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I'm not going to do a running 24h commentary, but this first 24h has showed quite some change when compared to the last few weeks. So it looks to be working. I'm just worried about the leek at the bottom of my fermenter :mrgreen:

Aghh. I don't know why, but every time I do a new brew thing for the first time, I don't think it through, then realise I forgot something, then go into panic mode. Same with my first mini-keg. I worked out that I could use my auto-siphon, outside part removed, attached to my fermenter tap. The...

So here's the "before" shot (without the rest of the food I later piled round it). It's been 3.5 weeks in primary and the yeast hasn't visibly dropped any further since about 2 weeks in when the cellar temp dropped a few degrees. Just transferred to secondary for this fridge rest. I forgot to...

I guess a lot of us first started to save money, then the bug caught. In the long run we end up spending more, but then, it is a hobby. I live in France and can get hold of really really cheap beer (in my case the cheapest is actually across the border in Germany), but I'm still hooked on brewing.

Yeh I might agree with that. Finally I didn't have problem with infection though, but I did starsan the hop teabags, before adding to boiling water as per instructions. But at about 3 weeks after bottling, it's still very sharp; very hoppy. I've never tried any of those very hoppy American...

No one answered this directly, but grizzly did cover it. As I understand it, it's less about being quicker, and more about taking it off the primary yeast cake to allow more time for clearing (less chance of flavour impact). I'm no expert on the subject, but if I were planning to extend...

Thanks Fil. In the meantime I discovered minimum rest might be considered 1 week, so I realised it wasn't going to be in and out as I'd hoped. That's why I have no update, as still working on the wife for taking over the fridge for at least a week. Seems I might have gained an OK, reading...

Spin mine too, like a mad cowboy. Drips of water on the mirror, windows and cabinet. Worry a bit about the tube releasing the siphon and smashing the wife's head.

I'm about to use flaked oats for the first time also, in a Guinness. Mine look like Croni's. The reply from Brupaks is rubbish; open copy paste send next.

That's really good advice. Once started in this hobby you almost certainly want to grow further into it. So any equipment you can carry along with you through that journey will save you in the long run.

Can I ask a thread related question... I don't have a chlorine issue at all, and I'm not worried about pH for kits, but I do wonder about calcium levels. My tap water is amazingly low on calcium, at about 37 ppm. About 50 or 60 is a normal recommended brewing minimum, with say 70-100 being a...

I have a Westmalle Tripel clone in primary that looks like chocolate milkshake. Yeast was 2 packs of Mangrove Jack's M31 Tripel. It's 2 weeks in and sitting at 1.003, so it's not going any further. Sample tastes bloody fantastic by the way, but that's another story. I've never crash cooled...

That's awesome. Didn't even know one existed for brewing. It seems I wasn't far out with my initial pasteurisation plan then. I prefer long and low, as that kills the baddies while not exposing the food to high heat. Looking at the chart, I think I'll stick to my original plan of 54.4C for at...

I think you are probably correct. I think 54.4C is specific to the pathogens in meat. Still, 63C shouldn't stew the cherries and could be a good way of ensuring they are sterile. I think I'll roll with that unless someone can offer a reason why it would be a bad idea.

Throwing this one out there.... I have a Sous Vide machine, in which I often pasteurise food stuffs. For example, I bulk pasteurise eggs in advance of making ice cream, as it saves the faff of making a custard. So that got me thinking about these cherries. Would pasteurisation be a workable...

That will do me. Thanks. Saves some effort.

I'm going to go with the one in your link. Cheers for that again. Yes, steps now are to de-stone (I have a tool for that). Freeze. Then timing for addition to secondary... defrost, mash, campden tablet, then all in secondary. P.S. Actually, I'm not sure I need to de-stone. It's not like I'm...

First step complete. Plan is to use all in one 23l brew. From what I hear, best to avoid boiling as it has adverse effect on flavour. Recommended approach is to add a Camden tablet and leave overnight. Add to secondary. That's the plan anyway.

France Amazon. Look for BW1880. It's recently jumping between 135 to 140 EUR. Just hold back and use camelcamelcamel. And if you don't know what that is, you should! And it will be a few quid extra for UK delivery. I live in France, on the German border, so quite adept at shopping around. On...

Mine arrived. Equivalent of about 118 pounds. Considering the delux party tap is 70 to 80 quid, this complete unit with cooling seems pretty good value. In my case, this purchase was all about 23 litres = 18 litres + 5 litres. The cornies are great, but I might have thought harder about...