Jim's Beer Kit

... A pyknometer does need a little maths to make it work. They are not setup for brewers to use off-the-shelf just yet. But I've created a couple of spreadsheets to do that for you (This thread was created to make those spreadsheets readily available). The "Lite" version is attached to this post ("...

A few years ago, I had an accident. Knocked my eyes out of kilter, took five eye "squint" operations to make them approximately right but I still need prism glasses so as to correct the remaining double vision over most of my sight. I'm also ageing and need ever stronger reading glasses. On top of t...

Specific Gravity (SG)? It has always puzzled me what it means. Google's no help. But I've been playing around with "SG" and "Relative Density" (which is in some way interlinked) for a while now, and it has suddenly clicked. "Specific Gravity" means "this is the gravity", just like an English diction...

For judging the composition of tap water, there are the reports from the water companies. But tap water may be coming from a source miles away. For judging the (rough) composition of local ground water, or bore/well water, you can reach for a geological map (before getting a proper analysis!). I wou...

Done! Works too! I'll start off another thread with links to the spreadsheets ... (later!).

So far ... A slimmed down spreadsheet. Or spreadsheets (I've kept one free of the "read SG off the weighing scales" to use with smaller bottles; like 25ml). All the "for curiosity only" stuff is gone, and I'm using the "Pyknometer with SG" method, i.e. no temperature compensation to phart about with...

I've always used the "Views" counter to determine if a thread was maintaining interest. I was getting quite chuffed that this thread was going to hit 20,000 views by its second anniversary (March). In the last 3-4 weeks its shot to well over 100,000 views! The forum is having a little bit of trouble...

I've only just read this thread and found it very interesting, I look forward to the next instalment :D Thank you. It might be "very interesting", but in returning to it there are great chunks that are utterly baffling. I'm just trying to straighten them out. (When the author is finding the work ba...

Ha! ... You think I've forgotten this little project? Well, I haven't! So ... What the hell was I getting up to? I think I trying on a bit of appeasement? "Adapting" the sample bottle to have a virtual capacity so the operation was much the same as a hydrometer. Maybe? Stuff and nonsense! Just ditch...

All water that goes in the top, not what comes out of the bottom. That's a particularly good, concise, explanation! I think your problem with "references" is because you're looking in the wrong place. You want the meaning of words (in English) not someone's opinion of what it should mean. "Total" i...

... I find the whole no chill thing really interesting when it gets to hop stands and end of boil hop scenarios. You just can't work any of it out. I think you sort of reduce final hops and guesstimate the IBU as it cools, or maybe you have to use a spider and make sure it's all out. 'Tis a bit a p...

Just jumping in on this discussion because I'm considering no chill just to be more green. Why the need to bother with these cubes? Are there any ill effects of chilling to 80 (for whirlpool), and then sending the wort straight to my plastic fermentation bin overnight? I have a fridge to ferment in...

Dead yeast is supposed to be excellent nutrition! But it can taste of poo (or Marmite, burnt rubber, etc., etc., but none have the same impact as "poo"). I'm actually experiencing it at the moment. The beer's almost finished, but recently, ever now and again, my mouth is filled with an awful flavou...

LeeH wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 16, 2023 11:31 am

Is it though? ...

Looking good?
The yeast ("West Yorkshire") chucks the standard Tilt hydrometer about abit. I take heart from those "fresh wort kits". It's how I dared go to four days this time. Four years next time?

More daring with my cube this time. I went four days before putting the yeast in (the WYeast pack was five months past its "Best Before" date. Only 7% vitality according to the starter builder. Took three days to build it back up (not something to recommend, that's possible 93% (93 billion) dead, po...