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Worth adding some lactose as well. Once the sugar has been fermented out of the raspberries they end up being very tart in my experience (I've done 3 batches of raspberry wheat beer and still not really cracked it - a difficult fruit to brew with)

How has it been the bottle? I've had some beer take quite a bit longer to carbonate after cold crashing the FV over an extended period. If you have some carbonation, they will continue to improve the longer you leave them. Otherwise the problem is due to too little priming sugar rather than not...

MyQul, what about the much fabled two week primary fermentation we're all taught to allow the yeast to clean up after reaching its FG??

I wouldn't recommend using prune juice as a substitute for adding plum flavour. I tried this method for a plum porter/ stout last year using a coopers stout kit as a base and adding extra malt and the prune juice. The high sugar levels in the juice created quite a dry, sharp taste and although...

I'm not sure I'd bother trying to cook up fresh fruit - you risk adding wild yeast or bacteria if it's not cooked properly and if it is you'll just be left with a stewed fruit flavour. I've added frozen fruit to beer (black cherry stout and raspberry wheat beer) and both worked well adding...

Very good kit - perfect for the summer.

Made this kit as per the instructions and found it pretty disappointing so I don't think you have too much to lose by adding extras. I've made the St Peters Ruby Ale kit twice now and that is a very nice pint.

Sausage casserole and jacket potato. Washed down with a couple of Coopers Ruby Porter. Quite nice (porter not casserole!)

I would recommend the Festival Summer Glory kit. Brewed it last summer and it was great. The kit comes with dried elderflowers as well as additional hops. However, just as darrellm mentioned - Festival do seem to use a lot of American hop additions in their lighter ale kits. The hops in the...

I switched from vwp to starsan for my bottles (so much easier) but have since read that starsan won't kill wild yeast, so if you have this in a bottle you can pass it round a whole batch by using starsan and a bottle washer :-( I've gone back to vwp but hating the whole soak, scrub with...

Yep - even in the Brewferm instructions they recommend 6-8 weeks, but the Triple I brewed was at its best after a year. Maybe the timings need to be quadrupled like those of other kits that suggest your beer will be ready after 7 days!

Pretty steady, but it keeps me regular :) It's actually conditioned into quite a nice stout with good raisin and fruit flavours but it's taken a year to get there!

:-( A sad day indeed. I've only had to tip one brew away (a plum Wherry where the addition of fresh plums caused a horrendous wild yeast infection) but I can imagine how much worse it feels after expending the time to bottle it. Could you take apart a stainless steel sieve and use the mesh...

Go easy with the ginger - I brewed a spiced winter ale last year with 1/4tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg and 1/8 tsp of allspice. It was a 23ltr brew with Coopers Dark Ale kit as the base and also had orange zest, prunes and black treacle along with 1kg of dark dried malt extract...

Agree with the advice on dissolving in boiling water - make sure it's completely dissolved before letting it cool, otherwise you'll likely lose the best part of it straight into the trub when you add it to the FV. This happened to me when I made a Coopers Stout and added lactose and 1kg of black...

I'm not sure I'd have the patience, but it sounds like it could turn out to be a corker. I would go with a bubbler for your secondary FV (at least initially), as you might get a little extra fermentation from the sugar in the bourbon soaked raisins. Have you thought about adding some oak chips...

Yup, another vote for fairy liquid, metal scourer and hot water. White spirit also works well, but it's pretty noxious and it needs quite a bit of cleaning once the glue has dissolved. As others have said, unless you're in desperate need for the bottles its best just to chuck them or use with...

A premium two can kit complete with extra hops for dry hopping makes a superior brew then most one can kits IMO (Coopers Original Stout being a notable exception). I've brewed a few from the Festival range, all with with good results. The malt doesn't need to be as concentrated as a one can kit...

Most ale yeast will stall if the temp drops to 13. Have you seen any sign of fermentation (a silent air lock doesn't necessarily mean it's not doing anything), have a quick check to see if there is any krausen and take a sample to check the gravity. If it's dropped but not far enough, try giving...

Fourth AG BIAB brewed today - raspberry wheat beer! I've wanted to do this one ever since getting Greg Hughes' book. Planning on adding frozen raspberries and cheating with a bit of raspberry syrup for an extra fruity kick. I've got to learn how to stop the break material going in the FV...