Search found 249 matches

by monkeyboy
Mon Jan 07, 2019 12:35 pm
Forum: Hops
Topic: Weighing down a hop bag
Replies: 13
Views: 5158

Re: Weighing down a hop bag

I had a similar problem a few years ago and I can tell you that whatever you do, under no circumstances should you google for 'metal ball weights'...

Some places sell large stainless ball bearings. I think I ended up using a heavy mug I had lying around, but it didn't really work that well.
by monkeyboy
Tue Dec 04, 2018 6:15 pm
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: BFS Stout: A disaster of a brew day.
Replies: 6
Views: 3404

Re: BFS Stout: A disaster of a brew day.

Yeah, agree. (And I am pretty nerdy). I think I got lucky because my recipe didn't require lots of bittering hops, or any particular clarity. Not a day I'm looking to repeat!
by monkeyboy
Mon Dec 03, 2018 12:30 pm
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: BFS Stout: A disaster of a brew day.
Replies: 6
Views: 3404

Re: BFS Stout: A disaster of a brew day.

A little update. Took a sample of this on sunday. Down to 1023, which is what the recipe reckons it should finish at. Taste great - sweet but balanced. It's amazing how much can go wrong and what you get is still beer :)
by monkeyboy
Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:29 am
Forum: Brewing Equipment
Topic: Steel electric brewing kettles
Replies: 9
Views: 3477

Re: Steel electric brewing kettles

Thanks for all the info. Plenty for me to think about. I'm unlikely to brew again this side of Christmas, so there's no big rush, but I'll be looking into this a bit more over the next few weeks. I like the simplicity of a standalone boiler/kettle.
by monkeyboy
Tue Nov 27, 2018 1:07 pm
Forum: Brewing Equipment
Topic: Steel electric brewing kettles
Replies: 9
Views: 3477

Re: Steel electric brewing kettles

I confess I'm more inclined to go to the induction hob route than the Burco route (although thanks for reminding me that it exists). I've always kinda assumed that it was hard to keep a rolling boil going with the Burco, but that could be my misunderstanding. We've got an induction hob and it's bloo...
by monkeyboy
Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:38 pm
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: BFS Stout: A disaster of a brew day.
Replies: 6
Views: 3404

Re: BFS Stout: A disaster of a brew day.

According to beersmith it should finish up at 1.023, which will make for quite a chewy beer. I'll update the thread on how it goes.

I can laugh about it now, but at the time there wasn't a lot of laughing going on ;)
by monkeyboy
Mon Nov 26, 2018 6:55 pm
Forum: Brewing Equipment
Topic: Steel electric brewing kettles
Replies: 9
Views: 3477

Steel electric brewing kettles

After my old faithful electric brewing kettle packed up on me mid-boil, I thought it might be time to consider an upgrade. My old one is very similar to the Electrim mashing bin. Plastic bucket, kettle element, plastic tap. Apart from being a total pain in the arse to clean the element properly, it'...
by monkeyboy
Mon Nov 26, 2018 12:33 pm
Forum: Brewdays
Topic: BFS Stout: A disaster of a brew day.
Replies: 6
Views: 3404

BFS Stout: A disaster of a brew day.

Just when you think you know what you're doing, a brew day comes along that slaps you in the chops and you reminds you that you know nothing. Recipe for an Imperial(ish) Stout 5kg Pale Malt 200g Carafa 3 500g Dark Crystal 500g Caramunich 500g Wheat malt 500g Flaked oats 250g Chocolate malt Hops... W...
by monkeyboy
Fri Oct 12, 2018 12:50 pm
Forum: Cider Making
Topic: First attempt at cider: a bit bland - any cure?
Replies: 14
Views: 5639

Re: First attempt at cider: a bit bland - any cure?

In the end it seems all I needed was a bit of patience ;) Took a sample last night and it tastes 100% better than it did 10 days ago. SG is the same, but now it's sharp and tasty. Lovely pale colour. Into bottles tonight. Smashing!
by monkeyboy
Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:47 pm
Forum: Cider Making
Topic: First attempt at cider: a bit bland - any cure?
Replies: 14
Views: 5639

Re: First attempt at cider: a bit bland - any cure?

Thanks for all the help and advice guys. I've got some malic acid and will be attempting to adjust it to taste tonight. Fingers crossed! And yes, I think if we're lucky enough to get another year with a worthwhile crop, I'll be trying to grab some apples from the neighbours. One of the local parks h...
by monkeyboy
Wed Oct 03, 2018 8:26 am
Forum: Cider Making
Topic: First attempt at cider: a bit bland - any cure?
Replies: 14
Views: 5639

Re: First attempt at cider: a bit bland - any cure?

Okey dokey - thanks for the tip!
Worst case is I'm drinking a lot of snakebite in the near future ;)
by monkeyboy
Tue Oct 02, 2018 7:10 pm
Forum: Cider Making
Topic: First attempt at cider: a bit bland - any cure?
Replies: 14
Views: 5639

Re: First attempt at cider: a bit bland - any cure?

Jim -- thanks for that. I'm not even sure what the apples are that we have! I'm guessing half are Coxs, but I'm not sure on the others. As you say, something to bear in mind for next year. Rob/oldbloke -- I have some of the powdered tannin. I'll get some acid and then tinker around with half a pint ...
by monkeyboy
Tue Oct 02, 2018 12:57 pm
Forum: Cider Making
Topic: First attempt at cider: a bit bland - any cure?
Replies: 14
Views: 5639

First attempt at cider: a bit bland - any cure?

Hi all. After many years making beer, the unexpectedly heavy crop of apples in my garden persuaded me to try my hand at making cider. So we collected 23 litres of apple juice from the apples (no cider press so that took a lot of hard work with a little juicing machine), and off we went. I added tann...
by monkeyboy
Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:00 pm
Forum: Brewing Equipment
Topic: New shiny!
Replies: 9
Views: 2832

Re: New shiny!

StrontiumDog (great name btw - I used to love 2000AD), it's got another tri-clamp ferrule on top, so a bung and a normal airlock or any kind of blow-off attachment would work. In my case, a bung and a airlock - there's sufficient headspace for my typical brewlength.
by monkeyboy
Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:07 pm
Forum: Brewing Equipment
Topic: New shiny!
Replies: 9
Views: 2832

Re: New shiny!

Hmm. That didn't work too well. Try this:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=12xbls ... RfXZx2AYkV