Recent content by Chris Walker

Thanks for the reply... do you put these in addition to roast barely or substitute some out. Also are they at a normal crush?

I hope this is OK to post under general and not recipes as it is more the technique I am interested in rather than the exact recipe. For my first attempt at a stout (and I wanted a Guinness clone) I researched a number of recipes and had a hard time matching what they were aiming for Vs what...

While I couldn't agree more with the need for temp' control, I would not spend a bonus on it....here is my reasoning: Temperature control is one of the easiest things to do with a limited budget and even a relatively simple setup will yield the majority of the gain, lets say 95% improvement...

As Kent said, you need to decide on method. Also, as important, you need to decide on batch size. I recommend you start small, say 2 to 3 gallons which will keep costs down and easier to handle when starting. Also you can get more experience trying different recipes and ingredients.

Firstly...congratulations, that's a nice bit of kit to start off your brewing hobby!! The problem with mixing in the chronicle is you may still have sediment even if you dump the yeast cake out the bottom port. Do you have ability to cold crash the fermentor? - dump the yeast, crash then and...

So, it tastes great and smells good just really pale.... Sounds like one of the better mistakes to make! I've had the other problem in the past... been a bit too heavy handed with the crystal grains and had a much darker beer than planned. When things don't turn out for me I just look up what...

Yes, that was my thought process. Bigger kettles probably will not fit in my oven and likely not give such a good rolling boil on the stove top. Also they are more expensive for what is really only an occasional use. I still much prefer smaller batches in general but if I have people visiting...

I usually brew batches just over 3 gallons so when complete I get a full 3 gallon keg worth of beer. My method is as follows.... 3 Gallons mash water in 5.5 gallon SS Brewtech kettle which fits nicely on my stove. BIAB Mash in oven at 150F (ish) - 60 to 90 mins. Separately heat 2 Gallons to...

Thanks for that!, I live just outside Pickering and had no idea we had a new shop. The website looks like they are a bit limited on equipment but maybe that will expand. Ingredients do look good though so that will be very convenient.

When I started brewing years ago it was with the prehopped liquid extract tins. Whilst this is certainly an easy introduction with lower equipment requirements I persevered for a long time chasing a brew that didn't have the "Homebrew" taste. They were mostly drinkable and OK, but definitely...

Not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this? - I am confident I will be corrected if not ;o) I'm quite lucky with my location in that I have a grain wholesaler with public outlet close by and 2 good Homebrew supply stores about 40mins drive away. I do much prefer to shop "in person"...

+1 for using slurry. I just started doing that 1/2 dozen batches ago and have had no issues at all. Actually it does seem to kick the ferment off much quicker. I was going to try washing yeast but apparently (thanks to advice from this forum) some yeasts don't separate out too well and everyone...

I believe you just brew a standard batch, then when fermentation is complete heat it to >175F which will "boil" off the alcohol. No idea how long you have to hold it at that temp (depends on OG) and never done it before myself. Since there will be little to no active yeast left you will have to...

Once I racked to Keg I put it on about 12(ish)PSI CO2 and moved it to the Keezer at 4C. I specifically didn't want it at room temp as not using any sorbate or sulphites I didn't want the concentrate fermenting out. I did struggle with the amount of concentrate packs to use. I read so many...

Update: So in the end I decided to brew up another 2Gallons (same recipe.) I left everything in primary until last week then racked both together directly to a 3gallon keg. I added 2 packs of frozen concentrate for back sweetening and let it carb in the keezer for a week. Did not bother with...