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The general consensus on here seems to be that if your tap water smells and tastes fine, you're generally OK to use it for brewing. Being a new brewer, I thought I'd provide a bit of feedback on that front. I followed this advice, and used tap water for my first 5 or 6 batches. All of my brews...

Don't know, and can't seem to find that info, actually. Cooper's site only says 'bottle when FG is 1.009'. I've only been able to find generic recommendations for dark ales (eg 1.04 to 1.055). The Canadian in me likes my beers to be around 5% - 5.5%, so in order to reach that with an expected FG...

I just fired up a batch of Cooper's Dark Ale, added 1 liter of Munton's brewer's syrup, and noticed OG was (what I interpret to be) a little low for a Dark Ale (1.042). I went down to the store and picked up some generic honey (pasteurized, 1KG), which brought the gravity up to about 1.054...

Yep, totally normal. Measuring virtually anything from airlock activity is not a good habit to get into. Worrying like mad about your first brew is also totally normal ;)

Searching on this topic will answer your question. The bottom line is that it's more and more common to see people not bother with secondary fermentation. Most people would tend to agree it's not really necessary these days.

It's good that topics like these get revived every now and again. As a new homebrewer, all I've ever really seen or heard is that you should indeed use a secondary. The folks at the my local homebrew store all mention having to use a secondary, and the starter supply kit that I bought included a...

Here in Calgary, we have a couple decent local retailers (The Vinyard, Home Vintner). Their prices are reasonable, and if you give them a call, they'll probably ship an order out. Not sure, but certainly worth a quick phone call. At least then you're only paying domestic shipping. But yeah, the...

Calgary member here. I mostly shop at 'The Home Vintner'. They have reasonable prices and a decent supply. Good locations, too (several in Calgary, and many in the surrounding areas). They also do lots of events, how-to sessions, etc.

Using airlock activity to judge fermentation is never a great idea. Invest in a Hydrometer and measure every day or two - when the gravity doesn't change after 3 days - then you truly know it's done. If you are going to guesstimate based on airlock activity - 2-3 bubbles per minute is still...

Does it actually taste somewhat similar to a Heiny/Grolsch/Stella? Just curious, doesn't matter to me!

So, I have my first brew going, a Dutch Lager (Barons Kit). Being the typical newbie, I was freaking out because my beer was too cloudy, didn't seem the right color, etc. So, following the wise advice of the folks here at HBT, I just need to calm down and wait. Success! Thanks guys! Seems...

I don't think everyone needs to add a heater, I keep it upstairs with the house at about 70, the fermenters are at about 71-72.