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With my 200L system, I have started purchasing the 500g packs of S-05, though I obviously wouldn't use the whole block with one brew. What's the best way to store the package so I can use it again? I have vacuumed sealed it, though I find there is quite a bit of yeast that then gets pushed...

What are your guys and girls thoughts on the idea that unfiltered and unpasteurized beer needs to keep in the cold chain, or else it goes off? This article ( http://brewmistress.co.za/craft-beer-cold-chain/) deals with it, as many Brewers in South Africa have used it as an excuse for bad beer...

I have both a Refractometer and a Hydrometer. I have found that I am getting different readings from the two. Both were calibrated with water and read 1.000. But when I measure my pre boil gravity, the Refractometer reads 10 points above the Hydrometer. Which one do I believe? How can I check...

I remember reading a while back that beer aged at 3C (i.e. in a fridge) will age the same in 365 days (or maybe it was 300) as a beer aged for 3 days at 30C. Has anyone else heard this and have a link/source where it was first said?

Can someone help me understand this mill - when I adjust the rollers, am I adjusting the bottom roller up and down or the top rollers in or out? It says the first gap is fixed, which gap is this?

I am the president of the SouthYeasters homebrew club in Cape Town, South Africa (www.southyeasters.co.za). We run "People's Choice" homebrew competitions every second month at our meetings, where members try everyone's homebrew and then rate the best brewers first, second and third. I was...

What about sanitation for the water? Do you not need to boil it first or will the minute in the microwave do the trick?

I have to do the same thing with farenheit and gallons!

So I have been researching adding gelatin to a keg as finings, but cannot find one definitive answer on how it is best done. Some day to boil the water, others say 45 seconds in the microwave is enough for sanitation. Some say to use 3g, others say to use 10g. Some say to let the gelatin bloom...

Does anybody have any information on brewing liquor in Belgium and know if the type of water nearby influenced the type of beers they made? E.g. did the differences in water in Brussels compared to Antwerp influence the types of beer made in each area? Any examples?

There is also the WortHogs in JoBurg and East Coast Brewers in Durban for homebrew clubs

Have a look at www.southyeasters.co.za - thats the homebrew club in CT. Best shops are BeerGuevara.co.za and Beerlab.co.za The homebrew/microbrew scene is getting up there - there has even been a book published, called African Brew, about it! Have a look at www.thecraftbeerproject.co.za for...

We have been keeping it in a spare bathroom - supposedly hovers around 18C. All of the other beers have been fine, but there could be a possibility that we had a hotter day than usual and it put it up into the 20s...

I have had a new system and have done about 12 brews - all of which have turned out fantastic. Until today. I made a 'biltong beer' - basically a smoked beer with some coriander added to the boil to give it a taste like a dried meat (similar to jerky) which is popular here in South Africa...

yes, you are right, I did get the two mixed up... maybe beer does kill brain cells? :mug:

My question concerns the flavour differences between doing multiple temperature steps, as opposed to one temperature. If I mashed in at 65-66C, then both alpha and beta amylase would be active, giving me a balanced beer (not too many fermantables, not too many non-fermentables). And if I mash...

I want to know what the difference in flavor is if I do an infusion mash at 65-66C (which has both alpha and beta active) compared to a step mash (start at 61 for 20 minutes and up to 68 for 40 minutes). Would the beer be drier, sweeter, more full bodied with one over the other? Is there an...

I want to know what the difference in flavor is if I do an infusion mash at 65-66C (which has both alpha and beta active) compared to a step mash (start at 61 for 20 minutes and up to 68 for 40 minutes). Would the beer be drier, sweeter, more full bodied with one over the other? Is there an...

So we tested out the Blichmann Hop Rocket as a Randalizer the other day and were somewhat unimpressed with the final result. We used about 3oz of Cascade hops. The first 4-8 pints, as expected, were foamy until we raised the pressure to 2.5 bar and purged all the air. It started to get foamy...

Is it possible that some extract may have a higher percentage of non-fermentable sugars, resulting in a sweeter but less alcoholic beer than orginally planned? Just wondering as I brewed two seperate beers which both did not attenuate as much as I (and BeerSmith) had expected. Is this because...