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Yes it’s milled.

Yes. Or I could just drink stronger beer more slowly I guess. Decisions, decisions!

Fairly constant vigilance and intervention, stir the mash to try and ensure even temperature through the pot, measure temp and a quick blast on the gas if it drops, and stir again. In future I will start with the mash liquor at about 1 deg C higher as all that grain cooled it down a touch too...

So after trying my hand at a succession of kits late last year and early this year, and following up with some extract recipes more recently, I finally got around to my first ever AG brew yesterday. I'd committed to doing an ESB and after much perusing of different recipes I decided to take the...

It was good while it lasted anyway. My Viva used to get its clutch plates stuck together when it was left for a few weeks in cold/wet weather. With the rear wheels jacked up, you could start it, then rev hard followed by a simultaneous stamp on clutch and brake. Usually freed up the clutch...

Another Viva thumb.

Sure was

Viva HC for me. 1971 (I think) but bought by me for £250 in 1983. Part-X'd it four years later for £350 which means I can say I made a profit but was really just the dealer not hurting my feelings. On a good day it looked a bit like this, although mine had four doors and a touch more rust.

Yes the recommendation was 2 sachets for OG > 1050. OG measured properly with hydrometer was 1064. But it has been bubbling away like mad with just one sachet and according to the iSpindel it’s now at 1011, which will be “wrong” vs hydrometer but I think means it’s fermenting ok and is well on...

Thanks for the correction. Although I was controlling temperature at what would be a typical mash temp, just for the practice.

Made my first foray away from kit brewing at the weekend. Only an extract recipe but it did involve a mash and boil for the first time and went pretty well I think. In honour of a recent trip to Belgium I based the recipe on Greg Hughes’ Belgian Dubbel. A decent size bag mash of Special B and...

athumb.. Darwin and Kelleher on form ready for Sunday

Mangrove Jack’s Craft Series Czech Pilsner First bottle from this batch after a few days stored in the cold. Strictly for QC purposes of course. I’m not a lager drinker really but wanted to make something refreshing for the summer when it comes. Very nice and a bit tastier than “normal” lager...

No dry mouth here, so it probably was the cleaner. I’m moving on to extract recipes myself next, then probably a small scale all-grain later in the year.

This was a Christmas present, I asked for a cheaper kit that I could customise. Made this one-can kit up with light spray malt instead of sugar to get a decent OG of 1050. This kit comes with a hop extract sachet and advises you can choose the amount to add. I added about 3/4 of the sachet as...

My 4th kit batch was started just after Christmas. Two cans of rich dark gloop gave a starting gravity of 1044 (seems a touch low, maybe I didn't stir very well). No hop additions and it plateaued out a touch high at 1016 (only 6g yeast I think?) to give a notional 3.68% ABV before carbonation...

The third and final of my pre-Christmas brews after a 25 year absence from making my own beer. I though I might just sneak it in for Christmas - started on 23rd Nov and was bottling by 2nd Dec - very quick. QC after a week in bottles and drinking properly from 15th Dec. This one is a simple kit...

This looks interesting but I'm waiting for someone to invent the AI that removes Gregg Wallace from TV programmes.

The second kit made before Christmas and after a 25 year absence from making my own beer. It includes 3kg of extract as well as 650g dextrose to up the ABV a bit. The OG was 1050 and I bottled at 1010 after 13 days with an ABV of about 5.25%. I tasted on bottling and thought it was good but not...

Well Guinness make a pretty good West indies Porter so I think you'd be allowed.