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The Best Bitter is mashing away nicely. 20 minutes in and my gravity reading is 1042. I have no idea what the pH is because my pH meter has given up - reading the 4pH calibration buffer as 9.18 so it looks like I need a new one. Anyway, a couple of pics...

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Have you tried a new buffer?
Mine read exactly the same the other day, 9.18, until I mixed a new buffer, then it self calibrated to the correct reading.
 
Have you tried a new buffer?
Mine read exactly the same the other day, 9.18, until I mixed a new buffer, then it self calibrated to the correct reading.

I had just made this one up from an unopened pack. The pH meter has gone now anyway and I have another on it’s way. Thanks for the info though, may be useful next time 😉
 
That's the advantage of the basket. I use a bag so I turn the boiler off. Saying that I don't have a set time or routine. My mash can be anything from one hour to 5. Depending how busy I am.

Ah! It’s good to be able to control the temperature like this to hold the right temperature, for stepped mashes, and for hopstands etc. You can of course do all these in other ways but the Inkbird is probably the easiest.
 
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Time for another taste test session, I love a taste test session. 😉

Starting with my Vintage Ale. This ale is 9.2% and coming up to 3 weeks conditioned. It’s clearing nicely now and I do like the colour. The aroma is coming on but at this point it’s maybe still a little more fruity than I want. Flavour wise it’s also improving markedly, still a little sweet and a little fruity but I know these will back off as the ale matures. So far I’m pleased with the way this is going.

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The next taster is of my Cardamom Saison. This one is well conditioned now at 14 weeks and is 5.6%.

The colour is a nice pale golden yellow and the ale is crystal clear. The aroma is really nice, you can smell the cardamom and coriander but also the saison. The flavour is unfortunately not quite as bright as the aroma but it is still nice. Maybe I should have tried this more delicately flavoured ale before the Vintage! Next time.

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Doppelbock next. This ale is 12 weeks conditioned and is 6.6%.

The appearance is nice a deep ruby colour and crystal clear. The aroma is pretty amazing - dark caramel malt, prunes, and just a hint of chocolate. The flavour is the same as the aroma and playing a tune on the happy glands in my brain. I like this ale.

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At the other end of the scale in almost every sense is my latest Citra Pale Ale. This puppy is only 1 week conditioned and is 6%.

Appearance wise, it’s a nice golden colour but is still a little hazy (it is only 1 week). The aroma is unmistakably Citra with a little sweet biscuity malt. The flavour is more sweet than I’d planned but this might just be the age of the ale. The hops are there but I think at the moment a little hidden by the sweetness (might have to check my water profile).

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Next my Dry Stout at 4.2% and 14 weeks conditioned.

This ale is black to look at but when held up to the sun(!) you can see a hint of brown-garnet to it. It is also crystal clear but you’ll have to take my word for that! The aroma is all about the roast barley and funnily enough so is the flavour but it’s very smooth and really dry on the finish. There’s almost no aftertaste beyond about 10 seconds. It’s really easy drinking, in part because it’s dry and also because of it’s age.

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I should be brewing early this week and will be giving your stepped sparge technique a try HB. Starting from a rough efficeincy of 70%, I am hoping to see that pick up a bit. Will keep you posted for wither praise or childish blaming as appropriate
 
Last up for today is my latest batch of Czech Pilsner after the last one kicked on Friday. This batch is 6% and is now conditioned 4 weeks.

The colour is as you might expect, a light yellow and this batch is still a little hazy. The aroma is malt and Saaz, oh Saaz! The flavour is gorgeous slightly sweet malt, beautiful Saaz hops, and then a clean dry finish. I’m going to enjoy this, again.

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I purchased about a year ago but here is a link to one that looks the same:

US $44.44 19% Off | Stainless Steel Beer Wine House Home Brew Filter Basket Strainer Barware Bar Tools Filter Bag for Jelly Jams Homebrew S

https://star.aliexpress.com/share/s...nessType=ProductDetail&spreadType=socialShare
Hope the link works @samale. If it doesn’t a search on AliExpress should find it. I bought mine originally to use in the kettle as a hop filter but the mesh is too fine and it tends to block with break and hop particles so I switched to a helix as suggested in a post by @foxy (also bought on AliExpress). The helix works well.
 
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