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Thanks Steve. I have tried CRS at that sort of quantity (26.5 ml to 30 litres) but the result wasn't good. It did taste of CRS (going by the smell of CRS, of course, rather than actually drinking it). On the basis that it is possible to reduce alkalinity by boiling, do you think it might make...

The full pdf from Anglian water is too big to upload, but these are the relevant values (Q1 Jan 2017-Mar 2017): Alkalinity (as calcium carbonate) 195 mg/l (2016 Q3 report was 328.) Calcium 112 mg/l Chloride average 70.3 (46.8-88.7) Magnesium 8.41 mg/l Sulphate average 68.4 (55.2-85.5) mg/l...

I'm in Ipswich and did about 15 brews with tap water that turned out quite good, with the exception of a light summer ale that was, if I'm honest, rank (still drank it, though). I recently did the calcs and added the recommended amount of CRS and the result was a) far too strong and b) not very...

Thanks Razor. The kit instructions reckon to rack at SG1010 which should be in about 5 days, and on other Beaverdale kits it has usually been around that. I usually get a lot more froth than I'm seeing. I thought it was getting going on day 2, when there was a bit of enthusiastic bubbling, but...

After 4 days in the bucket my Beaverdale Cabernet/Shiraz is smelling a bit eggy, not too bad, but worrying. Temp is set at 21C +/- .5. The bucket temperature may have been a bit lower than that when the yeast was pitched but no less than 19C. SG is currently 1035 - nowhere near the 1010 when...

Thanks folks. Sounds like I'd better get supping. It's a hard life.

I made a beer that I liked very much - so much so that I have repeated it a couple of times - but it seems to peak at about 4-6 weeks in the bottle and then deteriorates into something entirely drinkable but not a patch on the nouveau. Evidently storage temperature will play a part. I keep the...

Thanks for the responses. I did give upside down a bit of thought but had reservations about residual yeast around the mouth of the bottle, as well as the risk of losing half the beer down the sink. I'll try it with a couple of bottles next time and see how it goes.

Can anybody suggest a good pump or tapping device for beer in 2 litre ex-water bottles, that won't disturb the sediment and is capable of being airtight enough to give the beer a day or two's life after opening? Syphoning gets a bit messy.

Update. Not looking too bad. Big floating island of crust, and a lot of clumps. Beer looks fairly clear. Just dry-hopped it and will bottle in a couple of days.

Thanks for that, trueblue. Northern Brewer was on my list as a possible, being an ancestor of Challenger. It'll definitely be on my next order. Good to hear the reason GK IPA changed. We knew it had, but the word on the bar floor was that they'd shifted production to (or from?) Biggleswade and...

Thanks, again, clibit. barclayperkins is a great site. I'm pretty sure Fuggles is in the Wrekin aroma. Not sure about Goldings. If it is, there's something else as well. I shall have a look at Cluster.

1. When I was very young, in the 1950s and very early 60s, I recall the smell of the brewery (Wrekin Ales) wafting across the market. Does anybody know what hops Wrekin Ales would have used in those days ? Is there any source on the internet that has old commercial recipes? 2. In my later...

Thanks Clibit. I've only cold crashed and gelatined once - on a gluten free kit (GWTW) that tied my fermenting fridge up for about 6 weeks in the summer and was eventually bottled looking like chicken stock. It's still in the shed holding up a shelf, but I caught a glimpse through the side of a...

Made a mistake on my 4th AG attempt and in a senior moment, didn't add the Irish Moss until 5 mins before end of boil, result was a bit muddier than my last attempt, and more akin to the first two where I didn't use Irish Moss. The last hop addition was at 0 mins, steeped for 20 mins, so it...

Thanks Chippy_Tea. Gave it a bit of a wobble last night and also made sure the lid wasn't being held down by the bubble wrap jacket. Took the SG lunchtime and it is coming down.

Advice, anyone? Put a Beaverdale Merlot kit on two days ago, temp 20-22C, and by the following morning it had bubbles, so I thought it was on the way. Checked it again this morning and it's flat, with a ring of crust just above the surface, not a bubble in sight. It's in a bucket with the lid...