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Yeah, tis indeed all Challenger ! There's a recipe over on BrewersFriend. Nice and simple too ...... though I'm not sure of the yeast but you can grow some if you've got a bottle of the real thing. Base malt plus 170g of Crystal, then Challenger at 60mins and 15mins...

There's a beer - loved by many - ' Bluebird Bitter ' brewed by Coniston Brewery Co. Made using only Challenger hops Lovely. Got some growing in my friends garden.

I'm a Thames Water Customer too. I use narrow range (4.8 - 6.2) indicator strips to test the mash. Untreated my water is always up near the 6.2. I need to use about 4ml of lactic acid to get it in the 5.2 range ! Plus I use about 4ml for sparge. It's not the most scientific approach, I know...

I like that expression - so true too. With things like Diacetyl (which I've had in the past) longer in the FV can do wonders.

Lovely. I'll try and give your recipe a go :) I'm still looking for nice bitter. And I've grown First Gold! Hmmm yes. Totally agree. I mash (usually ) at 66c and also get down to 1,006!

Thanks Dutto :) Yes, that last point is a real time saver, I gave the Starsan a miss (only regarding bottles) and maybe I've been lucky, but again, no going back. I stick to what works for me, I'm sure we all do, but I do tinker with water. Afraid I'm not that scientific. I do test alkalinity...

Well it's been a while since I've been on here, not that I've been elsewhere, just been busy that's all. Anyway, thought I'd share my findings / improvements / failures etc. I've been using the same 3 vessel, chutney barrel AG system for several years and it's served me well! and quite...

Damn......... typical :doh:

I find brewmate quite helpful....... initially it does take a bit of getting used to, but it's worth it. When I start the program it takes me to a new page asking if I wish to update to the new version.

Yep, that's what I did ........ except with a big blue chutney barrel.

I prefer pellets for dry hopping they (usually) tend to sink........... and on the odd occasion they haven't, I've ended up with hops in the bottles, which doesn't bother me.

Anyone tried it? I wondered how different it was. Is it worth updating my old version?

No brew fridge here so I've got the Mangrove Jack Workhorse yeast munching it's way through my brew in temps I probably should be avoiding. They claim up to 32c but what it'll taste like in those temps I've no idea.

3 bottles of beer in an evening would not be that OTT, a friend might pop around for a beer, also your partner might like the occassional beer (Mrs Pjam does anyway) Your soon up to about two and a half litres a day. For good measure call it three. Your 60 litres at this rate won't even last a...

Excellent :) Hope I can get similar results. I'll be putting mine in the bottles this W/E ......

I've done it 3 times and it's stuck every time. No big deal though, if you get the same thing just give it a gentle stir on the 3rd or 4th day.

With this in mind I went for a dwarf variety, Prima Donna, which I think was bred from WGV. At present it's 1 inch tall :)

I've taken Nobys lead and I just chuck them in, no bag required ........ very liberating feeling :) In fact I'm a real **** and let a few bittering hops slip in to the FV too.

I used about the same amount of cocoa powder for 11 litres and it's far from ready yet so I don't know how right or wrong that might be. I dissolved the cocoa with a little dextrose in about 250 ml of water before adding it to the boil. My only taste (trial jar) suggested it was quite bitter...

First green leaf unfurled today :D I'm no expert but it might still be worth having a go. Even if it doesn't do much this year, it'll be well established for next year..... as I say, I'm no expert.