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I've so far done 3 homebrews, so still a novice, but all have been eminently drinkable, which I class as a success :) My last one was an American Pale Ale (or IPA, can't quite remember). Anyway, it was good, but nigh on 7%. For my next brew I'd like to do something that's a bit easier on the...

Took the opportunity whilst watching the rugby the other night to open another bottle of my brew. Had buckets, mops, cloths and all manner of kit ready in case it all kicked off. Happy to report that there was nothing more than a very satisfying fizz. Following advice from this forum, I...

So, I opened up my 'tester' bottle (the last one and the smallest) yesterday for a sneaky sup. However, as soon as I opened it, the whole thing went mad and frothed up, stirring up all the sediment. Lost a load of the beer in froth before I could put the lid back on. Is this what you were...

I'd never even heard of a little bottler! Am I right in thinking it attaches to the tap on the keg and then reaches down into the bottom of the bottle? Looks like that would make the whole process a lot easier.. Al.

I checked the bottles last night and they appear to have cleared already, which came as a big surprise, was expecting that to take weeks. The last one I filled has some very big bits of something suspended in it, guess it'll take longer. Al.

I just siphoned straight from the keg where I primed it, using a plastic tube with a little tap on the end. Got a bit fraught at times so I probably underfilled most of them as I was more worried about getting beer all over the floor. I did also wonder if I was supposed to leave some space for...

Thought I'd post a quick update for anyone who's interested :-) I started this brew on 23rd August and set it to ferment in the garage in a water bath with the aquarium heater set to ~22C. SG at the outset was 1.055. 18 days later, the SG was 1.007, since the instructions said to add hops...

Cheers, thought that was the case, but the more I thought about it, the less sure I was ☺

So, almost 3 weeks later, SG is down to 1.007 from a starting point of 1.055 and I think it's going to be Hops time soon. Quick question which I think I know the answer to. There's a *lot* of froth on top of the brew, more than I think I saw with the last kit I did (although I may not have...

No, these were two litre bottles. Al

For my last brew I used tesco value water bottles - 19p each or something silly. Did the job admirably. Al

:drunk: I think I need one of these steins!

Thanks for that hint, very good to know. Don't get that kind of information reading the instructions! I'll nip out to the garage and turn down the heater. I guess brewing's just like cooking - whenever I ask the good lady wife how she knows how much of ingredient x to put in to her lasagne...

That's so simple it's brilliant! Thanks very much for the tip - will keep that one in mind for when I start drinking this batch :cheers: Al.

I'm a bit paranoid about the temperature, I guess. Instructions say it should be between 20 and 24 degrees, my garage is nowhere near that. Might be high teens, I guess. When I did the APA I had it fermenting in the house at around 18 C and it took a fair bit longer to ferment than it should...

Since I'm down to the dregs of my last brew (Young's American Pale Ale - which was rather nice), figured I'd better start the next one. Had a couple of hours spare this afternoon so got it going. The APA was a fairly easy beer to make so I have high hopes for this one too (that's gone and...

My FV doesn't seem to have markings on it :-( Tip for next time will be to calibrate it myself beforehand. It's a 25l FV and it's nearly full so I guess it's reasonably close. If the odd litre is not a big deal, then I probably don't have a problem. Thanks for the quick answe :cheers: Al.

Quick question for all you knowledgable folks out there. I am just starting out brew #3 (so I really ought to know the answer to this). The kit has 3 kg of malt which I dissolved in 3 litres of bioled water, and then added a bag of brewing sugar ( not sure how much). The next step says to...

Thanks for all the welcome messages, everyone :-) Nice to be here! Water bath with aquarium heater looks like the way forward, just need to do some garage re-arranging.. Al.

Thanks very much, need to order myself a new kit and an aquarium heater sharpish. Sure the wife will be very impressed :-) Al.