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It's been going for a week or so, very active and the SG has dropped from 1.052 down to 1.020 or thereabouts. It's the primary fermentation. Appreciate a 'proper' Lambic will take many months or indeed years to properly mature. Maybe I've used it completely wrong...! The instructions stated...

Anyone else used this strain? I love a good sour beer, and have used a number of the other White Labs strains over the years to make some really good sour beers, fruity, tart, zesty, dry. However, this one smells and tastes exactly like soured milk, to the point that it's undrinkable. I used my...

Yes I had thought about using the in line shut off valves, but I was hoping for a solution external to the keezer, as it usually has things on top of it. I had also pondered a solution using solenoid valves and an external rotary switch, but that's perhaps getting too involved for a simple...

I have a really basic setup for AG, that I have improvised with and added to over the years as and when I felt the need to. Started off with a cheap fermenting bucket and a Backer kettle element, and a PID controller with a PT100 drilled into the bucket. Been using this setup since 2012, and...

Perhaps a strange one, and I haven't found a solution. My wife likes both cider and seltzer, I brew both for her and keep them in separate kegs in the keezer. Sometimes she likes cider, sometimes seltzer, sometimes a mixture of both... I only have three taps at present, but four kegs. The easy...

That looks fantastic so far, will be watching with interest.

I built a keezer to accommodate three cornys. My thinking was that for lagering, a keezer could easily get down to 2C as it's designed to run permanently at -18C, whereas a fridge would struggle as it is designed to run at ~3C. I tested this theory out by reducing my controller in 1C increments...

Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister - a parody of the Westminster machine, and scrupulously apolitical. The Young Ones, Bottom, Filthy Rich & Catflap, The New Statesman. All works of genius. Porridge & Open All Hours. You contemptuous nerk. The Fast Show. Smoooooth. Father Ted. That would be...

The best addition I made to my King Kegs was a 0-15psi pressure gauge to the lid. Replacing the seals every year or so also helps. As @kelper says you may well have a slow leak that is releasing all your priming pressure. Generally speaking I can prime a batch with 100g sugar, secondary...

Flora Brewing, and her friend Jenny. Some interesting recipe creations there. The Homebrew Challenge - 99 beers in 99 weeks, has given me quite a list to work my way through.

Out the box the iSpindel should have a 'base map' polynomial that will give you interpretive gravity readings that will likely be slightly off. I tried the sugar in water calibration method, but found it to be such a faff that I abandoned it after two attempts, and simply made a brew instead...

Tropical Stout just finishing off in King Keg, 9.1% ABV and a very interesting beer. Quite pleased with it, but brain struggles to reconcile fruity hoppiness and Belgian esters with the roasted malts and large body of the stout.

My parents are 79 and 74, we haven't seen them since February, and would dearly love to do so. But we aren't travelling there, nor are we seeing my wife's family dahn sarf. Our friend, who lives alone and sees nobody, is coming to us after Christmas as we are part of his 'social bubble'. I think...

We have very friendly hens. This one loves to socialise with her humans. As @Chippy_Tea says above, a worrying time for poultry keepers - we have just spent £150 on bird-proof netting to cover the run and hopefully avoid contact with wild birds.

Give it a week and see how the airlock looks in terms of activity.

I use a simple excel spreadsheet to keep a record of recipes and brews, any notable changes and opinions, along with an ingredient inventory to check if I have everything 'in stock' for an upcoming brew. Seems to work quite well.

Batch priming in a bottling bucket with a cooled solution of 100g sugar and boiled water usually provides sufficient carbonation. I put the solution into the bottom of the bucket, then transfer onto it to ensure a good mix throughout. Now I keg, but the same process for bottling.

I find that fermenting out neat sugar produces a very sharp, strong, headachey alcohol. It'll ferment out if you give it the chance, then when it starts to settle down remove the airlock to provide dispensing pressure in the barrel. As @Cwrw666 says, mind your head!

Used to bottle, but then sourced a cheap PB - moved it on after a few brews as it was a pain in the backside to keep sealed and maintain good pressure. Bought a King Keg & had no problems. Bought another a while later, again no problems. Have moved on now to three cornys, but still keep the KKs...

Welcome to the forum, exciting to be making your first brew. As @Banbeer has said, your thermometer will last for decades if looked after. When I used to bottle (have moved on to kegs now) I would always transfer from the primary fermenter into another fermenter onto the priming sugar solution...