Recent content by Gilbert Spinning Horse

I do it that way so that it is in contact with the wort for longer, a bit like a dry hop. When I say I boil it, that is just bringing it to the boil to kill anything that might be on it.

I don't know about spices, but I use 700g of finely diced ginger in a 20 litre batch. I boil it and toss it in the fermenter when I pitch the yeast.

You're not using a refractometer to measure the final gravity are you mate?

There's no might about it, they definitely are smart enough. I've had an ongoing war with rodents, rats rather than mice, at my farm for years. I put down spring traps and they work for a while but they soon start avoiding them. I'll switch to poison pellets which takes out some more but these...

The trouble is they are quick to learn that traps kill them and so you'll never get them all. Admittedly they learn about poison too after a while so swapping between methods is actually the best tactic.

I'd embark on a serious eradication campaign too if I were you. I'd put down poison until there were no further traces of them.

I'm in the bottle before leaving camp, for what its worth.

Actually I was suggesting you take a look on facebook at the cider making groups to see how others are doing it. It might give you some ideas. https://www.facebook.com/groups/cider.apples.and.cider.making https://www.facebook.com/groups/330304940374116...

Many of the orchards in the UK sell their juice directly to cider makers who go and pick it up themselves. I think you'll find some groups on FB that might be worth looking at to get some ideas.

I use a paint stirrer and a cordless drill most of the time. Seems to do the job. I've heard there's a possibility of over oxygenating the wort using pure O2, though how true that is I've no idea.

Hopefully the OP sorted out his slug problem from 12 years ago.

That's what happens when you have too many oxidized pale ales.

As his first brew was such a success, he'll be upping his game to the bathtub for number 2.

The dark colour could indicate your suffering from oxidation. A 25 gallon container is far too big for 5 gallons. Also you shouldn't be opening it until you're ready to bottle, especially with that massive head space.

I might be wrong, but it looks to me to be a case of demonic possession. Have you or anyone in your household been practicing any of the dark arts close to the fermenter at all? I had this myself once and ended up having to get a priest in to bless the place, as everything I tried didn't seem to...