Jim's Beer Kit

Hi The answer lies with the acid concentration and the types of minerals in the water. When there is a high calcium or carbonate content in the water the pH of the end solution will approach 3.5 if it is above this then the solution will not kill micro-organisms. Because phosphoric acid is a poor ch...

Hi Steve On a discussion about their yeast range over on the BrewUK forum someone pointed out how there's a better correlation between the yeast they sell and those offered by Bulldog Brews/Hambleton Bard (link) :? .. and there do seem to be like for like yeasts in those two ranges. And on the subje...

Hi Eric The internet is wonderful, but its information travels at a rate regardless of merit, when methods long since disregarded can suddenly reappear with new claimed benefits. Sadly no chill is one. ... Hough after inoculating wort with a pure yeast, a pure bacterial culture and a mixture of thos...

More than one way to skin a cat eh Phil? ... absolutely, definitely not saying no-chilling is always better ... just pointing out that there is scientific evidence explaining why some brewers experience improved clarity when using that approach, especially in the middle of a cold winter :wink: Chee...

Hi Chris PhilB - That graph is very interesting. If I'm understanding correctly, the highest amount of cold break is formed at < 10C. So I could use a plate chiller to cool close to 0C, then warm up after a while? ... I'm sure if you were to have the sort of fancy immersion or counter flow chilling ...

Hi Eric Testings took place in labs of brewers more than a hundred years since to determine optimum chilling rates. The findings depended upon beer style but basically between 7 and 9 second to drop wort from 80C to pitching temperature gave most benefits, not just based on clarity, leading to the i...

Hi Manngold It's worth spending the hour it'll take to listen to the Brewing Network show Brewing With Style about Fruit Beers (ink) ... there's some really good discussions on there about using very different fruits in beers, and ISTR them spending a while talking about peaches/nectarines :? The wh...

Hi Vacant While you're correcting things, I think you need to make another slight adjustment ... Fermentation produces equal masses of CO2 and alcohol. ... fermentation produces the same numbers of moles of alcohol and CO2 ... but a mole of CO2 will weigh 44g, while a mole of ethanol will weigh 46g ...

Hi Steve Presumably to kill yeast so that it does ferment and make bottle bombs, and also stop spoilage as there is little alcohol and possibly acidity to prevent bacterial growth. ... yes, I believe that's the purpose ... commercial Malzbier producers would then force carbonate and bottle ... but s...

Hi Tomp At the risk of being labelled as one of the ' "all night masher" brigade ', when I have mashed overnight I have experienced a small increase in (brewhouse) efficiency :? ... I couldn't possibly say whether that's due to continued alpha-amylase activity or simply due to the extended soaking h...

Hi Alex No, I'm brewing a Red Ale that, when I put my recipe up on the BrewUK forum ( there(link )), it was suggested might work well fermented with a Bock Yeast :? ... I was considering using some Wy2124 I have in the fridge, but never got around to growing a starter. So decided on going for a lage...

Hi Dave, thanks for the feedback ... I'm sure you would have noted if the FG had been unexpectedly high, so it sounds like I should ease my worries about the Kolsch yeast, at least :wink: To add to the discussions around the "provenenance" of these yeasts ... and recognising that I may be "putting 2...

Hi Dave Kolsch update. Brewed 7th May, kegged 20th May. Carbonated at 10psi. Sampled 3rd June and the beer is crisp and clean. Very pleased. ... sorry if you've posted this elsewhere, but what level of attenuation did that yeast finish up with? I've seen varying feedback on these Crossmyloof yeast(s...

Doesn't a creamer need a high pressure from nitrogen to work? ... I don't want to get dragged into the debate about whether to call the things creamers or sparklers ... but the things that Chunk originally referred to as sparklers ... the things that look like that ... This is a creamer: https://up...

Hi Chunk When I bought (won) a bargain "beer-engine" from a seller on eBay (who said they had retrieved it as part of a pub clearance, and judging by the description, didn't have a clue what they had), what actually arrived was a Mason Shakespeare Dispense Unit (link) . The page on the Mason's websi...