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Since starting to brew some 3 years ago my methods have changed. The first method was to watch the air lock, this caused problems as the air lock leaked and temperature also affects rate of fermentation, however I stopped the air lock leaking by using a stuffing gland. And although the...

I only do kits, main problem for me is space, I have a fridge/freezer in garage to brew in and a shed to store my brew and that is it. If I could clear out the garage I would have a go, but I brew to drink cheap ale, others brew for sheer delight of making a really special beer, and I take off...

As said too late now, however do remember conditioning can bring back a brew which has been over temperature. So if you don't like results leave it for a few months and try again. Cooling in this weather is always a problem. The putting of fermentor in a tray of water with a tea towel soaking...

I store my beer in the shed, during the summer by time I get around to drinking it has conditioned, but in the winter months I found a problem, I had run short of stock so instead of the normal 2, to 3 months before drinking I was only leaving it 4 weeks, and I had to bring it back into the...

My Coopers Ginger beer was case where the first batch must have failed to ferment, everyone loved the brew, it was very sweet, with next two I did get it to ferment it was a problem, but got there in the end, but no one liked that brew. It was not sweet enough. Best was I was not really keen on...

I watched a TV program where they said the IPA was left for at least 6 months to emulate the time it would have been on the sailing ship going to India.

I use an anti-freeze hydrometer which has never been used with anti-freeze as a pipette to draw the liquid and put in a vase to float the hydrometer in. I had thought I could use it directly to measure, but I have now found out why beer hydrometers are not in a tube like anti-freeze and battery...

I use a MH1210A and the differential on that is 0.1ºC where with the STC-1000 the differential is 0.3ºC. But as said once at heat you don't need that much power. To reduce power there are two ways, either switch on and off or reduce the power, to reduce power again two ways, one is a big...

Taking bike in and out of garage I pulled the sensor out of the fridge and the brew went to 40°C. Still bottled but it did not get any pressure, so had to put a touch of yeast in every bottle. Beer drinkable as it happened near the end, but no head.

I read some where how the yeast when it dies tells the other yeast so they go into hibernation. I had a ginger beer stop and adding more yeast did restart it but it stopped again. So I moved to a clean fermentor and then added more yeast and off it went and continued. I would give it time to...

My fridge/freezer was condemned as the insulation had gone, but motor still works, so stuck it in garage to use as a brew unit. At first only used the unit as an insulated box, so stuck a energy meter on the 18W heater to find out how close it was to being big enough, in hart of winter it showed...

The "skunked" problem I think is a gas which is formed and is something to do with the hops, so not a problem with cider, I seem to remember reading how Miller has got around the problem and market beer in clear bottles. But it is a smell released rather than a taste, although to smell anything...

Cleaver my bubbles always go up. Having said that the carbonating at the moment is a problem for me. Left a brew far too long, and some time the sensor got ripped out of freezer and result was it got far too hot around 40°C bottled anyway but no sign of secondary ferment opened every bottle...

Summer is here at last and now I have actually used the refrigeration option. I must apologise the results were not as I had expected. I set the differential to 0.1°C with the MH1210A and starting with both air and fermentor probes the latter connected to the controller, showing same...

I still use one apostle tea spoon even with 2 litres I find it is enough.

That's cheap, does he know how much current you will be using? I am assuming you are going to use a fridge or freezer, and likely not a new one, although the new inverter drive types are not too worried about volt drop and don't use many amps, the older types will burn out the current overload...

I keep seeing the comment "You can draw what you want" with pressure barrels, but the same applies to plastic pop bottles, I use old pop bottles it needs about 12 for a 40 pint brew, easy and quick to fill just use a funnel to put half a tea spoon of sugar in each bottle, and like the pressure...

I have for the first time used refrigeration, stocks are low and ambient temperature high so used the MH1210A temperature controller to control cooling set to 0.1°C differential and 10 minute delay, also have a energy meter plugged in and sensor is pressed hard against fermentor under a...

To play with the beer I found best is start it off in standard fermentor once it has got going syphon into 5 demijohns and do different things or different amounts with each demijohn then only 8 pints spoilt not 40. All well and good once you have found the combination you like, but to start...

I am sure if I kept the brew right on the temperature limit it would complete in the time stated. However I do not measure in centre of the brew, I measure the temperature of the fermentor with the sensor insulated from ambient air with a sponge. So I want a couple of degrees to play with. Also...