Recent content by rhumbunctious

19mm would fit perfect. I think this idea, combined with using different color text for different batches, would be an ideal solution. Even if in some rare cases the ink jet ink runs on a bottle or two, the color of the text/ink will still differentiate it from others (and at the end of the day...

I've been considering getting an alphanumeric pricing gun to use as a bottle labeler. E.g. http://www.hamiltonpriceguns.co.uk/shopcart/shoptest/sp13info.php I'm not interested in making traditional labels (either designing them, sticking them, or removing them) but also need to keep my...

Hmmm... I may then try adding 500g or so extra dextrose, which would help to dry it out a bit, with the beneficial side effect of upping the ABV a bit. Eh?

I have two cans of Coopers European Lager that I picked up on sale, not realizing they use a true Lager yeast. I don't have facilities at the moment to maintain the cooler temps needed by a lager yeast, and am wondering what I might end up with if I instead used an ale yeast at around...

I just pitched a starter (1 liter, 100g DME) of White Labs WLP568 Belgian Style Saison Ale Yeast Blend, first time ever using a White Labs yeast, and didn't see even a trace of krausen, but still kept giving it a swirl each time I walked past, and after 36 hours there was 2+ cm of yeast...

OK, well at least the label clears one thing up for me... I was wondering whether it was actually "'White House Honey' Ale", named after the first lady... ;-)

I'm wondering what the upper pressure limits are for the Coopers 500ml Ox-Bar PET bottles. If I want to brew e.g. a wheat beer with a final carbonation around 4.5 volumes CO2, will the PET bottles handle that? I'm presuming they will, but good to be sure before hand ;-)

You could just chill the starter for a day or two, and decant the wort, thus only pitching primarily just the yeast.

True, true, it never ends... But if you think you've got it bad, try buying a sailboat ;-)

I am temporarily in a location where I don't have as much control over fermentation temperature as I'd like, nothing really beyond a wet towel (swamp cooler) etc. I am able to keep my FV between 22-25C (72-78F) without too much trouble but keeping it below 22C for extended periods is a...

OK. I think the strategy I will take is to grate around 100g of fresh ginger and add it to the boil for about 5-10 minutes when boiling my priming sugar, so that it gets a little bit of spice before going into the bottles.

Well, yes and no. There is a very strong, excellent ginger flavor, so the boiling definitely extracted a substantial portion of the aroma or essence of the ginger. But yes, whatever gives ginger its bite apparently got boiled off. I expect I will adjust the recipe and process next time, but...

That's basically what I was thinking of doing, but using the ginger powder rather than fresh ginger. Just unsure when in the process would be best, and how much.

No, this is about the distinctive spicy bite that ginger ale typically has, especially Jamaican style ginger ale. Really spicy ginger ale can even make you cough if you drink it too fast. What I've got has a very distinct and smooth ginger flavor, but without the desired spicy bite. I suspect...

For those who may want all the details, here's the recipe as brewed: 23 liter batch OG before pitching 1.052 2 kg fresh ginger (no, that's not a typo) 2 lemons 3 limes 10 whole cloves 2 cinnamon sticks 2 kg brown sugar 1 kg dextrose (plus 250g to be added before bottling) 250 g lactose 1 tsp...