Recent content by The_Idiot

What yeast are you using? I get plenty of lemon zest from WLP400 without any addition.

Thought I’d deliver an update on my sludge-coloured stinky WLP500. I figured I’d learn nothing by being cautious, so used the yeast anyway despite my inner gut feeling telling me not to. I let it run for eight days at 68°F, and the blow-off tube delivered a steady but slow bubble. The krausen...

It’s been riding for 80 hours and has started to behave. I figure it’s now a learning curve, so I’m waiting to see how things map out. The acetone has diminished and if anything, it’s gone a bit funky, but I’ll let it run its course. If something weird has happened, it’s still making beer, so I...

Makes sense. Thanks.

The package was new and in date. It’s from a supplier I’ve used for years and never had an issue, and it came in a cold pack. I think it it doesn’t take off soon and show signs of being okay I’ll chalk it down to experience! 🤣

I’m in the process of brewing a Tripel, and it’s my first time using WLP500. I got the yeast from a reputable source, and it was well within date. I typically overbuild all yeasts, so made a starter. The first thing I noticed was the slurry from the pouch was dark brown rather than creamy, a...

The hops were contained. It just had been so long since I used a conical i forgot to dump!

Long story short, a year ago I was planning to move and packed up all my SS brewing kit. The move took a lot longer than planned, and I had to build a brewery at the new house. All brews so far have been in plastic fermenters but I declared to dust of the SS conical. Today I kegged a NEIPA, and...

Mashpaddle: the temperature varied from 50 to 70 degrees F, dependent upon the time of year. RPh Guy: it’s in a PET carboy. I could transfer it to a standard plastic fermenter if it needs air.

In July 2018 I made a Brett pale ale. The grain bill was Maris Otter and Pale Wheat, and I chucked in a small amount of Citra and Simcoe at flame out to keep the IBUs low. It was fermented using US-05 and Wyeast Brett Lambicus. I tasted it in March 2019 and it was dull, a bit like an insipid...

Get it into another container and wait it out! I had one once and botlled it up, put it at the back of a shelf unit in tne shed and ignored it. Tried it 10 months later when I needed the spAce and it was a lot better. It wasn't lerfect, but after a few it tasted just fine ... and it still worked!

Sugar will add to the OG without contributing much in the way of anything else. I have one recipe which uses sugar because it allows the right strength without adding to the maltiness of the beer. I'd say that unless it adds to the character of the recipe, then it's an odd choice. If you're...

That looks okay. I have sometimes had a spidery mould form when dry hopping. I just bottle anyway and it has no effect. Don't be too bothered about looks or smell during the processes. If in doubt, take a sample and taste it.

Let's just say the previous batches were infected - so you don't feel bad about dumping good beer!!! This batch looks more than normal; it looks good. In decades of brewing I've only ever dumped one batch, so infection is rare unless you do something stupid. I once dropped an old t-shirt I...

Hello from a very cold village about 30 miles outside London. I was sitting here, drinking the first bottle from a batch of Death by Dunkel (I don't normally call it that, but due to some clumsy measuring - okay, I was brewing while enjoying a previous batch, as we all do - it turned out at an...