Jim's Beer Kit

We don't all drink Bucky here on the West - some of us drink Bells and Irn-bru!

GTI

Erm, can't really help as we always drink a 70 cl bottle in one sitting!

GTI

Degassing is (probably) necessary. I always degas now by shaking for 20-30 seconds several times a day for 3-5 days (4.5l demijohn). I never used to bother, but occasionally got a "sparkling" bottle of wine. I believe that it is possible to get broken wine bottles

GTI

Ditch wrote:Black Strap Molasses. Not something 'middle of the road' between them..

Unless of course it's the third star in the "belgian trippel"

Interested in how this turns out.

What yeast did you use in the end?

GTI

wurzel's orange wine is meant to be the best supermarket juice wine. 1 litre orange juice, 1 litre of white grape juice tbsp glycerin (i cant see such a small amount having much impact) tannin (or some strong tea) sugar (add the amount for the desired strength) Stop fermentation slightly early, or ...

Yes, but if you use charcoal it removes all flavours (and colours) - including the "beer" ones!! What you'll be left with is just the same as though you had used just sugar. Personally I wouldn't bother with the turbo yeast, but use some high alcohol tolerant yeast, such as champagne yeast, as sugge...

Cheers. Was worried about autolysis. Does this not apply to mead / wine? Yes it does (although possibly slower). That's why you rack it off the lees (the muck at the bottom, including yeast) into a clean container at around this point. As more stuff (technical term) falls to the bottom you may need...

Would it be possible to produce a yeast that could more effectivley rehydrate itself in wort, e.g. by adapting its 'osmosis membrane' or whatever it is (not a biologist if it wasn't already apparent lol). If that would be the case, then could that be the reason dry yeast companies suggest sprinklin...

I bought 5 earlier this year when our water supply froze - great value. Never told SWMBO about nochill though - I don't think she would have been so ready to buy them if she'd known (we already had 2 for camping).

GTI

Given the timing of your post and the fact that you were brewing then, I guess this'll be too late, but... Bottled water should be fine, indeed tap water is fine in most cases. After all, most kit brewers use plain tap water to dilute and cool their wort before pitching yeast. The only issue I can t...

why would swimining around in less water be better at getting the goodness out ? Just a guess from me. It may be that you have reached a point where the dilution of the enzymes, which are relatively soluble in water, means that there is less effective contact with the insoluble starch in the grain....

Quick answer is yes you can - it's what I do. Slightly longer answer - you need to be a little careful with the barrel, as you don't want air in there if possible and you now have a large (over 1 gallon) airspace. Either give it a quick blast from a CO2 cylinder before sealing the barrel, or do as I...

bungle666 wrote:if your having trouble with it being REALLY loose in the bottle bottom, making them hard work to pour. then try a good long session in the fridge (48 hours +) it always seems to harden it up nicely!

B..

Or learn to like yeasty ale - it's the lazy person's solution !

GTI

Rick; Most people on here seem to recommend 1 week conditioning per 10 degree OG. So your beer requires 5-6 weeks conditioning. Being cloudy after kegging and keeping in the warm is to be expected as the sugar you added (I presume) at kegging time should spur the yeasties into action again. This wil...