Recent content by Maarten

You don't always need a pump with a plate chiller: I salvaged a heatexchanger from a central heater (so low investment :) ) and after fiddling with a pump and the hassle to get the richt rpm and clean it properly, I decided to try gravity. Does a fabulous job. Wort flow rate is not very high...

Fist

According the description from white labs, wlp815 orriginates from west belgium. This probably means it's either the yeast from Bavik or Bockor. Stella is from Leuven, which is in the north

When looking through Mr. Malty's pitching rate calculator, it was obvious to me it's not designed for making starters from colonies and slants. Makes sense, after all most people rely on commercial yeast. I'm not one of them. I like to use yeast from my yeast bank. I have put too much time and...

The only ACV I know in homebrewing is apple cider vinegar. If you mean ABV, the answer is http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

The only ACV I know in homebrewing is apple cider vinegar. If you mean ABV, the answer is http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

Actually they said the yeast was still alive because the beer was carbonated. I don't buy that agument, it just shows the bottles were tight. It doesn't rule out though that the yeast is alive. Probably rather low alcohol, under pressure, dark and a constant 4 degrees C. Rather optimal...

The one and only reason

I must admit that I did not expect an OG of 1.068 when I read the header :) You could always add some extract to the wort to raise the OG. 1.068 will give you about 7% ABV if you get a decent attenuation. That is still a decent beer. But no giant...

+1 for CO2 Because CO2 is produced constantly and the headspace is also filled with CO2, the beer is slightly oversaturated. During siphoning you agitate the beer and release CO2. No big deal.

Just make sure to book your crates! They only take phone orders, the times are on their web site. Technically you have to give your licence plate number but if you come by train, you might want to ask them for an anternative. "In de vrede", the pub on the other side of the street also sells them...

Darwin

I always add my sugars to the boil. I don't like the idea of disturbing fermentation. If you pitch enough and healty yeast, it will take care of all the sugars. Pouring in sugar later just increases the risk of infection.

The picture uses a 640x magnification. To see bacteria well you need at least 400x magnification. I don't know if your kid's microscope has an oil emersion objective though. But these microscopes are available for reaonable prices. I don't know of any site that identifies yeast and bugs, except...

Yes, pedio is reported to produce diacetyl. This is dependent on the strain though, and my house strain has so far not produced noticeable amounts of diacetyl. It could also be that my yeast has taken care of that. One bucket has not been bottled as it did not reach it FG in time (also a...