Recent content by King Brown

Right now... Cayenne Chillies Jalapeno Chillies Capsicum Corn Butternut Pumpkin Rockmelon Snow Peas Bok Choy Pak Choy Lettuce Cabbage Italian Parsley Basil Dill Rhubarb Passion Fruit Vine x 2 Peach Tree Only half my corn has germinated, so I've planted more seeds, clumping in hopes of a full...

It will dark brown once the bread has baked :)

This sounds pretty damn good...

Sorry to Hijack the thread... Spent half today weeding and cleared out a good stretch of unutilised dirt. Since I'm renting I can't pull up any lawn/established plants so this is the only area I can really start a vege patch in. Only trouble is that it's along the south side of house, gets...

Is filtering the yeast out before boiling an option?

Yeah I think I will dilute the water for my next batch with about 30% distilled water, mainly to lower the sodium, also as it will be a hoppy beer I will want a fairly low chloride/sulphate ratio as well. although it sodium doesnt exceed the maximum in the recommednded range the article you...

Thanks for the link. Thats ok, next batch will be my first testing/adjusting the water so the more info the better. I know I need to drop the ph of my mash a bit, but I think my chloride to sulphate ratio needs attention, I also think it needs more calcium for yeast health

I've been looking at This calculator, basically my idea is that on brew day I should dilute with distilled water then take a ph reading at mash in, then checking with the salt additions to the minimum and maximum values stated in the report to make sure they fall within the reccomended range, do...

Yeah I planned on getting ph strips anyway, from what I've read its best to measure PH at mash in then make your salt additions accordingly. Would be nice to know the mean values of the readings, its probably just the odd anomolies that put the high and low samples so far apart.

Wow that was speedy, so much for allowing 7 days to receive a reply!

I just ordered a copy of the water report for the South Perth/Como area, will post when I get the email. When you guys work out your mineral additions do you use the median value? Ie if a range of say calcium was stated as being 13 - 21ppm would you use a value of 17ppm? Edit - typo

Boiling does not remove the bitter alpha acids, only the more volotile flavour and aroma compounds. If you add hops the longer you boil them the more bitterness you get out of them so I doubt boiling a kit would remove any bitterness. Also many can kits contain iso-hops which I've read boiling...

Experiment and see what you like, whether using a dried yeast such as safale or liquid yeast (white labs/wyeast/proculture are all reputable brands) the results will probably be better than kit yeast (providing you stick with reccomended temp range, kit yeast particularly coopers seems to be a...

I usually do it from the tap, but last time I did it from the top with a racking cane (didn't have a tap on the fermenter) and no matter which way I've done it, there's never been any trub at the bottom of the second vessel.

As the others do I spray with some starsan. Never had any problems when I didn't but like Tony said It isn't a big effort and will eliminate one possible source of infection.