20137@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hiya Fellow brewers,</p> <p>Im new to this game and already got my first kit on the go, being a Coopers DIY Lager Microbrewery.</p> <p>Im already thinking about my next brew, thinking of again a coopers but this time the Sparkling Ale. I have seen alot of talk about the 2 can rule to eliminate the need for extra sugar, can someone clarify if this is the case for this kit?</p> <p>looking at the recommended additions it wants 1.5kg Light Malt Extract, 500g Light Dry Malt and 300g Dextrose/Sugar....</p> <p>If I can use the 2x Can rule, what do I eliminate from the list above?</p> <p>Thanks and apologies if it seems a silly question.. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/sweet-cider#post-20089 Sun, 18 Sep 2011 10:36:47 +0000 delbert 20089@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>HI ALL, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A GO AT MAKING A SWEET CIDER (WOODPECKER, MAGNERS TYPE) ANY RECOMMENDATIONS? CHEERS DEL. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brewferm-ambiorix#post-20078 Sat, 17 Sep 2011 19:55:24 +0000 jharper 20078@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi All,</p> <p>Have made this before but the yeast is performing much better having put in a glass of sugary water at 30 degrees centigrade about 30 minutes before pitching.</p> <p>I couldn&#39;t resist popping the lid &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:-)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> <p><img src="http://i570.photobucket.com/albums/ss142/jharperooney/IMG-20110917-00044.jpg" /></p> <p>JH </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/tom-caxton-kits#post-20061 Sat, 17 Sep 2011 13:09:53 +0000 slimjim 20061@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>[b]Morrisons have reduced all tom caxton kits to £4.99ea don&#39;t know if they are available at every store<br /> but the one in stockport has sold them for years time to stock up i think</p> <p>regards </p> <p>derek </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/protective-co2#post-19929 Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:30:38 +0000 AKMild 19929@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Have just bottled 24 pints of Ruby Red and put the remaining 16 pints or so in a 5 gal pressure keg, having batch primed before bottling/kegging. Will the 16 pints in the keg produce enough CO2 to protect the beer, or should I be thinking of using a CO2 capsule to assist?</p> <p>(Apologies if you&#39;ve seen this post before, but I seem to have lost it in cyber-space). </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/too-much-gas#post-19972 Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:38:37 +0000 sohereweare 19972@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all, </p> <p>I have just finished my first ever brew with the first tasting session last night. The beer is great and i&#39;m really pleased. Just one question....When pouring from the the barrel tap, I have to be very careful not to open the cap too far as there seems like a hell of a lot of gusto behind the pouring! I can still pour a pint but often with half a of it to &#39;put a flake in that luv&#39;! Once it&#39;s settled down in the glass, it is fine.</p> <p>Is this normal? Will it soon lose a bit of the gas and be more controlled? Is there a way to take some out without messing the barrel up? </p> <p>Lastly, I plan for my next brew to be an Xmas ale. Any recommendations?</p> <p>Thanks in advance </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/why-did-beer-turn-bad#post-19347 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:28:22 +0000 robabsalom 19347@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I&#39;ve just had to throw away quite a bit of my first attempt at making woodforde&#39;s wherry. I decided to bottle half and barrel half as an experiment. The barrel tasted the best but after only a month went completely flat and vinegary tasting. Bottles were ok but not as nice as the barrel had been. I&#39;ve just opened one of the last 5 bottles and that tasted bad as well - again a bit vinegary and an aftertaste of soap.</p> <p>As far as I can tell everything was sanitised with VWP and i made sure to rinse thoroughly, so I really at a loss to what happened. I&#39;m just a bit concerned as the Santa&#39;s Winter Warmer i have fermenting is going to all be bottled for Xmas and I&#39;d hate to have the same thing happen to this one. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-brew-results-and-thoughts-of-a-first-timer#post-19316 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:14:47 +0000 Zongo 19316@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Well, here are some thoughts from a novice on my first brewing adventure!</p> <p>My kit of choice was a St. Peter&#39;s IPA, partly because IPA is my tipple of choice and partly because this is a 2-can kit, so there was less chance of me messing it up through general dimness. The brewing-up process was pretty easy for a novice, although I didn&#39;t warm the cans up enough, so the wort was still pretty thick &amp; gloopy when I was adding it to the FV. This meant that I ended up using a bit more boiling water to rinse out the cans (too much, I think), so it took a while for the temperature of the wort to drop enough to pitch the yeast. But eventually I was able to add the yeast and move the FV into the spare room to ferment.</p> <p>It spent about 5 days bubbling away nicely - I wouldn&#39;t say it was going mental or anything, but it was enough to convince me that it was working OK. After 5 days, it seemed to calm down, although there was still the odd bubble coming out every few minutes. I left it like this for a few more days, but by day 8 I probably panicked a bit and decided to bottle it, even though there was still the odd bubble coming out. I tried using my hydrometer to test it, but wasn&#39;t really confident that I was reading it right. Also, I was worried that I might be leaving it in the FV too long (I now know that I would have been fine leaving it a few days longer, but, hey-ho, it&#39;s all a learning curve, right?)</p> <p>Bottling went OK, but sterilising, rinsing and priming the bottles took aaaages, about 2 hours all in (I&#39;ve done another couple of Brews since, and this is definitely the bit that&#39;s the biggest pain in the bum, so I am planning on buying a bottle rinser before my next Brew). I also found that priming the bottles was more difficult than I expected- I kept spilling the sugar - so I&#39;ve since bought a little funnel, which has made this a lot easier. Peeling the lid off the FV was amazing, the smell of the beer was just fantastic (and it actually smelled like beer, not vinegar, meaning I had Been Competent - woo-hoo!). Using the syphon was actually OK (I&#39;d spent the day before practicing with cold water to make sure I could do it right) and capping the bottles went fine. I had collected a selection of different ale &amp; cider bottles, but the only ones that caused me grief were the two Wychwood Brewery ones, which I could cap at all (luckily I&#39;d made sure I had a few extra ones, so I didn&#39;t lose any beer. I found that the markings on my FV were a bit out, so filling up to 19 litres (the volume for this kit) actually gave me 18 litres (36 bottles) of beer.</p> <p>Then came the worst, most agonising bit of the whole process. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiting. God that was hard. I&#39;d told myself I&#39;d leave it for at least 4 weeks before trying it (fool), but after 2 weeks, I couldn&#39;t take it anymore and opened one. It was still a bit cloudy, but it tasted LIKE BEER! It had a bit a of a sharp aftertaste, but it was still drinkable (put it this way, I&#39;ve had a lot worse in my time). I managed to wait another week before trying another, and it had improved a hell of a lot in the meantime, it was clearer and it had mellowed out nicely. </p> <p>This weekend, after 4 weeks conditioning, it&#39;s clear and tasting really nice (there is maybe still a hint of a &quot;yeasty&quot; aftertaste to it, but it isn&#39;t unpleasant or anything). I had one on Saturday, followed by a shop-bought bottle (a Cairngorm Brewery Trade Winds, a very nice pint actually) and actually found the home brewed one tasted a lot better! Result! Although I did find that one of the bottles I had on Saturday hadn&#39;t cleared at all, which I&#39;m thinking may be because it was one of the first or last to be bottled, so might have got a lot more sediment that might have been disturbed during bottling (Does this sound likely? Any advice from more experienced hands would be most appreciated.)</p> <p>So, here I am. I&#39;d call my first go a success. By next Friday, my second batch (a Thomas Cooper&#39;s Irish Stout) will have been conditioning for 2 weeks, so I&#39;ll probably snap, and have a bottle to see how it&#39;s coming along. I&#39;ve also done a Brewferm Xmas ale, but that won&#39;t be ready until the holibags (and yes, I WILL leave that till Xmas. Honest, I will!) Now, I&#39;m at the stage of collecting my empty bottles until I have enough for my next Brew (which will be a Brewmaker Scottish heavy). 19 bottles down, just 30-odd to go.</p> <p>Thanks to anyone who gave advice during my first go (and if you&#39;ve managed to read to the end of this, thanks for that as well!) </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/getting-disheartened#post-19779 Fri, 09 Sep 2011 10:58:56 +0000 robabsalom 19779@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>After 2 wherry kits I&#39;ve noticed that after a month or so of being in the barrel/bottles the beer turns a bit chemical tasting, and i&#39;ve often tipped a glass away after only a few sips. I&#39;ve tried to work out what could be causing this and have put it down to 2 things - </p> <p>1.Perhaps still traces of VWP causing flavour change?<br /> 2. The hardness of my tap water affecting the taste.</p> <p>I tried to eliminate the first issue when I made my 2nd batch of wherry by really making sure everything was well rinsed off with boiling water before using. I&#39;ve checked with southern water website and my water reading is Ca mg/l 103.6. This seems quite a high hardness reading, could this be gradually turning my beer taste a bit weird?</p> <p>I&#39;ve just bottled my 3rd ever brew last night (Santa&#39;s winter warmer) and I&#39;ll be gutted if the same thing happens with this. I guess I&#39;ll know in 3 months time.</p> <p>Next brew I think I&#39;ll try buying bottles water and see if it solves this issue..... </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hopping-up-a-stout#post-19595 Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:30:10 +0000 Goliath 19595@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello!</p> <p>I&#39;m going to be making a stout (kit, as money is tough at the moment) for Christmas and want to try hopping it up somewhat. I&#39;ve been reading a lot and understand the different methods and what they do, but am wondering if anyone has any specific (or not so) recommendations?<br /> It&#39;s a Cooper&#39;s Brewmaster Irish Stout kit, to which I&#39;ll be adding 500g dark DME, 500g extra dark DME and 500g (?) molasses sugar. The hops will be Goldings. </p> <p>If someone could give me a ball park figure (I know everyone likes different flavours) of what amount of hops and what type of method to use for an Irish Stout, I&#39;d be very grateful &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/when-to-add-spray-malt-to-kits#post-19727 Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:47:40 +0000 mg 19727@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi there. First post on here, but I&#39;ve been lurking for a while and picking up tips. Good forum.</p> <p>I brewed a second batch of Wherry using Saracen&#39;s tips, but had a quick question. We add the extra spray malt up front at the same time as the kit is diluted. For the Munton&#39;s Gold IPA kit, they recommend adding sugar/spray malt at the time of bottling/kegging to increase the final ABV, when primary fermentation is complete.</p> <p>What difference does it make when you add the extra spray malt? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wherry-hydrometer-reading#post-19518 Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:54:16 +0000 stray66uk 19518@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi</p> <p>I don,t know whether I have a problem here. As far as I can tell my reading is 1018 ish which i think is a bit high. Its been in the FV for 10 days now. I didn,t take the original reading but its the standard wherry kit with 250g of spraymalt and hops added. I think I will just leave it another week or should I give it a stir.</p> <p><a href="http://s835.photobucket.com/albums/zz276/stray66uk/" rel="nofollow">http://s835.photobucket.com/albums/zz276/stray66uk/</a> </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/tips-for-a-complete-novice#post-19302 Sun, 28 Aug 2011 10:52:30 +0000 Tealo 19302@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I intend on buying the Coopers Austrailian Lager Starter Kit in a few weeks when I move house. </p> <p>This will be my first ever kit, in fact, my first ever attempt at brewing. I like crisp fresh lagers.</p> <p>I was hoping that the expertise here would be able to give tips and advice to make my first brew a triumph.</p> <p>Cheers guys </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/modified-coopers-stout#post-17953 Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:35:03 +0000 Lee 17953@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I&#39;d appreciate some feedback on this approach to a Coopers Irish stout I&#39;m thinking of doing soon. I got this from a reviewer at Amazon. It doesn&#39;t seem right to me, but I trust the opinion of you guys here..</p> <p><em>&quot;I made this kit as instructed to, but with a few additions to make a lovely Guinness clone. First we start with taking a can of Guinness draught, opening it and pour it into a tupperware box, seal it and leave it for 1 month! (yep). This produces a great sour taste just like the black stuff. On brew day boil this &quot;mature&quot; Guinness with 1kg of brown sugar and 1 litre of water for 20 mins (make sure there is no mould or you will get sick!) Then add this to the Coopers Stout and 23 litres of water, pitch blah blah blah..... After about 6 weeks in the bottle, the babies are ready to be popped. Enjoy!&quot;</em></p> <p>Thanks,</p> <p>Lee </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/school-boy-error#post-17699 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:01:51 +0000 Lee 17699@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello all,</p> <p>Firstly, a huge thank you to all regular contributors for all your advice to other forum users. I&#39;ve been lurking in the background for a few weeks now, and have learnt a great deal.</p> <p>My Wherry kit has been fairly text book: it bubbled away like mad, and I got a good foam after 2 days. The bubbling slowed down and I checked SG at day 6: 1.018. At day 11 the bubbling was at 90 sec gaps, so I decided to keg with 75g sugar. In my excitement I completely forgot to measure SG until after I&#39;d put the beer and sugar in the keg, so it measured 1.018 again.</p> <p>Looking back through my notes, I realise I didn&#39;t stir in the yeast after I sprinkled it on the top, and when I came to clean out the FV there was a crusty rim above the beer line. Is this unused yeast, and has this caused the SG to stay high? Or, has the sugar raised it again? It tasted quite good, so perhaps I am worrying unnecessarily? </p> <p>Lee </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brewing-at-last#post-19219 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:19:45 +0000 stray66uk 19219@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Well I finally placed my order at brew uk and day or so later it arrived. I am very impressed with the quality and service at brew uk spot on.<br /> So after waiting 9 hours for the mix to cool down to 20 degrees in went the yeast last night. Ive just spent 20 minutes watching the bubbles in the airlock this morning, sad really innit.<br /> The beer seems to have settled at 22 - 23 degrees which is a bit warm I think but I have no way of cooling it down. Do you think i will get away with this temperature? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/how-much-gas-to-repressure-a-leaking-barrel#post-19187 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:05:50 +0000 mereapprentice 19187@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi everyone</p> <p>I can notice a very faint but nevertheless present hissing sound coming from the cap on my pressure barrel. Could you advise...if I remove and reseal as per saracen&#39;s advice below, how much CO2 should I give it? I&#39;ve got one of the 8g canisters...can you control input with these anyway, or are they single use?</p> <p>Its been in the barrel for 3 days.</p> <p>Many thanks... </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/which-micro-brewery#post-18715 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:25:13 +0000 stray66uk 18715@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi<br /> I,m looking to buy a microbrewery and wondered which one you recommend.<br /> I tried home brewing years ago and had some real horrors but fancy another go.<br /> I am thinking of getting the coopers one as it includes bottles. The last time I used a barrel and I always thought that the fact I couldnt chill it, spoilt it, whereas that wouldnt be a problem with bottles. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/barrel-shelf-life#post-19172 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:06:37 +0000 bongo beer 19172@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Dear All,</p> <p>I am sure it has been raised before, but I am interested in people&#39;s experience re how long the beer will last in the barrel and what can affect it&#39;s shelf life, eg. light, temperature, brew, full/half full and so on.</p> <p>Bottles seem to last and last, and so far I am yet to have a barrel last beyond two months - and that was only because I had plenty of other brews knocking about. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/keg-didnt-seal-what-next#post-19134 Sun, 21 Aug 2011 09:43:13 +0000 Caribcat 19134@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I set my keg up in the cellar and then went on holiday for the week, came back to find that the keg hadn&#39;t sealed as there was a kink on the rubber seal. Have added half the amount of sugar again and a different cap with cartridge. After 10 days the beer doesn&#39;t seem to be clearing and tastes pretty sweet! Do I throw it away and start again? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/self-tilting-fermentation-bucket#post-19098 Sat, 20 Aug 2011 10:31:11 +0000 jharper 19098@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi All,</p> <p>Put this together earlier to help racking. Pure weight distribution. Helps prevent disturbing the lees and hands free &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:-)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> <p><img src="http://i570.photobucket.com/albums/ss142/jharperooney/SDC10888.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://i570.photobucket.com/albums/ss142/jharperooney/SDC10889.jpg" /></p> <p>Happy Brewing</p> <p>JH </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/fv-process-first-timer#post-19016 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:07:57 +0000 Daz_P 19016@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi All,</p> <p>I&#39;ve recently kegged (7 days ago) my first brew attempt which was the Coopers Pale Ale kit. Had a small test of it last night and it tastes fine and has a good body, so now just a case of leaving it for a month or so to allow the flavour and body to develop.</p> <p>My question is around the fermenting stage;</p> <p>The instructions/guidance provided in the kit appeared to indicate filling the FV with the required water, Coopers and yeast etc and then leave in the right environment to ferment, but also to leave the lid of the fermentation bin slightly loose and not sealed all the way around. I followed this and appear to have a decent beer at the end of it but i&#39;m noticing lots of comments in other threads about completely sealing the FV and using air locks etc.</p> <p>Have I gone wrong in the process despite appearing to have achieved the right end result? </p> <p>I&#39;m about to purchase and brew a second kit and want to improve as I go on so any tips welcome </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/sterilising-solution-first-time-user-is-it-safe-for-brass-valves#post-19081 Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:27:42 +0000 Simon78 19081@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello, I&#39;m new to brewing and am just about to clean my 40pint plastic barrels for the first time after my first 2 brews. Both barrells are pretty heavily soiled. I have got youngs steriliser and am looking for some general cleaning tips and also I&#39;m wondering whether it&#39;s safe to soak the meatal parts in cleaning solution (i.e the brass valves) as someone told me this would damage them? Any tips and advice would be much appreciated. Thanks Si. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/beer-comes-out-slow#post-19041 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:04:46 +0000 sibo 19041@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Kegged my beer and tried a pint but it comes out really slow, is it just because its only been a week in the second stage (it had 14 in the first) just thought i would try a pint and its lusssh lol. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/geordie-bitter-enhanced#post-17898 Sat, 16 Jul 2011 17:45:10 +0000 hammy1801 17898@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all<br /> After successfully modifying a Geordie lager kit with the addition of extra hops I thought id try my hand at modifying a Geordie bitter kit, recipe is:</p> <p>100gm Crystal Malt<br /> 50gm Chocolate Malt<br /> (Steeped for 30 mins in 4 Litres water)<br /> 1kg beer-kit enhancer<br /> 500gm golden syrup<br /> Geordie Bitter Kit.</p> <p>Dont know whether or not to dry hop, got 10 days or so to decide!!<br /> Comments, as always are very welcome &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_biggrin.gif&quot; title=&quot;:D&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/too-much-water-1#post-18554 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:38:50 +0000 bluecrow 18554@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello everyone,</p> <p>I just put the lid on my first ever brew. Unfortunately I&#39;ve added too much water (4 litres extra). Will this ruin it or just water down the taste? Anything I can do? I don&#39;t have any more malt. I&#39;m making a Wherry using the Woodfordes kit.</p> <p>Thanks for any advice! </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/newbie-nightmare#post-18959 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:54:33 +0000 Gaztec 18959@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi everyone! I&#39;ve recently purchased the Woodforde&#39;s Wherry starter kit, and set about eagerly getting my first ever batch of homebrew on the go 5 days ago.</p> <p>Well, I made a major mistake in the beginning being that, since I didn&#39;t have any Campden tablets to dechlorinate the tap water here (kept reading about that being essential to avoid a medicinal taste in your beer), I boiled the water first, then left it to cool.</p> <p>Once it had cooled, what I believed to be sufficiently (the container was still warm to the touch, though), I went through the steps of adding the malt extract with boiling water, pouring the remaining water on top, then pitching the yeast and giving it a brief stir.</p> <p>Well, it was only at that point that I realised the stick-on thermometer on the FV was registering 40, the highest on its scale, and despite the fact that it&#39;s mentioned nowhere on the instructions, the addition of COLD water is actually to cool down the initial boiling water to a suitable temperature by the time you&#39;ve made up your 5 gallons.</p> <p>Well, there wasn&#39;t much I could do as I&#39;d literally only realised that about 2 hours after sealing the bucket and leaving it to work, so I wrapped it in a cold towel. Over the next few days, the temperature has gradually stopped and sits stable at 22, and there are bubbles coming from the airlock -- but only randomly, literally 3-15 minutes apart.</p> <p>The wort itself has no crusty head, a minimal collection of small bubbles on the surface, and a ring of dried yeast around the top surface level. It&#39;s just not very &quot;active&quot; at all.</p> <p>Today, the 5th day, I decided to take a sample and plop in the hydrometer so I could get an idea of whether I just need to abandon this completely, and well... I put the hydrometer in the sample, and it&#39;s sunk so low that it isn&#39;t even registering the 0.90s.</p> <p>I just don&#39;t know what the hell is going on and it&#39;s really getting me annoyed with myself. This stuff is supposed to be easy, so it makes me feel like an idiot when I&#39;m here chasing my tail. I bought a new Wherry kit today, and was thinking of just binning this lot and trying again (I also bought some Campden tabs!).</p> <p>I know the helpful folk here don&#39;t like to recommend giving up, EVER, but this really just sounds like a monstrous failure. Would it be recommended to start again?</p> <p>Thanks a ton for any advice you guys can give. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hi-newbie-here-i-heed-some-advice-on-priming#post-19027 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:51:45 +0000 Leebo 19027@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all my wherry has been in the fv for ten days now and looking and smelling nice I want to move it to the keg then bottle it what is the best priming sugar and what is the best amount of sugar for priming thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/thomas-coopers-brewmaster-irish-stout-question#post-19009 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:24:36 +0000 Zongo 19009@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi Guys,</p> <p>I was wondering if anyone has tried this kit? I am trying to get a ballpark figure for the final alcohol content for my brew.</p> <p>Unfortunately, I broke my hydrometer when I was brewing it up, so I don&#39;t know what the OG was. I&#39;ve just bottled it, and the FG reading (using my newly purchased hydrometer) was 1011. I used 500g DME and 500g Brewing sugar.</p> <p>If anyone has done this kit with these additions, I&#39;d really like to know what your final alcohol percentsge was, just to give me an idea of what to expect. Ta very much. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/loss-of-barrel-pressure#post-18906 Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:47:21 +0000 kilconlea 18906@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Guys</p> <p>Had a Milestone Black Pearl stout in the barrel for the last three weeks sitting quietly in the garage, the few sneaky tasters have been fine. However since putting it in the fridge ready for serious drinking, it&#39;s lost pressure. Used a c02 canister (the little one) and got another two pints out ok, nice head/taste, but within 4 hours, the pressure&#39;s gone again. Is it because of the lower temp? Not happened before, the only prob I normally have is chill haze (which with a stout is not a prob).<br /> Any ideas? </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/have-i-ruined-my-first-ever-batch#post-18805 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:29:10 +0000 mereapprentice 18805@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello...</p> <p>First time brewer and poster. All help much appreciated...</p> <p>On Tuesday this week I started the primary fermentation of a Wherry kit. The first night, the cylinder airlock cap blew off, and I haven&#39;t been able to find it. I covered the airlock top with parcel tape and poked a few pin holes in it as a standy-by measure. By Wed night there was a foamy scum on top, although of course without an airlock, I couldn&#39;t guage the rate of CO2 coming off. However, I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of undissolved yeast floating on the scum, so (rather studpidly?) I took the long spoon and gave it a stir around. I did pour boiling water over the spoon first. When I took another peak this morning, the scum had disappeared, and there is a thick layer of yeasty sediment at the bottom of the bin. The brew doesn&#39;t seen to be bubbling at all. Have I ruined it? </p> <p>Another odd thing - the stick-on thermometer strip has never dropped below 24 degrees, even though I&#39;m sure it&#39;s not that warm in the room, and has occasionally read 26!</p> <p>Your thoughts and advice will be appreciated...thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/coopers-ginger-beer-kit-queries#post-18250 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:09:15 +0000 nexus-t 18250@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi there, I&#39;m a newbie to the forum &amp; to home brewing.</p> <p>Got my 2nd kit on the go - Coopers Ginger Beer - and have a couple of questions that I can&#39;t seem to clear up from searching on various forums, hoping you guys can help:</p> <p>- Used the single-tin Coopers Ginger Beer kit with the yeast and 1Kg demerara sugar, and about 19 litres.<br /> - It&#39;s been in the FV for 9 days today, and is still gurgling like mad. Took SG reading last night and it&#39;s dropped a bit. Sample still tastes quite sweet/worty.<br /> - If SG reading is the same tonight, was going to rack off into barrel (I don&#39;t have bottles) and add some CO2.<br /> HOWEVER<br /> 1. I&#39;m confused over priming sugar - the Coopers kit only mentions bottling/carbonation drops, but as this is going into barrel, should I use 0.5 teaspoon per pint, like the Woodfordes Wherry kit advises?<br /> 2. am I thinking of racking it off too early - should I give it a few more days even if SG is roughly stable?<br /> 3. I wanted to peel, roughly chop, and bash some ginger root and chuck it in the barrel when racking off - is this a bad idea? (I realise now it probably would have been better to add the ginger root or a tea made from the root at the start of fermentation, but would it do the flavour any good or any harm to do it in barrel?</p> <p>So nerve-wracking, really want the ginger beer to work &amp; have a bit of bite ... </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/2nd-fermentation-time#post-18864 Sun, 14 Aug 2011 10:08:22 +0000 hawkeye 18864@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hello All,</p> <p>Have tried using the search function but can&#39;t find a definitive answer, hopefully someone can help.</p> <p>I have a cider kit that has finished fermenting and has been in the bucket for 2 weeks, however I have not got the time to bottle before I go away for 3 weeks so I am not sure what to do.<br /> So in total it will be 5 weeks from when the kit was started.</p> <p>Should I put it into a 2nd bucket and then bottle when I get back? (should I add sugar?)</p> <p>Cheers </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brewmaster-best-of-british-old-english-ale-tips-advice#post-18801 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:08:22 +0000 Ian 18801@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I have jsut bought a Brewmaster Best of British Old English Ale which I will brew this weekend. It is only my third brew, first brew is a lot better that I had expected and second brew is in bottes - so not tried yet. I was just wandering if this kit is OK and if anyone had any tips / advice (or problems) to help with this brew. Or any additions which could improve it. If not I&#39;ll stick to the instructions. Cheers Ian. </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/airlock#post-18819 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:30:18 +0000 Leebo 18819@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Hi all</p> <p>I am new to brewing and got my wherry kit on the go yesterday after receiving it from brew UK smells good already but there is a small problem i got up this morning and found that the airlock top had been blown off guess i filled it with to much water ? and would this of affected the fermenting process thanks </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/2nd-wherry-on-the-go-with-saracens-tweaks#post-18606 Fri, 05 Aug 2011 22:48:59 +0000 robabsalom 18606@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>Just got this one on the go tonight and have a few questions...</p> <p>1. As per instructions, does adding the 250gms of spraymalt and only making the kit to 37 pints rather than 40 mean higher final ABV?</p> <p>2. When i add the hops in a few days time should i use a straining bag or just throw them in?</p> <p>3. my starting gravity reading was 1040 does that sound about right?</p> <p>Cheers in advance </p> http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/coopers-european-lager#post-18695 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 17:41:08 +0000 Goliath 18695@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <p>I was recently gifted one of these kits. I haven&#39;t done one for a while (moved onto extract) and so want to tart this up a bit. I&#39;m thinking DME (extra light?) and some dry hopping. I&#39;ve not dry hopped before, but assume I&#39;d want something like Tettnang, Hallertauer, etc... any recommendations of hops and amounts would be greatly appreciated &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; <br /> As for the dry hopping, I know you can just chuck them in the FV, or put them in a small nylon/muslin bag and take them out before bottling. Am I correct?</p> <p>Also, The reason I was given the kit is that it is going out of date this month. If I make the beer and bottle, will it be ok? This is assuming the best before date is referring to the best time to make the kit, not make the kit AND drink the beer...</p> <p>Thanks in advance for your help &lt;img src=&quot;http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif&quot; title=&quot;:)&quot; class=&quot;bb_smilies&quot; /&gt; </p>