Recent content by DonBon

This has been extremely useful to read through - thank you for putting it together. As a new brewer I can't comment on the veracity of the information, but it's very well laid out and will be the foundation for my future meading until I learn otherwise! Some very minor notes on the content: In...

I’ve been making a slow start to brewing and have a couple of beers and a mead under my belt, with an elderberry wine currently waiting to be racked off the lees. The mead I made followed a simple recipe from a YouTube channel called City Steading Brews and I made a thread about it at the time...

This looks broadly like what I did, yup. I put the mix into an oversize carboy because I didn't have anything smaller, so I didn't add water to 3" below the neck, but essentially, yes, this is very similar to what I did. Oh, interesting. I hadn't considered the citric acid. Is there a way to...

Thanks for the response. 1.082 Is that likely to be the case even as low as 5.5% ABV? I had wondered if honey might do that. The recipe has black tea, chopped raisins and orange peel. Is there anything that's generally recommended for nutrients? Yup, I follow that. I wouldn't expect it...

Hey all, I'm kind of stumbling around in my blessed ignorance and could really use some guidance on where I'm at with my mead and where I ought to go next. I'm making a small batch of mead - a gallon, in theory - and followed the instructions of a YouTube video to the best of my ability. I'm...

I hadn't considered a whisk until I saw your messages. Makes a lot of sense, though. I'll have a look for one in the UK. Thanks!

I have a plastic paddle that came with my original extract kit, so I'll stick with that for now. Longer-term, I'd be looking at something more substantial. The idea of a huge whisk is pretty appealing, too. I also have a few options for thermometers, so that should be a problem. I think we've...

Thanks for this. Is there any need for a chiller beyond speeding up the process? Does it impact on the final result at all? I've seen people on Youtube putting their kettle into an ice bath to cool it down faster, but I don't know that I can do that with an electric heater. Re: straining, I'm...

Thanks for such a comprehensive reply. I do have a hydrometer and jar. Also recently got hold of a 100ml syringe so I'm not having to rely on syphoning to get a sample out the bucket - learned that the messy way! I saw a calculator somewhere on this forum that gave advice on bag dimensions...

Hi all, I recently got hold of a 40L Buffalo electric heater and am hoping to upgrade from extract brewing to all-grain BIAB. I've found the terminology around brewing and variety of equipment quite overwhelming and wanted to check that I'm set to go before I get started. I have ordered this...

Corny kegs look like they would be more efficient for storage. Taller and smaller footprint presumably makes it easier to fit multiple in a single space. The keg has a tap a couple inches up from the base. Just turn the tap and the beer flows! I had seen people talking about adding priming...

Thanks for response. Answers follow: Keg is a 5 gallon pressure keg. Looks a lot like this. What does "corny keg" mean? I'm priming with sugar, rather than forcing. 5 gallons of beer. 130g sugar, not previously dissolved. Cupboard temp is pretty regular, around ~22oC. Sounds as though I just...

Hi all, Hoping you can help again! I moved my beer from the fermenter to the keg last Monday, added sugar and such and then put it away in its cupboard to get bubbling. Today, I drew off a teeny amount from the tap to taste and found it really flat. I had expected the carbonation to be well...

I've transfered my beer to the pressure keg this afternoon and added the priming sugar. Or, some of it. I had read in a couple of places that typically somewhere around 80g - 90g of priming sugar should be added to a 5-gallon batch. However, the kit I bought came with 130g of sugar. I've...

Ok, perfect. Thanks for the advice. It's been fermenting eight days (Sunday 19th - present), with hops added Saturday 25th. Lid has been opened four times, I think. Maybe five. Took two samples for gravity reads, opened up to add hops, opened to take the photo. Probably one extra at some point...