Jim's Beer Kit

The difference is: Poor pub/off licence beer: A meal from cheap ingredients produced on a mass scale like canteen food. A kit beer: A meal produced by a chef with crap ingedients. Extract beer: A meal procuced by half decent ingredients produced by someone who really cares about there craft. All Gra...

Wow, why does anyone buy booze? So another question, what sugary drinks just will not ferment?

Having done only country wines and beer, i am amazed by the use of cartons of drink to brew! I was always under the impression that the preservatives in the cartons stopped the yeast fermentation? Is this not true, or do you have to boil it out, or over pitch the yeast?

cheers matt.

Your welcome, we've all been there. I had a few dodgy mashes prior to getting things right.

A picnic cooler, a good stiring arm and reasonably frequent checks work for me. Not super precise, but within 1-2C.

Stir it to even out the temp. Then leave. 20 mins later, measure temp, alter. Repeat until done!

Thanks, reading palmers now. Its very good, just the right amount of depth for me at the mo.

Cheers Chris

Thanks again. So it is its fermentation of the easier sugar to the harder sugars which produce the slowing down of the latter stages of the primary/secondary fermentation. Rather than a half life situation (most biological processes tend function in a half life style, ie over 10 hours half the gluco...

Sorry for not answering my posts, computer trouble. First of all thanks for the posts, shed a light on a few things. Very interesting post Chris. First, the FG 1000 was originally from a leaflet in a brew kit. It wouldnt drop below 1014, yet the instructions said it be 1000 and never under any circu...

Cheers chris. That clears up a few things. I am think i am going to take your advice for my darker beers. Boiling and standing.
And i am going to use some soft bottled water for my pale beers. Gypsum in both.

I will resist the CRS, until i taste the results.

Being a long term country wine fan, and a medium term AG fan, I am slightly confused about something. Its not something that stops me brewing, but it is something that I try and get my head round and justify. When I make a country wine it will start about 1100 for arguements sake, drop to around 102...

Being one who tends to be a bit wary of chemical additions of beer, has anyone used lemon juice to alter pH? Can it work? Are there any less agressive alternatives than CRS? If the water starts at a pH of around 6.5 would it need treating? Or am I on the old pH/alkalinity debate, surely they are con...

Well its reached that time......... all bottled with its brothers on its shelf.... pictures.... DSC00061.JPG Weeeelll it came out more like a porter/stout. So hence the name change! Really really tasty. Some stouts are quite boring in the malt, but this was like the complexety of a mild with the col...

I agree with chris..... as soon as that FG is reached and its dropped pretty clear or seems clear, bottle. Its better than messing with secondarys as i always feel that one problem in the secondary means the problems in every bottle. OK its meant to take longer to reach maturity, but it fun finding ...

I have used it in a strong IPA and some wheat beers. It was a bit overpowering. Crush the seeds. Fresher seeds are better. Add at final 15mins of boil. Can't remeber exactly how much i used, it is written down somewhere.... maybe 15g - 20g for 23L. I don't think i will use them again Ihavent mastere...

Thanks very much, some useful advice there.

So high temps bring out the stereotypical banana and cloves tones to the yeast then? Does a low temp leave it without charecter?

Is flaked wheat just unmalted wheat which has under gone hydration and then squashed and dehyrated?

ta matt