Jim's Beer Kit

.... the beer side. Found a taste for cider recently though so want to try brewing one. Got a few questions if anyone fancies educating me. Do I literally just fill a bucket with apple juice and hoy in some yeast? Got some Tesco apple juice, not from concentrate stuff. - Pretty much, yes. that will ...

I make Kombucha in a gallon DJ type container with a tap at the bottom. same kind of thing, stood happily pouring warm tea in at the top, which for a while was below the tap level, then wondering why there's brown liquid cascading down the front of the kitchen units. I'd obviously left the tap open....

I was there helping set up from about 10am, until 2pm when I had to get back home. there should have been two projectors, but they didn't have the correct connection cables, so it was decided to use only one, and the work out which presenter needed it most, and move the speakers around depending. Th...

I don't think it's too much of an assumption to think that you are Russian (your signatures says something along the lines of 'Russians are the best at everything. Fact.' or that's the general gist) and Russians are well known for turning any thing they can into a fermentable concoction of some sort...

I shall be there representing The Home Brew Festival! Look forward to seeing some of you there. Please do introduce yourselves if you see me.

cool - looks good. I too built my own scratter, but it's hand driven, which is a pain, but I only use it once or twice a year. This year it's worn out, so next year I''ll have to build a new one. like yours it's screws screwed into a cylinder of wood, housed in a funnel. The main body was made of ch...

most of what you can buy that's called 'cider yeast' is also variously called 'champagne yeast' - Lalvin EC-1118 is the normal one I use. it does the job, you don't need any extra on bottling. add priming sugar at the higher end will give more sparkle. yes you can do what they do for champagne - lea...

I built my own. each year a different bit gets replaced, it's a bit like Trigger's Broom. this year my friend doing the scratting was putting to much downward pressure on the handle, and the screws in the main spindle started biting into the chipboard, and the side hole enlarged enough that the whol...

So on Monday a group of us had an apple pressing. about 12 bags of apples from a neighbours tree, three bags of apples from my brother's father in law, a bag of pears, and a bag of apples from another neighbour. Apples chopped, lots of maggots found, and cut out as many as possible, scratted and pre...

I have sent a reply - I've made cider myself on and off since 2004, and know quite a lot about it...I might be interested, depends where in the country it is...?

pics or it didn't happen -

I've just been for a walk at lunchtime, and seen an elderberry tree, full of nearly ripe elderberries, so ignore my previous post about them not being ready yet. I would guess, further south, in the right location, you'll find some that are ripe enough to pick now.

my thoughts exactly, elderflowers were over several weeks ago. at the moment I'd go for a blackberry wine, although in London they're already coming to the end, we've had two large basins full already, so I have plenty in the freezer. it'll be while before the elderberrys are ready, and they do have...

I have some elderberry 'port' which has been in a 5 litre plastic water bottle for at least 3 years, and doesn't appear to have suffered because of it. Should be fine.

does he take his tea with sugar?