Recent content by GothGargoyle

Yes you are correct, a Belgian colleague of mine pointed out this on my last visit to the Belgian Beer Cafe but I was only half listening :) He was saying it couldn't be a "real Bolleke" because it came in a bottle. I did a bit of research and a "bolleke" is apparently what you ask for in...

Add my vote for the Gouden Carolus. Simply one of the nicest beers (Belgian or otherwise) I have ever had! Another one I quite enjoyed in the Belgian Beer Cafe is "The Bolleke" by De Koninck.

Had another taste yesterday, now it has been bottled for 3 weeks. I have had a bunch in the fridge for 1 week. It is soo much better now. Still got a little way to go I think, but definitely drinkable now, and that is saying something because there aren't a lot of beers I can drink (unless I...

Seems to me the obvious solution would be to have the forums software auto-substitute the common abbreviations with the full terms. Should be easily possible, just a matter of configuration (i.e. set the abbreviations to be "bad words" and the full term is what should be substituted). I just...

The colour is a nice dark amber. I am impressed by how much it has cleared and darkened since it was bottled. Carbonation seems to have gone very well, it formed a nice head and retained its bubbles. Aroma - a slightly sweet malty aroma - definitely a lot more like a good belgian beer than...

OK, I am convinced :P I will definitely try one tonight. After all, how else will I know it improves with time if I don't try one now?

I am yet to form an opinion on the PET bottles - I haven't drunk any of my brew, which is my very first ever, yet! As I said, I am at the 11 day mark now, once I hit 14 I will be moving some to the fridge for a week or two before my first taste! 2 weeks carbonating in the cupboard + 2 weeks...

Just an update in case anyone was actually following this with any kind of interest :P On the 6th may the SG was still 1.019 so I decided that this must be the FG and went ahead and bottled. Yield was 23 PET botttles. Used 2 carbonation drops per bottle. Taste - somewhat bitter, hopefully...

OK, so I took another measurement today, and the SG is still about 1.019, no change from 2 days ago. Doesn't seem quite as bitter as it did the other day, but hard to tell if there is really any taste difference. Could it be finished at that SG? Or could there be a problem? Or am I just being...

Hi. So here's the latest update. Took a measurement this evening. Temperature 21C. SG = 1.019, only a little below what it was 3 days ago. The liquid was quite bubbly when I got my sample, spinning the hydrometer let loose quite a few tiny bubbles. Taste was significantly less "yeasty", and...

Hi. So here's an update on my brew so far, after approx 48 hours: Temperature is now 20C and there still hasn't been any noticeable airlock activity. The foam layer on top seems to have thinned back down. This was getting me slightly concered, so I took a sample and measured the SG. It is now...

MVZOOM, We went into Dave's just after 3pm on saturday, so not really "morning". My wife has bright blue hair, so if the girl in the couple you saw didn't have blue hair it was someone else! :P

Hi. So here's the details of my first ever brew! Ingredients Brewcraft Premium Belgian Ale Kit Morgan's Unhopped Pale Malt Extract Morgan's Finishing Hops (Fuggles) This is what the LHBS ownder supplied me with when I bought my beginners kit and told him that I don't like Australian beers...

Done!

Hi all! Just joined this awesome site. Lots of great information. I haven't actually done any brewing yet - I'm a complete newbie! I decided recently that I would like to try my hand at home brewing. Here's why - for years I thought I hated beer! Couldn't stand it, always prefered a good red...