Recent content by Hfxhomebrewer

Hello all, I am gearing up for my first brew in a while and want to get some input on the correct way to use oatmeal to augment a stout kit. I plan on using an extract kit to make a basic stout and want to use oatmeal to add mouthfeel and body to the kit. I've been doing some reading and...

Damn, I thought I finally found a source! Next time you pass by the brewery would you mind asking them to start selling their kits in Canada?? haha ;) If I order online they cost a fortune to ship and might not make it, so I will have to keep on waiting. Hope the ale works out!

Hi, I haven't made this specific kit, but I have to ask, where did you find it?!! I have been looking for St Peter's kits without success (I'm in Canada). As for bottle priming, I always use the priming calculator at tastybrew.com, just input your parameters to get the amount of priming agent...

Yup, pre-hopped, canned extract kits and one Festa Brew kit were all I had brewed prior to this batch, so I hadn't needed to worry about using hops myself. And you are correct, I did not boil the wort at all. I warmed the containers of the malt extract in hot water to make them easier to...

Wingedcoyote, I brew in my basement and its been hovering between 50 and 55 all winter down there. Chilly stuff. I took gravity readings, FG was 1.012. It was at that level for 4 consecutive days so I deemed it finished, turned off the heat source and let it cool down.

The attached three photos are of the same beer, poured last night from one bottle. I still don't know if the photo of the head really shows the texture but this is just the phone camera and it's not the best for close-ups. Again the aggressive pour produced the head, and the lacing in the empty...

You're splitting the tiniest of hairs to make a moot point. That amounts to a waste of my time. Brew on!

Why is it people feel the need to doubt? If you met me you'd know I was English. If you drank this ESB you'd know it has head, lacing, mouthfeel, aroma, taste. Since neither is possible I guess I have to leave it at that. If anyone wants the recipe and method to try the beer themselves let me...

I made an all-malt extract ESB over Christmas, attempting to clone Boddingtons, one of my favourite beers. I knew the head would be impossible to replicate as I don't keg and therefore can't pour with nitrogen. However I don't drink a beer for the head it has, I drink a beer because I like it...

The IPA comes in seasonally where I live and it's $45. In the context of beer it's still cheap compared to store bought, but in context of home brewing it's the most expensive way to make beer yourself IMO. That being said, I live in the Maritimes and I would bet most of the cost comes from...

I'll take a look next time I am in, I thought the kits I saw had red and white in the box, but if they sell kits with 2 reds in that's even better as I drink more red than white anyway!

My first batch ever was a festa brew cream ale, it was excellent and without a shadow of a doubt is what got me hooked further into the hobby once I found I COULD make great tasting beer myself. I haven't used a festa brew kit since because they are over $40 where I live and honestly I can make...

Thanks I will try the other site and see what I can find out, I appreciate the referral. I am not fixated on the number of bottles, what I'm getting at is, if the kit can be brewed into a decent wine with a few changes, why not? I am the farthest thing from a label snob, I buy wines I like the...

That link takes you to a kit which comes with a fermenter, secondary, and other hardware for brewing as well as the kit itself. Other kits on that page are $60-70 including shipping and those are the kits in store for $50-60 regular price, but I have seen on sale for $40-50. My original...

Ok so I was wrong on both counts. Amazon.ca does sell wine kits and they remarkably ship for free! However, the kits are far more expensive than the Costco kits, and most I clicked on weren't in stock or were in limited supply so they quote 1-4 weeks shipping time. But they are essentially the...