Jim's Beer Kit

Crikey, that puts these subtleties into perspective. I'd hate to brew to tight schedules and turnovers, must be quite frustrating at times.

Yes, there are lots of things that contribute to clarity and that go 'much' deeper into quality of the beer than aesthetics alone. To be clear (heh!) I'm not at all arguing against chilling - provided it is an addition to the process rather than an attempt to hide deficiencies earlier on. It is just...

Yes, chilling can certainly help speed up clearing, particularly with awkward yeast and chill haze; the closer to freezing (without freezing) that one can get the beer the better, in terms of speed. My change in preference has been more about 'when' to chill, rather than whether to. Chilling soon af...

If there is excess pressure then the seal may be working as intended; that can occur when injecting a whole bulb into a small area of head-space. In that case then the valve should seal once pressure drops, and then maintain the normal levels. Sometimes after injecting, ice can form and the rubber c...

Just to mention, BSP and NPT are not compatible in most sizes; if the size is 3/8" nominal bore as Lee suggested then the correct type should be used. If they're 1/2" (or also, I think, 3/4") then the threads per inch happen to coincide, so only for these sizes NPT and BSP can sometimes be mixed in ...

With the odd leak, changing out hoses from the cooling coil e.g. and summer evaporation, means I'm always topping the cooling bath up. This has made me fight shy of using glycol even though it would be very useful in the summer. How can you keep track of the correct amount of glycol to water given ...

Hi Kev So yes, chilling wort down below pitching temperature for some time does help in comparison with not chilling the wort at any stage. Whether only doing that gives better or worse results than only rapid cooling down from hot I wouldn't like to call, both do help to a useful degree; if aiming...

Ah yes, as I suspected the terminology was probably being unhelpful. So yes, chilling wort down below pitching temperature for some time does help in comparison with not chilling the wort at any stage. Whether only doing that gives better or worse results than only rapid cooling down from hot I woul...

..so, you can use your immersion or counter flow chiller to chill your wort to (only) pitching temp of 20C or so, as fast you can, if you want ... but dropping your wort into a no-chill cube and allowing it to cool for 24 hrs at ambient temps, then putting your cube into your brewfridge to chill be...

The glycol reduces the temperature at which the cool bath freezes. It may then go a little bit colder by itself, but generally the use of glycol would be teamed with a different thermostat in order to set the bath temperature colder than standard. It depends how efficient the system is, but if you w...

Yes it works in the cool bath (to reduce freezing temperature). It thickens the liquid slightly so in higher concentrations can make any recirc pump's life a little more challenging, is about all. Propylene glycol is safer around food/drink use, whereas ethylene glycol (typical car anti-freeze) is t...

Yes, the use of intermediary jerry can (or cube) is a bit more flexible, it seems quite a popular method in Aus. Apparently some people will store it for weeks sometimes, but I agree the risk is higher so normally used it within a few days. The cube was roughly similar in effort to the cooling it re...

I always think it useful to appreciate what is best or ideal, even if one ends up choosing to do something else. At least then it is an informed decision to do so, with the pros and cons weighed according to ones own circumstances and requirements. I do prefer forced cooling of the wort and am lucky...

That would certainly be a much easier level of carbonation to deal with. Though if the current keg has been carbonated to a higher level than now wanted, keep in mind that it could take days of frequent venting before the beer sheds the extra. This can be speeded up greatly by shaking/rolling the ke...

The formulas also tend to suggest shorter lengths than I feel is ideal, partly because they assume a faster flow/pour rate than one might use if trying to control foam (and line resistance is actually less with slower flow rates). Cellar temperatures are of course very suitable for many styles, and ...