Jim's Beer Kit

Where did you get your spreadsheet from? I got mine from https://github.com/universam1/iSpindel/blob/master/docs/Calibration_en.md#formula and it is different from yours. Mine only has "Measured Angle", "Measured SG", "Measure Plato" and "Deviation". Your appears to have an extra column called "Hydr...

I usually dry-hop at before fermentation starts so that any oxygen introduced with the hops is consumed by the yeast. I don't think scrubbing out of hop aroma is too much of a problem - surely that would affect flame-out hop aroma too? I also find that I don't get hop-haze when I dry hop at the star...

The other way is to chill your beer down as low as possible, then use a fining agent. It needs to be cold as chill haze relies on the cold to occur, so the idea is to cause it to happen in the FV and then drop it out. I do this and then take rack the beer off while it is still cold. I assume that i...

The grainfather cleaner isn't really that expensive if you break it down to cost-per-brew, I would guess that a £10 will give you about 20 brews. It also really simple to use - just add a couple of tablespoons, heat to 55C and recirculate through the counterflow chiller for 15 mins; then rinse by re...

As suggested, I released all pressure from the keg and then re-pressurised through the outlet and dip tube. I did it three times with a few hours between each. It worked a treat and the beer tastes and smells great now. Thanks for the suggestions!

Great suggestions. It's in a corny so I will give that a try. Thanks!

I have a lager that I brewed about a month ago. It's tasting quite good at the moment but the sulfur taste and aroma is still a bit strong. I know that leaving it to condition will sort it out in time but I want to serve it at a party next weekend. Any suggestions for a quick-fix? My understanding i...

I use a three-quarter height larder fridge and it is just right for corny kegs. They can sit on top of the compressor shelf and there is still enough room at the top for the disconnects and, above that, a shelf for storing yeast etc.

Dry hop now, while fermentation is still in progress. It has the added benefit of cleaning up any oxygen introduced with the hops. I read somewhere that you get almost everything out of dry hopping within the first 2-3 days so bump up the temp for a day or two at the end of fermentation to encourage...

I think the problem was too much carbonation. I originally carbonated to around 2.5 volumes but after dropping it back to 1.8 volumes it is a lot more drinkable.

Why dilute it ? Bottle it and save it for winter. I've got three kegs of the stuff and none of my mates drink it so it will take me years to get through it. Also need one of the kegs for another brew so going to keep two of barley wine and repurpose the other. I tried mixing it 50/50 in a glass for...

Another week on and it has actually dropped a couple more points in gravity. The flavour is fine but way to dry for my taste. Any rescue suggestions?

On my system I have found that taping the probe to the side of the FV with *too much* insulation over the top causes overshoot problems. Because the liquid in the FV has a much greater thermal capacity than the air in the chamber it takes longer to heat up. If you wanted to raise the temperature of ...

This beer finished up at 1.002. I was a bit disappointed when sampling straight after primary because the phenolic, spicy taste from the saison yeast was overpowering. But a week later, and having dropped the temp from 26c to 5c, they are still there but are quite subtle now - just what I wanted fro...

Generally, if you make them up with deionised water then yes they will be stable for some time in my experience. Each time you calibrate though you will need to take some out and calibrate in that. If you just dip the probe in your whole bottle of calibration solution you’ll contaminate it and it’l...