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I'm planning to brew a czech lager tomorrow and have half a jam jar of trub from the last batch that I harvested just over 2 months ago. Do you reckon it'll be ok to just throw this in? I'm wary of the pitching rate and yeast quality. I have some DME so could make an overpitched 2L starter...

I'm not a huge fan either. I've been to a few 'Hop City' events at Northern Monk and almost every brewery turns up with hazy low IBU tropical fruit bombs. It's a pity because I love double and triple IPAs with well balanced high IBU, good malt backbone, loads of hops and high alcohol. They...

This is an excellent post and spot on. Chemical reactions are not instant and take time (except explosives!) so the long boil breaks compounds down to create smaller more volatile by-products that eventually evaporate. 'Lid on' will capture the condensate and concentrate these byproducts. In...

I'm sure you will be ok. If any beer style can handle some oxidation then it's an imperial stout. Besides I think your exposure to oxygen will be tiny as the beer will have sat under a blanket of CO2 with a blanket CO2 barrier in the blow off vessel. You have a greater chance of oxidation...

Thanks for the replies everyone, plenty of food for thought. I used to BIAB and have a few large kettle sized bags around so that's certainly an option. I was concerned about scorching the bag (although maybe less of an issue given that I use a gas burner rather than an electric element)...

I don't normally worry about efficiency as I usually just throw in extra grain and brew to the size of my fermenter, but I've recently ordered a couple of ready made recipes from the MM. I really like them but they are only made up to 19L target so efficiency has come to the fore. I brewed...

The fact that so many are finishing at 1020 suggests that it is the kit itself rather than the yeast pitching rate. I've never really understood why pitching a lower rate would cause a stuck fermentation several days later by which point there are 500 bn+ yeast cells that suddenly decide...

As above. Bring them inside, swirl them up a bit to mix in any settled yeast and leave at c.20C for a couple of weeks (the yeast will be fine, it won't be dead). Then, chill in the fridge for a few days to re-absorb CO2 from the headspace before tasting again. 6 carbonation drops is enough so...

I make a tube from a piece of card, load the hops and flush with CO2 then lift the lid of the brew bucket slightly on one edge and tip the hops in one go. Or, you could just drop them in through the hole in the lid (not possible with my set up because I use 90 degree SS elbow and blow off tube).

I use MasterGas in Ashton if that's not too far for you, £10 refills (6kg cylinder).

If it's open then there is a risk of things (dander, insects, etc) getting into the wort from the air. I would let it cool a bit then cover with foil, just lift it now and again to stir).

I like your ideas and ambition but heating and cooling 30 ltrs of wort needs quite a lot of energy. Maybe you could DIY a glycol chiller/heater? That would be a perfect solution to temperature control and also allow you to ferment at lager temperatures and cold crash.

As well as drip back and paint damage, there is also the risk of mold developing from the high humidity. Over time and if not dealt with, the environment becomes unsuitable for brewing as the mold spores can get into your (cooled) wort.

I usually only do the boil outside but the gazebo does come in handy when it rains (which it often does where I live!) I did brew in my shed a couple of times but the roof developed a white mould!

caustic soda should have got all the oil off. I expect it's just oil from the hops.

+1 outdoors (and if it's raining put up the 'brewzebo')

Only problem with online grain ordering is that it's heavy and so delivery is expensive. Malt Miller do free delivery over £100 which I've started doing. You get a lot of beer for £100!

It's only a write off if you can't drink it athumb.. But, above 78 degree's (ish) you start to get tannins extracted from the grain which will make the beer dry and astringent. I expect boiling the wort at 100C for an hour isn't going to give good results. Your lack of fermentation activity...

You might get a small efficiency increase with the hotter temperature helping with the sugar viscosity but I think you risk overheating parts of the mash from the element and getting tannin extraction. Personally, I would mash at a little lower volume, pull the bag out and just a fairly quick...

So you mostly re-use yeast from the fermenter? I've always been a little nervous about breeding imperfections and off flavours so I usually just take a bit off the first step yeast starter from a fresh pack/vial. How many times do you recycle the trub before buying new?