Recent content by theredben

You do not want to take a risk with the botulism toxin. The issue with re-canning is that you cannot be sure how long the inside of the jars are above 240F, so you cannot be sure if you have denatured 90%, 95%, 99%, or 100% of the toxin. The only reason that pressure canning works in the first...

There is no reason to think that the yeast involved is some kind of "super yeast". The case in question was not stomach fermentation, but gut fermentation. The Saccharomyces made it past the stomach at some point, and then colonized the intestines presumably after the administration of severe...

How is any C02 wasted during carbonation? It is a sealed container, the gas isn't going anywhere other than into solution in the beer.

How it tastes is much more important than what you think you are seeing under the microscope. Have you tasted it yet?

The mold cannot grow in the beer. Nothing to worry about. If you are still worries, put a lid on top of the bottling bucket (a good idea anyways).

Yes, people have done this. You need to figure out if you want to have the CO2 tank inside the buffet or not, and then measure out the keg + CO2 tank, and then figure out how much room you need for insulation (I used 2" insulation on all sides). Overall, my conversion took around 30 hours, but...

There have been several people on here who have done this. Here is a link that details on project, and it has links to several others. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/entries/diy-kegerator.html Good Luck.

Rust is not known to occur on hops so there is no need to worry about it.

If you are buying new, a couple of hundred dollars will only buy you junk. Try searching ebay for microscopes, stick to known brands like Olympus, Nikon, Zeiss, Motic, or Leica. Avoid AmScope if you want quality.

ruinarion - The mushrooms are not causing your problems. They sprouted from pre-existing mycelium in the ground, and only emerged due to the shift in weather conditions. Your plants stopped growing due to some combination of water stress and high temperatures, not due to mushrooms.

No, that is not Powdery Mildew. Looks like maybe bird poop, or slime leftover from a slug walking across your plants. Nothing to worry about.

Those look like the cast skins of aphids. Look on the underside of the leaves, there should be some aphids still around, but the ladybugs may have already finished them off. As for control, things like insecticidal soap, most retail insecticides, and even a hard blast of water from the hose...

SavageBrewer - Can you post some photos? Without pictures, this is all speculation.

If it really is downy mildew, you should see large patches of yellow on some of your leaves. I do not see that in your pictures. How hot is it there in Cyprus right now? To me, it looks like the hops are just aborting the buds due to stress.

Lace Bugs. Not too much of a concern, spraying was not a bad idea though. http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/lacebugs.html