Frogfurlong
Landlord.
piddledribble said:
:rofl:
peanut butter :thumb: best bait I know of.
I love following this thread, its a very personal journey into brewing. It covers the highs, lows, joys and annoyances of brewing at home.
Keep it up PD
P.D's Brewery.
- Thread starter PD
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:rofl:
peanut butter :thumb: best bait I know of.
I love following this thread, its a very personal journey into brewing. It covers the highs, lows, joys and annoyances of brewing at home.
Keep it up PD
Thank you for those kind words.
I didn't start out this way,but has sort of evolved into my brewing story. I would like to thank the Admins and Mods for their patience and understanding towards the thread...I agree it is a little self servile and I apologise.
But I hope it does show that anyone can progress from the simple kits of beer wines and ciders and progress onwards to All Grain and THE way to make exceptional home beers.
I hope I've shown the mistakes that anyone will make, and that when mistakes are made its not usually so disastrous as to make the brews undrinkable or fatal ! ( mixing water and electricity should always be born in mind and don't get complacent with it )
If anyone has been tempted to follow my path then I am glad, if it shows that if I can make beer, anyone can make beer, then that is to the good.
Yes you will have set backs and failures but its all part of the overall fun of brewing. Despite what some folks say.Its not a cheap hobby although compared to what you would spent in the shops,it ain't bad. But its a hobby, and hobbies cost.
What I would like to say is...if your tempted...don't hold back, have a go and you will be pleasantly surprised. Shrug your failings off and do it again, it does get easier and easier.
And the best bit is.you get some great beers to drink.
I didn't start out this way,but has sort of evolved into my brewing story. I would like to thank the Admins and Mods for their patience and understanding towards the thread...I agree it is a little self servile and I apologise.
But I hope it does show that anyone can progress from the simple kits of beer wines and ciders and progress onwards to All Grain and THE way to make exceptional home beers.
I hope I've shown the mistakes that anyone will make, and that when mistakes are made its not usually so disastrous as to make the brews undrinkable or fatal ! ( mixing water and electricity should always be born in mind and don't get complacent with it )
If anyone has been tempted to follow my path then I am glad, if it shows that if I can make beer, anyone can make beer, then that is to the good.
Yes you will have set backs and failures but its all part of the overall fun of brewing. Despite what some folks say.Its not a cheap hobby although compared to what you would spent in the shops,it ain't bad. But its a hobby, and hobbies cost.
What I would like to say is...if your tempted...don't hold back, have a go and you will be pleasantly surprised. Shrug your failings off and do it again, it does get easier and easier.
And the best bit is.you get some great beers to drink.
Welcome to another addition of ...." How not to do it " ... 
or Do it Yourself and f*** it up.
I'm having problems in maintaining a temperature for the mash with my coolbox mashtun. I've done the usual things and make sure its well wrapped up but it still looses too much...So time to get drastic..
The lid seemed hollow and there was a removable plug, so I inspected the inside of the lid..yes its hollow, methinks I could fill that with some expanding foam...ha easy.
Of to the shop and 1 can of expanding foam purchased I set about filling the lid with the stuff, via the plug. Psss in she goes......Phuff out she comes out of a small nick I'd made to accept my temp probe...Phuff she keeps on coming...and coming. Before I knows it there's expanding foam everywhere...and its darned sticky stuff, and like its name..it expands...
What a mess its made. I've had to throw out 3 cotton towels a full roll of kitchen towels and a hand towel. and my hands are covered, giving me a leprosy look !
I've decided my best course of action is to leave it alone for a few hours to dry and calm down ! ( the foam not me ! )Then I'll have to go back and try and clean the mash tun up... Oh woe is me, woe woe and thrice woe...
Never ever buy any can of expanding foam...
:shock:
or Do it Yourself and f*** it up.
I'm having problems in maintaining a temperature for the mash with my coolbox mashtun. I've done the usual things and make sure its well wrapped up but it still looses too much...So time to get drastic..
The lid seemed hollow and there was a removable plug, so I inspected the inside of the lid..yes its hollow, methinks I could fill that with some expanding foam...ha easy.
Of to the shop and 1 can of expanding foam purchased I set about filling the lid with the stuff, via the plug. Psss in she goes......Phuff out she comes out of a small nick I'd made to accept my temp probe...Phuff she keeps on coming...and coming. Before I knows it there's expanding foam everywhere...and its darned sticky stuff, and like its name..it expands...
What a mess its made. I've had to throw out 3 cotton towels a full roll of kitchen towels and a hand towel. and my hands are covered, giving me a leprosy look !
I've decided my best course of action is to leave it alone for a few hours to dry and calm down ! ( the foam not me ! )Then I'll have to go back and try and clean the mash tun up...
Oh woe is me, woe woe and thrice woe...Never ever buy any can of expanding foam...
:shock:
LeedsBrewer
Landlord.
I saw that stuff used on a youtube video... Think i'll be keeping away from it. Looks very messy.
On a side note, I'm guna try a back to basics type thing with my 15L pan. Recon I can crack out my first AG brew sooner that way. I've got a Coopers Stout to try first though. Oh and I'm slowly buying bits and pieces for my full AG set up. (mashtun almost complete) I'll get there eventually.
On a side note, I'm guna try a back to basics type thing with my 15L pan. Recon I can crack out my first AG brew sooner that way. I've got a Coopers Stout to try first though. Oh and I'm slowly buying bits and pieces for my full AG set up. (mashtun almost complete) I'll get there eventually.
well done, getting everything together does take time unless you have a bottomless wallet. Don't rush it and make problems for yourself financially. When you've made your mash tun it will not cost you any more to keep it on one side while you concentrate on another part, like the boiler.
Christmas is on the horizon and that will take a toll of your monies....but then again, there's always the chance of gifts from family and friends... :twisted:
I have a little money box, ( open to all to contribute ) which helps with the purchase of running essentials like hops and grain,sterilisers etc. Loose change soon mounts up...
Christmas is on the horizon and that will take a toll of your monies....but then again, there's always the chance of gifts from family and friends... :twisted:
I have a little money box, ( open to all to contribute
) which helps with the purchase of running essentials like hops and grain,sterilisers etc. Loose change soon mounts up...Vossy1
Landlord.
No thanks needed p, it's a great idea
:thumb: I don't think I've ever seen a single thread like a diary before, though they may be out there :hmm: I'm sure there are lots of folk who'll take the time to read and learn from this topic.A lot of folk start blogs (I have) and document it away from a forum and it gets fragmented, nice to see you doing it the other way round :clap:
Love the foam post :lol: :lol: :lol: ...time to get a thermo box :twisted:
Andy.H
Well-Known Member
I've been been watching this since you started PD, please continue! The desire is still there for me to go AG at some point, but time and resource hasn't been on my side recently, hence why I've not been active on here... the car club has taken up a fair bit of my time recently (as it should for an admin), not to mention last week... I somehow contracted an infection that if left unchecked could have apparently given me brain damage and/or cashed my chips in for me! :shock:
Some might argue that would require the presence of a brain first, but hey ho...
:lol:
Keep going mate, I'll probably use this as a quick reference guide lol
Some might argue that would require the presence of a brain first, but hey ho...
:lol:
Keep going mate, I'll probably use this as a quick reference guide lol
Andy.H
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I seem to be well on the recovery route cheers mate... last day of anti-biotics today and the swelling in the side of my head has all but dissipated now thank god... if it hadn't worked, I would have been back down the hospital on a drip! Bit of a funny feeling, facing up to your own mortality like that...
I'm looking at the way you've done it and I can see a lot of my own methodology there... I get the feeling I will follow a very similar path :)
I'm looking at the way you've done it and I can see a lot of my own methodology there... I get the feeling I will follow a very similar path :)
Just had a quick mental count up of my Christmas beer stocks for another post. Thought I'd put it here aswell .....
in 500 ml bottles
30 x Exmoor Gold
20 x Sarah Hughes 1 Dark Ruby Mild
30 x Sarah Hughes 2 Dark Ruby Mild
30 x Gob Hoblin
28 x Timothy Taylor Landlord
20 x Piddles Dribble ESB
20 x Old Conkerwood Black Ale ( still a bit :sick: )
20 x Wherry
3 cases of a mixture of Muntons Golden Ale, Coopers Stout Brewmaster IPA, Coopers Dark Ale, Cerveza and St.Peters
4 gallons of Ciders, 3 gallons tea bag wines ( wine to be bottled this week )
21 litres of Nutty Rauchbrown ready for bottling
Should be a Merry Festive Season in the old household this year !...
Hopefully depending on various Christmas donations received..... :clap: I will be re designing and upgrading my system for the New Year with a larger boiler and a solid metal bench. Which means the whole garage has to be sorted out again and things moved around to allow me to have a " dedicated brewing pod" all together instead of scattered around the garage,necessitating a build every brew day.
Exciting times planning things...( all donations gratefully received..... )
in 500 ml bottles
30 x Exmoor Gold
20 x Sarah Hughes 1 Dark Ruby Mild
30 x Sarah Hughes 2 Dark Ruby Mild
30 x Gob Hoblin
28 x Timothy Taylor Landlord
20 x Piddles Dribble ESB
20 x Old Conkerwood Black Ale ( still a bit :sick: )
20 x Wherry
3 cases of a mixture of Muntons Golden Ale, Coopers Stout Brewmaster IPA, Coopers Dark Ale, Cerveza and St.Peters
4 gallons of Ciders, 3 gallons tea bag wines ( wine to be bottled this week )
21 litres of Nutty Rauchbrown ready for bottling
Should be a Merry Festive Season in the old household this year !...
Hopefully depending on various Christmas donations received..... :clap: I will be re designing and upgrading my system for the New Year with a larger boiler and a solid metal bench. Which means the whole garage has to be sorted out again and things moved around to allow me to have a " dedicated brewing pod" all together instead of scattered around the garage,necessitating a build every brew day.
Exciting times planning things...( all donations gratefully received.....
)Stand up those who say kit beers cannot be as good as all grain beers......
Well I've just had a Brewmaster India Pale Ale ( Coopers ) which I made and bottled on 20th June 2012. and however you brew you will not get much better than this.
It fair blew the top off the bottle.....good job its a swing top otherwise I'd still be searching for the top. A 2 inch head quickly settled down to a manageable one that lasted the whole pint...great lacing on the glass.
The swing top bottle is of clear glass but it doesn't seem to have affected the colour of the beer, its wonderful, clear slightly bubbly golden amber coloured, and the only problem was a fine coating of yeast at the bottom,which was quite loose and made me have to leave an inch behind.
I made this brew before I started to use a second fermentation bucket and I'm sure if I had used one on this brew there would have been a lot less sediment.
Wow what a beer.... only got 6 left of it.....
Well I've just had a Brewmaster India Pale Ale ( Coopers ) which I made and bottled on 20th June 2012. and however you brew you will not get much better than this.
It fair blew the top off the bottle.....good job its a swing top otherwise I'd still be searching for the top. A 2 inch head quickly settled down to a manageable one that lasted the whole pint...great lacing on the glass.
The swing top bottle is of clear glass but it doesn't seem to have affected the colour of the beer, its wonderful, clear slightly bubbly golden amber coloured, and the only problem was a fine coating of yeast at the bottom,which was quite loose and made me have to leave an inch behind.
I made this brew before I started to use a second fermentation bucket and I'm sure if I had used one on this brew there would have been a lot less sediment.
Wow what a beer.... only got 6 left of it.....
LeedsBrewer
Landlord.
hmm... perhaps it gets better with age. That was my first kit and so far it's ok but nothing to write home about. It's only had 3 or 4 weeks in the bottle though... will be patient. :sulk:
I continue to be impressed with the tea bag wines.
For quick easily drinkable light wines for party's etc they are ideal.
Just had a look at my gallon of Ginger and Lermon I started half way through August. Its as clear as the proverbial bell with a quarter inch of gunk hard settled on the bottom. I can't rack it off today as I need a little syphon tube ( my auto ones for the beer fermenters are too large. ) The sample taste was pleasant and it gave a nice warming glow as it went down ( no gravity reading as yet )
The Raspberry Peach Apple is also ready for syphoning off into bottles but not tasted that as is my 2nd Blackberry and Nettle.
So that's the ladies provided for over Christmas ...
With around 400 plus bottles of various beers, whisky's in the cupboard etc I don't really have to think about buying any booze for the holiday period this year....which will be a saving of around £100 on previous years.... :party:
Yes o.k... I bet I get collared for things like Advocatt and Bailey's.....
For quick easily drinkable light wines for party's etc they are ideal.
Just had a look at my gallon of Ginger and Lermon I started half way through August. Its as clear as the proverbial bell with a quarter inch of gunk hard settled on the bottom. I can't rack it off today as I need a little syphon tube ( my auto ones for the beer fermenters are too large. ) The sample taste was pleasant and it gave a nice warming glow as it went down ( no gravity reading as yet )
The Raspberry Peach Apple is also ready for syphoning off into bottles but not tasted that as is my 2nd Blackberry and Nettle.
So that's the ladies provided for over Christmas ...
With around 400 plus bottles of various beers, whisky's in the cupboard etc I don't really have to think about buying any booze for the holiday period this year....which will be a saving of around £100 on previous years.... :party:
Yes o.k... I bet I get collared for things like Advocatt and Bailey's.....
Andy.H
Well-Known Member
piddledribble said:With around 400 plus bottles of various beers, whisky's in the cupboard etc I don't really have to think about buying any booze for the holiday period this year....which will be a saving of around £100 on previous years.... :party:
Yes o.k... I bet I get collared for things like Advocatt and Bailey's.....
We're doing the family Christmas Day get together again this year, so I've been almost continuously brewing since August to try and get a stock pile. Rather than trying to remember everything I've got, it looks like this:
On top of that, there's another 30 bottles of WOW and a Wilko Hoppy Coppy Bitter in the fermenters. There would probably be a fair bit more than that, but the family seem to have developed a taste for the WOW and variants... hence me doing a 30 bottle batch
Like you, I get the feeling we'll get nailed on spirits though... the only saving grace is that my side of the family are not big drinkers. But I'm going to go with the message "there's homebrew available, but please feel free to bring your own bottles"... let's face it, homebrew isn't to everyones taste. Whether that will still hold true after Christmas Day remains to be seen :lol:
Andy.H
Well-Known Member
lol yeah... remnants from when we moved in :lol:
I think they will soon be getting relocated though... those 30 bottles of WOW will need a home in about a months time!
I think they will soon be getting relocated though... those 30 bottles of WOW will need a home in about a months time!
Bottled my Ginger and Lemon tea bag wine yesterday evening. Quite tasty, and the ginger certainly gives it a warming glow.
Racked off 2 demi jons of Raspberry and Apple and Blackberry & Nettle. Not too clear these for some reason.
I've also taking the first steps towards my new " brewery pod " in the garage. The garage walls are a little dark and dreary due to the breeze block construction, so I've decided to clad it with ply wood that will be painted white. I've got the framing timber but also got a cold ! so not starting the actual work yet.
I've also ordered a PID temp controller,to control my hlt heater.
Next job is to get an electrician in and have a few sockets installed near to where the pots will be sited. I want them hard wired and on separate house circuits as well for safety reasons.
I was thinking of running a plastic water pipe ( to fit hose pipe to ) so I can better fill the hlt, but I can just as easily drop the hose pipe directly in it, we will see.
Otherwise a quiet period at the brewery....
Racked off 2 demi jons of Raspberry and Apple and Blackberry & Nettle. Not too clear these for some reason.
I've also taking the first steps towards my new " brewery pod " in the garage. The garage walls are a little dark and dreary due to the breeze block construction, so I've decided to clad it with ply wood that will be painted white. I've got the framing timber but also got a cold ! so not starting the actual work yet.
I've also ordered a PID temp controller,to control my hlt heater.
Next job is to get an electrician in and have a few sockets installed near to where the pots will be sited. I want them hard wired and on separate house circuits as well for safety reasons.
I was thinking of running a plastic water pipe ( to fit hose pipe to ) so I can better fill the hlt, but I can just as easily drop the hose pipe directly in it, we will see.
Otherwise a quiet period at the brewery....
Hmmmmm
Houston...we have a problem.
Throughout the year when I've primed and bottled my beers they have gone onto the top shelf in my garage or airing cupboard to carbonate for a couple of weeks before being cooled off and taking their place to be drunk. I have had no problem with this system.
However the air temps have now dropped considerably and I'm beginning to find that after their normal 2 or 3 weeks the beers are still flat and not carbonated. Obviously the temperatures are too low.
I've just bottled my Nutty Rauch Brown ( my it tastes good ) so I'm trying a little experiment out on half the bottles from the brew. I've put them into a water bath controlled by a aquarium heater and a small water feature pump to move the warm water around the bottles. ( I've only done 20 odd bottles as I've not got a container ( under the bed plastic bin)) to get them all in. I've put the temp at around 26 degrees to start with ( the water has got to heat through the glass beer bottles to reach the beer) so we will see how it goes.
I've put a couple of the plastic pet bottles full of the brew in so I can feel by their hardness if the water bath is working.
Its not ideal but its what I've got available at this moment in time... I need a heated fridge/or box.
Space is getting to be a premium...
Also spare cash is, as I've booked an electrician to come Saturday to see about installing 3 extra sockets in my garage ( 2 to run a boiler, 1 to run hlt ) I'm hoping that no alterations have to be made to the main fuse box ! any extra expense puts the acquisition of new pots back further.
If all else fails I might have to sweet talk the wife to sharing the dining room with a couple of crates of carbonating beers !
Just at side of radiator dear, back of the table, out of sight (nearly) just till the warmer weather comes along....
Houston...we have a problem.
Throughout the year when I've primed and bottled my beers they have gone onto the top shelf in my garage or airing cupboard to carbonate for a couple of weeks before being cooled off and taking their place to be drunk. I have had no problem with this system.
However the air temps have now dropped considerably and I'm beginning to find that after their normal 2 or 3 weeks the beers are still flat and not carbonated. Obviously the temperatures are too low.
I've just bottled my Nutty Rauch Brown ( my it tastes good ) so I'm trying a little experiment out on half the bottles from the brew. I've put them into a water bath controlled by a aquarium heater and a small water feature pump to move the warm water around the bottles. ( I've only done 20 odd bottles as I've not got a container ( under the bed plastic bin)) to get them all in. I've put the temp at around 26 degrees to start with ( the water has got to heat through the glass beer bottles to reach the beer) so we will see how it goes.
I've put a couple of the plastic pet bottles full of the brew in so I can feel by their hardness if the water bath is working.
Its not ideal but its what I've got available at this moment in time... I need a heated fridge/or box.
Space is getting to be a premium...
Also spare cash is, as I've booked an electrician to come Saturday to see about installing 3 extra sockets in my garage ( 2 to run a boiler, 1 to run hlt ) I'm hoping that no alterations have to be made to the main fuse box ! any extra expense puts the acquisition of new pots back further.
If all else fails I might have to sweet talk the wife to sharing the dining room with a couple of crates of carbonating beers !
Just at side of radiator dear, back of the table, out of sight (nearly) just till the warmer weather comes along....
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