Jim's Beer Kit

What was the OG? Most wines start around 1.090 which should finish at around 12%

I recently found Hops & Glory by Pete Brown in a charity shop and it's worth a read for some history of IPA.

I like your style, Harrowbrewer

Honey is around 80% sugar ( frutose & glucose) and around 20% water, well better honey has 17-18% water. So you can do your sums for this data. Thanks I haven't seen the recipe but surely the reason for honey in a recipe is to impart a honey flavour and aroma. If you don't like honey, why pick a re...

IPA wrote:Foam bungs are best if your FV is suitable.

I haven't seen these, I'll have a search as this would be a better method than using a tea towel! Cheers

If you want to have any kind of bulk conditioning time post ferment then you need to keep air away from the beer to avoid oxidation. If you don't have the option of moving to a vessel where you can purge with CO2 then you need to keep the CO2 in from the primary fermentation, and for that an airloc...

Cheers, I'm looking to brew this in a few weeks and I think I'll try just adding sugar. How much sugar would be the equivalent to 500g of Honey? There is a "Honey Malt" you could use. Out of interest, why dont/wont/cant you drink real honey ? You could also look at Agave Nectar if you were feeling f...

Do you use an airlock when fermenting beer? I use a (clean) tea towel to cover the hole in the top of my FV (just the right size for an airlock, ironically) to stop any dust/bugs/whatever else floating in, and it gets put in my brewfridge for 2 weeks. I would never consider using an airlock unless; ...

It depends on the fruit. I use the sugar juice extraction for rhubarb wine, but I usually leave it for (at least) 24 hours before tipping the syrup/juice into a demijohn and topping up with water. For something like elderberry wine, I'd probably chuck the whole lot in at once and ferment 'on the pul...

Thanks for your replies. I did consider adding more malt to bump up the ABV but wondered if it would take away some of the character honey would give. I know my version won't have the taste of honey but I assumed it would have a dry taste to it that golden syrup will also add? I think I'll try that ...

I'm planning to brew Greg Hughes' English Barley Wine in a couple of weeks. The recipe calls for 500g of Honey, which I don't eat. I thought Maple Syrup might work, but could work out expensive and I'm not sure if the flavour would be too strong. Maybe I could use half Maple Syrup/half Golden Syrup?...

I always add a tsp of nutrient per gallon - apple juice doesn't have all the goodies that malted barley does. Andrew Lea's book Craft Cider Making is very good, but aimed at people using real apples really. And pretty much all of it is on his website. But I bought it anyway, I like books. I might l...

Thanks WA. My problem is that it will end up like beer ie 40 x 500ml bottles lost early due to 'taste testing'

I have refrained from adding anything and now, after nearly a month, I think it's finally finished! The bubbles seem to have stopped and the gravity is 1.002 (5.8%). I'll leave it a few more days and check again just to make sure. It tastes pretty good, too. I'm looking forward to getting it bottled...

Thanks Sonicated, I think I'll just have to be patient with it. Judging by the sneaky taste I had when checking the gravity, it'll be worth it