Recent content by Alan_Speakman

Thanks for all the input! * I did have the house inspected, and the recommendation was indeed better insulation and ventilation... * Saisons? Super... :D * Like the idea of the Johnson controller... For the moment, I'm re-habbing my closet into a micro climate-controlled...

Hi jgln (et al), No, I don't have a crystal ball about the weather, but I should have mentioned the following in the initial post... We've had this house now about 13 years, and it's always been a hot box: 90 F wasn't unusual... This fall/winter tropical storm Irene brought down the only...

Hi, Looks like it's going to be a hot summer here on Cape Cod... Expecting temps of 90 to 100 degrees F here in the house. (The electrical service coming off the street is a measly 100 amps and that is max'ed, so AC is not an option... I suppose I could brew in the basement, but there's no...

Final update... After a couple weeks of aging in the bottle, and then some refrigeration ... ... ... Very good... If brewed properly, this beats the commercial stuff hands down. Good job Coopers!! Alan

Thanks folks... Someday, I'm going to take a shot at brewing up a 1965 Bud... Wouldn't it be great if AB released the old recipes for home brewers like us? If for no other reason than the novelty... they certainly wouldn't be giving away any 2012 Bud trade secrets... Alan

Hate to revive a very old thread... But it seems called for... Bud has changed over the years, and AB admitted it: Miller Moves Quickly to Exploit Rival's Revelation | News - Advertising Age When I was a child, my father would let me have just one sip of Bud (the town nurse felt that it...

UPDATE: Well, it's been apx. 2 weeks, and I'm starting to sample... It's rough, the bubbles are coarse, but both the wife and I agree that it's better than Bud, Coors, and Miller... Considering how badly I botched the temp... pretty good... Alan

Up date... Bottled the Coopers lager... Even right out of the fermenter, it tasted better than Bud, but that isn't saying much... Time will tell... Mixed up a Coopers Stout kit and got the temp just right... (It's really quite simple -- just heat enough water to dissolve the syrup and sugar...

I heard back from Coopers... They confirmed that the yeast could survive 40C, but the results probably wouldn't be too good... (Could it be any worse than Bud???) They suggested bottling as soon as the SG stabilizes (pretty quick concerning the high fermenting temp) and then leaving alone for a...

RM-MN, Yup... I think you're right on... In the long ago past, I found that extract manufacturers were a lot like glue manufacturers -- they give the 'ideal' cure time, but not the practical... I'm going to let this one sit for a while... At its peak, this batch had a good 2" of froth on top...

Hi, Well, it's been roughly 2.5 days and the head has starting to fall... I checked last night, and there was some activity in the fermenter... It smells right... So I figure I'll give it a few more days and then start checking the SG for stability and taste... If that's ok, I'll bottle and...

Hi all, First, thanks for all your help! As it stands now (17 hours into the brew), against all odds, the head has developed well. However, a white layer still resides on the bottom of the fermenter... Has the fermenting sugar come out of solution? I think I'm going to just watch this --...

Thanks Cracked1... I hate to give up on this batch (years ago I used to be a serious brewer and it will be humiliating to re-enter the hobby with a dud...) My thought at the time is that when I make home-made bread, I crank the temp to the max and the yeast does just fine... Maybe beer will...

Hi, I probably made a massive mistake... But here goes... About 9 hours ago I mixed a DIY Coopers 5 gal Lager mix... Everything seemed to go well (SG without yeast 30) except that I couldn't bring the wort temp close to the recommended 21C - 27C range before adding the yeast... (It was...