Bill Poster

And John Smith's I think, has that smooth thing going, . I know that Guinness doesn't travel very well at all- shocking pint in Japan(heart stopping price too)

Ok boss

Why is the ABV not stronger as a result of more grain?

Other stouts always seem a little thin/watery when compared. whats the secret?

I just dumped the cool wort, with no added yeast, into the first batch. I was thinking the plentiful yeast already there is enough.. have I ****ed up? Paranoia I stopped opening the stopper to have a peak, as yeast activity is slowing and i don't want to infect it. I have a lot of floculation(not sure of spelling) on the bottom after less than 3 days. Slightly worried by this as this might signal　the yeast has run out of sugar(infection eating the sugar resulting in early floculation??). My fermenting bin has a tap- can i drain this yeast away?

Tempting fate here.. I brewed a second batch last night to add to the first, because of over hopping. It went much more smoothly. I did an extra long mash at approx 143 (step) and the grain looked like it had given its all. I guess I have 45 litres of brew in the bin. Out of interest, what grain goes red in the mash? My guess is the acid malt Should I airate the brew?

I used that site you told me about. Very useful, thanks again. I noticed i made a mistake when spec. the hop type. As a result i may have over hopped

Ended up with about 26-28 litres; I airated it this morning with a clean plaster mixer and drill. Now its bubbling away, 10 hrs after adding yeast. If by miracle, this turns out drinkable, I think it will be stronger than I meant it to be! Maybe 6-7%. Many mistakes made The foam on top has 'white bits'..is this ok? I worry it may have got contaminated- so many opportunities(fly in kitchen etc)

I think thats what they got.. But luckily my thermos started bubbling like crazy this morning. BREWING DAY First I boiled water for 30 minutes. Got a nice film on top of water. Drained it off best i could. The boiler (Burco washing machine) won't boil up to 100 so i took 5 litres out (20 in total) and put all the grain in(a large amount 5.5 kg). Then, when i put the agitator on(why i chose the burco) the top plate covering the element came loose! so now i dare'nt turn up heat to sparge. Will have to tip into spare bin , fix it, then back again.. I had to do two separate mashes and boils now batch 1 is cooling down (in fermenting bin)in the bath. I added a bowl of ice and 5 litres of cold water. i will pitch yeast when cool enough then add batch two when finished and room temp. I want to end up with 30+ litres Started at 11pm, its now 5 something!

I mixed yeast into my grain starter; now I'm slightly worried that i did'nt let the wort cool down to room temperature.. whats the max temp you can add the yeast without killing it?

More importantly, anyone seen these in the UK??

That sounds simple...! Thanks so much I recieved my Mill. This is where half of my budget went(!) but it looks stunning. Also got my fermenting bins with airlocks etc. I picked up my water boiler(35-40 litre)with concealed element, 40 pounds sterling. I don't have a thermometre as yet. The two things that weren't sent (i ordered) were irish moss and more importantly, priming sugar. I couldn't get hold of caramalt in small quantities either. Tomorrow I may attempt my first brew. I'm expecting it to be a 'learning' experience.. Cdh, Please rip this to shreds. I don't really know if this is gonna work. Its a wheat beer Firstly, I don't know the quantities of grain, say X kg per 10 litres. I haven't decided how much for first try; do these percentages seem right? 55% wheat malt 17% Munich 25% lager 3% acid malt Clean everything thoroughly heat water in boiler to burn off chlorine(lovely east London water) drop temperature down to 135, add grain, 135 for 20 min rest at 110 for 10 min 140-5 for 40 min 160 for 20 min raise to 170 then sparge(how much water to add?) Boil will be for 70 mins add Hallertauer(small amount) after 30 min add styrian after another 35 min(same amount) then add nutrient at 68 min cool and pitch my yeast at 70F (add any flavouring?) Some say avoid temps above 68 but I want the banana aroma over the clove..what to do? ferment at 65-8F? Drop temp down to 45 after how long? So many questions, sorry

My order arrived minus the hops, crusher and fermenting vessels. I am a little annoyed at having to wait for another week... The supplier wasn't that bothered (I'll go elseware in future). Grain arrived from Warminster Maltings(can't recommend these guys enough). Question about yeast starter; can i use full grain?

Tried two english bottled 'lagers', Meantime Pilsner and Proof 'cologne' style beer. The first one looked great on paper..being organic and from a respected small brewery. aroma was ok but it tasted unpleasant. second one was bland, tasted completely different from draught to bottle. Are there ANY decent english pilsners?

I bought a fantastic bottle of Grappa from Gerri's, with two blown glass figures inside. Use your imagination.. If price is an issue, then the Whisky shop at Vinopolis is keen. ie, Santa teresa 1796 is almost ten quid cheaper than at Gerri's

So as long as a rum is aged in barrels in that country prior to bottling it can state that country on the bottle

Have good sython and bottle filler on order too plus a small quantity of acid malt. Also got a hop strainer bot not sure if i need it. didn't get racking cane hmm..and i was thinking of ordinary bleach for sanitizing, tho i just read that it can react with s/s

Ok, I finally made my purchases.. ordered some uncrushed malt(pale, munich) and wheat, Goldings and Hallertau hops, plenty of wyeast 3068, a couple of fermenting vessels with taps and airlock plus sythons irish moss, priming sugar, wort cooler etc. I went for a cheap s/hand burco hot water urn $60 for boiling/mashing to offset the expensive mill..$$$ plus two cases of grolsch(bottle supply for first batch if successful) to drink with my buddies..

I'll be interested in the reply.

Thanks Cdh, hot water urns are available in all sizes and seem a very good and cheap vessel for boiling/mashing. Most have a concealed element and adjustable thermo. you can pick them up on ebay v cheaply

Cdh, I am itching to get going. I took your advice and will stay 'cheap' with my equipment, but, do you know of a cheap steam powered mash tun? I want to avoid burning the grain.

I think I know the Eastern caribbean project you are talking about..

I read somewhere that you can increase foam by adding a 15 minute simmer 15 minutes into the mash boil..(taking 15 mins off the total length of the boil)

Thanks for that.. I won't trust Wikipedia ever again. Michael Jackson is calling one of his brews Wiess something or other This Beer lark isn't arf complicated Cdh, What do you think of Nest Beers from Japan?(the ones with the cute Owl logo)