Jim's Beer Kit

Someone posted fairly recently about autoclavable tubes with lids that melted. Can't find the thread but I guess the lesson is that you shouldn't assume the lids are OK. Ask the seller and/or try one on its own the first time. Sounds like that could have been my contribution. " Testing Blank Yeast ...

Is it possible to recover yeast from Guinness Foreign Extra Stout? I have vague memories about reading that it was still possible to get yeast from Guinness processed in foreign lands. A bit late now but I also saw in Tesco about two years ago large cans in multiple packs of Guinness brewed in Niger...

Not sure if this should be under "Brewing Books" :?: As with my beer making, I used to do winemaking back in the seventies. It all stopped a long time ago and then a few years ago I came back to brewing beer. The differences in brewing methods and results, then and now, are worlds apart. I have a co...

Hello Jim I have got my STC 1000, relay etc , blinkers on and the bit between my teeth. I am definitely going for an accurate , temperature controlled mashing set up. Something that I can initially tweak with hot and cold water to the correct temperature and then confidently walk away from, for an h...

My mashing set up is an Electrim boiler with a large stainless steel bucket suspended in it to hold the grain. The boiler acts as a water jacket , keeping the temperature about right for the bucket mash. I am in the process of assembling the STC 1000 , relay and socket etc. After looking at the modi...

Well done mad hippy.
That link works fine .
I am not very computer literate, otherwise I would have put the new link in for myself.

Kind Regards from minesapint

..................MODERATORS PLEASE NOTE....... WARNING....WARNING.......WARNING...........INCORRECT RELAY ! I have just tried the link for the Maplins Relay N24AW that was posted by jmc on July 4th 2013. The link now goes to the N23AW relay . The N23AW only has a 12volt dc coil. Anyone ordering and...

I am using tubes recommended on one of the posts here , supposed to be autoclavable. The tubes are autoclavable, but the screw on caps have a foam liner that expands like a prawn cracker if it goes into the pressure cooker. Up to now I have given the tubes of liquid twenty minutes in the pressure co...

I started making slants just over a year ago. Mostly successful plus a few lovely blue green moulds that would not look out of place in the cheese section of a delicatessen shop. When I prep new blank slants I leave them at room temperature for a fortnight to see if anything grows, if not I assume t...

I am not sure where to put this post.............No rude replies please. I think Equipment is OK. After priming and bottling I wrap one of those cheap plastic stick on thermometers around one of the bottles in the batch . I don't stick it on as they are a devil to remove. Just hold in place with an ...

Hello Graham. Quite an honour to get an input from you. I now have three of your books. After seeing the prices asked for second hand copies of your Continental Beers book , up to £106.69p , I bet you now wish you had filled your garage with spare copies to supplement your pension fund. The things w...

Hello IPA . Thanks for the Book Title. I see what you mean about the price. Ebay has a copy around £26 and then I looked at Abe Books , UK . Abe starts around £18 plus postage and one seller on Abe is asking £106-69p !!!!!!! For a second hand paperback !!!!! In the end I found a book dealer in Norfo...

You Chaps are like busses and taxis, I hang around and then suddenly four appear altogether! Good morning to you all and Thanks for responding. The recipe definitely says "Racking gravity S.G. of 11-12" 1/ Deebee, I added an extra 600g of pale malt to beef it up a bit, that is how I got an extra nin...

I have brewed Dave Line's Dark Ale several times and it always stops fermenting around 1.020 . The recipe states a racking gravity of 1.010 - 1.012. For this reason I have always put it into a King Keg instead of bottles, this is because the King Keg has a safety valve. The recipe calls for 12 oz la...

I agree , mini mashes are the way to go. Going to get the water right first. As my mains supply is 48 mg/l CaCO3 according to the Salifert Kit I am going to experiment with putting the precipitated chalk into the water using one of my King Kegs. I have read here about using Corny kegs and higher pre...