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Bottled this today. Now getting quite clear and revealing what looks to be a lovely deep red colour. I suspect this is a beer that will benefit from some time to mature, so as well as PET bottles I filled a dozen glass 500ml bottles with the intention of keeping them for autumn/winter. We'll see...

Is it a strawberry jam sponge?

Did you have to get up before you went to bed? I hated that.

Always beware using processed food products unless you really understand how all the ingredients will behave when fermented. Or to put it another way:

Sorry, not sure exactly what you are asking? Dry hopping is to add extra hop flavour and aroma (but not bitterness). What I'm adding is the packet of hop pellets included with the kit.

Mine still reads 1010 today so I'm going to assume that's about it in respect of primary fermentation. Time for some dry hopping!

That's for wimps. As long as they have a hammer and a big stick, real DIY enthusiasts don't need to actually go into the loft to fit loft insulation...

Wow - I didn't realise that Artex was quite that toxic.

With all this talk about oxygen, would it be a good idea to use carbonated water if adding after primary fermentation?

Puce is such a warming colour after all.

Have you used 2 dextrose drops per 500 ml bottle before?

1067 is certainly a lot higher than the 1051 Jon1964 reported. I got 1060 made up slightly short to 21.5 Litres. If it was actually 1057 and you finished at 1007 then that should be on target at about 6.5% ABV. If you really started at 1067 then you should be looking at the beer being 7.9% ABV...

Just a guess, but maybe the character of a beer fermented to 8% (yeast behaviour or whatever) is sufficiently different from using half the amount of the same ingredients to create a 4% beer, that diluting it down to create double the volume simply does not taste the same.

I haven't made one yet, but I do have one sat here that I intend to brew in the near future. Have you added a full kg of extra dark spray malt to a beer before? If you really like what it does then maybe put in the lot, but I would be inclined to add 0.5KG and use brewing sugar for the rest...

Interesting to see FG of 1010 as that's where mine has been a for a couple of days now. Maybe it is ready for adding the dry hops.... What was the brew length? I made it up to 21.5 litres and had an SG of 1060. Although I did get every last molecule of malt extract out of the bag! :D

Fixed that for you athumb..

Just wondered if there are any views on adding water to fermenting beers? I've got a couple on the go (Youngs American IPA and my Australian Monster) that are both currently over 6.5% with a brew length of 21.5 litres (I habitually brew a bit short). Is there any reason why adding a litre of...

How long did you let it condition before drinking? The conventional wisdom for home brew seems to be 2 weeks somewhere warm then 2 weeks somewhere cold with most beers improving if you can leave them a few months. However for the American IPA there seems to be a view to drink it young before the...

I'm just sipping my sample from the fermenter now. Unfortunately it's a bit flat :laugh8: but it's very hoppy/fruity in flavour.

Three days on from the reading of 1016 it is now 1014, so I'm thinking the fermentation is reaching the end. Although still murky it is definitely a bit clearer in the sample tube than last time. The ABV should be around 6.6% and the taste is still very malty. I'm thinking that it wouldn't hurt...