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FYI, this is the simple setup I use. Today's Helles got a 60s burst as its fermenting at 10c, but usually 30s is enough.

Good work! Think I might buy some new varieties next year, maybe cascade, see how that does in the Staffordshire climate!

I can’t comment on PET bottles as I only use glass, but I always store my bottles with a few sprays of star-san and a small wrap of foil sealing the neck after washing them. My star-san is made up from RO water so doesn’t cloud up and I figure if it’s at a very inhospitably low ph when it goes...

https://wyeastlab.com/oxygenation/

I can't quite get my hands on the figures, but testing has proved it is impossible to dissolve the ideal concentration of O2 in wort just with atmospheric air. Pure O2 is required for ideal concentrations. The likelihood of an O2 leak from a disposal cylinder would presumably be very low as it...

We recently did a tour of the Hook Norton Brewery in the Cotswolds. Fascinating tour getting up close to a historical brew house, meeting the shire horses and (at least before lock-down) the last part of the tour is the tasting session where you have a set time in the private bar and can...

I’ve just bought my second disposable O2 cylinder, this time from aboutroofing.com for £23 delivered. I have a small regulator (£26) which I modified to fit a JG push fitting which runs 3/8” beer line to a SS wand with a stone on the end from angelbrew. The last cylinder lasted for over 20 brews...

Yep, here in Tamworth my Prima Donna looked pretty much there so i harvested them yesterday and they are now dried, vac packed and in the freezer with 250g of elderberries I picked at the same time. I may have been a day or two early as the higher cones looked a little younger than the lower...

Personally I only ever put the hops straight in. In my experience, pellets always end up at the bottom of the FV and whole cones always float on the top. I figure putting them in a mesh bag will only serve to constrict them (definitely for whole hops, these expand a lot), possibly reduce...

Just thinking out loud, as an experiment you could try... Yeast works faster in warm conditions, CO2 dissolves more readily in cold conditions. You could try giving one of your bottles a couple of days at the highest recommended fermentation temperature (e.g. 24c) if you haven’t already, then...

Yeah, it’s definitely one of the worst things about homebrew is having to wait patiently to enjoy the fruits of your labour! The only way to carb faster is to force carbonate, definitely consider moving to kegging, I don’t think anybody who did has ever regretted it. Alternatively I believe...

Yeah, sounds like sunlight has a massive influence on the size of the plant. I donated my other identical four year old hop plant to my dad last year and it was like a different beast, hardly any hops at all, but he has a NE facing garden. I reckon these things need lots of sunlight!

I usually try and keep them well, but not over, watered, if it’s hot I’ll give the pot a full watering can of water every other day. Every fortnight I give everything a liquid feed of miracle grow but guess I’ve just been lucky. They are in a south facing spot and get sun most of the day, as...

Its in a big *** pot. 20l I think, the biggest cheap plastic one B&Q did at least 5 years ago.

Just picked my Prima Donna today, about 500g wet, now in the food dehydrator at 50c. They're a bit cramped so I'll be rotating and mixing them up as we go. Quite pleased with the yeald considering I neglected them a bit and quite a few ends had dried up. That and a naughty bird nibbled of one of...

20l Turbo Cider Attempt No. 1 TOTAL 19,250L

Yesterday ‘brewed’ my first ever turbo cider. Added 17l Sainsbury’s apple juice into the FV, followed by 2l of Brita filtered boiled, cooled tap water and another litre that had four PG Tips bags stewed in it for 15 minutes and four tea spoons (11g) of pectolise dissolved in it. I couldn’t make...

@Drunkula Haha, now this sounds like a fun (read ‘dangerous’) experiment. Apparently “Baking soda’s chemical makeup is NaHCO3 (1 sodium, 1 hydrogen, 1 carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules). Washing soda’s chemical makeup is Na2CO3 (2 sodium, 1 carbon, and 3 oxygen molecules). When baking soda is...

Another batch of sourdough starter discard bagels. This time added 2tbsp bakind soda to 1.5l water for the simmer, hence the deep colour from just 20mins bake at 200c. Can't wait for them to cool and take a taste!

@An Ankoù Sounds like a great idea. Interested to hear how jester turns out. Tried a bottle of Jester Pale Ale from M&S (brewed by Adnams) and it was one of the few ales my wife said she liked. Tasting notes: “The variety, with its soft, aromatic flavours of gooseberry and lychee, brings a touch...