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Brew UK Forum » Recent Topics http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Brew UK Forum » Recent Topics en Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:38:54 +0000 Ian on "Recipe ideas when using honey" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/recipe-ideas-when-using-honey#post-29036 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:30:56 +0000 Ian 29036@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I am looking for a recipe that uses honey. I have been given about 2KG of honey from a friend and was wondering how to include this in a brew? I have read the honey beer recipe on the 'recipe' page which sounds good, but I am also looking for ideas on spicing up a beer kit by adding some honey. I read the other month that someone had bought a cheap kit and added honey (and other ingredients) and it turned out alright. Just after some ideas? Any ideas? Cheers, Ian beertaster1 on "COOPERS BREWMASTER SPARKILING ALE question" 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/ Hi everyone was looking for some advice can i use 1 kg of muntons brew enhancer in stead of the following Designed to be brewed with 1.5kg Light Malt Extract, 500g Light Dry Malt and 300g any advice much appriciated <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_biggrin.gif" title=":D" class="bb_smilies" /> AKMild on "Tweaked Wherry looking dicey!" 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/ My fourth kit brew has been a tweaked Wherry, which went into the barrel three weeks ago. I've taken a sample at two weeks and (tonight) at three weeks, and what I'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's flat as a pancake, very cloudy and full of bits. The bits may be bits of hop following the dry hop, so I'm not really worried about them, but the beer does not taste right and although I don't like fizzy beer, I would have thought that the three weeks it's been in the barrel would have generated some CO2 (I batch primed it). I'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? This was the brew where I had a bit of trouble siphoning (see my previous post), and I've had bad feelings about it ever since. Who said you couldn't go wrong with a Wherry kit? Any advice or helpful remarks much appreciated! Keith Briff on "Brewing blog thingy !!!!" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brewing-blog-thingy#post-29941 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:40:30 +0000 Briff 29941@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi guys Just in case you were interested, me and my friend have decided to track the progress of our new hobby........ brewing , so far i had one major stress last night when i think fermentation had stopped due to it being bloody freezing in my flat....... but after some advice on here I’m a little less stressed.... So if any of you are interested in following please look us up it is BM ale on facebook. seamus48 on "First Crack at Tim Taylors's Landlord Extract Kit" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-crack-at-tim-taylorss-landlord-extract-kit#post-30233 Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:33:00 +0000 seamus48 30233@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Ok, our first crack at the new Brew UK Timothy Taylor's Landlord Extract kit: All ingredients checked as being present and correct and everything sanitised(?) with videne then rinsed (yes I know it doesn't need it but I do it anyway). <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010179.jpg"> 6L of water on the stove in the 15L stockpot and brought up to 68C, then temp stabilised before steeping 18g of Black Malt for 30 mins in a mussie bag. <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010163.jpg"> Meanwhile, weighed out 800g of DME and 25g of East Kent Goldings and 27 g of Styrian Goldings. <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010165.jpg"> 30 mins is up so out with the black malt and in with the first lot of DME. The balloon whisk is a godsend here... it really helps to mix in the DME quickly and smoothly! <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010168.jpg"> Bring the mix to the boil and add the first of the hops. <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010169.jpg"> Got a nice vigorous boil going now... only 65 mins to wait <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_confused.gif" title=":?" class="bb_smilies" /> <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010172.jpg"> While that's boilng away nicely the smackpack of Wyeast is doing its thing at 22C and the next batch of hops is weighed out... 18g of Styrians all ready to go. <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010173.jpg"> Timer's gone off so in with the last of the hops and set the timer for another 10 mins... will be 75 mins total boil. <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010174.jpg"> Then off with the heat, in with the remainder of the DME (1700g) and stir in nicely. <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010177.jpg"> Stockpot into the sink with cold running water and the occasional stir... temp down from 100C to 28C in 35 mins (found out that the wort chiller is being 'borrowed' by brew buddy son's mate without telling me!) <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010178.jpg"> 8L of cold water into the FV, then the contents of the stockpot poured into it through the strainer using the hops to help filter out the crud. <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010180.jpg"> Topped up to 21L also added through the hop bed to wash out the last of the flavours... by which time the smackpack has swollen up to bursting point! Quick temp check 21C... good to go... <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010181.jpg"> Opened carefully and poured in to the aerated wort... <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010182.jpg"> OG check, bang on 1042, FV lid on, air lock in, tucked away at a constant 20C for the next 14 days, job done! <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_mrgreen.gif" title=":mrgreen:" class="bb_smilies" /> <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/P1010185.jpg"> seamus48 on "The Movie Game" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/the-movie-game#post-22394 Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:16:42 +0000 seamus48 22394@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Ok, a new game. Identify the movie from the pic provided. If you get it right you get to set the next clue. I'll start you with a REALLY easy one so you get the idea... <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/Capturemovie1.jpg"> saracen on "Which Extract Kits do you want first?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/which-extract-kits-do-you-want-first#post-29586 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:26:10 +0000 saracen 29586@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Because there are so many Extract Recipes waiting to to be offered for sale, it would help Greg a lot to know which ones you'd like first. So far there is: Bass Mild Belhaven 60/- Hop Back Mild Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Archers Village Arkells 3B & Kingsdown Draught Bass Banks Bitter & Original Batemans XXXB & Victory Ale Bathams Best Bitter Belhaven 90/- Black Sheep Best Bitter Boddingtons Bitter Brakspears Bitter & Special Camerons Strongarm Cotleigh Barn Owl & Tawney Courage Best Bitter & Directors Donnington SBA Exe Valley Autumn Glory, Dob's Best Bitter & Spring Beer Exmoor Ale, Beast & Gold Fullers London Pride & EXB Greene King IPA Export Hop Back Old Master J W Lees Moonraker Marstons Pedigree Moorehouses Pendle Witches Morland Old Speckled Hen Ringwood 49er Summer Lightning 38 EBU & 43 EBU Theakstons Old Peculiar Timothy Taylor Landlord Robinsons Old Tom Wadworth 6X, JCB & Old Father Timer Worthington White Shield Batemans Salem Porter Ringwood XXXX Porter There will be AG recipes to follow soon and some more extracts. seamus48 on "one word game!" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/one-word-game#post-26730 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:44:53 +0000 seamus48 26730@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Port <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_neutral.gif" title=":|" class="bb_smilies" /> Nath on "Six nations rugby - BEER ON" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/six-nations-rugby-beer-on#post-30226 Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:56:03 +0000 Nath 30226@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Love rugby. Love beer. Love big TV. Love beer. Love to all seamus48 on "Making a yeast starter" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/making-a-yeast-starter-1#post-30018 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:59:32 +0000 seamus48 30018@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Ok and Yippee!!! Big box arrived from Greg today with 3 lovely new extract kits in so a double brew day is in the offing for sunday. However, the TTL and the Pride kits were ordered with liquid yeasts, Wyeast1469 and WLP002. We have not used liquid yeasts before so are really looking forward to trying them but, GW says in his book that making a starter is essential. I also want to retain some of the yeast for future use too. I think I understand how it is supposed to work but GW says to use DME to make up the starter. Obviously I have only have the amount of DME that comes with the recipe packs so don't want to steal any of that to make up a starter. I do have a kilo of brewing sugar in the cupboard so I wonder can I use that instead? If so, what's the best way to proceed? <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_question.gif" title=":?:" class="bb_smilies" /> Hamish on "Pseudo-Lager" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/pseudo-lager#post-27978 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:46:19 +0000 Hamish 27978@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Stocks are getting low so its time for the first brew of the year, this weekend if everything goes to plan. I want something that'll be ready quite quickly, so no lagering and as soon as it's dropped bright its going into the corny. I'll be dissapointed if I'm not drinking this within 3 weeks. Pseudo-Lager Lager Malt 3800 grams 88.4% Tesco flaked pudding rice 500 grams 11.6% Northern Brewer 9% 23 grams 75 minutes Saaz 3.1 % 10 grams 5 minutes Saaz 3.1 % 10 grams 0 minutes Protafloc 10 minutes 2 packs of Nottingham fermented at 14°C Final Volume: 23 litres Original Gravity: 1.042 Final Gravity: 1.010 Alcohol Content: 4.2% ABV Mash Efficiency: 75% Bitterness: 25 EBU Colour: 3 EBC johnh on "new strainer" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/new-strainer#post-24397 Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:49:53 +0000 johnh 24397@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hi just thought i'd show my new strainer that i bought today..it will be a great help when doing the 'Extract Kits' i bought off greg to strain the wort and catch the hops when pouring out of my stockpot to fermenter..as you can see it has extendable handles, and the 440ml cider can is just for size/scale purposes.. <img src="http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc500/jotterh/100_0175.jpg"> <img src="http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc500/jotterh/100_0174.jpg"> <img src="http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc500/jotterh/100_0173.jpg"> <img src="http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc500/jotterh/100_0172.jpg"> seamus48 on "Bubble Sniffers Anonymous..." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/bubble-sniffers-anonymous#post-25164 Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:38:34 +0000 seamus48 25164@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hello, I'm Seamus, and I am a Bubble Sniffer. It has been 4 brews since my last sniff... <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/Seamus48/smilies/chase.gif"> skodaboy on "Ginger beer explosion" 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/ Hello all, Hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas brewing. 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't exploded yet and it's been over a week. 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. I'm a newbie to bottling and would just like to know the risk of bringing the bottles inside. Sorry for the rambling details, Skodaboy henryallison on "Making port from cabernet sauvignon wine kit" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/making-port-from-cabernet-sauvignon-wine-kit#post-29968 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:29:51 +0000 henryallison 29968@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hello I was lucky enough to be given a 23l cabernet sauvignon wine kit and as i love port would like to try and fortify it and make one or two gallons of port. i have a few questions as i have found lots of different kinds of recipes online. at what S.G. do i add the brandy, the initial S.G is between 1.080-1.095. and what kinds of brandy can you use, is it ok to use regular dark brandy? i have the pearson square to help work out how much brandy to add. anything else i need to think about?? Thanks guys! Leemo on "Help and advice please" 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/ Hi everyone Please be gentle with me I'm new. 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. I was wondering what everyone else thought, I plan to make more ales like the wherry. 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. Any help would be great Nath on "Tonight I will mostly be drinking........" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/tonight-i-will-mostly-be-drinking#post-7766 Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:18:17 +0000 Nath 7766@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Shepards Neame Bishops Finger, Spitfire, Brewdog Punk IPA, Worthingtons Whiteshield and some crappy lager leftover Tuborg, and Stella 4% stuff. ihatenissanmicras on "gentlemans quiz" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/gentlemans-quiz#post-29923 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:16:11 +0000 ihatenissanmicras 29923@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Gentlemen Quiz 1. In the company of feminists, intercourse should be referred to as: a) Lovemaking b) Screwing c) The pigskin bus pulling into tuna town 2. You should make love to a woman for the first time only after you've both shared: a) Your views about what you expect from a sexual relationship b) Your blood-test results c) Five tequila slammers 3. You time your orgasm so that: a) Your partner climaxes first b) You both climax simultaneously c) You don't miss SportsCenter 4. Passionate, spontaneous sex on the kitchen floor is: a) Healthy, creative love-play b) Not the sort of thing your wife/girlfriend would ever agree to c) Not the sort of thing your wife/girlfriend need ever find out about 5. Spending the whole night cuddling a woman you've just had sex with is: a) The best part of the experience b) The second best part of the experience c) $100 extra 6. Your girlfriend says she's gained five pounds in weight in the last month. You tell her that it is: a) No concern of yours b) Not a problem - she can join your gym c) A conservative estimate 7. You think today's sensitive, caring man is: a) A myth b) An oxymoron c) A moron 8. Foreplay is to sex as: a) Appetizer is to entree b) Priming is to painting c) A queue is to an amusement park ride 9. Which of the following are you most likely to find yourself saying at the end of a relationship? a) "I hope we can still be friends." b) "I'm not in right now. Please leave a message after the tone...." c) "Welcome to Dumpsville. Population: You." 10. A woman who is uncomfortable watching you masturbate: a) Probably needs a little more time before she can cope with that sort of intimacy b) Is uptight and a waste of time c) Shouldn't have sat next to you on the bus in the first place If you answered 'A' more than 7 times, check your pants to make sure you really are a man. If you answered 'B' more than 7 times, check into therapy, you're still a little confused. If you answered 'C' more than 7 times, call me up. Let's go drinking saracen on "The time has come (AG setup)" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/the-tme-has-come-ag-setup#post-21961 Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:51:24 +0000 saracen 21961@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi Goliath. This, by Hamish, is probably the best set-up and how-to on the forum. I haven't checked, but I'm sure there are links somewhere for all the bits and pieces somewhere, especially the Mango Chutnety barrels that end up as boilers. If only I had the room. <a href="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brewery-build">Hamish Brewery Build</a> beany151067 on "help i have been a berk i think" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/help-i-have-been-a-berk-i-think#post-29928 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:25:10 +0000 beany151067 29928@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ i have done a coopers lager brew it is 8 days away from drinking....now i think i only put 1/2 a kg of sugar instead of 1kg,does this mean its now no good.....please help... kristopgun on "Hello all...intro and ginger beer enquiry :o)" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hello-allintro-and-ginger-beer-enquiry-o#post-30006 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:53:06 +0000 kristopgun 30006@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Great site & very informative, i've just moved to the US after living in NZ for the last 4 years (originally from UK tho) and find myself now deprived of both the shop bought non alcoholic ginger beer AND my good kiwi friends home brew Coopers derived alcoholic ginger beer <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_sad.gif" title=":(" class="bb_smilies" /> Fortunately I have just been given a brewing kit by my in laws and would like to start of course, with an alcoholic Ginger Beer. I have searched the site and have read Tony's posts about his ginger beer with interest and seen several mentions of the recipe as being found in the recipe section...i cannot for the life of me find it tho? Could anyone help me out and send me a link to this recipe or tell me exactly where it is? Also does anyone know if the alcohol content on the Coopers Ginger Beer mix can be boosted and how? According to my research the standard mix allows for 3.5% abv and i would like to aim more for the 6% abv mark. Any help is much appreciated!! Cheers Kris garrycav on "Stout Extract Recipe" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/stout-extract-recipe#post-19736 Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:35:11 +0000 garrycav 19736@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I want to try a stout for my next brew. I can't seem to find any extract recipes....is this because it can't be done the extract method? If not I'll go for a kit, any recommendations? Thanks G aderuk on "Coopers european lager question" 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/ 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). 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 ? jamesianbriggs on "Making Wine in Beer Stuff" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/making-wine-in-beer-stuff#post-29698 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:42:05 +0000 jamesianbriggs 29698@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hello all, I have two 25l fermenters with airlocks, taps and little bottler etc. that I use for beer. I'd like to try a wine kit so can anyone answer me a couple of questions: -Is it practical to make a six bottle kit in a 25l bucket or will I end up wasting loads of wine when siphoning stuff off sediment? -Will making wine in my beer stuff taint/stain it? Thanks, James beerlover1983 on "Post fao of goliath turbo water" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/post-fao-of-goliath-turbo-water#post-29944 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:02:35 +0000 beerlover1983 29944@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ What was the result of the turbo water and theme exotic flavourings ? Mech on "Adding DME to a boiler?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/adding-dme-to-a-boiler#post-29969 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:51:38 +0000 Mech 29969@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi all, Doing a Way to Amarillo extract kit tomorrow, I have a new Brupak boiler and might as well use to do the full amount. How do I add the DME? I've heard if you get the element coated in anything it will cut out, don't really want that half way through a boil <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_cry.gif" title=":cry:" class="bb_smilies" /> Would it be best to dissolve the DME in a seperate stockpot then add it to the boiler? nw on "First wine kit temperature control." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-wine-kit-temperature-control#post-29953 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:35:20 +0000 nw 29953@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi All I am just about to start my first ever wine kit (it’s a Beaverdale 6 bottle Rioja). It says in the instructions that the ideal temperature to ferment at is 20 degrees C (I’ll be doing this in my garage using the Electrim 75 immersion heater). What I would like to know is when the fermentation stage is over and I rack it off to another vessel do I still need to keep it warm or can I just remove the heater? justinjerez on "Newbie question: CO2 cartridges." 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/ Hello. I've recently started this new and exciting game with a St Peters golden ale kit. 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. I'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. 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. Thanks! oldbrewer on "Blackberry and apple wine" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/blackberry-and-apple-wine#post-27354 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:12:00 +0000 oldbrewer 27354@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I began making this wine many years ago when I had access to a large general orchard. It produces a full bodied red. INGEDIENTS 4lb blackberries 10lb mixed windfall apples 1lb raisins 3 ½ lb sugar (invert sugar preferably) Sodium metabisulphite Citric acid pectolase METHOD Note: this recipe does not use boiling water therefore strict hygiene is a must. Put the blackberries in a fermentation bin and crush. Chop the apples and liquidise (a little sodium metabisulphite and citric acid will stop the resultant juice from oxidising and turning brown. Add the apple juice to the blackberries with the chopped raisins. Once the sulphur dioxide has subsided add the pectolase, cover and leave 24 hours before adding the sugar. When the sugar has dissolved fully add a good red wine yeast. The mixture will foam up quite a bit when fermentation gets underway, just needs stirring a few times. Strain and fill a demijohn to the neck adjusting level with cold, boiled water if required. Ph may require adjustment as this is dependant on the apples. Fermentation can be an extended period and the resultant wine needs to mature in the bottles for several months. Sqiffy on "Proposed - New Brewers FAQ - Hydrometers." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hydrometers#post-29368 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:46:23 +0000 Sqiffy 29368@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ The following article is based upon the 'Stevenson Reeves Hydrometer', as this seems to be the most widely and easily available hydrometer available to home brewers. Hydrometer use is an area that new brewers frequently seem to have problems with. The use of this simple piece of equipment is extremely easy once a few simple rules are understood. This explanation is only a very rudimentary explanation of hydrometer use. The only scale on the hydrometer this explanation is concerned with is the Specific Gravity (SG) scale. The hydrometer is far more versatile than the following intimates but given the complexity of the explanation required we will keep it as simple as possible for the new brewer. Once you are comfortable with the following explanation of hydrometer use you will be better placed to understand the other uses the instrument can be put to. Why do we use a hydrometer? The density of our beer wort or wine must is measured as Specific Gravity (SG), that is the various sugars (fermentable and unfermentable) suspended in the liquid provide a density we can measure and which we know has a given alcohol potential. As our yeast consumes the fermentable sugars it produces two byproducts: Carbon Dioxide and alcohol. As the sugar is converted and the alcohol level increases our wort becomes less dense and so the SG level drops. In order to calculate the likely alcohol content of our beer or wine we need to make the following calculation… (Original Gravity - Final Gravity ) ÷ 7.36 = % Alcohol By Volume So the hydrometer will enable us to take a numerical reading at the start of our fermentation (this is the OG or Original Gravity) and monitor our beer or wine to gauge when it has reached it's 'end point' and stopped fermenting. The figure we get from our must or wort will then be our 'Final Gravity' (FG). So if we have a wine that has an OG of 1100 and an FG of 992 we have a wine of 14.6% ABV (1100 - 992) ÷ 7.36 = 14.67 %abv Not only does the hydrometer give us the figures required to calculate the alcohol content of our beer or wine but it also helps us to correct problems early on and to tell when the ferment is stuck or finished. Before we look more closely at the uses of the hydrometer it is necessary to explain how to read it and also how to check it's accuracy. Reading the instrument. The reading we need is given by the surface plane of the liquid. The figure will usually be between 980sg and 1200sg. <center><img src="http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/1151/hydr.jpg"></center> During discussions with other forum members it transpired that some hydrometers actually require the SG reading to be taken from the upper line, contrary to the illustration above. As all good hydrometers will come with an instruction leaflet users should always check the point at which the instrument should be read and temperature it is calibrated to as these can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Checking the Hydrometer's Calibration. Most UK hydrometers will, if accurate, read 1000sg in Distilled or Deionized Water (available from local chemists) at 20ºC. Do not use tap water for this calibration check. The liquid must be at calibration temperature to get an accurate reading. Obviously it is necessary to use a brewing thermometer to check the liquid temperature and so the accuracy of your hydrometer's reading. All good hydrometers will have the calibration temperature displayed on the instrument scale somewhere. Using the Hydrometer. Once you are happy with the accuracy of your hydrometer it's ready for use. Explanations of hydrometer use usually suggest putting a wort or must sample into a trial jar. The down side of this approach is that every time a sample is taken the wort or must is reduced by about 80ml (although the upside is you get to drink the sample). In view of this many people just drop the hydrometer straight into the primary and take a reading. Ensure your hydrometer has been properly cleaned and sterilised before putting it into your wort or must. Check that the temperature of your batch is correct for the hydrometer. Drop your instrument into the liquid and give it a gentle 'spin' to ensure no bubbles cling to the hydrometer glass, as this will distort the reading, and ensure the instrument is freely floating in the liquid. Once the reading has been taken note down the figure for future reference and remove the hydrometer from the liquid. While some people will leave their hydrometer in the FV for the last few days to monitor the fermentation doing so at the start is not advisable. In the early stages of the fermentation too many particles are to be found on or near the top of the wine or beer and some of these will inevitably stick to the hydrometer causing it to give a false reading (towards the end of the fermentation these particles will have dropped out and so the liquid will be clear enough to leave the hydrometer floating in for a few days). Any recipe or kit instruction should give a starting gravity figure (OG) as a point of reference for the beginning of the brew. The OG figure is usually accompanied by a final (target, or expected) %abv figure, although this figure is only nominal given the impossibility of telling what the final gravity of a beer or wine will be (as this figure relies on a number of unknown factors; yeast health, temperature fluctuation during fermentation etc). Generally we have an idea of where we expect a given brew to finish and in view of this we can get a good idea of the figure we need to start a brew off. For a beer of around 5% abv you are looking for a OG of 1050 (Probably finishing in the 1014 - 1010 range). For a beer of around 4% abv you are looking for a OG of 1044 (Probably finishing in the 1014 - 1010 range). For a wine around 13.5% abv you need an OG of 1092 and ferment the must to dry (FG 992) For a beer kit a general rule of thumb is to make the kit up and ensure the required OG is hit and then leave the kit to ferment for 14 days. Around day 11 you can drop the hydrometer into the wort and take a reading (remember to ensure the temperature is correct to give an accurate reading). Do the same on the following couple of days. If the kit has fully fermented the readings will remain constant over three readings. We would expect to see a reading in the 1014 - 1010 range. For wine a hydrometer reading of 992 will indicate that the wine has gone as far as it is likely to go and has fully fermented. Stuck Fermentation. The hydrometer will also indicate when we have a stuck fermentation. If, when we test our wort or must, the expected end point is still some way off this can indicate a stuck fermentation. If a stuck fermentation is thought to have occurred then take a hydrometer reading for three successive days. If the figure recorded remains constant but is still high then chances are you have a slow or stuck fermentation on your hands. The above is an extremely truncated explanation of hydrometer use and scientific principles. It is, however, a good enough explanation of the instrument's use for the new brewer to avoid the majority of common issues associated with using a hydrometer. iydenjohn on "how to stop the fermentation??" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/how-to-stop-the-fermentation#post-30005 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:46:24 +0000 iydenjohn 30005@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ how do i stop the fermentation process?? haroldhare on "Vinbrite Filter kit" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/vinbrite-filter-kit#post-29639 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:37:33 +0000 haroldhare 29639@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I'm new to this, but I bought a filter kit for my 25ltrs of wine. It took 3hrs + to filter it all. The filter just trickled the wine into the bucket. I had everything set up correctly and I know the concept of siphoning so that wasn't the problem, and I assembled the filter as per instructions, I think!! IT cant be that slow can it? Any advice would be greatly helpful for my next batch.. Cheers grmski on "Silver Birch Sap Wine" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/silver-birch-sap-wine#post-29943 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:44:38 +0000 grmski 29943@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I can't take any credit (or abuse) for this. I saw the recipe in todays Guardian and thought it might be of interest to someone here. Birch sap tastes almost exactly like water – but the freshest water you have ever tasted, with just a hint of sweetness (0.7% sugar is the highest I have ever found). It does not keep very long – about four days in the fridge – so use it as soon as you can. Here is how you make the wine. 4.5 litres of birch sap 200ml white grape juice concentrate Juice from two lemons 1.2 kg white sugar Sachet white wine yeast Yeast nutrient – follow instructions on packet Gently heat the sap in a pan with the lid on to 75C and keep at that temperature for 20 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the sugar until it is dissolved. Closely cover the pan and allow to cool. Transfer to a fermentation bucket and add the lemon juice, grape juice concentrate, yeast and yeast nutrients. Keep the bucket closely covered for five days then siphon into a demi-john, fit the bubble-trap and leave for about two months. Rack-off into a fresh demi-john and bottle when it is all nice and clear. This stuff goes bad for a pastime, so be extra careful making sure everything is sterile and the bottles well sealed. The flavour? Light, dry, fruity, with a faint piquancy of wet paper bag. reekmaster on "SEDIMENT ISSUES" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/sediment-issues#post-24422 Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:57:31 +0000 reekmaster 24422@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ JUST DONE MY FIRST WHITE WINE KIT,AFTER BOTTLING AND LEAVING FOR A FEW WEEKS TO CHILL IVE NOTICED THERE IS A LAYER OF SEDIMENT AT THE BOTTOM OF ALL THE BOTTLES , ANYONE ANY IDEAS HOW I CAN STOP THIS HAPPENING AGAIN .OTHER THAN THAT THE WINE IS REALLY CLEAR Barracuda on "Kit Enhancement - Black IPA" 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/ Hey all. 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? prince_of_spain on "Very low OG?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/very-low-og#post-29880 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:46:51 +0000 prince_of_spain 29880@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hey folks, some help required. I've just measured the OG of my extract clone of Batemans Salem Porter from GW's book. The OG was 1030, should be around the 1048 mark according to the book. I did have to substitute some demerara and sugar crystals as there wasn't enough regular sugar in the cupboard. I did have a quick look on the web for info and it seems this is OK to do. The wort was sitting for a couple of days in the flat, I reckon the average temperature in the flat is about 12 degrees just now, which makes my reading even worse! Any ideas where I may have cocked up? Cheers, Kev. beerlover1983 on "Extract brewing with boiler" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/extract-brewing-with-boiler#post-29947 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:13:25 +0000 beerlover1983 29947@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Right i currently have a 14ltr stock pot for my extract recipes. But as i want to build on equipment in the view to one day go allgrain when space and money permit would i get any benefit from having a dedicated boiler for extract brews like a brupaks one. merlin on "Brew 3 ...St Peters Golden Ale" 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/ 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 ''modern kits''. I'm hoping the Golden Ale is as good, I have a question regarding this kit and it's need for to look good i.e.'clear & bright' 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. Als Pals on "Working in a brewery?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/working-in-a-brewery#post-29931 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:52:18 +0000 Als Pals 29931@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi guys, Does anyone know anyone who works or who has worked in a brewery before? Reason I ask is iv been offered a position at a small micro brewery called red squirrel in Hemel hempstead as a trainee brewer. I'm a legionella risk assessor at the moment and really feeling a career change whilst iv still got a bit of youth left! I know it would be physically demanding and I'll probably never wanna to smell home brew again let alone taste it. Just wondered if anyone knew of anyone who has experience in the field and whether they enjoy the job? Does anyone have any thoughts about this do u think it's worth following up or would working in a brewery be a big no no?!? Cheers all grmski on "'Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter' BIAB Recipe" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/harveys-sussex-best-bitter-biab-recipe#post-29770 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:23:33 +0000 grmski 29770@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi folks, I am planning a clone of Harveys Sussex Best which is the no 1 beer down here in Lewes. I am struggling to find an exact recipe but from scouring the net I have come up with this, I think the base recipe came from Dave Lines old brewing book and I have amended this in terms of yeast, grain and hop quantities. Now not being very experienced in recipe formulation I'd appreciate any comments that the (and don't I use the word lightly) genius' on this site have. Yeast is an issue as Harveys use their own strain and I don't have it so am thinking to go with Wyeast 1318 (London Ale III) anyone have experience with this? I will be using the biab method to brew this which will involve mashing the grain at 66c in 32 ltr of water for 90 mins. Followed by removing and draining the bag of grist and then conducting the boil as standard to end up with 19 ltr into bottles after fermentation. 'Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter' 3.1 kg (85%) Crushed Maris Otter Pale Malt Barley 275 g (7.5%) Flaked Maize 275 g (7.5%) Light Brown Sugar 18g Goldings Hops (10.5% aa) 9g Northern Brewers hops (5.9% aa) 1tsp Irish Moss WYEAST STRAIN: 1318 | London Ale III™ OG 1041 ( 23l) SG 1010 30-35 ibu (based on 25% hop utilization) 4.1% abv 19 ltr Bring water to 60*C and add crushed malt and flakes Raise to 66*C & mash for 90 min Disolve sugar in a little hot water Boil wort and add hops & sugar and boil for 1.5 hours. Pitch irish moss as per instructions Ferment until SG reaches 1010 and rack to secondary. Disolve gelatin finings into hot water and add to secondary whilst racking Leave for 7 days Rack beer off sediment into keg or bottles and carbonate (use dissolved brown sugar for bottle carbonation) Leave in bottles for 7 days to condition before sampling. Briff on "Fermentation has stop" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/fermentation-has-stop#post-29902 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:28:57 +0000 Briff 29902@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hello all..... any advice would be greatly appreciated !!! I started my first ever home brew last Saturday, it is a Woodfords Wheery. Everything was going ok until i notice fermentation has stopped, i noticed the air lock has stopped producing c02..... i check the temp and due to the cold weather my kitchen where the brew is stored has dropped below 16 degrees, so i immediately, put the heating back on and it is now back up to about 19-20 degrees, is my brew ruined, or is it possible to start fermentation again.... i also ordered a brew belt, but not sure that it will arrive until Friday..... Thanks Briff Sqiffy on "Proposed - New Brewers FAQ - Corny vs King Keg vs Bottles." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/discussion-for-newb-post-corny-vs-king-keg-vs-bottles#post-29226 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:14:42 +0000 Sqiffy 29226@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Cornies:- Cornelius Keg (Corny) Pros  1) It wont taint the beer as plastic barrels can over time.  2)The gas will be cheaper in the long run.  3) You can regulate the gas for the perfect drawn pint. 4) Only takes about half an hour to clean and fill 2 or 3 kegs with beer. 5) Relatively quick and simple to maintain. 6) A Corny will retain it's secondhand value. Cons  1) You can't store it as long as bottled beer. 2) The price. A Corny (£90+ for the complete set-up) will cost more than plastic barrels. 3) Finding the right carbonation level for your beer can be a little tricky to begin with. 4) Some kit brewers find a corny a bit small (at around 23 ltrs) so will have to bottle what won't fit into the container.   Hamish posted these tutorial links which will be useful to anyone considering a Corny set-up. Craigtube's corny keg vids... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/CraigTube#p/u/95/hbjGjXVXqpw" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/user/CraigTube#p/u/95/hbjGjXVXqpw</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/CraigTube#p/u/91/-86psmHSs98" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/user/CraigTube#p/u/91/-86psmHSs98</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/CraigTube#p/u/90/JYU9R3109FI" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/user/CraigTube#p/u/90/JYU9R3109FI</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/CraigTube#p/u/88/S1dwBC-gKc8" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/user/CraigTube#p/u/88/S1dwBC-gKc8</a> Bottles Pros  1) Cheap (even free).  2) Last a long time.  3) Easy to transport and put in the fridge.  4) You can give out samples. Cons  1) Hard work cleaning and sterilizing 40ish 500ml bottles for full brew.  2) They can explode if over primed. King Keg / Plastic Barrel Pros  1) Cheaper than a corny so good way to start.  2) Easier to clean and fill than bottles.  3)Always locally available. 4) KingKegs have a large neck opening making cleaning easy. Cons  1) Can taint the beer if contents are stored in it for too long. 2) The barrel or lid can erode and crack over time. 3) Not good for highly carbonated beers (eg. lagers) due to relatively low psi. 4) Standard plastic barrels (non King Keg types) have a small neck hole, making cleaning difficult. oldbrewer on "Planned a days fishing" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/planned-a-days-fishing#post-27274 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:08:45 +0000 oldbrewer 27274@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Planned a days fishing today, but the weather turned a little cold - damned cold in fact. So! cancelled the fishing and decided to brew a few gallons of London Pride. It is going well, but my partner says the house stinks, I say it smells like a brewery. Will follow up with another post when finished, with a few pics. I can drink the beer, can't eat the fish. Ralph on "Head Zinger IPA - Extract Recipe" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/head-zinger-ipa-extract-recipe#post-24274 Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:36:26 +0000 Ralph 24274@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi Going to have a go at my first attempt of something other than a kit (well sort of), have already given the Amarillo extract kit a go. Now going to try something based very loosely on a recipe on the northern brewer website, but with a few tweaks not sure if they are all necessary, such as the gypsum and the Irish moss hoping someone will let me know. Made this using beerAlchemy. Grain - Preboil 500g Light crystal malt (crushed) 2 tsp gypsum Fermentable - boil 3kg Light malt extract 500g Spraymalt extra light Hops flavorings 25g Nelson sauvin (60mins) 1tsp Irish moss (20mins) 15g Cascade (20mins) 10g Nelson sauvin (20mins) 25g Cascade (end of boil) 15g Nelson sauvin l (end of boil) 225g light brown sugar (day 2) 20g Cascade dry hop (day 4-7) Yeast White Labs WLP001 –California Ale Anyway let me know what you guys think is this worth a shot, really into hoppy golden beers at the moment, so hopefully this should do the trick. emma-cockerill on "Beer Project for College" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/beer-project-for-college#post-29863 Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:37:33 +0000 emma-cockerill 29863@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi Im doing a project at college on: Has the method of brewing ale and lager improved the taste in the last 50 years? These are my objectives that i hope to acheive through the project: • What is the difference between real ale and lager? • What is the difference in the composition of real ale and lager? • What is the history behind beer and the brewing method? • What are the different varieties of lager and ale? • How is real ale produced? • How is lager produced? • How was real ale and lager produced in the past? • What have the trends been in the past 50 years with the consumption of ale and lager? • What do consumers prefer to drink now? • How does home brewing differ from professional brewing? • Has the method of brewing improved the taste of ale and lager in the past 50 years? I would just like to know your opinions on whether you think the taste of ale/lager has improved over the years. Any replies would be great, thanks <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> Nath on "DIY temp controller featuring the STC 1000 !" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/diy-temp-controller-featuring-the-stc-1000#post-27074 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:13:03 +0000 Nath 27074@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <center>(Please note that Nath is not an electrician and if you are unsure on wiring up a temp controller, or car, or house then you should always get a qualified person to do it for ya. Wimps.)</center> Yo peeps! Well it didnt take me long to wire the beast up and cut some holes so heres what I did and how much it cost: Screwfix Product Code: 27840:- <img src="http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx39/nath812/temp%20controller/ae235.jpg"> The rest of the stuff:- <img src="http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx39/nath812/temp%20controller/b4503b7c.jpg"> Cut holes for the temp controller, sockets and glands:- <img src="http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx39/nath812/temp%20controller/ad8570c3.jpg"> Glands in:- <img src="http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx39/nath812/temp%20controller/5334df9e.jpg"> Fitting the temp controller and sockets to ensure they fit ok (due to my crap diy skillz I had to fiddle a bit). I used pc nuts and bolts to fix the sockets in place:- <img src="http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx39/nath812/temp%20controller/ad9adedc.jpg"> Wires in glands and sockets wired up:- <img src="http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx39/nath812/temp%20controller/2783f503.jpg"> Sensor wire sorted (the easy bit):- <img src="http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx39/nath812/temp%20controller/e2d55448.jpg"> All wired up - pretty simple with a decent jpg from the net!:- <img src="http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx39/nath812/temp%20controller/8fe4ff65.jpg"> Look better than my bought ATC800!:- <img src="http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx39/nath812/temp%20controller/0099611c.jpg"> Plug wired up and tested to see if the unit works.....:- <img src="http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx39/nath812/temp%20controller/c419e0b2.jpg"> Sorted! - I tested the cold and hot outputs by plugging in a light and setting the temp high and low to see if it clicked on and to my surprise..... IT DID! with NO FIRE! The unit looks really good, I havnt tested it fully yet but will do over the weekend but if it works ok then I would defiantly do this rather than buy a pre-made one, even if it works out the same price! The unit its self isnt as user friendly as the ATC800, but I was used to it with in minutes and it has a temp difference of 0.3c which means less fluctuation for the fermentation. The compressor delay can be anything from 1 -10 minutes and it also has a calibration setting, so if the unit is out you can adjust the temp its reading. Good stuff for such a cheap thing. So:- Box from Screwfix £13.50 Temp controller £15.40 Sockets, plug and blocks from B&Q £4 Glands from B&Q £1.20 Wire I had hanging around So in total £34.10 which I think is pretty damn good! I will keep you posted on how accurate it is! Mech on "Hi all" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hi-all-1#post-29647 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:33:12 +0000 Mech 29647@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi everyone, To introduce myself, this is my first time on this forum and have recently returned to brewing after having a go in the early 80's, WOW hasn't everything improved for the better. I have done about a dozen kits to get me back into the swing of things, moved onto extract kits and have done about half a dozen of them and I am really impressed with the results. For Christmas my wonderful family have purchased me the All Grain Starter Kit from Brew UK and I have also obtained some other basic equipment needed. I'm know ready for a test run and then I shall have a go at my first all grain kit, can't wait <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_biggrin.gif" title=":D" class="bb_smilies" /> Happy brewing everyone and what a fantastic forum. Sqiffy on "Proposed - New Brewers FAQ - PET (Plastic) vs Glass - Pros & Cons." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/pet-plastic-vs-glass-pros-cons#post-29271 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:01:11 +0000 Sqiffy 29271@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ PET Pros. Cheap or free Easy to source Light to carry Easy to store Shatterproof Degree of internal pressure can be gauged by gently squeezing the bottle Cons. Gas permeable Cap seal can be a bit suspect (especially on recycled bottles) Pressurised bottles will gradually lose gas leading to flat beer (This can take as little as 3 months or as long as 12 months) Chemical leaching (typically over a long period of time when containing high alcohol levels). Only good for up to 12 months when used for wine storage, Some wines may begin to oxidize after eight months. Easily scratched Relatively short window of use. After a few years plastic bottles/containers are best replaced Glass Pros. Easy to source Scratch resistant Impermeable to gas Inert Retain pressurised contents for a long period Will not impart off flavours to contents Can be reused over many years Cons. Relatively expensive (though can be found free) Easily cracked or broken Exploding bottles, though rare, can be dangerous Heavier to manipulate when cleaning than PET As a general rule if you are keeping beer of around 4-5% abv for less than six months then PET bottles will probably be fine. If you are looking to store it longer, or have significantly higher alcohol levels in the beer then glass is probably a better option. The use of PET bottles / containers in wine making is generally confined to a month or two during the secondary fermentation period. For bulk storage / ageing and for bottling glass is almost always used as the alcohol levels and the time the wine is contained within it's container are both too high for PET containers to be of benefit. mereapprentice on "Brew Belts and temp control" 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/ Hi Folks 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's instructions refer to outside temperature and 'inches height' 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't trust at all. Don't really want to be taking the lid off and taking temp readings with a '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? Thanks iceman on "worried its too quick" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/worried-its-too-quick#post-29790 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:43:32 +0000 iceman 29790@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Think I may be getting a bit paranoid. first beer I made was pride of Yorkshire kit Brupak Colne Valley Bitter second Brupak West Riding Wheat The bitter is in a king keg well half is very nice and very clear. The wheat beer is all bottled up and conditioning. both them two took about 6 days to ferment. I have them in a warm room and have a belt on and have got it as close to 20* as possible. Now the paranoid bit starts I got a Brewferm Ambiorix given a strong beer I made it up and put just a bit extra sugar in at recorded the gravity and it was just over 1060 @ 20* during fermentation it seems to have gone mad a fantastic blanket of yeast and has bubbled like mad. Noticed today no bubbles so checked it again to day @20*its down @ 1010. Its taken only 6 days. Tasted the sample and it tastes fantastic a lot better than the other two after 6 days. What to do now should I bottle it tomorrow or turn the heat off and leave it a bit longer. It just seems to be too quick for a strong beer or I have been very lucky with the 3 brews. If its good to bottle it now that would be good as I have one more kit to get going before trying an extract. So any suggestions Bottle or leave it a few more days. Also noticed after posting It was supposed to be 15 liters and I have made it about 18 liters don't know why??? would that affect the speed I wouldn't of thought so? iceman on "first bottled beer" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-bottled-beer#post-29105 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:18:14 +0000 iceman 29105@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <a href="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/857/beerbottled.jpg/"><img src="http://img857.imageshack.us/img857/9487/beerbottled.jpg"></a> Uploaded with <a href="http://imageshack.us">ImageShack.us</a> Just finished bottling my second brew its a kit wheat beer. Thanx to all the help on this forum everything is going along very well. I now have a king keg 3/4 full of a very nice bitter and my first wheat beer bottled. I have just been given a 2 cans of brewferm lucky me Ambiorix and Abdij so will get them going. Think this will be the last kits that I do. Got a 19lt pan and am going to try the extract beer. again I am so lucky as we have a great brew shop local and the lady said that if I tell her the page number in graham wheelers(again got this from the advice here) book she will put the kit together for me.(think I have pulled lol.) Its just a shame that the nearest corny supplier on ebay is 85 miles away oh well cant have it all. Gazaloid on "More questions! Hydrometer Reading etc (With Photo)" 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/ Hi all, 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'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 <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_biggrin.gif" title=":D" class="bb_smilies" /> I'd be really grateful if you could help with a few questions: 1. I'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> The reason why I ask is that it looks to me like it'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? 2. Once that's sorted, I'm curious to understand how does this reading looks for a St Peter's Ruby Red? 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)? 4. I'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? 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? So many questions...apologies...but I'm getting excited at the prospect of getting stuck into this! Second kit is being ordered tonight (think I'll go for the Wherry). Thanks again all. G themose on "Help with Green King Export clone" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/help-with-green-king-export-clone#post-26374 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:54:16 +0000 themose 26374@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi Guys, My first post on here, so here goes. After around 6-8 different extract kits Ive decided to try and start adding my own hops. The kind of beer I'd like to try and get near to is Green King's IPA export. I want to stick to a partial extract recipe if possible I'll take a shot in the dark here and propose these ingredients below as a starting point. Please bare in mind though I'm new to this game and I'm asking for your advice and suggestions - especially for hop amounts and boiling times 1 Can of Coopers Amber Malt Extract 1.5kg Challenger hops First gold hops Danstar Nottingham Beer Yeast Muntons Beer Kit Enhancer Am I going to be on or off the mark with this guys ? ? ? Please let me know midgeyboy on "dogfish IPA clone recipe" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/dogfish-ipa-clone-recipe#post-29507 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:25:09 +0000 midgeyboy 29507@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Dog Fish Head 60 Minute IPA Extract Recipe Clone (5 Gallon/19L) Extract: 1/2lb 2 Row 1/4lb Amber Malt Steep at 152°F for 30 minutes Boil 6.6lbs of Briess Golden Light Liquid Extract 1lbs of Briess Golden Light Dry Extract 3/4oz Warrior 60 Minute 1/4oz Simcoe last 30 minutes 3/4oz Palisade last 20 minutes 3/4oz Palisade last 0 minutes 1/2oz Amarillo dry hop 1oz Simcoe dry hop Wyeast 1187 I was in the States recently and absolutely loved Dogfish Head 60minute IPA I found this clone online. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with alternatives for the and warrior hops as I can't seem to find these in the uk. I can find Palisade. Also what would suitable malt extracts to use instead of these American ones and why do you need to step some extract at the start? beerlover1983 on "Beer labels" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/beer-labels-1#post-29472 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:18:51 +0000 beerlover1983 29472@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Right after some advice on what program people use for beer labels. Ive used beerlabelizer etc. But i see some people producing some great labels the type that go around the bottles. I want to be able to detail ingredients is there a better program or set size to produce nicer looking labels. Sqiffy on "Proposed - New Brewers FAQ - Bottling & Priming." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/discussion-for-newb-post-bottling-priming#post-29217 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:17:18 +0000 Sqiffy 29217@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Following a suggestion on forming a FAQ section for new brewers on the forum (<a href="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/newb-section" rel="nofollow">http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/newb-section</a>) Greg has agreed to link the shop's FAQ with a New Brewers section on the forum. The general aims and plan for developing the articles is set out in the discussion on a 'newb section' so given the discussion last night (<a href="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/best-storage" rel="nofollow">http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/best-storage</a>) I thought I'd re-post what was posted and open the first paper for general discussion. ................................................................... Bottling & Priming - Three Tecniques. Priming is the practice of adding a little sugar to your beer in order to carbonate it. The residual active yeast in the beer consumes the added sugar as a secondary fermentation within the bottle, one of the by products being carbon dioxide. While 85g of priming sugar tends to be fairly standard for a 40 pint kit some companies recommend a different amount so always add the amount recommended in the kit's instructions first time you brew a particular kit. Carbonation can be a personal thing so err on the side of safety and gradually hone your priming practices of specific brews to suit your taste. Lagers tend to need a higher level of carbonation so require higher amounts of sugar at priming then other beer styles. 110-120g per 40 pint kit is a good point to start. Some kits recommend considerably more. When priming with a large amount of sugar it is particularly important to ensure that the primary fermentation has properly finished before adding the primer (over priming may cause bottles to explode due to the build up of excessive internal pressure). Technique One by Saracen. The best way of doing it is this; Leave the beer in the FV for 2 weeks. By that time fermentation will be complete and the beer will be almost clear. Put your sugar into a saucepan, up to 125 gms for bottling 40 pints, about 3 gms per pint, and add half a pint of water. Boil it up for 5 minutes. Put the solution into a 2.0 lt jug, cool it to the same temperature as the beer and syphon some beer into the jug until it's full. Pour it into your barrel. Syphon the rest of the beer into the barrel, cap it, roll it round the floor for a minute or so and immediately put the beer into bottles. This way, the sugar is all evenly distributed, there's less handling so less chance of contamination, no stirring so a minimal risk of introducing oxygen and you will get far less sediment in the bottles. Store it at about 20°c for 2 weeks, then 2 weeks at a lower temperature. Technique Two by Seamus. I draw some beer from the vessel into a saucepan and add the required sugar, cover, then simmer for 5-10 mins. When it's cooled a bit I add it to a sanitised FV (fitted with a 'Little Bottler') then rack the brew across from the primary FV into it leaving the trub behind. Bottle directly from that. Sometimes, if the beer has been a while clearing in the Primary, I may rack it across to a second santised FV after 14 days, being careful not to add O2, then leave for another week before racking into a final FV with the sugar solution etc as above. Works for me. Technique Three by Sqiffy. We sterilise and then prime each bottle rather than batch priming as Saracen does. Here is how we do it. We move the brew bucket onto a work surface the night before we prime. This gives the sediment a chance to settle if the move disturbed it. Sterilise the bottles. Sterilise a racking cane, sediment trap, syphon tube and bottling stick. Sterilise a small kitchen jug with fluid Oz scale on it. For Beers & Stouts - Add 8 level Tablespoons of spraymalt. Fill jug with cold water to the 8 Fl oz mark. Whisk with a fork until smooth. Take a 5ml syringe (no needle - multi pack dirt cheap from ebay) and fill from jug to the 5ml mark. Inject into bottle. Repeat for each bottle to completion. A second way we occasionally do it is to add half a (level) teaspoon of brewing sugar to each bottle via a small funnel. Once the bottles are primed get syphoning. Once filled and capped we give the beer a week in the house and then move it out to the garage to condition for three months. So far we have had no problems with infection or beer spoilage using this technique. saracen on "New Brewers Post: Cleaning and sealing a Barrel Cap." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/new-brewers-post-cleaning-and-sealing-a-barrel-cap#post-29785 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:03:11 +0000 saracen 29785@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ To seal a cap. When you take the cap off a barrel, clean it in the following way. Prise the seal out of the recess inside the cap and drop it into some water from the kettle in something like a glass measuring jug. The hot water will make the seal go back to it's original shape and any groove left by the neck of the barrel will disappear. You may have to do this a couple of times. Then give the cap itself a good dose of boiling water to clean any traces of Vaseline from inside the cap. That is, of course, if you used Vaseline to help it seal in the first place. Cool the cap and the sealing ring in the fridge/freezer, then put the ring back in the recess. Apply a THIN film of Vaseline to the SURFACE OF THE SEAL ONLY. Excess Vaseline can make the seal slip out of the groove when tightening. Make sure the cap is cold, fit it and screw it down until the seal just touches the neck, then give it a maximum of a quarter of a turn. It needs to be on firmly, but not screwed down too tight or the seal can distort. iceman on "can I use pub beer barrels??" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/can-i-use-pub-beer-barrels#post-29731 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:49:15 +0000 iceman 29731@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Just a thought as my mate is a landlord and has a few barrels spare. Can I use pub beer barrels. Could I customize them to get a tap on like a corney keg?? Has anyone tried it. Another question about beer we buy at a shop. How come most have no yeast in is there anyway we can bottle our own beer the same way?? coddy on "Jellfish" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/jellfish#post-29485 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:55:50 +0000 coddy 29485@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hi, i have done my first ag brew today, i think all was ok but i have just had a look in my fv and its full of what look like jellyfish! is this normal and will it drop to the bottom so i can get rid when racking? im assuming its some protein stuff thats clumping together beany151067 on "first batch" 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/ 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.... outlaw on "propane burners" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/propane-burners#post-29754 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:30:26 +0000 outlaw 29754@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ just bought one of these for my 100l pot and wondered if if was safe for indoor use or do they give off fumes Simple Simon on "Great Eastern Ale" 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/ 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. 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't know the temp is this right. I would say it was a low temp as that's why fermentation didn't start. Is this OG okay or is it low, which will give me a weak finished beer? Newgale on "Wye valley Dorothy good body query" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wye-valley-dorothy-good-body-query#post-29740 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:01:02 +0000 Newgale 29740@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi all, just wondered if anyone has any ideas for a wye valley dorothy goodbody's country ale recipe malt extract brew? Thanks Timbo77 on "Bottled Amarillo, Brewing Ginger" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/bottled-amarillo-brewing-ginger#post-29695 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:37:46 +0000 Timbo77 29695@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I had quite a productive day yesterday. Started off by bottling 40 bottles of Amarillo but managed to smash a bottle whilst capping, I was more heartbroken about losing the contents than concerned about the shattered glass everywhere! <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_sad.gif" title=":(" class="bb_smilies" /> Anyway, bottling is sooo much easier using one of those strap on bottling aid gismos <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> I couldn't help having to sample the last drop left behind (I think I'm gonna like this Amarillo a lot!) After the clear up operation, I couldn't believe it wasn't lunch time yet so I thought 'ginger beer'! <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> Then popped to the shops and got the ingredients, only to get the most weirdest looks from fellow shoppers around me when selecting the ginger..."doing something with ginger tonight mate"? one guy asked. but anyways, got back home, followed the recipe on here for 23 litres and now the house is smelling nice and erm...gingery! <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> I'm lucky enough to have my kitchen as the brewery <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_mrgreen.gif" title=":mrgreen:" class="bb_smilies" /> robdogs on "A beginner's question re: leaving the beer in the fermenting bucket" 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/ Hello fellow brewers! I have a question regarding the amount of time I can leave my brew in the fermenting bucket before bottling it. It's been in for 14 days and I'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. Cheers! Anthony simonb_13 on "Tribute in mini kegs" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/tribute-in-mini-kegs#post-29703 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:45:14 +0000 simonb_13 29703@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Just found out you can get Tribute 5 litre mini kegs! Available direct from St Austell brewery. Oh yesh! Matty on "Lady Murasaki - Pale Japanese Session Ale" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/lady-murasaki-pale-japanese-session-ale#post-29717 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:37:33 +0000 Matty 29717@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ My first recipe in *ages* (due mostly to the birth of our new little assistant brewer Joseph). I've gone against my usual strong-beer tendencies and attempted to create a session ale rather than a head-cracker. Grain: 2800g Maris Otter Pale Malt 500g Pale Wheat Malt 250g Cooked White Rice 150g Light Crystal 100g Torrified Wheat Hops: Sorachi Ace [14.9%] - 5g - 90 minutes (First Wort Hops) Sorachi Ace [14.9%] - 10g - 20 minutes Sorachi Ace [14.9%] - 55g - 5 Minutes Profile: Original Gravity 1.036 Estimated Final Gravity 1.010 Estimated Abv: 3.4% Bitterness: 39.8 IBU Colour: 8.5 EBC Full details: <a href="http://beerkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/01/lady-murasaki-pale-japanese-session-ale.html">Lady Murasaki - Pale Japanese Session Ale</a> Steve on "Way to Amarillo, first ever brew day - questions!" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/way-to-amarillo-first-ever-brew-day-questions#post-29634 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:51:15 +0000 Steve 29634@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi there! Last night I made my first ever brew. I went for the Way to Amarillo kit as I wanted to jump straight to extract and everyone seems to have success with it. The brew day went pretty well. As I have a 32 litre brupak boiler with a hop strainer and tap I cooled the wort with cold bottled water straight in the boiler and ran it out through the tap when cool. This was really easy and hopefully served to aerate the wort. It took quite a while to boil 6 litres of water on the stove though which doesn't fill me with confidence at the prospect of a full-volume boil! No fermentation action yet but I'll try to be patient, it's only 10 hours later! I have a few questions that came up - any help would be greatly appreciated. 1. I have an airlock on the FV, which goes through a rubber grommet in the lid. Should I have put vaseline on that for a better seal? The seal seems pretty good but I'm sure I've read something about vaseline. 2. What do people do about cleaning and sanitising the hop strainer and tap/ball valve on the boiler? Is it sufficient to run a load of hot water and detergent through it, relying on the fact that it gets hot to sterilise it next brew? Or do I have to take it apart? 3. I pitched the yeast at 24 degrees but I wonder now whether I should have waited (it was bedtime!). If I've ruined the yeast is there anything I can do about that? Chuck more in? 4. When it comes to bottling, how can I start the syphon without putting my mouth on it? Cheers! Ralph on "Air Space/Head space - Fermenting" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/air-spacehead-space-fermenting#post-29718 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:55:42 +0000 Ralph 29718@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi All Planning on doing a few small scale batches around the 13Liter mark, as this will allow me to make more types of beer more regularly. At the moment I have two 25liter fermenting buckets and was wondering if I would be ok fermenting batches in this size bucket or should I get something smaller? Have read something about having to much air in the bucket?? Also when pitching yeast in this size brew should i still use a full packet of yeast or should i split the yeast make a starter and save half for my next brew? Thanks Ralph grmski on "60 Ltr HDPE Drums" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/60-ltr-hdpe-drums#post-29276 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:44:54 +0000 grmski 29276@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi All, If you are thinking of making a new hlt or boiler and fancy using the mango chutney barrel type barrel that Hamish described in his brewery build then this site is selling re furbished 60 ltr barrels for £6.50 incl VAT with a £9.24 delivery charge so more or less £15 for the barrel <a href="http://www.dvfuels.co.uk/product.asp?pid=70" rel="nofollow">http://www.dvfuels.co.uk/product.asp?pid=70</a>. They assured me the previous contents were all dry and non toxic and delivery is within 24 hrs. Oh yeah my new boiler will be taking shape this weekend <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> No more post boil dilution for my brews anymore all full length biab...so much simpler! Anonymous on "Q: Racking after 5 days" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/q-racking-after-5-days#post- Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:38:54 +0000 Anonymous @http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ sam87 on "Low alcohol big flavour from tesco" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/low-alcohol-big-flavour-from-tesco#post-29530 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:46:31 +0000 sam87 29530@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi guys, Been away from the brewing scene for a while but feel this a better time than any to get back in Was in tesco this evening for my weekly beer shop ( sod the food that can wait) and saw these new low alcohol ales <img src="http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af7/samcarr87/e85d7d9a.jpg"> Which intrigued me to whether you can still have the big ale flavour and low alcohol these are 2.8% ( can any one answer why there all only 2.8 or is this just coincidence?) Haven't tried them yet just stuck em in fridge for a wee chillin and will update later on taste Sam Barracuda on "Badger Badger Badger Badger" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/badger-badger-badger-badger#post-29301 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:43:39 +0000 Barracuda 29301@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I've been working my way through the different Badger Ales (Dorset) this week, mainly because they seem to be on special at more than one supermarket. Also they have gone through a recent rebrand, so the bottles are very noticeable on the shelf, so in the basket they go. (I'm obviously weak to advertising this week). Golden Glory is my favorite, a really fruity, peachy brew. Easy to get a few down. A friend of mine wished me condolences for drinking a beer that tastes like a soft fruit, but each to their own.. heh Golden Champion was more floral than fruit, and also tasty and drinkable. The other 3 I tried were Tangle Foot, Fursty Ferret and First Gold. These all were varying shades of amber, and had some sweetness in them (Is this Crystal Malt at work?) All of these also had slightly spiced and orange flavour, with the Tangle Foot maybe being a bit 'crisper' on the palate. Badger seem to be very adept at making Ales that are easy to drink. I'm sure most if not all of you know these Ales, as they are a big name brand, but I though I would share my views regardless, as it's been a while since I drank anything from this brewery. stray66uk on "first ag brew no turning back now!" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-ag-brew-no-turning-back-now#post-29593 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:22:50 +0000 stray66uk 29593@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I finally cracked open one of my first AG brews today (well i've cracked open 5 to be honest) Wow! Its the Timothy Taylor Landlord brew. I bottled it and its almost lager sparkling which I know would be no good for the purists but its how I like it. Its ace, no hb twang, no extract twang although to be honest ive done the amarillo and the rocker extracts and I loved them and never realy new what the extract twang was. What can I say, if your considering AG go for it. You can set up for around £150 if you DIY it and make a "hamish". The beer is then cheap as chips and gorgeous. You just stare at it in the pint pot and think "I can't believe I made that from scratch :D" Go on you know you wanna Gun_Plumber on "Making a Mash Tun - Advice needed." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/making-a-mash-tun-advice-needed#post-9373 Sun, 28 Nov 2010 11:56:44 +0000 Gun_Plumber 9373@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hello brewers. I've been using kits for a few years now and getting some pretty good results. I been reading a lot of the threads on here and feel inspired to take the plung into AG. So I'm trying to make as much of the equipment myself as possible. I've already started my immersion chiller which should be finished next week. So now thinking about a mash tun. So here are my queries. Is a Coleman Campingaz Icetime Coolbox suitable to be modified into a Mash Tun? What equipment would I need to contruct it? Where can I source the seals / gaskets to make the tap or ball valve water tight? and finally what pitfalls should I avoid in the contruction process? Cheers Si Kurayami311 on "First time Failure :S" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-time-failure-s#post-29623 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 22:39:21 +0000 Kurayami311 29623@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Ok, I'm gonna need some help because I feel that I've messed up my Turbo Cider, especially because it's my first time doing it. I've had about 2 litres of apple juices, each concentrate and pressed put into a couple of 4 Pints Milk Bottles. I used Orange & Lemons Peels to add a citrus aroma and flavour as well as a cinnamon stick just to give that hint of it's flavour. I even went for the use of Honey in order for a sweeter flavour into it. By the time I've chucked the lot into the bottles, I've added about a teaspoon of yeast per bottle as well as the nutrients for it and the pectolase. After the week (or two) has gone, I've bottled my Cider using beer bottles which has been used but sterilised beforehand. I've pretty much poured it in than used a syphon and added some of the lees in with it. In all honesty, I felt that I've failed on my first try and I'd need some advice on it. Is anyone able to help me get in the right direction? jimbowalk on "sanitization" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/sanitization#post-29612 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:07:54 +0000 jimbowalk 29612@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi Firstly can I apologise if the questions are basic and already answered elsewhere on the forum. I have just completed my first 6 bottle wine kit, I have followed the brief instructions to the letter, but am still unclear on a couple points. 1, I have sterilized everything before i started but then used tap water, was this the right thing to do as this would not have been germ free. 2, The mixture has almost stopped bubbling so i then add the wine stabiliser, the instructions say to mix it first in a cup before putting in the mix, does this cup have to be sterilised at this stage because as far as i undersatnd the yeast would be now dead. 3, Do I still have to sterilize the bottles that i intend to use and would it be ok to use old swilled out, screw top bottles. Thanks for the advice in advance and i know i am probably going over the top but i realy want this to be a success. Kind Regards Ian oliverm on "DIY mash filter" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/diy-mash-filter#post-29596 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:35:05 +0000 oliverm 29596@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi chaps I've just purchased a brupack boiler from our friends at Brewuk and forgot to check it came with a mash filter...it didnt. Whats the best way to make my own one? Can I even make my own or is there such a thing as a separate mash filter I can buy for brupack boilers? (BrewUK dont appear to have one in their shop). Olly Sqiffy on "Disc. NBP - Cleaning, Sterilisation & Sanitation." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/disc-nbp-cleaning-sterilisation-sanitation#post-29420 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:13:39 +0000 Sqiffy 29420@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ OK guys the debate on this topic now has a home ( get it off the 'Hydrometers' thread. <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> ) To recap... Nath. "...Sterilisation is the elimination of all life including microbiological contaminants, this will not happen by dunking the object in chlorine or other brewing related products. Autoclaving at 134c for 20mins will sterilise but we don't do that. Sanitisation is what we do, a large reduction of contaminants through througher cleaning and use of our brewing disinfectants." ...................... Hamish. "Sanitise!!!, I realise I have a bee in my bonnet over this but... this is the influence of the effing Americans again. To sanitise is to make something clean and hygienic, nothing more. To quote Wheeler over at Jims... 'When I have a crap I wipe my arse with bog paper - that is sanitisation -it does not mean that my arse is microbiology clean' To sanitise something isn't good enough, you need to sterilise it, ie. to eliminate all forms of microbial life, thats the aim at least. Can we please eliminate the word sanitise when we mean sterilise." ...................... Timbo77. "Aye! Sterilise is the only word I've ever used due to it making sense (as described above by Hamish). If I was going to sanitise my brewing equipement, I wouldn't exactly be wiping it over with a sanitary towel though blumin americans eh" Wardie on "Mixed Fruit Cider" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/mixed-fruit-cider#post-27652 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:19:04 +0000 Wardie 27652@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Right chaps, I've got 4l of copella apple juice, cider yeast, sugar and some fresh berries (raspberry, blueberry and strawberry). How the hell do I go about adding the berries to the cider properly, do i make a syrup? a tea? blitz them? just drop them in? HELP! haha Barracuda on "So, Splenda.. (or Lactose Sugar)" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/so-splenda#post-28930 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:44:51 +0000 Barracuda 28930@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I've seen a number of mentions of Splenda for a non fermentable sugar to add to Turbo Cider, to increase sweetness. I can't see any suggestion of how much people would recommend (Per 500ml/per gallon) to create off dry/medium sweet/sweet. Any ideas? I intend to add along with the priming dextrose. Cheers. saracen on "New Brewers Post: Beer Engine Tutorial." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/new-to-brewing-beer-engine-tutorial#post-29306 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:01:00 +0000 saracen 29306@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Beer Engine. This is not suited to Mac computers. Runs on PC with XP, Vista and W7. This is a very useful piece of brewing software for the new brewer. We all like to learn a bit more about our hobby, and Beer Engine, published by Graham Wheeler, alongside his book, “Brew your own British Real Ale”, is an excellent place to start. It can be used to transcribe published recipes or for formulating your own. It has other applications, but for our purposes these 2 are enough. It’s free, and can be downloaded here: <a href="http://www.practicalbrewing.co.uk/calculators/beerengine/">Beer Engine.</a> Let’s take a general look at the screen. Along the top are ‘File’, ‘Printing’, ‘Calculators’, ‘Editors’ and ‘Help’. They are all self explanatory and the only ones we’ll be using for now are ‘File’, ‘Printing’ and ‘Editors’. File: Very simple. Allows you to Load and Save recipes. To see how a recipe looks, load an example recipe. Printing: We are only interested in ‘Recipe to Browser’. With an example recipe loaded, try it and you’ll see you have a printable Brew Sheet. Editors: This is the important one. This allows you to ‘Set Defaults’ and edit Grains and Hops. This button enables you to make permanent changes to the databases. You can add new ingredients in the’ Grain Editor’, new hops in the ‘Hop Editor’, or change the specifications of ingredients. Fermentable Ingredient Panel: This panel at the top is where you add fermentable ingredients to make up a recipe. As you add ingredients, a box to the right of the panel marked: ‘Original Gravity’ changes. This figure is a general guide to the final strength of the beer. The higher the figure, the more potential alcohol the beer will have. Hop Variety Panel: This is the lower screen and as you add hops, a box to the right marked: ‘Bitterness EBU’ changes. The higher the figure, the more bitter the beer will be. Right-hand panel: This panel gives the final specification of your beer. It shows ‘Final Gravity’, ‘Alcohol (abv)’ and ‘Colour‘. There are 3 others things (Efficiency, Total Liquor and Mash Liquor) which we will come back to in a later article. Before you start, look at the right of the screen and you will find 4 more buttons marked; '%age Weight', '%age Extract', '%age Weight' and '%age EBU'. Set the top one to '%age Extract' and the lower one to '%age EBU'. Another 2 boxes, one at the top centre marked, ‘Original Gravity’, and one at the bottom right marked ‘Bitterness EBU’, need attention. You have the option to place a tick in the box beside these to “fix” the value. To start, make sure these boxes are un-ticked. Let’s make up a recipe. We will go for a Bitter at 4.2% ABV with 38 EBU bitterness and a colour of 22 EBC. Make sure all the boxes referred to above are set as directed. The button to the right of the top panel marked ‘Add New’ will enable you to add fermentables. Press it and you’ll see a menu appear. Scroll down the menu and add ‘Pale Malt’. You can double click it, or press the ‘Add it’ button. Go to the panel and click on the ingredient and the line will turn blue. To the right there should be a box ‘Adjust Weight’. If it says ‘Adjust Percentages’ then you have not un-ticked the ‘Original Gravity’ box. Add 1000gms and you’ll see the OG goes to 1.010, the Alcohol to 1.0 % ABV and the colour to 2 EBC. Add more grain by pressing the button 3 more times and the 100gm button 3 times. You should have 4,300gms, an OG of 1.042, Alcohol 4.2% ABV and colour 7 EBC. We want a bit of flavour so go to the ingredients menu, click Crystal Malt and add 350gms. If you look to the right you’ll see we have the correct colour but the alcohol is too high. Tick the OG box and change the figure in the box to 1.042. Better, but not right. Un-tick the box, change the Pale Malt to 4,000gms and the Crystal to 355gms. All the figures should now be correct, so tick the OG box to fix the values. Now we need hops. Go to the bottom panel and using the same techniques as for the top panel, Add Target and Goldings hops. At the bottom of the panel you see 4 buttons; 'Time +' and 'Time -' change the hop boil times and 'Alpha +' and 'Alpha -' change the Alpha Acid values. Highlight Target and reduce the time to 75 minutes. Highlight the Goldings and reduce the time to 10 minutes. Put in 30gms of Target and 30gms of Goldings. Target is the main bittering hop and needs to be boiled for 75 minutes, while the Goldings are for Flavour and Aroma and are added for the last 10 minutes of the boil. if you look at the Target Hops, you’ll see they contributing 85.2% of the bitterness and the Goldings 14.8%, but the EBU shows 45 and we want 38. Tick the EBU box and change the figure in the box to 38. You’ll see the quantities change. Now, the Alpha content of Target in the bottom panel shows as 11.4, but new stocks are 12.5% Alpha Acid. Using the ‘Alpha +’ button, change 11.4 to 12.5. The quantity has changed and if you look at the figures on the right you’ll see we have a beer to our specification. The colour is slightly out because all the figures have changed to compensate for the new Hop values. This is where fine tuning comes in. Change the Pale Malt to 3,970gms and the Crystal to 370gms and you’ll be exactly right. In this case we have temporarily changed the Hop Alpha Acid value. To make a permanent change you need to use the Hop Editor, where you can also list new hops. saracen on "New Brewers Post. Beer Engine Tutorial 2." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/new-brewers-post-beer-engine-tutorial-2#post-29572 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:09:06 +0000 saracen 29572@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Beer Engine Tutorial 2 We’ve already looked at the basics of Beer Engine and seen how to change various parameters within the program and how to enter Fermentable Ingredients and Hops. The next thing to look at is how to use the program to formulate a recipe. The first tutorial covers this very quickly, but now we are going into it in more details, with links to places that help us to brew the beer we want. To do this, we need to know what type of beer we are brewing and how that beer should be formulated. Most beers are brewed to a formula and we need to know what that formula is regarding Original Gravity, Final Gravity, ABV, Colour and Bitterness. There are various places to look and the one we are going to use in the Wyeast site under the heading ‘Yeast Style Guide’. Why are we using a yeast suppliers site and looking at yeast styles when we are trying to formulate a beer recipe? It’s to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Your beer will need yeast to convert the fermentables to alcohol and different yeasts suit different beers, and this site gives all the style parameters together with suitable yeasts. Go to: <a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_styleguidelines.cfm" rel="nofollow">http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_styleguidelines.cfm</a> You should have a page divided into squares with a type of beer in each. In the top left corner the heading is ‘English Pale Ale’. Underneath are the categories within that style. We are going to make a premium bitter using Dried Malt Extract, so we click on the 2nd line headed ‘Special/Best/Premium Bitter’. Working from the top of the page you have now are the descriptions of the elements that make up that beer. Aroma, Appearance, Flavour, Mouthfeel. There is also a section for Comments and Ingredients. Read through all these and they are pretty much self explanatory. There are 1 or 2 things that need explaining. Under ‘Aroma’, Diacetyl is mentioned. This is a by-product of fermentation and when fermentation is almost complete, the beer needs to be left at a slightly higher temperature for the yeast to dispose of the Diacetyl. It’s referred as the ‘Diacetyl Rest’. Some yeasts produce more than others. Under ‘Mouthfeel’ you’ll see the term ‘Burtonize’. It’s a process of changing the composition of the water that we won’t worry about here. If you really want to know about it, go to: <a href="http://finnhillbrewing.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-burtonize-your-brewing-water.html" rel="nofollow">http://finnhillbrewing.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-burtonize-your-brewing-water.html</a> At the bottom of the Wyeast page are Ingredients and the style parameters. We’ll make a bitter somewhere in the middle of the specifications. OG: 1044 (Original Gravity) IBU: 32 (Bitterness) FG: 1.011 (Final Gravity) SRM: 10 (EBC 20) ABV: ? (Alcohol by Volume) SRM is an American colour scale and we use EBU which is roughly double, so SRM 10 would be EBC 20. Why is there a question mark against the ABV? Because we don’t know what it will be yet. It’s a product of the OG and FG, dependent on the yeast used. Ok, Beer Engine is up and running, Volume (top of screen) set at 23 lts, make sure the Original Gravity and Bitterness EBU boxes are un-ticked or you won’t be able to add or adjust ingredients, so we’ll start putting the recipe together. 4,000 gms of Pale Malt. Malt is the basis of all beers. There are different types which give different flavours, colours, etc, but Pale Malt is the basis of nearly all Bitters and Pale Ales. 4,000 gms gives an OG of 1.039 and an ABV of 3.9%. Next, we need a bit of flavour. 20 gms of Crystal Malt, 5%, will give a good flavour and again is used in 95% OF ALL British Ales. 10% is the absolute maximum you should use of Crystal because it tends to give a sweet effect and a heavy mouthfeel. That gets us to 1.041 and 4.0% ABV, but the colour is only 15 EBC. 200 Gms of Amber Malt gets us closer to our targets. Add another 30 gms of Amber malt and we’ve got our colour of 20 EBC, but the strength is not quite enough. Add Pale Malt to bring it in line with what we want. 100 gms will do it. We now have 23 lts at OG 1.044, FG 1.010, colour 20 EBC and you will see the ABV is 4.4% By calculating the percentage difference between the OG and FG, we can work out which yeast we need. Take the last 3 figures and subtract the FG from the OG and you get 34. That is 77.2% of the OG, 1.044, so we need a yeast with 77% attenuation. That means it has the ability to convert 77% of the available sugars to alcohol. Lower, the beer will be too sweet, higher, the beer will be too dry. In practice, we would choose a yeast that gives the beer we like, so if we like a dry bitter, then choose a yeast with a higher attenuation. Go back to the Wyeast Yeast Style guide and at the bottom you’ll find suggested yeasts. Click on 1099. Another page comes up and you’ll see it show Attenuation at 68 – 72%. Bit low for us, but look at the other heading, Flocculation, Medium High. This is the ability of the yeast to drop out of the beer after its job is done, thus clearing the beer more quickly. The higher, the quicker it clears, but it will also restrict the attenuation a bit as there are so few yeast cells in the beer. Go back and click on 1275. That’s got the Attenuation but the Flocculation is Medium Low. Go back and click on 1335. That’s just about what we want. Go back to Beer Engine and place a tick in the Original Gravity box. Whatever we do now, that beer will remain the same balance. The amounts might change as we add hops, but we can fine tune it later. Now go to the Hop Panel. We are making a traditional English Bitter, so we’ll go for suitable hops. We’ll do the main bittering with Target and the flavour addition with a blend of Goldings and Fuggles. At the end, we’ll do a post boil addition of Goldings to give added flavour and aroma. Add 20 gms of Target and reduce the time to 75 minutes. You have 25 EBU. Add another line with Goldings and another line with Fuggles. You should now have 3 lines, I for Target, 1 for Goldings and 1 for Fuggles. Make sure the ‘%EBU’ box is ticked. Add 15 gms of Goldings and 17 gms of Fuggles. You should now have the top line showing 79.6% of EBU, the 2nd at 10.4% and the last at 10.1%. The main bittering hop is doing 80% of the work and the late additions are giving 10% each. That’s a nice balance. Too much in the late additions gives a harsh bitterness, so 80% in the main boil is good. Place a tick in the Bitterness EBU box. The Alpha value shown for Target is 11.4% AA. Current stocks are 12.5% AA, so we need to change the value. Make sure the Bitterness box is ticked. Using the ‘Alpha +’ button, increase the Alpha to 12.5%. Notice the Bitterness has remained the same and the balance has remained the same but you now only need 18 gms of Target, so Beer Engine has re-calculated the quantity required at current Alpha Acid values. Add another line for Goldings and reduce the time to 0. Add 10 gms of Goldings. Note the values remain the same, because 0 minutes gives no added bitterness. Looking back at the top panel, all our parameters remain the same, but the quantities have changed slightly because when we added the hops, the brew altered very slightly. If you wish, you can juggle the figures to get exactly 5% of Crystal and Amber. You can do it with 4.050 gms Pale Malt, 255 gms Crystal and 255 gms Amber if you want to be that exact. All you have to do now is make it. The brew requires a standard 90 minute mash, 75 minute boil, with additions for the last 10 minutes of the boil and at the end of the boil, turn off the heat and allow the liquid to cool to 80°c, add the 10 gms of Goldings and allow to steep for 30 minutes. saracen on "Hopping Hare in Tesco" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hopping-hare-in-tesco#post-29526 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:42:46 +0000 saracen 29526@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I was in Tesco in Newmarket today looking, in vain, for some Proper Job. It's a small Tesco but they had Hopping Hare and 2 or 3 other Badger beers on the shelves, so if a small store has it, it must be a general stock item. Is Spring here? Mark81 on "Secondary Fermentation/Conditioning Temperature" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/secondary-fermentationconditioning-temperature#post-29509 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:02:44 +0000 Mark81 29509@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi all. I think this has been answered before but I cannot find the thread. Am in right in thinking that secondary fermentation in barrel or bottles should be 2 weeks at 18 - 20c. Then condition at 12 - 14c for 3 - 4 weeks. Does this souund correct. Cheers Sqiffy on "New Brewers section?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/newb-section#post-29209 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:42:01 +0000 Sqiffy 29209@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ The last few days have seen several of the frequently asked questions popping up only days after the last time they were asked. This is obviously no surprise as they are usually asked by new brewers who probably don't really know exactly what it is they are trying to find out. Most, if not all, of these questions have been answered in the past but then buried in the numerous posts on this forum. The two most frequent problems it seems are these. 1. Good discussions / advice on one topic often arises within a post started for something else (take last night when three approaches to priming and bottling were made in a thread entitled "Best storage ?") 2. Tagging - People often forget to 'tag' posts correctly, new brewers don't know what tags to search for and the use of tags can, in some instances, lead to a situation in which the searcher cannot see the wood for the trees. So is there a way to help new brewers find what they need without us having to continually monitor their posts and endlessly re-post the same advice? Would it be worth adding a 'New to Brewing Wiki' section in the Main Theme so we can put all the FAQ under separate heading where newbs can find what they want easily. Sections on Bottling, Priming, Barrels & Kegs, Where to get Bottles, The Hydrometer, Sanitation, Temperature in Brewing and Storage etc., etc. What do people think? Is it worth considering? Sqiffy on "Disc. - New Brewers FAQ - Brewing Your First Beer Kit." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/disc-new-brewers-faq-brewing-your-first-beer-kit#post-29521 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:56:55 +0000 Sqiffy 29521@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ In this article we will examine the process from opening the kit to the point at which the beer is considered to have finished fermenting. The movement of the beer from the fermentation vessel (FV) to the brewer's desired means of delivery, be it bottle, keg or corny, is covered in other articles (to move the beer from the FV to the next phase of the process may require additional equipment). Read the complete article through a couple of times to familiarise yourself with the brewing equipment, practices and principles you will need to employ to enable you to make great beer from your kit at your first attempt. For the fermentation stage the following items are required… Beer Kit A Primary Fermentation Vessel (Bucket with lid or similar) Beer Paddle or Long Handled Plastic Spoon A Kettle or Large Saucepan Hydrometer Brewing Themometer Brewing Steriliser Can Opener Optional Items… Airlock Brew Heater Choosing your Fermentation Vessel. There are two basic types of fermentation vessel widely used in kit making. There are large food grade plastic buckets which come with lids and there are the 'wide necked' drum style fermenters. Glass or steel containers can also be used but most start out with the fairly basic, readily available plastic type. Whichever type you settle on it will need to be capable of holding about six gallons to contain the wort and the head at its most expansive. Tap or No Tap? As in many areas of home brewing this question tends to split opinion. Some argue that the benefits of having a tap on the primary outweigh the risks. Certainly it is easier to move your beer from the FV if you have a tap on it. On the other hand a sealed bucket won't leak all over your floor while taps all too frequently do. Some take the middle path, fermenting in tapless buckets but transferring the contents to a second container which does have a tap before moving it into the storage vessel(s) Getting Started. Your chosen kit will include its own instructions and (with a few exceptions) will only contain a tin or two of concentrated brewer's wort and a small sachet of dried yeast. When inspecting the kit check the date on the yeast. Old, out of date, yeast can cause problems with the fermentation so don't use it. If you are using a 'One tin kit' you will also require the extra fermentables called for in the instructions. (If using sugar or brewing sugar add that to the FV once you've added the concentrate and dissolve both together with the boiled water. If using spray malt add this to the FV once the wort has been dissolved as it tends to 'clump' less in cooler water. Spraymalt can take quite a bit of storing to dissolve.) If the kit is in good shape, the yeast well in date you're ready to start. Place the tin(s) of concentrate in a sink full of hot water. This will help to make the contents easier to pour when you start. While the tins are soaking sterilise all the equipment you will be using. Ensure everything is properly cleaned and sanitised. A 'contact steriliser' is quickest and easiest to use. Once the FV is clean and properly disinfected get the wort tin(s) open and pour the contents into the FV. It will be very sticky and you will need to keep rinsing the tin(s) out with a few inches of boiled water. The can(s) will become very hot so best use a tea towel or oven gloves as you gently roll the boiling water around the inside of the can. Ensure you get all the contents into your FV. Once the wort is in your FV pour in a kettle or two of boiled water and then (ensuring it's clean and properly sanitised) use the paddle or spoon to gently agitate the wort. The treacly wort will gradually start to become thiner. Add more boiling water to the FV and give the wort a good stir until the liquid becomes nice and fluid. Now take a large clean sanitised pan and transfer cold water into the FV. Pour it in from about 50cm above the FV as this will help to aerate the wort and assist the yeast consume the fermentables within it. BE VERY CAREFUL NOW. This is the point where many new brewers make their first mistake. Beer kit companies advertise a specific expected %abv for the beers we attempt to brew from their kits. However, as numerous posts on countless forums will attest getting this alcohol level is not as easy as one would expect. The %abv problem… So you have a kit and the instructions say something like… "add water and top up to 5 gallons" Easy, Right? You look at your FV, clearly marked in litres and gallons. 5 gallons, piece of cake. Unfortunately appearances can be deceptive... Some on this forum have 'recalibraited' the scale on their fermenters (presumably using the principle that 1 litre of water weighs 1 Kg) and are now confidant in the accuracy of their volume scale. These brewers suggest that the frequently encountered problem of watery or understrength kit beer is the direct result of people relying on the inaccurate scale on their FV, that typically the FV scale error may be as much as a 10% underestimation of the FV's true volume. They point out that if the kit instructions are followed and a genuinely accurate scale is used kits will actually produce the %abv advertised by the manufacturer. So one way to avoid the frequently encountered problem of 'dilution' is to calibrate your FV properly. However, this is not necessarily a foolproof method to adopt as we are making the assumption that the wort is actually the strength advertised by the manufacturer. In all likelihood it is but maybe, instead of mixing our wort up to volume, it would be better to be a little more scientific in our methodology. Specific Gravity The density of beer wort is measured as Specific Gravity (SG), that is the various sugars (fermentable and unfermentable) give us a reading which we know has an alcohol potential. As our yeast consumes the fermentable sugars it produces two byproducts: Carbon Dioxide and alcohol. As the sugar is converted and the alcohol level increases our wort becomes less dense and so the SG level drops. We know that as a general rule of thumb the kit we are brewing will most likely 'finish fermenting' at around 1014sg so we can also calculate what starting SG figure we require to get our beer to the desired %abv figure. <center><img src="http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/5749/abvh.jpg"></center> So now we know that if we have a 1050sg start for our wort we should, with luck, end up with a beer of 4.9%abv. Using a hydrometer to take the SG reading we will not need to make any assumption about the strength of the wort, we will know what it is. If you take SG readings when brewing your beer always keep a note of the date and SG figure in case you need to refer to it again at some later point in the fermentation. Remember - Be very careful not to over-dilute your wort, it takes very little water to impact on taste, mouth feel and potential alcohol content when making up your brew so take care not to add too much water to your batch. Whatever method you adopt to get the wort to its correct strength let's assume it's there. Move the FV to the place you intend to leave it during the fermentation period and then sprinkle the yeast over the top of the wort. Within 24 hours of pitching the yeast it will get to work and usually produces a large frothy head about two to four inches deep on top of the wort. This will only last around a day and it will then disappear leaving a scummy mess all over the inside of your FV. This is okay. Don't worry. Another thing people are often concerned by are the yeast and / or spraymalt clumps in their beer. This too is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. Open or Closed Fermentation? Again, this question tends to split opinion. As such there probably isn't much in it and it is down to personal choice. Once the yeast is in lay the lid loosely on top of the FV (Open Ferment) with a clean tea towel covering the grommet hole (if there is one) or tightly close the lid and put an airlock in the grommet hole (Closed Ferment). The (sterilised) airlock should only have enough liquid put into it to fill the first bulb and just extend into the second bulb on each side of the airlock. Campden solution or cheap vodka are usually used. The fermentation vessel must be kept at around 20°C and the temperature must not be allowed to drop too low or to fluctuate too widely (as this will detrimentally effect the yeast). If you do not have an area where a fairly constant temperature can be maintained for the FV it may be necessary to employ a brew heater of some kind. As long as the required temperature conditions are maintained the beer will be ready for checking eleven days after the fermentation was started. On day eleven take a hydrometer reading. Do the same again for the next two days. If the SG figure obtained remains constant then the beer has finished fermenting. If the figures continue to fall over this period then give the beer a few more days and take three readings over the next three consecutive days. Once the figures remain static and stable bellow 1016sg the fermentation is over. Once the beer has fully fermented it's time to move it out of the FV and into your chosen dispenser. It does not take many beer kits before we forget how difficult and strange our first brewing experiences seemed to us at the time. I found my first kits daunting even though I'd been winemaking for several years. As a total new comer it would have been doubly so. My first kit was, as most peoples first kits are, watery and understrength. After half a dozen kits the process became second nature, and these days I think nothing of banging out a 'quick kit' if I find myself with an hour to spare. When starting out there are few pleasures as great as drinking and enjoying your first successfully brewed beer. Kits and kit adaptations are fine to begin with but many get biten by the bug, the desire to try out fresh ideas, extract brewing beckons and on the distant horizon All Grain! Enjoy your brewing adventure, wherever it takes you. <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> saracen on "Computer glitch. Is there an expert in the house?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/computer-glitch-is-there-an-expert-in-the-house#post-29324 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:45:04 +0000 saracen 29324@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ My computer does a strange thing. Often when I'm typing I hit 2 keys as I have fingers of the large variety. Because of that I often have to go back and chnge things. Sometimes, when I try this, I can't do it because the thing starts typing with no spaces. By that I mean if I want to put an extra word in a sentence, as I type, the computer automatically overwrites the next letter. If I wanted to change 'look' to 'book', I would end up with 'bok', because as I type the 'b', it would delete the next letter. I think it's because I'm hitting 2 keys to turn something on. Does anyone know how to turn it off without switching the whole box off? Nath on ""Buiding a brewfridge"" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/buiding-a-brewfridge#post-1662 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:21:43 +0000 Nath 1662@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Here is my brewfridge as promised. Now im no electrician so be warned! It works fine and has given me no problems whatsoever over the last year! It started with instructions! Problem was they were different to eachother so I had to ask for help. Unfortunatly no help was available so I just used one of em and kept me fingers crossed! <img src="http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/8706/090428110619.jpg"> <img src="http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/1033/090428112100.jpg"> Here is a piccy of the fridge to start. <img src="http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6753/090428131003.jpg"> This is the atc800 and 1ft tube heater. <img src="http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/9075/090428131021.jpg"> Makin' holes for the wires - fridge, heater, probe and mains. <img src="http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/8132/090428131054.jpg"> Here it is wired up. It looks hard but its not. Here is what I done:- Mains live to 1,3,9 (bridged) All Neutrals to 8 All earths together via a block Heater live to 2 Cooler or fans live to 4 ATC800 sensor 6 & 7 <img src="http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/6017/090428141559.jpg"> And another close up <img src="http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/2803/090428141618.jpg"> Fridge open (with bottom barrel moved). <img src="http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/3313/090428144528.jpg"> Fridge open with heater in place. I used the door in the end to see if it heats ok and there are no problems. I may move it to the back if need be, but it is a wee bit tight. <img src="http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5999/090428145641.jpg"> And here is the tidied finished product! <img src="http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/5713/090428151113.jpg"> <img src="http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/8660/090428151132.jpg"> The unit is a doddle to set up and the heater on the door seems to be fine. The unit is set for 15c with a 1c temp difference. Should be fine for brewing my lager and conditioning ale! It has changed a bit though as I aded a new fridge so I could fermet in one and keep a cool temp in the other:- The large fridge is used for conditioning ale and holding lager bottles when the other is in use. The small fridge is used for brewing and lagering. Both are connected to the atc800, but only the smaller fridge has a heat element. The atc is set to 13c with 1c either way. The small fridge holds temp really well and does not fluctuate much. The large fridge only comes on when the small fridge needs to and this keeps it from 5 to 10c, which is a little low for ale but it does not bother me too much at the moment and I can alwasy take it off the atc and just plug it straight from the mains. The brew thats in the small fridge was a coopers european with a double dose of s23. MMMMMMMMMM EGGY! Piccys- <img src="http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/7818/dsc00123qdp.jpg"> <img src="http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7150/dsc00124q.jpg"> <img src="http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/8928/dsc00125v.jpg"> <img src="http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1436/dsc00126ttk.jpg"> <img src="http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7660/dsc00127x.jpg"> <img src="http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/2127/dsc00128u.jpg"> <img src="http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/7431/dsc00129erl.jpg"> Sqiffy on "Proposed - New Brewers FAQ - Where can I get Beer / Wine Bottles from?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/discussion-for-newb-post-where-can-i-get-beer-wine-bottles-from#post-29246 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:38:36 +0000 Sqiffy 29246@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Free bottles can be acquired in a number of ways. You can ask at your local Pub, Hotel Bar or Club if they have any empties they will let you have (sometimes a small donation to a local charity will secure the bottles) Advertise a 'Beer / Wine Bottles Wanted' Ad on Freecycle or a similar website. Buy full bottles and drink the contents. Result, free empty bottles. Lurk around the local glass recycle point and see where a polite request gets you. It should be noted that when reusing bottles the labels may be difficult to remove (although a good long soak in warm water will usually free them off) and that the cap size required for sealing the bottle may differ between bottle types and styles. The bottles may also require quite a lot of effort to get properly clean. Buying your Bottles. A number of options are open to you if you are happy to buy your bottles. PET (plastic) bottles are a cheap option or you can opt for glass ones. PET bottles come with their own closures as do the 'swing-top' glass bottles (Grolsch style). No additional tools or sundries are required if using these types of bottle. Standard beer bottles, however, will require 'crown caps' and a capping tool to fix them on with. Wine bottles are pretty much standard and will require the use of a hand or floor corker and a packet of corks for closure (shrinks are optional though advisable). CarlW21 on "Best storage ?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/best-storage#post-29102 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:43:54 +0000 CarlW21 29102@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I bought a Young's Home Brew Kit, "40 pints lager". When it came to moving it for the fermentation barrel provided I bought a Young's 5 gallon pressure barrel from Wilko's for about £20 or so. After the 1st night in the barrel at least 3 gallons had leaked out through the seal of the tap (not the tap itself)...... Questions - Any ideas to why this happened ? - After looking online after this it seems a few people have had problems with leaking barrel's so I don't want to get another...what is the best storage for home brew...(bottles, carboys, etc...) ? Many Thanks paul on "Experimental Imperial Stout" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/experimental-imperial-stout#post-27350 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:03:53 +0000 paul 27350@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi, just wanted any thoughts on this brew I’m planning for one day next week. Imperial Stout Pale malt 4700g 75.4% Rauchmalz 500g 8% Chocolate malt 250g 4% Roasted Barley 250g 4% DME dark 250g 4% Melanoidin Malt 180g 2.9% Wheat malt 100g 1.6% Nugget 12% 80g 70mins Fuggle 6.1% 30g 10mins Galena 14.7% 30g dry hop Final Volume: 15L OG: 1.095 FG: 1.016 Alcohol Content: 9.1%ABV Mash Efficiency: 75% Bitterness: 109 EBU Colour: 331 EBC It’s a bit of an experiment to see how it turns out and I assume I will have to leave it in the bottle a fair while to get it at its best anyway. Do you think the 331 EBC is a bit much? Cheers. outlaw on "Black IPA" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/black-ipa#post-29495 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:26:08 +0000 outlaw 29495@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hey guys never mind the hops any idea on a malt choice i can use on my forth comming black ipa ? thank-you wildbrew on "Ribena juice wine" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/ribena-juice-wine#post-29433 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:34:29 +0000 wildbrew 29433@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ ingredients to make one gallon. <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":-)" class="bb_smilies" /> 1lt-Ribena juice drink ( NOT cordial ) 1lt-red grape juice. 1kg-sugar. 1tsp-GP yeast compound. water. Method: dissolve the sugar in 1lt of water in a pan,then leave to cool,when cool add to your demijohn with the Ribena and grape juice top up with cold tap water add the yeast and the airlock, and fully ferment out. when fermenting as stopped rack and leave to mature for at least 6 months. <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_biggrin.gif" title=":D" class="bb_smilies" /> Chile_uk on "Nelson's Revenge - Too much water" 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/ Hi all, I have just mixed up and put into FV my xmas present of Nelson'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't put in the last 1 litre per instructions. Hopefully my FV shows it wrong as i want this one to turn out nice! 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. Any suggestions? Cheers Greg on "News Flash - Proper Job comp" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/news-flash-proper-job-comp#post-27254 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:17:12 +0000 Greg 27254@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Okay, sorry for the silence on this one but I've been working on spicing the comp up a bit. Just heard back from Roger Ryman (head brewer at St Austell) and not only is he willing to judge the competition but he has also offered a prize for the winner to actually go and brew the real thing. So we need to come up with some proper rules which I'll post properly later. I think the following: Brew a clone of the brew, brewer decides the recipe to try and the closet to the real thing wins. simonb_13 on "#9 - AG-BIAB - Mary's Chocolate Orange Porter" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/9-ag-biab-marys-chocolate-orange-porter#post-7527 Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:48:52 +0000 simonb_13 7527@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Brew on tomorrow evening. Making a small batch for Crimbo based on Varnish's Vanilla Porter: Recipe Specifications -------------------------- Batch Size: 10.00 L Estimated OG: 1.051 SG Estimated Color: 29.0 SRM Estimated IBU: 43.9 IBU Boil Time: 60 Minutes Ingredients: ------------ Amount Item Type % or IBU 1.70 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 77.27 % 0.20 kg Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 9.09 % 0.15 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 6.82 % 0.15 kg Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 6.82 % 20.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (60 min) Hops 25.5 IBU 15.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (15 min) Hops 9.5 IBU 15.00 gm Fuggles [4.50 %] (15 min) Hops 7.7 IBU 6.00 gm Fuggles [4.50 %] (5 min) Hops 1.2 IBU 5.00 gm Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 20.0 min) Misc 30.00 gm Cocoa Powder (Boil 5.0 min) Misc Using Brew-in-a-Bag again and will be bottling my Amabrillo in the same evening. Nothing like giving yourself a challenge! craig on "Dry hopping Way to Amarillo" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/dry-hopping-way-to-amarillo#post-28492 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:20:50 +0000 craig 28492@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi all Just wanted a bit of advice: I have just finished doing an extract brew this morning - got my 2nd lot of WTA in the FV and wanted to try dry hopping in a week's time, just to see what the effect is. Can anyone recommend suitable hops to try this with, and how much I should use? I only have East Kent Goldings at home but wasn't convinced this would go so well as it's a bit fruity and more traditionally English Ale tasting - is that right? Cheers Craig Barracuda on "Brooklyn Brown Ale" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brooklyn-brown-ale#post-29299 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:35:57 +0000 Barracuda 29299@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I've been drinking <a href="http://brooklynbrewery.com/brooklyn-beers/perennial-brews/brooklyn-brown-ale">Brooklyn Brown Ale</a> at a bar near me, and I love the stuff! It's got that toffee style aroma, with taste of coffee and chocolate, without being heavy and cloying. Hop aroma is very low. It's lightly carbonated and slightly 'lip smacking' which makes it very drinkable and refreshing despite being a dark ale. It's not cheap however, I seem to recall paying over £4, but I know the bar goes to great lengths to source it this far down the UK, so thats fine by me. It's also 5.6%, so you don't want too many of em. (Or maybe you do..) When I get round to brewing a Brown Beer, if I get anything close to this, I'll be overjoyed. iceman on "Brewferm Ambiorix" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brewferm-ambiorix-1#post-29419 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:23:54 +0000 iceman 29419@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Another brew on. Not for the purest but I got given a can of Brewferm Ambiorix and due to work cant get my extract on so I thought I would get this going as I will have to bottle it up and leave for abot 3 months. I think it is going to be very strong and a bit sweet. I did not have any brewing suger or spray malt to hand so decided to get some muscavado suger as its a dark beer. It said to put in 1075 grams so I got a 1kilo bag and a 500 gram bag put the one kilo bag in fv and when I opened the 500 gram the bag split and half of it went in. Just had a look this morning and its bubbling away like mad and has a yeast layer about 6 inch. Has anyone else tried one of these kits. outlaw on "BrewZone 100litre microbrewery" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brewzone-100litre-microbrewery#post-29200 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:41:13 +0000 outlaw 29200@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hi guys i am very intrested in getting one of these setups and wanted to know what youz think of these ? are they worth it and how good are they ,this year we are going to brew alot of beer and i thought that this would fit the bill ,please give me some help and advice cheers outlaw on "when taking mash pH with metre" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/when-taking-mash-ph-with-metre#post-29274 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:39:35 +0000 outlaw 29274@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ do i stick the metre in the grain in the mash tun or do you take a sample of wort from the mash tun into a jug and do it that way ,which way is best? thank you <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_biggrin.gif" title=":D" class="bb_smilies" /> saracen on "Chlorine Tablets." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/chlorine-tablets#post-29397 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:26:43 +0000 saracen 29397@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ In the course of my travels today I called at a small company in Bury St Edmunds and they gave me a tub of Chlorine Disinfectant Tablets. 'Effective against all food poisoning bacteria, MRSA, C Difficile, Viruses, etc' it says on the tub. Apparently it's no longer acceptable to say, 'Splash some bleach in'. You have to know exactly what concentrations you are dealing with or you get locked up. With this, 1 tablet in 1 lt gives a 1,000 ppm solution. <a href="http://www.hygiene4less.co.uk/chlorine-tablets/index.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.hygiene4less.co.uk/chlorine-tablets/index.htm</a> I'll give it a go. With 200 in the tub they should last me the rest of my life! Als Pals on "How long to stir" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/how-long-to-stir#post-29321 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:29:10 +0000 Als Pals 29321@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi guys, I was lucky enough to grab a stir plate from one of the labs i drop samples off at <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_biggrin.gif" title=":D" class="bb_smilies" /> currently got my starter going now for my ESB brew day on Saturday. So I see alot of u guys using stir plates and wondered how long do you stir the starter for, for hours on end or just 15 minutes every now and then. Cheers all Coby on "Hi from Southampton" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hi-from-southampton#post-28484 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:38:50 +0000 Coby 28484@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Right then you lot, been tinkering with the idea of brewing my own for a while now, and made a new years resolution to finally take the plunge. Bit mind boggling to be honest, so where do I start? Eventually want to try the all grain method but think I better start with something more basic. Came across this site when I Google'd Summer lightning (Heaven in a bottle as far as I'm concerned, but I'm probably a bit biased, cos' I'm originally from Salisbury). Baring that in mind, any suggestions of starter kits to begin with would be greatly appreciated Cheers iceman on "Old Peculiar extract recipe wanted" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/old-peculiar-extract-recipe-wanted#post-26818 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:01:34 +0000 iceman 26818@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Wanting to do extract, only done kits recently. This is one of my fave brews, I have seen a few different recipes for this but wanted to know if anyone had made a good batch and if so what did they do and boil times. saracen on "New Brewers Post: Wherry Enhancement" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/discussion-for-newb-post-wherry-enhancement#post-29232 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:46:41 +0000 saracen 29232@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Wherry Plus instructions You might like to try my proven method for making Wherry better than it already is; 1) Make the kit to 37 pints 2) Add 250 gms of Dried Malt Extract to the boiled water in the Fermenting Vessel, then the cans of Malt Extract. 3) Proceed as per the Wherry instructions from here and get it all into the FV, temperature to 20°c and pitch the yeast. 4) Throw 10 to 30 gms of Goldings hops (depending on how ‘hoppy’ you like it) into the Fermenting Vessel after 3 days when the initial (primary) fermentation has slowed and leave them there for 7 days while the beer ferments. Putting them in a boiled muslin Hop Bag makes them easier to remove. NOTE: Yeast. I've only ever done this with the Wherry yeast, but you could have a look here and see if any of the Wyeast strains appeals to you. 1968 London ESB (Fullers strain) is always great in an English Special Bitter. <a href="http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain.cfm">Wyeast Yeast Strain Guide</a> Using hops at this stage is known as “Dry Hopping” which involves adding hops to the fermenter or keg after fermentation. The technique adds the fragile aromatic oils that are normally lost in the boiling process. Dry hops are allowed to soak in the finished beer for anywhere from several days to several weeks. The result is a burst of hoppy aroma but it does not affect the bitterness of your beer. It doesn’t have to be Goldings hops. They will give you the traditional English bitter aroma, but something like Nelson Sauvin will give you a crushed gooseberry aroma, or Amarillo for a flowery, citrus aroma This method really does lift the beer and gives it a lovely hoppy 'nose'. It will also raise the ABV by about 0.7% Technotrucker on "5 Beer Questions....Be honest now." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/5-beer-questionsbe-honest-now#post-28956 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:16:23 +0000 Technotrucker 28956@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ 1...Which beer was known as ‘The Cream of Manchester?. 2...What does beer contain which ale traditionally did not? 3...Which brand of lager advertises itself as 'probably the best beer in the world'? 4...The comedians Peter Kay and Jack Dee have appeared in TV commercials for which beer? 5...For which beer is Rutland famous? <a href="http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php"><img src="http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-fart002.gif"></a> . . . . . . . . . . 1...Boddintons. 2...Hops 3...Carlsberg 4...John Smiths. 5...Ruddles <a href="http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php"><img src="http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-char020.gif"></a> Loz on "Using honey/ golden syrup / herbs with a kit brew?" 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/ Hi, I'd really like to try using honey &/or golden syrup in my kit brews. Seen a lot of info regarding extract & all grain brewing, but none for kits. Would simply priming a few bottles with it work ok? How much to use per bottle? (I've heard to go light with honey to avoid explosions!) Also I have Lovage herb growing in my garden & think it would work well with beer. Should I go for a secondary & steep it for a few days before priming? Or put it in the primary? (I suspect not...) I'm not going to risk a whole 5gallon brew with this, just a few bottles worth at first... Cheers! seamus48 on "Carp Forums" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/carp-forums#post-28668 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:32:20 +0000 seamus48 28668@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Here's one... <a href="http://www.carp-forums.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.carp-forums.com/</a> Otter on "BoysBitter" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/boysbitter#post-28565 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 06:48:59 +0000 Otter 28565@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Greetings from the windy canterbury plains anybody got a recipe for boys bitter and how do you get over the lack of alcohol to give you the proper mouthfeel,probably opened up a huge area but id like to brew a lower alcohol beer for a end of year do for students and i do like a challenge!cheers steve300010 on "Smoked malt" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/smoked-malt#post-10123 Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:42:17 +0000 steve300010 10123@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hello I've come across smoked malt several times recently and was wondering if anyone could tell me the name of a beer where it has been used so I could try it? I can't imagine it being much good but intrigued all the same. Cheers gazzauk66 on "when do you rack off wine?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/when-do-you-rack-off-wine#post-6752 Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:03:14 +0000 gazzauk66 6752@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hi,im a newbie to wine making and im unsure when to rack off my youngs 1 gallon white wine. Its nearly fermented in a dj, should i add stabiliser,campden tablet and finings to the fermention vessel or should i wait to add these until the wine has been racked off into another dj? cheers for your help in advance, Gazza John_McC on "Heat exchanger" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/heat-exchanger#post-28230 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:20:28 +0000 John_McC 28230@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Just bought a 60 plate heat exchanger off ebay after being a bit disappointed with the time it was taking to cool down the wort using the traditional copper pipe coil. With the old set up 23l of wort would take around 40-45 minutes to cool down sufficient to pitch the yeast. Just done a dummy run with the heat exchanger and am blown away with just how quick it cools! The cold water supply to the exchanger was 12'C and the water in the boiler was just off the boil at 98'C and the temp of the exit water/wort was 22'C so as quick as I can dump the wort into the FV(around 10mins)I can now pitch the yeast! we worth the £33(plus £3 for connectors)I paid <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_biggrin.gif" title=":D" class="bb_smilies" /> seamus48 on "Are you correctly insured for Carnal Activities?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/are-you-correctly-ensured-for-carnal-activities#post-29113 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:16:11 +0000 seamus48 29113@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ A debate at work today considered whether or not people held the correct insurance for their carnal activities. Obviously some companies specialise in particular sectors of the market... We came up with: Sex with your wife - Legal & General Sex on the telephone - Direct Line Sex with your partner - Standard Life Sex with someone different - Go Compare Sex with a fat bird - More Than Sex on the back seat of a car - Sheila’s Wheels Sex with a posh bird - Privilege Sex with a transvestite - Confused.com Sex with an alcoholic - AA Insurance Sex with the over 50s - Saga Insurance Sex with a consenting adult - Co-operative Insurance Sex with the Skipper - Admiral Insurance Then the girls in Registry came up with: Sex with a sheep - NFU Sex with a Page 3 Girl - Sun Life Any other suggestions? happystamps on "Wherry Still bubbling after 14 days" 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/ Hi all, I'm a bit new to this so I apologise in advance for the "newb" question, and would like to say thanks for all the info I've already had from this forum- reading other people's posts has helped me quite a bit. Anyway, I've a Wherry kit that'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'm using a "bubbler" style airlock, as the original popped off one day and I couldn't find the top. It's still bubbling every half an hour or so, and i'm concerned that it's not done yet. I'm just worried that if i barrel it now, I'll have screwed something up... can anybody help? Thanks in advance, Simon iceman on "king keg v cornie" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/king-keg-v-cornie#post-28500 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:40:17 +0000 iceman 28500@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I am thinking of getting another barrel in the next few weeks and cant decide weather to get another king keg or a cornie. I saw a cornie in my local home brew shop think it was already to go had piped and a valve on top it was £55 the king keg is £45. I was in a bit of a rush and there were a few people in the shop so did not have time to ask about it. Price aside what are the benefits if any for getting a cornie as apposed to a king keg. I will prob only do extract brews as I don't have the time at the moment to go all out and start doing full grain. I will also just be making ale to go in it like old peculiar Briff on "Hello All" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hello-all-2#post-29058 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:25:28 +0000 Briff 29058@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hello all, Just wanted to say a quick hello, just ordered my first beer brewing kit, and i cannot wait to start brewing hopefully ths weekend, just intime to have my first batch for the end ofthe 6 nations ..... Technotrucker on "Bottle beer (Bah humbug)" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/bottle-beer-bah-humbug#post-28585 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:52:00 +0000 Technotrucker 28585@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I love homebrewing..I hate having to bottle, no that's wrong, I don't mind doing say a small brew one I'm having a trial at..that's why I've gone down the Corni route. So this morning I've put my latest trial house bitter into bottles... <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_evil.gif" title=":evil:" class="bb_smilies" /> <img src="http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af94/Dieseljockey/IMAG0010-1.jpg"> A mix of bottles as you can see...from left Purity..Newcastle..and Bud, now before anyone starts booing, I didn't drink the Bud they came from a mate at work. One thing with them the labels come off a treat, and they are 500ml going to ask for more (empty that is). Talking of labels I should pull my finger out and come up with some thing. mikehawley on "A decent Pilsner kit" 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/ Hi Guys 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!! Anyway, I'm going to get another brew on the go. Now I really like Amstel, and German/Czech Pilsners. Has anyone got any ideas of a good kit to use for a nice pilsner, and any differences in brewing. 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! So if anyone has any reccomendations for a good pilsner, i'm all ears Cheers Guys Mike beany151067 on "newbie" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/newbie-3#post-28846 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:44:26 +0000 beany151067 28846@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hi everyone i am a complete newbie to all this brewing.this forum looks like it has great people and advice so i will probably be asking soon. regards rob........................ outlaw on "wheelers new book release date now oct 2012" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wheelers-new-book-release-date-now-oct-2012#post-28929 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:40:15 +0000 outlaw 28929@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_confused.gif" title=":?" class="bb_smilies" /> Technotrucker on "Microbrewery 4 sale" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/microbrewery-4-sale#post-28370 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:07:22 +0000 Technotrucker 28370@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Who's got a spare £1000 for a microbrewery?? <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MICROBREWERY-/300649997520?pt=Home_Brew&hash=item460022e4d0">Here</a> <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_lol.gif" title=":lol:" class="bb_smilies" /> :lol: Hurry up you have till 23-1-12. seamus48 on "Re-edited Brian Movie" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/re-edited-brian-movie#post-28467 Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:56:59 +0000 seamus48 28467@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Ok, so I re-edited the 'Life of Brewin' vid to remove any reference to THBF. It's now the 'Brew at Home' forum. Shall I give you guys the link? <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_question.gif" title=":?:" class="bb_smilies" /> <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_redface.gif" title=":oops:" class="bb_smilies" /> coddy on "Hop storage" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hop-storage#post-28607 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:42:32 +0000 coddy 28607@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hello again, im going to order my ingredients for my fist brew an noticed that the hops come in packs of 100g, i will only be using 40g for the brew and wonder if the hops can be frozen or is it best just to keep them in the fridge? steveh on "Hello !!" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hello-8#post-28242 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:02:30 +0000 steveh 28242@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi, just watched your life of brewing video !! <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":-)" class="bb_smilies" /> Brewing AG about a year, about to do a triple brew to celebrate a couple of things this year Steve H Tebb on "Joining the fun" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/joining-the-fun#post-28680 Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:18:20 +0000 Tebb 28680@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi to all you fellow brewers, thought I'd better join you all in the great journey of beer making, I've drank plenty in my time and spent a small fortune on bottled conditioned ale. I thought it was about time to be brave and make me bloody own. Started in October and I'm on my 6th kit now, with pretty good results I must say. Only used the two can kits so far but I'm getting ready to try something different. I did have a conservatory back then but now it looks like a dodgey back street chemistry lab. The mrs has just ordered a pop up bed for me, so I can keep it warm on those colder nights. Might needs some tips and advise from you pro's in the future . Kind regards Tebb. fuggles_muddle on "Way To Cassarillo! Recipe Advice" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/way-to-cassarillo-recipe-advice#post-25635 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:17:44 +0000 fuggles_muddle 25635@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi All, Attempting my second brew, a variation of the WTA recipe that everyone seems to love. I just need some advice on whether the following sounds like sensible or not. I calculated this using the Hopville Brew Calculus thing: 20L Water Fermentables: 3.5 Light Dry Malt Extract Hops: boil 60 mins 15g Amarillo leaf 9.5 boil 60 mins 50g Cascade leaf 5.9 boil 20 mins 15g Amarillo leaf 9.5 boil 20 mins 20g Cascade leaf 5.9 post-boil 30 mins 20g Amarillo leaf 9.5 post-boil 30 mins 15g Cascade leaf 5.9 Yeast: Safeale US-05 dried yeast Expected abv: 6.3% Expected IBU: 50.1 OG: 1.064 FG: 1.017 I wanted to beef up the aroma so substituted a lot of the bittering amarillo for casscade and then went for heavier amarillo steeping to give a more citrusy note. What do people think? Barracuda on "Cider/Wine Brew Day" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/ciderwine-brew-day#post-28931 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:50:53 +0000 Barracuda 28931@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hey all. I seem to have a few things going on, so I thought a post would be in order. My Rioja is all done fermenting, and has been degassing with the stabilizer over the weekend. I'll be clearing in the next day or two, which is exciting, as a tasting is certainly in order! Also, I have 3 different turbo ciders on the go, these are in the last couple of days of fermentation I reckon. It's been really interesting to see the difference of the fermentation lvls depending on the contents of the Demi. My plain apple cider gently bubbled away for the duration, the one I added a blackberry juice (concentrate) to was fizzing like crazy for a day or two, I think this is due to the added sugar in the juice. Then one with some crushed real strawberries, big, foaming ferment on that one. And a great colour from the fruit. I'm going to bottle these all up later this week and leave them to sit for as long as I can resist. Looking forward to the results. outlaw on "anybody intrested in buying 2 minibrew conical fermenters" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/anybody-intrested-in-buying-2-minibrew-conical-fermenters#post-28907 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:00:49 +0000 outlaw 28907@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ ones 6 gallon and the other is 8 gallon saracen on "Are you STILL going to buy from Tesco?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/are-you-still-going-to-buy-from-tesco#post-27443 Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:42:06 +0000 saracen 27443@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Tesco's Chief Operating Officer sold 200,000 poundsworth of shares 2 weeks before a profit forecast devastated their value, and Tesco say he did not see any sensitive information. Does he walk round with his eyes shut..... or do Tesco think we, their customers, are all comletely stupid? I suppose he will buy them all back at their vastly reduced value and come back for another dip in the gravy..... and why, if this phone is such a smartphone, doesn't the stupid thing have pound sign!! johnh on "Forgive Me Father...'its been 2 months since my last brewingsession'" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/forgive-me-fatherits-been-2-months-since-my-last-brewingsession#post-28760 Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:59:52 +0000 johnh 28760@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ i've got a choice of 4 kits to choose from, 2 ale, 1 cider, and 1 stout... i think i'm gonna do the 'coopers stout' with 1kg dark spraymalt (instead of the 1kg brewing sugar or brew enhancer it says to add)...i did the 'coopers brewmaster irish stout' last time...i brewed that to the coopers brewmaster recipe...(1kg brewing sugar,500g light spraymalt.).its been in the bottle 3 months now,(got 20 bottles left)it is absolutely supurb!...my mate drinks 'Original Guinness for Britain'...he was like wow! can't beleive thats homebrew....also my brother and sister loved it... every month it just gets better...I'm going to put half a dozen away and try 1 every 3 months... braze on "Newbie" 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/ Hi All Wish I'd discovered this forum prior to testing out the Youngs microwbrewery kit that I received for Christmas. I don't think I'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'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't touch it for another 10 days or so? I added 85g of sugar at barreling. Any advice greatly appreciated. Cheers thurgie on "How to make sparkling wine" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/how-to-make-sparkling-wine#post-20141 Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:32:30 +0000 thurgie 20141@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I was in my local homebrew shop and they were selling off 30 bottle white wine kits half price as the date on them was August 2011. Now as we don't drink much white we were thinking of trying to turn it in to sparkling wine for Christmas, but i have been given two different ways and was after a bit of clarification. Firstly, on the internet i found this: Produce your 6-gallon (23-L) wine kit (white or rosé) in the normal way up to the stabilizing and clearing day. Do not add the sulfite or sorbate (the stabilizers). This is very important because these packages contain enough sulfite and potassium sorbate to prevent the wine from carbonating properly. On the stabilizing and clearing day, dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of metabisulfite powder in 1/2 cup (125 mL) of cool water and add to the wine. This amount will prevent the wine from oxidising, but will not hamper yeast during bottle carbonation. Add the fining agents, following the kit instructions. Remember: Do not add the stabilizers! Wait 10 days. Observe your wine. When clear (you may need to wait an extra few days or a week), it is ready to be made into sparkling wine. Don’t bother filtering it as it will go cloudy again in the bottle during the refermentation process. Bottling Rack the wine from the carboy into a sanitized primary fermenter. Avoid disturbing the sediment. Make your tirage by dissolving 1-3/4 cups (325 mL) white table sugar in 2 cups (500 mL) boiling water. Stir thoroughly and gently into wine. Carefully rehydrate one package of champagne yeast (Lalvin EC-1118 is an excellent choice, but there are others), following these instructions exactly: Stir the yeast into 1/5 cup (50 mL) of water at 100 °F (40 °C). Leave it to stand for 10 minutes, then stir yeast thoroughly but gently into wine. Siphon your wine into the champagne bottles, leaving one inch (2.5 cm) of space at the top of the neck. If your champagne bottles accept crown caps, cap them now. Otherwise, insert plastic stoppers and wire them down using wire cages and a wire-twisting tool. Store bottles on their sides at 65–75 °F (19–23 °C) for two months to carbonate. (While traditional champagne secondary fermentations are conducted cooler than this, field results with kit wine show that this can produce inconsistent results.) My local homebrew shop, however, said not to add the metabisulfite or any additional yeast, just the sugar and there existing yeast should create the fizz. Any help would be much appreciated. Technotrucker on "60 plate chillers" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/60-plate-chillers#post-28383 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:05:21 +0000 Technotrucker 28383@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ For those looking for 60 plate chillers..this looks like a good price. <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stainless-Steel-Heat-Exchanger-Plate-Heat-Exchanger-60-Plates-130-kW-/270890094285?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item3f124ececd">HERE</a> Grumpy Git on "Where can I get bottles from?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/where-can-i-get-bottles-from#post-7683 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:13:29 +0000 Grumpy Git 7683@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I'm about to brew my first brew, a Wherry. I have a barrel for this, but want to get hold of bottles for my next batch, as I will lay some down for Christmas (if I can resist the urge). So where would the best place be to get hold of bottles and what type should I use? Cheers Grumpy aderuk on "Cider question" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/cider-question#post-22151 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:39:16 +0000 aderuk 22151@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I have an on the rocks apple cider on the go,the first 36 hrs there was a crust on top which has now gone,if i lift the lid a little it is sparkling away lovely.I was just wondering if the crust is supposed to dissapear ? Thanks Mark on "Crap forums" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/crap-forums#post-17489 Mon, 04 Jul 2011 22:19:06 +0000 Mark 17489@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Just wanted to say how good this forum is 10/10. Been browsing at a couple of other forums tonight and they are really crap. There are questions asked and sometimes no replies and when i have seen replies it is a mickey mouse answer although to be fair not all the time. The good thing about this site is you put a question up and it always gets answered with know how and methodical common sense. I think also it is good that the moderators get involved even allowing how busy they are. I have never seen anyone give a sarcastic answer even at weekend nights when necking their self made beer etc. Everyone seems to get on which is great. Well done everyone whom contributes to this forum making it knock spots off the other really crap forums. aderuk on "wherry question" 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/ 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. 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. Thanks kilconlea on "Fuller's London Porter Extract brew" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/fullers-london-porter-extract-brew#post-24118 Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:09:03 +0000 kilconlea 24118@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Based on GW's AG recipe 23 litres DME 3000g Brown Malt 650g steeped 30 mins 70c Chocolate Malt 110g steeped 30 mins 70c Crystal Malt 550g steeped 30 mins 70c Fuggles AA 4.9 65g 90 mins Fuggles AA 4.9 25g 10 mins EBC 137 EBU 35 ABV 5.9 Wyeast ESB 1968 Beer Engine gives the above ABV/EBC/EBU, dunno how accurate that is given that I am doing an extract brew and only steeping the grains. When the fuggles arrive I'll adjust the AA/g accordingly. Usual question for the Jedis, looks okay, nothing glaringly wrong? Haven't done a dark brew before (unless you include my cocked-up TT Landlord). Cheers dht1984 on "Hydrometer reading too low?" 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/ Hello all, I'm new to homebrewing and having a go at a kit bitter (a Christmas present). It'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'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've been reading elsewhere. Is this likely to be a problem? Any ideas as to the cause? To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how accurate the hyrdometer readings are: the hydrometer came in the kit and it doesn't say what it is calibrated to. I'm assuming it's 20C. outlaw on "best hop i can use for dry hopping my ipa" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/best-hop-i-can-use-for-dry-hopping-my-ipa#post-28537 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:27:45 +0000 outlaw 28537@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hi just finished an ipa with summit simcoe galaxy and citra hops and wondered what youz would recommend me dry hopping with out of these hops they are all high AA aswell ,dont know weather to chuck a bit of each in and how many grams do you recommend me using cheers Technotrucker on "Recipe Engine" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/recipe-engine#post-28487 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:47:41 +0000 Technotrucker 28487@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Found this site some time back, <a href="http://beercalculus.hopville.com/recipe">HERE</a> (I know it's across the pond), you have to log in to use the recipe engine but the amount of malt..hops..& yeasts as to be seen to be believed. saracen on "Greene King Historic find." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/greene-king-historic-find#post-28527 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 22:32:38 +0000 saracen 28527@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Now, I know what you all think of Greene King, but there was a big story about them on the local news last night. In 1936 Greene King produced a beer for the coronation of Edward VIII. Well, that went a bit wrong and the beer was never marketed. Greene KIng have always been a bit laid back and all over the brewery there are mountains of old kit no-one ever throws away but recently there has been a lot of development work around the brewery. Sadly, mostly turning bits of it into high priced flats. Some months ago some workmen were clearing out and renovating some old cellars and in the darkest recesses were some crates. Turned out to be 2,000 bottles of the Edward VIII Coronation Ale. It was tested and was sound, found to be 12% ABV and some lucky reporter was there last night when they drew some corks and downed a few bottles. Apparently it has a Port-like taste, and a kick like a mule! Rumour has it there were 2,100 bottles when the workmen found it, and they didn't surface for a week. oldbrewer on "Choice of yeast" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/choice-of-yeast#post-28215 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:19:35 +0000 oldbrewer 28215@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ When I first started to drink beer I drank M&B dark mild, a lovely dark mild. I am thinking of brewing a dark mild, hopefully to replicate what a good mild should be like. Can anyone suggest what yeast to use for this brew? ellinoz on "Beer kit bought for dad - am I doing this right?!" 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/ Hi all, I bought a beer-brewing kit for my Dad for Christmas. He's ill and is unfortunately unable to do it himself now, so my uncle started it last week. It's a Youngs Harvest Bitter kit, and we used Munton's Enhancer. 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't go up to the top of the bin - 35 pints, instead of 40. He then sprinkled the yeast on top - didn't stir it, left the lid balanced on top, not pressed on, and put it into a cupboard. This is the crucial bit: he then threw the instructions away! So I'm trying to work out what to do from this forum, but would love a bit of advice to make sure I'm doing this right: - The kit was started on 11 Jan. No hydrometer reading was taken! - I took a reading on 18 Jan (this Weds) and the reading was 1.012. We don't have a thermometer that will read it (our medical one just screams 'Low!' at us, so I know the beer would be suffering from severe hypothermia if it were human...) so I can't tell if it's 20C. If necessary I'll order a thermometer from the internet. - 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'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? Finally - there'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? Sorry for all the questions - we really would like Dad to be able to enjoy a good pint as he's poorly, but obviously poisoning him is not the desired result! Thanks! Ellie outlaw on "stainless steel v plastic brewing equipment" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/stainless-steel-v-plastic-brewing-equipment#post-28422 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:31:11 +0000 outlaw 28422@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hi is there a difference between them for the quality of brewing? people say its better to use steel rather than plastic e.g as in boilers and fermenters or doe they give same results i wondered what you guys thought thanks syejohnwilliams on "hi all newbie here" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hi-all-newbie-here#post-27388 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:16:17 +0000 syejohnwilliams 27388@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hi all just thought i'd pop in im sye just finished my ginger beer and vodka kit so new to all this Spenglatron on "Broke Hydrometer" 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/ All, 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. The is when I found the hydrometer smashed and my sample pot full of black balls. Not sure if I should ditch the batch and put it down to experience & stupidity, or just leave it a week and bottle it up anyway. Glad for some help. Thanks. powertoolpete on "Suggest a blush" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/suggest-a-blush#post-28501 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:13:28 +0000 powertoolpete 28501@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ can anyone suggest a good blush wine, I have only seen 2 different ones, Zinfandel Blush and Chablis Blush, which is the best out of these and what is a good make of kit for this? (looking to start with a 6 bottle kit) Thanks Pete stray66uk on "think i may have my first major problem" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/think-i-may-have-my-first-major-problem#post-26167 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:16:14 +0000 stray66uk 26167@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I had a brew day saturday, Ringwood 49er. Everything went like clockwork. Mash, sparge, boil etc. Got the OG spot on and ended up with 24 litres. Happy Days. BUT this is the first time ive used a WYeast smack pack. I set the pack off 4 hours before i used it and it swelled up as per instructions. I added it to my wort which was sitting nicely at 20 degrees. Its in the brewfridge now at 20 degrees and nothing. No bubbling, no head or scum mark where one had been , nothing. Not overly inpressed with the old liquid yeast up to now as you can imagine. ZegaBrew on "Pale Ale Recipe Critique/sugestions/thoughts." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/pale-ale-recipe-critiquesugestionsthoughts#post-25301 Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:11:31 +0000 ZegaBrew 25301@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi, Planning this for the weekend, any feedback greatly appreciated. 19 L - OG 1.058 FG 1.013 5.9 ABV 51.7 EBU 3000g Light DME 300g Crystal 20g Admiral 60 mins = 36.9 EBUs 25g Nelson Sauvin 15 Mins = 14.9 EBUs 25g Nelson Sauvin Flame Out US-05 yeast. This is based pretty loosly on the Rocker APA recipe except I have no Cascade so using Admiral to bitter and moving the Nelsons to later in the boil. I have done one all extract brew before and would like to try one using some grains hence their addition here, is this kind of grain ok in this recipe? The other thing I was thinking of doing was following the Golden Ale recipe as it has grains involved and using the above hop combo, obviously scaling back for a more appropriate bitterness. Would this be a better way to go? Cheers, Zegs. seamus48 on "Personal Messaging" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/personal-messaging#post-26260 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:50:40 +0000 seamus48 26260@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Sometimes it can be advantageous to be able to PM someone directly in order to pass information that one would not want to post openly to the whole forum (personal e-mail addresses. phone nos etc). Most fora have that facility these days. Also, it would be nice to be able to jump from the initial list of posts to the last page in a particular thread without having to scroll all the way down the whole first page first (Does that make sense?) amico1582 on "Good Cornish Ciders" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/good-cornish-ciders#post-28331 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:40:29 +0000 amico1582 28331@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I'm a massive cider fan and I've been looking around the United Kingdom for some top ciders, and now have came to the region of Cornwall. So has anyone got any suggestions that you could put my way? rosebush on "Steriliser Chaos!" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/steriliser-chaos#post-19195 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:36:31 +0000 rosebush 19195@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ HI all - I was just after a few sterilising tips...... Last night while racking off 5 gallons of wine I managed to pop the lid of my fermenter off while swirling the steriliser around, which resulted in kitchen carnage! The lid leaks anyway with the weight of the liquid if it is not upright, so my other tactic of putting it on its side and rolling it around over the sink doesn't work either. I am reluctant to make a full 5 gallon quantity of steriliser up for the fermenter as this seems a waste of VWP and water - but does anyone have any tips on how I can sterilise thoroughly without throwing gallons of steriliser around my kitchen?! Also on a separate note, I sterilised the tap for the fermenter before fitting it, ran the steriliser through it when I emptied the fermenter - but does the tap stay sterile now until use? I don't want to run the wine through it if there is a chance it could contaminate it. Sorry if these seem daft q's! Thanks Rosebush beerlover1983 on "Help with extract version of fullers pride" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/is-it-possible-to-make-a-extract-of#post-23728 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:38:26 +0000 beerlover1983 23728@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Sorry changed the thread title as someone quite rightly pointed out its in the wheeler book. Can someone help me out with beersmith please iceman on "what started first" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/what-started-first#post-28302 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:44:51 +0000 iceman 28302@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Just been a member for a few weeks and wondered what started first the forum or the shop web site?? jezmondo on "cant reply to this thread is it blocked?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/cant-reply-to-this-thread-is-it-blocked#post-28385 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:10:55 +0000 jezmondo 28385@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ <a href="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/heat-exchanger" rel="nofollow">http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/heat-exchanger</a> it says please log in,but i am ..dont get it cheers Jim on "Tom Caxton Real Ale Hop Enhancer" 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/ Hi there, 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!). The Caxton Real Ale kit comes with a Hop Enhancer of which I used a third (don'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!! Will this have a significant effect to the outcome, have I massively messed it up!! Jim. Chile_uk on "coopers pet bottles dishwasher" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/coopers-pet-bottles-dishwasher#post-28093 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:09:03 +0000 Chile_uk 28093@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi guys, Is it ok to put Coopers PET bottles into the dishwasher for cleaning? Cheers seamus48 on "Fingers Crossed xx" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/fingers-crossed-xx#post-24125 Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:44:20 +0000 seamus48 24125@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Just got home from my last night shift, not back in work again until 3 Jan (next year!!! hoorah!!!) and as if that wasn't reason enough to celebrate with a cold one, SWMBO tells me that she got a phone call telling her she has been selected as one of 5 finalists in the Daily Mail Inspirational Women of the Year Awards for her work with HM Forces Children! A bunch of media 'luvvies' turning up today to film her and the people she has been working with for showing at the star-studded award ceremony at the Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square in Mayfair (no less) next month. Woohoo!!! A slap-up 5* bash, rubbing shoulders with the great and the good (I'm a celeb... get me a Doom Bar!) followed by lunch the next day at Number 10 with the 'Roonies (no... not the scouse ones). So Fingers crossed everyone! She deserves some recognition after 20 years of work fighting for our military families. I'm sooo proud of her... <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_mrgreen.gif" title=":mrgreen:" class="bb_smilies" /> <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_redface.gif" title=":oops:" class="bb_smilies" /> <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_mrgreen.gif" title=":mrgreen:" class="bb_smilies" /> Mark on "The need for a pint" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/the-need-for-a-pint#post-28303 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:49:31 +0000 Mark 28303@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Now i was't going to have a pint tonight as i had a glass of rose with a big roast dinner tonight but as the night has been getting on a bit my throat has been getting drier and until 5 minutes ago was extremely parched. I had a couple of honey lagers i made in the fridge and just could not resist the urge to crack a bottle open. For a start i got a 660ml glass out and poured a 500ml fliptop all in, ended up with about a 3 inch of luscious foam filled to brim of glass and carbonation that would have done West Ham proud and that first gulp WOW it is times like these when you are gasping that you really appreciate the pleasures of a perfect home brewed pint with crystal clear clarity for a bonus. Anyone got any tales about the urge for a pint out of desparation? shallow ale on "Proper Job clone Mk1" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/proper-job-clone-mk1#post-28304 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:50:34 +0000 shallow ale 28304@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Just bottled 40 AG Proper Job clones mk1 and my delivery for my next brew day arrived earlier today. Can I get a whoop whoop? <img src="http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u443/shallowale/IMG_0228.jpg"> clovisthefatcat on "Apple wine - dry, but still cloudy" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/apple-wine-dry-but-still-cloudy#post-19450 Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:08:13 +0000 clovisthefatcat 19450@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi I still have two demi-johns of apple wine that I started last year. It's been racked and sitting in a dark, relatively cool room for the last six months. I got the right hydrometer readings from it and was waiting for it to clear prior to bottling. The trouble is I'm still waiting. I tried finings on one and it only made a slight difference. Any suggestions? Cheers, Jim Pete on "using hops for extract brews - a novel approach?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/using-hops-for-extract-brews-a-novel-approach#post-19025 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:19:03 +0000 Pete 19025@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ So, after many kit brews I have decided to start experimenting with separate components. In the first instance that means malt extract syrup, dried malt extract and hops ( and yeast and water <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> I have consulted the Graham Wheeler (CAMRA) brewing book and examined the extraction efficiency tables for the hop alpha acids in malt solutions. One can only note that extraction is improved with the weaker malt solution. Which led me to think - do we need to boil the malt at all? It seems more logical to just boil the water and hops - making a sort of "hop tea". So I did that. After 90 minutes and various additions of hops, I strained the hops from the water and added the water to the malt extract in my FV. After dilution to 10 litres I pitched the yeast. For comparison I made the same with malt added to the boil. Ingredients in the same proportions. After 14 days in the FV and 14 days in the bottle I have sampled some. Both taste very reasonable and very similar - perhaps the version with just boiling water has the edge in "hoppy flavour". Is there any "received wisdom" or comment about making hop tea and adding it to the malt solution in the FV as opposed to adding the hops and boiling in a malt extract solution? Does using hard (read alkaline) water make any difference to alpha acid extraction? iceman on "first extract I have a choice of two pans" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/first-extract-i-have-a-choice-of-two-pans#post-27221 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:02:12 +0000 iceman 27221@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ I am ready to have a go next week at my first extract for a long long time. I have a choice of getting two sizes for about the same money well a £5 difference 15.2lt or 19lt. They size matters. Just wanted the thoughts of you seasoned pros what would you go for. Mark on "Problems logging into account all day agghhhh!" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/problems-logging-into-account-all-day-agghhhh#post-28287 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:57:51 +0000 Mark 28287@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi all has anybody had problems logging into their account recently? Well i have today. I put in my username as i always do and my password and it said username not recognisable. So i thought typo error and submitted again same info i put in every day and again username not recognisable. I came to the conclussion that it was a possibility that i upset someone and was reported to Greg for whatever i said and had been blocked but i looked back at my posts and my name is still there so obviously not this. Then i became even more paranoid because i sent Greg an email this Monday evening about an item he is trying to get in stock and as of yet have had no reply but know he is a very busy man and probably missed it or forgot to reply. Anyway as my username is saying unrecognizable i decide to try and re-register it to my email address that is registered with brewuk and then it says your password will be delivered very shortly. Well it was not and still none the wiser what has happened with my username and account. So as a last resort i have had to open a brand new email account with msn with my first name and surname that Brewuk have on record and then i set up my original username and applied again from scratch to be a member and hey presto within 30 seconds i have my original username back but obviously it now says i am a member from today rather than when i joined back in June or July 2011 and i have lost all my information for threads that i had posted on. It is a complete mystery and hope no one else goes through this hassle. powertoolpete on "First brew kit" 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/ 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? Pete Mark81 on "Wine Kit Colour" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wine-kit-colour#post-27936 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:00:11 +0000 Mark81 27936@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Morning all. Can anyone help me with my wine kit. I have a 30 bottle 7 day Pinot Grigio kit. I have done everything that the instructions say and now have the wine sat at 0.996 with all the finings added. My problem is the colour of the wine. It is yellow/orange and looks a million miles away from pinot Grigio at the moment. Any ideas anyone? outlaw on "batch v fly sparging" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/batch-v-fly-sparging#post-27999 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:54:31 +0000 outlaw 27999@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hi guys can anybody tell me which one gives the best results cheers shallow ale on "Forum Virgin With Big One's" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/forum-virgin-with-big-tits#post-28133 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:04:02 +0000 shallow ale 28133@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi everybody Ive been trying to post some pictures of my new brew fridge, for which i took inspiration from this site. Can someone let me know how to do it and i'll show you the Mohammed Ali of all beer fridges!! Dan2002 on "Panic PANIC - HEEELP!!!" 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/ OK, just checked gravity in wherry again and it's ready for barreling. I'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'm getting drips around the seal of the barrel tap - WHAT DO I DO??? It's not loads but with pressure likely to build can I leave it or should I take other action - HEEEELLLLLP!!! jezmondo on "wort chiller without waste of water" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wort-chiller-without-waste-of-water#post-28008 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:24:56 +0000 jezmondo 28008@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ well i can see that the copper coil that everyone uses works fine but do many have a pump to keep water in a circuit and prehaps heat sink the loop into a radiator,heatexchanger or something.. The idea of running the tap for 30 mins gets to me.. Iam a gas engineer so get hold of all sorts of bits that maybe able to use..poss a expantion tank pump, rad and a heatexchanger flow that round and it will prob cool enough?? Otter on "Hop degredation" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/hop-degredation#post-25434 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 07:26:34 +0000 Otter 25434@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Just wondering peeps whether beersmiths figures on hop degredation have any credence with you all,does it make any difference if they are frozen or just kept at 4degrees in a fridge,reason being i've just found a shedload of styrians in me freezer which has been there over 12 monthes and yes i forget they were there,thoughts people please and yes i'm used to abuse,broad shoulders and all that! Sqiffy on "An In Depth Examination of Campden Tablets in Winemaking" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/an-in-depth-examination-of-campden-tablets-in-winemaking#post-28123 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:35:43 +0000 Sqiffy 28123@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Over the years I have frequently seen what look like simple questions asked about Campden Tablets. Often the answer requires a deeper understanding of the chemistry of wine and of the tablets themselves. In view of this I have written this post in the hope that it is of use to those interested in such things. My chemistry is not that hot so please correct any mistakes you may find. Sorry for the length of the post, it became quite a task. <center>Campden Tablets (potassium metabisulfite or sodium metabisulfite) </center> Campden tablets (as potassium metabisulfite or sodium metabisulfite) are closely related to a number of other substances; sodium/potassium sulfite/bisulfite. Further complicating the subject, each is also referred to interchangeably as sulfites, and the 'bi' can be found as 'di'. In terms of usage, sodium thiosulfite is another closely related compound. Sodium Metabisulfite Sodium metabisulfite or sodium pyrosulfite (IUPAC spelling; Br. E. sodium metabisulphite or sodium pyrosulphite) is an inorganic compound of chemical formula Na2S2O5. The substance is sometimes referred to as disodium (metabisulfite). It is used as a disinfectant, antioxidant and preservative agent. Chemical Structure. The anion is a hybride of dithionite (S2O42-) and dithionate (S2O62-). The anion consists of an SO2 group linked to an SO3 group, with the negative charge more localized on the SO3 end. The S-S bond length is 2.22 Å and the "thionate" and thionite" S-O distances are 1.46 and 1.50 Å, respectively. Chemical properties. When mixed with water, sodium metabisulfite releases sulfur dioxide (SO2), a pungent, unpleasant smelling gas that can also cause breathing difficulties in some people. Sodium metabisulfite releases sulfur dioxide in contact with strong acids: Na2S2O5 + 2 HCl → 2 NaCl + H2O + 2 SO2 Potassium Metabisulfite Potassium metabisulfite, K2S2O5, also known as potassium pyrosulfite, is a white crystalline powder with a pungent sulfur odour. The main use for the chemical is as an antioxidant or chemical sterilant. It is a disulfite and is chemically very similar to sodium metabisulfite, with which it is sometimes used interchangeably. Potassium metabisulfite is generally preferred out of the two as it does not contribute sodium to the diet. Potassium metabisulfite is a common wine or must additive, in which it forms sulfur dioxide gas (SO2). This both prevents most wild microorganisms from growing, and acts as a potent antioxidant, protecting both the colour and delicate flavours of wine. The typical dosage of potassium metabisulfite is roughly 75 parts per million (ppm) of SO2 prior to fermentation; then 150 ppm of SO2 at bottling. Most commercial wineries do not add more than 30ppm at bottling. Winemaking equipment can be sanitized by spraying with a 1% SO2 solution. What Campden Tablets do… Campden Tablets (potassium metabisulfite or sodium metabisulfite) are sulfur-based products that are used primarily in wine, cider and beer making to kill certain bacteria and to inhibit the growth of most wild yeast. The product is also used to eliminate both free chlorine, and the more stable form, chloramine, from water solutions. Campden tablets allow the amateur brewer to easily measure small quantities of sodium metabisulfite, so it can be used to protect against wild yeast and bacteria without affecting flavour. Typical use is one crushed Campden tablet per Imp. gallon of must or wort. This contributes 50 ppm sulfur dioxide to the wort but the level of active sulfur dioxide diminishes rapidly as it reacts with chlorine and chloramine, and with aldehydes (particularly in wine). Therefore, the concentration of free sulfur dioxide is greatly diminished by the time the beer or wine is consumed. When used only for the purpose of dechlorinating tap water before brewing, one tablet will effectively treat 20 gallons of water. Campden tablets can also be used towards the end of the fermentation process to halt the ferment before all the available sugars are converted to alcohol by the yeast. However, generally this practice is no longer pursued and it is generally held that fermenting to dry and then back sweetening with non-fermentable sugars is preferable. For sterilisation purposes 5 Campden tablets dissolved in 1 pint of hot water produces a good rinse-free 'contact' sanitizer. Sulfite is sometimes used as a preservative for dried fruits owing to its antimicrobial properties (sometimes referred to as E220 when used in this way). As a preservative, it maintains the appearance of the fruit and prevents rotting. It is also added to sulfured molasses. Winemakers using raisins in their ingredient list should watch out for inadvertently introducing unwanted E220 to their must when using dried raisins (soaking the fruit in warm water over night will usually rid the raisins of the chemical). Campden Tablets in Wine Produce Sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (SO2) SO2 is a bent molecule with C2v symmetry point group. In terms of electron-counting formalism, the sulfur atom has an oxidation state of +4 and a formal charge of 0. It is surrounded by 5 electron pairs and can be described as a hypervalent molecule. From the perspective of molecular orbital theory, most of these valence electrons are engaged in S–O bonding. In Winemaking Sulfur dioxide is an important compound in winemaking, and is designated as parts per million (ppm) in wine. It is even present in ‘shop bought’ so-called unsulfurated wine at concentrations of up to 10 milligrams per liter. It serves as an antibiotic and antioxidant, protecting wine from spoilage by bacteria and oxidation. Its antimicrobial action also helps to minimize volatile acidity. Sulfur dioxide is responsible for the words "contains sulfites" found on wine labels. Sulfur dioxide exists in wine in free and bound forms, and the combination are referred to as total SO2. Binding, for instance to the carbonyl group of acetaldehyde, varies with the wine in question. The free form exists in equilibrium between molecular SO2 (as a dissolved gas) and bisulfite ion, which is in turn in equilibrium with sulfite ion. These equilibria depend on the pH of the wine. Lower pH shifts the equilibrium towards molecular (gaseous) SO2, which is the active form, while at higher pH more SO2 is found in the inactive sulfite and bisulfite forms. It is the molecular SO2 which is active as an antimicrobial and antioxidant, and this is also the form which may be perceived as a pungent odour at high levels. Wines with total SO2 concentrations below 10 ppm do not require "contains sulfites" on the label by US and EU laws. The upper limit of total SO2 allowed in wine in the US is 350 ppm; in the EU it is 160 ppm for red wines and 210 ppm for white and rosé wines. In low concentrations SO2 is mostly undetectable in wine, but at free SO2 concentrations over 50ppm, SO2 becomes evident in the nose and taste of wine. Oxidization in Wine Oxidation in wine occurs in the presence of oxygen and one or more catalysts. The catalysts involved in wine oxidation are not enzymes (as in grape juice) but metal ions such as copper and iron ions (Cu++, Fe+++) [There is an exception to this - when wine is made from botrytised infected grapes, the enzyme laccase can play a role in the oxidation of wine]. Oxidation of wine involving metal ion catalysts, occurs much more slowly than the enzymatic oxidation of grape juice and hence is more insidious. Unfortunately, by the time oxidation is detected the damage is done. The main oxidisable compounds in wine are phenolics. When a phenolic compound is oxidised, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is produced as a side product. Since H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) is a strong oxidising agent, the presence of free sulphur dioxide is required to bond with the hydrogen peroxide to form a stable compound - sulphuric acid (H2SO4). Perhaps more importantly when oxygen is present SO2 itself becomes oxidized before the phenol compounds in the wine do, and so the SO2 acts as an oxygen scavenger. As wine is continually subjected to oxygen through liquid transfer processes the finite ability of the SO2 to mop up unwanted oxygen and convert H2O2 to H2SO4 gradually depletes the Sulfur dixode content of the wine, eventually requiring the addition of more Campden tablets. And so the process begins again. In addition to these chemical reactions SO2 evaporates quickly when a large surface area of sulphaited wine is exposed to the air. Such exposure also increases the creation of SO3 and SO4 which happily inhabit the wine eventually forming salts which will not affect the wine detrimentally. How to Deal With a Campden Tablet Excess If you have accidently added too many Campden tablets to a batch of wine then chances are you will be able to salvage the situation. A relatively low level of over sulphiting can be dealt with by leaving the wine to stand and letting time gradually depleate the SO2 stocks. This may be aided by racking the wine a couple of times every three or four weeks. If uncontaminated wine from the same batch is available then blending the two together is also an option. A relatively high level of over sulfiting can be tackled by ‘Splash Racking’. There are several approaches to ‘Splash Racking’ but if you find you have doubled or even trebled the amount of sulfite in your wine then a good splashing may be the best way forward. Splash Racking. In view of the facts that SO2 acts as an oxygen scavenger, creating Sulfur trioxide (SO3) and the salt of sulfuric acid (SO4), and that some SO2 will also evaporate it is quite safe to splash wine around in a pair of sterilized buckets to reduce its SO2 content. If such a course of action is undertaken the wine should be sloshed from one bucket to the other about half a dozen times. The more oxygen the wine can be exposed to the more SO2 will be converted or evapourated. This is obviously an imprecise science, but then again it is a last resort. Once the splash racking has been finished just put the wine back under glass and give it a couple of months, rack, leave a couple of months and then continue with the batch in a normal fashion until bottled. How Often Should I add Sulfite to My Wine? This is far from a straightforward question. Having outlined the basic chemical principles in operation when adding Campden tablets to your wine it is now time to examine the problems faced by the winemaker when deciding whether to ‘dose’ his or her wine. Ideally one is looking to keep an upper limit of around 50 ppm of SO2 in the must. Kit wines usually have quite exact details regarding the addition of campden tablets. However, homebrew winemaking from recipes often leaves the beginner in confusion. For this reason what follows is based on recipe wines made from ingredients rather than from kits. Making up the Recipe. Campden tablets are usually added at the start of making the must up to kill of any unwanted wild yeasts. This is almost always the case in a must that is not boiled. If the fruit or must are boiled for the initial creation of a recipe then there is no need to use Camoden tablets as the boiling process will destroy any unwelcome yeasts. Primary to Secondary Transfer and Beyond. Most recipes recommend you add sulfites (1 Cam Tab per Gallon) every time you rack, and that a wine is racked every one or two months. Either crush the tablets or dissolve them in a little boiling water before adding them to the wine (the method of dissolving them is ideal if you are going to add them at the point of bottling as it will reduce sediment build up in the bottles). Some would dose the wine every rack, others may only do so every other racking. Red wine seems more resilient to oxidizing than white wine and the acid level of the wine will also have an impact. Some wines are very difficult to titrate because of their colour. Testing dark wines for SO2 is similarly hard going. [More scientific descriptions of the relation of wine pH to SO2 content can be found in Lum Eisenman’s paper “Sulfur Dioxide in Wine” (gencowinemakers.com/docs/Sulfur%20Dioxide.pdf) and also in Ben Rotter's article on Sulfur Dixoide at brsquared.org/wine/Articles/SO2/SO2.htm] Most of us do not want to spend ages titrating wine and taking acid readings every time we move or rack wine. Sulfur dioxide testing kits seem difficult to find here in the UK and we have to ask ourselves how far do we need to go when making our wine. I never test my wines but I always follow the same process. With a bit of experience and a good recipe (a good forum for advice is also extremely helpful) we usually develop a regime that we are happy with and which produces a wine we are happy to drink. Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and Malolactic Fermentation (MLF) - No SO2 should be added until after the MLF (malolactic fermentation) has been completed. Malolactic Fermentation is beyond the scope of this post and should be pursued separately by those interested in this process. Research (in no particular order) from... <a href="http://www.yobrew.co.uk/glossary.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.yobrew.co.uk/glossary.php</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campden_tablets" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campden_tablets</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_metabisulfite" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_metabisulfite</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_metabisulfite" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_metabisulfite</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_dioxide" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_dioxide</a> <a href="http://www.monashscientific.com.au/SO2ChemistryWine.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.monashscientific.com.au/SO2ChemistryWine.htm</a> <a href="http://www.monashscientific.com.au/FSO2.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.monashscientific.com.au/FSO2.htm</a> <a href="http://www.morethanorganic.com/sulphur-in-the-bottle" rel="nofollow">http://www.morethanorganic.com/sulphur-in-the-bottle</a> <a href="http://www.gencowinemakers.com/docs/Sulfur%20Dioxide.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.gencowinemakers.com/docs/Sulfur%20Dioxide.pdf</a> <a href="http://www.winemakermag.com/stories/wizard/article/629-should-i-add-campden-tablets-each-time-i-rack-my-wine-and-how-do-i-measure-the-level-of-sulfite-in-my-wine" rel="nofollow">http://www.winemakermag.com/stories/wizard/article/629-should-i-add-campden-tablets-each-time-i-rack-my-wine-and-how-do-i-measure-the-level-of-sulfite-in-my-wine</a> <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/bad-hangovers-why-alcohol-is-only-half-the-story-429260.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/bad-hangovers-why-alcohol-is-only-half-the-story-429260.html</a> <a href="http://www.bcawa.ca/winemaking/so2use.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.bcawa.ca/winemaking/so2use.htm</a> <a href="http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?/topic/26421-what-is-splash-racking/" rel="nofollow">http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?/topic/26421-what-is-splash-racking/</a> <a href="http://www.brsquared.org/wine/Articles/SO2/SO2.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.brsquared.org/wine/Articles/SO2/SO2.htm</a> The Encyclopedia of Home Winemaking: Fermentation and Winemaking Methods By Pierre Drapeau, André Vanasse, Darcy Dunton johnwill666 on "Worried man" 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/ 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 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. Mark81 on "Lagering" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/lagering#post-28106 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:18:56 +0000 Mark81 28106@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Afternoon all. With construction of my brew fridge/freezer starting at weekend I wanted to know about lagering. Looking at Greg's recipe for Tettnang Lager he advises to do this: • After pitching yeast, leave at 20c for 24 hours. • Lower the temperature to 12c. Ferment for a further 5 days. • Transfer to a clean ferment bin and chill to 2/3 c (ideally now under airlock or clip the lid down firmly). Leave for 2 weeks. • Transfer to bottles (adding 120g of priming sugar). Leave the bottles at room temperature for 5 days then move somewhere cooler to clear. outlaw on "whats the best , an open or closed boil ??" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/whats-the-best-an-open-or-closed-boil#post-26428 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:19:36 +0000 outlaw 26428@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ i was wondering what was the best type of boil to get the best out of the hops and wort open or closed or doent it make any difference ? John_McC on "A gallon of wine for under £2" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/a-gallon-of-wine-for-under-2#post-19335 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:30:46 +0000 John_McC 19335@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi all just back from shopping at Asda and got 1L Vimto for a £1 add 750g of white sugar, water and yeast and hay presto wine for under £2 a gallon. Now at around 30p a bottle that's what I call budget busting booze <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_lol.gif" title=":lol:" class="bb_smilies" /> saracen on "Yeast. Life cycle" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/yeast-life-cycle#post-28172 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:01:52 +0000 saracen 28172@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ While waiting for Seamus' video to load I found this alongside. Bit too techy for me, but some might find them interesting <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxDlzMARURE&feature=related" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxDlzMARURE&feature=related</a> Sqiffy on "Image Posting Tutorials." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/image-posting-tutorials#post-28207 Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:28:50 +0000 Sqiffy 28207@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Many people have problems posting images on forums. In the past several of us have made posts on various threads giving advice on how to post images but this advice is becoming increasingly hard to find buried in numerous unrelated threads. It seemed that a post was required dedicated to posting images on the forum. This tutorial has been developed in the hope of making such posting easier and less time consuming for those struggling with the process, and covers three of the most commonly used image hosts on this forum; Imageshack, Flickr and Photobucket (if anyone has a particular image host they want a tutorial for please make a request on a separate thread and we will see what we can do). Before we move on to looking at how to post images on the forum a few things should be said about the images themselves... coddy on "Water treatment" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/water-treatment-3#post-27656 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:16:59 +0000 coddy 27656@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ hi, im hopefully going to do my first all grain brew next week and was wondering how important it is to treat the water? will a campden tablet do the job? Mark81 on "Milestone/Dasher the Flasher" 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/ Evening all. 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). Is it any good? I was thinking of getting one and saving it until its near expiration date then brewing and leaving for Xmas. Iestyn on "Wort chilling process" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wort-chilling-process#post-28108 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:23:04 +0000 Iestyn 28108@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi there, A recent thread made me panic a little; I thought I saw on a youtube vid, a brewer syphoning wort through the copper chiller (in a bucket full of ice) to cool the wort to 20c. This is what I did for my Summer Lightning, and worked really well (20c in two run offs). Is this wrong? I'm guessing that it is now. <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_redface.gif" title=":oops:" class="bb_smilies" /> Iestyn on "Save it or sink it" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/save-it-or-sink-it#post-27635 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:51:03 +0000 Iestyn 27635@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ marnin y'all, Yesterdays st Austell old smoke went badly, to say the least. My home made mash tun leaked lots and I lost the first few litres of sweet treacly wort. Checked the og and came up with 1042 at 5 deg instead of 1056. Taking temp into account, og is 1024. Shouldn't take long to ferment! My question to you is, should I add some sugar to get the abv up or should I just go and buy some proper job, not from tesco, and ditch the black stuff. I'm putting it all down to experience, character building, rather than getting down about the epic fail. Next time... Thanks guys P.s radio 6 is cracking this morning, lovely Cerys Matthews on air Barracuda on "Labels - How do you do yours?" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/labels-how-do-you-do-yours#post-27878 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:49:14 +0000 Barracuda 27878@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hey all, Whilst scrubbing the labels of many a bottle this evening, I started thinking about my own that will adorn the finished homebrews. (I enjoyed looking through the competition ones on the BrewUK Facebook) I wanted to ask, what type of labels do you all use, size, type of paper etc.. do you print your own, or get them made.. has anyone found a type of paper, glue, sticker that soaks off easy than others? Personally, i'm thinking about a smallish label, printed at home, on those A4 sticky pages from Staples, WHSmith or whatever.. but I'd like to be sure I use something that doesn't require explosives to remove when it's time to replace them. Westy on "Wine question" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/wine-question#post-28026 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:12:23 +0000 Westy 28026@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hey all. First post here and run into a little snag. About to buy my first kit and I was wondering if getting a heating pad is completely needed or if there is some cheaper work around while i'm still on a budget. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks all! seamus48 on "A tough year ahead..." http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/a-tough-year-ahead#post-27384 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:55:45 +0000 seamus48 27384@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ A worrying thought for 2012 . . . . 10 years ago Bob Hope died . . . . . .5 years ago Johnny Cash died . . . . . . . . . . . .A couple of months ago Steve Jobs died . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A few weeks ago Jimmy Saville died Now we have no Hope, no Cash, no Jobs and nobody left to Fix It Let's hope nothing happens to Ed Balls! Formicidae on "Dark Wherry???" 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/ Hi there, New to the forum (although introduced by my dad, 'Merlin'). We've just put down my first home brew using a standard Woodfordes Wherry kit, but with a couple of tweaks: 1. Steeping Goldings hops and then adding liquid at fermentation stage. 2. Dry hopping,a gain with Goldings hops, after 4 days. 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). I was just wondering whether the colour of the brew is 'right' as it appears to have got darker and darker since we put it down last weekend. I've attached a pic. <img src="https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D6532803_81_7825445678"> Would be grateful for your comments/suggestions. Thanks, Jonny Hamish on "New crop American hops" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/new-crop-american-hops#post-27981 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:02:04 +0000 Hamish 27981@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Where are they?. I read a crop report from the US dept. of Ag. that said for the 2011 crop the harvested area was down but yield was up, prices were down and the overall tonnage was roughly the same. So unless the breweries are buying them all we should be ok. But American hops are running out over here, shouldn't they be in stock by now?. By the way, who keeps buying Gregs Simcoe?, I've just had to make an emergency purchase to maintain my stock level but don't worry, I've left you the last 100 grams. <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_wink.gif" title=":wink:" class="bb_smilies" /> Technotrucker on "Bavarian Dunkel malt" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/bavarian-dunkel-malt#post-27703 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:00:02 +0000 Technotrucker 27703@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Anyone of you guys ever use this type of malt..<img src="http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af94/Dieseljockey/IMAG0008.jpg"> Like most of us I started of with extract then moved over to all grain..but I still like to have a go at extract.. I got hold of 4kg of Bavarian Dunkel so next weekend I'm going to have a play. Gazaloid on "More Newbie Questions (Sorry!)" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/more-newbie-questions-sorry#post-27808 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:32:42 +0000 Gazaloid 27808@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi all, Well after getting a Young's brewing kit from my good lady wife at Chirstmas (bought from this very site), I finally decided that today was the day to start brewing. As it's my first foray into home brew I found it a bit daunting and just wanted to ask a couple of questions to make sure that I haven't completely messed up my first batch - all responses gratefully received: 1. The sterilisation process is a bit counter intuitive for me...the kit instructions state 1-2 teaspoons per gallium yet the steriliser states to make up 10 litres and use that to swish round to cover the sides. Is it best to fill the fermentation bucket up then add or simply make up a smaller amount? 2. On the subject of sterilisation, if everything is sterilised in a non-sterile environment and with the lid being left off for long intervals while making things up, how do the various components actually remain sterile? I understand it's absolutely necessary but I'm keen to understand why! 3. I added the airlock to the fermentation bucket's lid and half filled it with water. Later on when I checked it looked like there wasn't any water left so I took the lid of the airlock...and the water shot out! Do I need to refill this and will I have caused any damage to the brew? 4. When mixing things together (it's a St Peter's Ruby Red ale kit), I had difficulty getting all of the mixture to dissolved - there were still gloopy deposits at the bottom of the bucket when stirring - should this be the case? 5. I've left it in a room with an ambient temperature of between 19 and 23 degrees - it tends to fluctuate throughout the day/night...is this an issue? 6. Speaking of temperature, the thermometer on the side of the fermentation says 18 degrees, way off what the room temperature is. Again, is this a problem? 7. I stirred all of the main ingredients including the hops, but sprinkled the yeast on the top. Is this the right way to go?? Sorry for the deluge of questions and I'm probably over complicating things already but I'd like to get off on a good footing! Thanks in advance, G cellar on "stupid camden mistake, save it or leave it" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/stupid-camden-mistake-save-it-or-leave-it#post-27966 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:48:33 +0000 cellar 27966@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ i have just started bottling 8 gallons of plum wine which I started Aug 2010 with a batch of plums I had picked and frozen the year before. i have got to the bottling stage and sure I read somewhere to add campden tabs to each bottle, The 2 gallons I did yesterday, having checked this morning are cloudy as hell. Reread all my tips etc i have collected along the way and realised that it should be 1 per gallon. Still have 6 gallons untouched which i could mix with the bottled ones . what should i do or will the first 2 gallons be ok eventually. nuck-thompson on "STILL having trouble conditioning" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/still-having-trouble-conditioning#post-27832 Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:58:52 +0000 nuck-thompson 27832@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Following my problems conditioning and carbonating my last batch of wherrys, I'm having problems again with Ruby Red. Last time the advice was to bring it back into the house from the garage for 2 weeks the put it back out.worked perfectly. The advice back then for future batches was to bring leave it on the house for 2 days after bottling, then put it in the garage for conditioning 2 weeks minimum. Well, I did that, 4 weeks later and not a scrap of carbonation. The last 2 weeks its been 5 degrees or less out there. What's going on ? Becoming disheartened (and thirsty) cellar on "bottling query" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/bottling-query#post-27960 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:05:49 +0000 cellar 27960@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ i have just started bottling 8 gallons of plum wine which I started Aug 2010 with a batch of plums I had picked and frozen tthe year before. i have got to the bottling stage and sure I read somewhere to add campden tabs to each bottle, The 2 gallons I did yesterday, having checked this morning are cloudy as hell. Reread all my tips etc i have collected along the way and realised that it should be 1 per gallon. Still have 6 gallons untouched which i could mix with the bottled ones . what should i do or will the first 2 gallons be ok eventually. Nath on "Anyone up for a ProperJob recipe challenge???" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/anyone-up-for-a-properjob-recipe-challenge#post-27058 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:29:29 +0000 Nath 27058@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Righty, As we all know ProperJob is awesome. No... its freaking amazingly totally properly awesome and there has been a lot of chat about it recently so how about we do a "forum brew-off" and see who can get closest to the legend that is Proper Job??? If your up for it then plant your reply below and if its feasible and when the hops come in we should set a date. Maybe we could send Greg the bottles for him to try, maybe Greg could use this as a new competition for BrewUK???? Who knows????!?!?!?! Maybe the winning recipe could be used for a BrewUK recipe pack and gain super-mega international respect! Come on peeps, be you a tinkering kit brewer, crazy extracter or a dirty all grainer, this ones for all of ya. iceman on "Keg beer into bottles" 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/ 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. 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. 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. Sqiffy on "DIY Bucket Sieve" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/diy-bucket-sieve#post-27953 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:47:43 +0000 Sqiffy 27953@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ OK, I know this post is going to be of limit interest as many on the forum are beer brewers and this sieve was designed for a specific problem we faced while transferring large quantities of wine from the primary buckets into carboys. In case anyone faces a similar problem I thought I'd make this post. Every few years the condition of my brew buckets necessitates their replacement, so if you too replace these buckets periodically, this is probably the best time to make the sieve. The sieve requires 3 or more (depending on your requirements) of the large Young's 26 litre buckets. As far as I am aware these are the only ones I have found that will do the job. <img src="http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/6754/77755608.jpg"> The reason these buckets are so well adapted to this sieve design is the reinforcing fins the bucket uses to reinforce the bucket rim. <img src="http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/7893/24522983.jpg"> To make this sieve you will need 3-4 Young's 26 Litre Buckets and the following tools. a pad or hack saw (preferably with a blade for cutting metal) A drill with a 3mm bit Pencil or marker pen a tape measure A roll of masking or brown parcel tape (optional) a stanley or craft knife a sheet of fine grade sandpaper (optional) a needle file (optional) Take the bucket in the best condition and drill around 30 holes in the bottom. Don't drill too many as this may cause the sieve to split when fully loaded. <img src="http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/4904/63162017.jpg"> If you drill from inside the bucket to the outside it is a little trickier to do but makes debarring much easier. Once you have all your holes drilled flip the bucket and use a knife or fine file to deburr the holes. Once you are happy that the bucket bottom is burr free it's time to move onto making the collars. Take the bucket in the worst condition and measure down about 6cm below the fin edge of the bucket. Mark with pencil. Do this three or four more times. Now take the tape and run a piece right around the bucket so that it gives you a continuous line to cut around. Once you are happy with the tape line get cutting. You will end up with the bucket 'collar' <img src="http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/7929/36758249.jpg"> Personally I think two collars works just right, so sadly you'll have to struggle through cutting up a second bucket. I would advise taking a break for a cup of coffee at this point. <img src="http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/bb-plugins/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> So once you have the desired number of collars cut take the sand paper and deburr each one. You will probably need to use the knife too to get everything reasonably smooth. Take the last, untouched bucket, place it on the floor, drop the collars onto the rim and finally drop the sieve element inside. Done. <img src="http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/6122/18780677.jpg"> This bucket sieve (using two collars) has a fill capacity of 26 litres with a liquid collection in the bottom bucket of more than 2 gallons. Using this bucket sieve I scoop all the solids out of the primary and just dump them in the sieve, adding to it as more material gets strained out of the primary and by the time I've finished processing the contents of the primary the bucket sieve has sat on the floor and collected me a couple more gallons of clean wine. I hope this post was of use to a few readers, Cheers! jezmondo on "brew fridge,fridge has a freezer compartment...can it be removed" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/brew-fridgefridge-has-a-freezer-compartmentcan-it-be-removed#post-27575 Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:55:28 +0000 jezmondo 27575@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi guys,i have a lovely spare fridge that was left here when we moved house... But the fridge is a small one with a freezer section at the top,my fermenter will fit if this is removed but looks like this is the bit that actually cools the fridge ..so maybe this one cant be used?? anyone got any ideas?? or maybe keep it as it is for cold bottles only on my second brew(beer kit for xmas) and already looking at all grain equipment,well i blame a mate who make great stuff..you know who you are! Barracuda on "Q: Racking after 5 days" http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/topic/q-racking-after-5-days#post-22616 Sat, 26 Nov 2011 01:51:45 +0000 Barracuda 22616@http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forum/ Hi, I have a question regarding a recommended racking of my wine (Beaverdale Rioja, 5 days into fermentation. I understand why this is a good idea, to clear out the initial build up of sediment. But my question is, does this process not also remove live yeasts and the wood chips from the wine? My thoughts are: - Has the Oak already done it's job after 5 days? - Will the live yeasts be fully desolved and rack with the wine, or will an anti sediment cap filter it out? If anyone has a moment to clear this up. Many thanks to you! Also.. a VERY basic question.. Bubbler Airlocks. The red cap stays ON, yes?