Jim's Beer Kit

Lallemand (Danstar) do have yeast plants in uk. Fair enough, I'll get my coat. It's not practical for me to make the big starters, and I often cancel pitching day at the last minute (I no-chill). You don't necessarily have to make a starter. Wyeast and White Labs say you can pitch their yeast direc...

I just use a normal regulator set to a low pressure although that is with a keg, not a cask.

I wonder if you need to use CO2 as compressed air might force O2 in since most plastics are permeable to oxygen.

Until MJ came along there were few UK dried yeasts so I'm not sure what they have repackaged. Danstar are made in Austria and Fermentis in France or Belgium.

I use the BIABacus from biabrewer.info. It's a spreadsheet that works on Excel and Open/LibreOffice. Although it looks daunting at first it is actually very easy to use and works very well. And it's free.

Mine are still in their packet waiting to go in a Blonde Ale.

I've used the thicker polypins from Murphy's. I found the beer was oxidising after 4 weeks or so. I now use stainless steel kegs. If the thinner bags in boxes have an oxygen barrier layer you may have better luck.

When I moved up north to Yorkshire 20ish years ago I drank hand pulled Tetley and it was gorgeous. It didn't have to travel very far from the brewery. Of course it was nothing like the modern nitro shite. It's still available on cask but it ain't from Yorkshire. As long as the kit is for the origina...

I've used a Wyeast smack pack for the first time. The instructions say to locate the nutrient packet, move it to a corner and then smack it in the palm of your hand. I couldn't locate the nutrient packet so I smacked the pouch several times in several different orientations in the hope I'd break the...

The pH of the water is irrelevant due to the buffering effect of the salts it contains. That's why we talk about the alkalinity.

Gelatinisation and glucan rest are two different things. The former breaks down the starch to make it available to the amylase enzymes. The latter will help stop the sparge sticking.

I don't have a false bottom or rack or anything to protect my bag. I have never burnt it. But that's probably because I have never switched the power on while the bag is in the pot.

I've bought all my Crusader kegs from BrewUK. They come with the spear but it is separate. The first thing I do is hacksaw off the safety clip.

Do you really have a problem with oxidation when you crash cool?

I laser print on plain paper and stick on with milk.