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Just out of interest, have you got many cones in your first year?

I’m not far from you, just over the border in Central Beds, 20 miles west of Cambridge. My Goldings are ripe for picking this week. I picked about half on Monday, but was probably a few days early. The rest on the plant is definitely ready now, so will pick this afternoon. Its a proper art...

Hope the aroma isn't too 'catty'. :cool: What are you growing there? I think you're going to need a bigger obelisk...

Just some Hazy Jane cans. It’s got Simcoe in it. I like Simcoe. I really need to get round to doing a Simcoe SMASH.

Hope you’re feeling a bit more enthusiastic on the home grown hops front now 😁 . That must be enough for a couple of brews surely? And the toil of your homegrown hops will make the finished product all the sweeter (or bitterer, I guess 🤷‍♂️).acheers.

Looking good! Any idea of the weight you’ve gathered there? Also what variety and from how many plants?

IMO you’re a few days to a week off them being fully ripe - they still look quite wet and green. At least some of the petals should be a bit more papery.

They’re possibly not ready yet. They won’t smell as strong wet, but there should definitely be a hoppiness left on your fingers when you roll a ripe cone between them. Are they papery and dry feeling and do they break easily when rolled? Try and look for some lupulin in the centre of the cone -...

That’s the first 300g picked. I actually think I’m a few days early, so still have a similar amount left on the plant to pick at the end of the week. That’s about half a 10L bucket worth (which will make about 60g dry). Should achieve my 100g from my single Goldings plant this year. And here...

Unfortunately not. When bottle conditioning you’re really stuck in the 2 weeks to fully carb timetable. It might even take longer. Conditioning at a higher temperature won’t make your beer carb any faster - that two weeks isn’t only about the production of CO2, it also takes time for that CO2 to...

So, do you just maintain the 9L for the duration of the boil, so your gravity doesn’t change but you get the hop utilisation? I’ve heard of kettle top-ups, but never really understood them.

Yes, as @MmmBeer says, if your losses are that high, it’s best to aim for a greater pre-boil volume by sparging until you have collected what you need - you should then, after your boil losses, end up with the correct post-boil volume in the FV at the correct OG. Topping up during the boil or...

One thing I will say is that I had much larger, proportional boil off losses when I was doing small batch brews in an 11L pan than I do now doing full length brews in a 32L kettle. Essentially, what I’m saying is that your system losses can only be accurately measured by you on your own...

Mine are definitely a few weeks earlier than last year. I think it’s the early start to summer during lockdown and the recent more autumnal weather. I have to keep telling myself it’s still August! As I said earlier, it’s looking like a good crop this year as well - am hoping fir that elusive...

Will be picking my EKG tomorrow. They were close to ready the end of last week, but have been away the weekend so hope they’re still ok 🤞. I agree that the yield from homegrown hops is not great. I think if you’re growing your own to try and replace even a small portion of your yearly hop...

This is my opinion too (though I don’t have anything scientific to back it up). I never use secondary, unless batch lagering, so it’s straight in the primary with them after FG is reached, about 3 days before I intend to bottle/package. There is also this new thing about ‘biotransformation’...

Absolutely, you’re right. But if adding them 5 mins apart Isn’t going to make much difference, just measure them out together and add them at the same time (less things to forget that way! 😁 )

Wanted to also say that ambient temps at the mo are pretty good for brewing most standard ales (18ish°), so unless your utility room is particularly hot it will probably be fine.

You probably won’t need yeast nutrient. And you don’t necessary need a digital thermometer- just a standard analogue long thermometer will do. I second the hydrometer and sample jar, and something to take samples with (I use a cheap turkey baster!). Also, if you haven’t thought about it...

Looks good to me. Personally, I like a little crystal in a pale, particularly if using a yeast as neutral/dry as Nottingham. Is there a reason your late hop additions are 15mins and 10mins? I know it’s not exactly a faff to add them like that, but just wondered if there was a reason not to just...