Recent content by Redracer

I enjoy this beer myself. Never used lactose in my beers before. Are you thinking of boiling the lactose in water to sanitise it before kegging? Or just letting the alcohol take care of it for you?

Good luck on your first brew. I did kits for a few years before I took on AG. This was so I could have more control of the raw ingredients as kits always turned out a bit darker in colour than I wanted and the type of hops added is preset by the manufacturer. Best advice is sanitisation and...

I use a cleaning solution (PBW or napisan!!), put 3-5 litres in the keg, close the lid and shake for a while. Will use a kitchen cloth to wipe then inside if there are any suborn deposits. I remove the in and out nozzles and dip tubes. This way I can wash inside them in a bucket using the same...

I just put down a mead with no fruit or spices last week. Would it be OK to add them now while it is still going or have I left it too late?

I don't think there is any difference between the two bottles in terms of their sodium hypochlorite content. The first bottle is 4.2% w/vol and the 2nd is 42g/L...which is also 4.2% w/v. The difference is in the sodium hydroxide content hat has more than halved in the 2nd bottle. This NaOH does...

I've made the same cider and it came out well also. I didn't add any of the supplied sweetener as I wanted it dry. If I do it again, I would add 1/4 of the sweetener as it finished really dry. When I open a bottle it has a winey smell and feel but after its in the glass for a while it mellows...

It might be the fermentability of the extract and/or grains is lower than expected. The steeping of 1.2Kg of grain may not produce fermentable sugars but will generate flavour, colour and body (Higher FG) to the final beer. You have got just over 70% apparent attenuation from your yeast compared...

How long do you let the beer sit after fermentation? Do you let it condition for a while to clean up or do you get if off the yeast cake quickly to avoid autolysis? Do you change this process based on the different types of beer that you have brewed? You mentioned the temp probe being broken...

Agree 1000% with the difference to AG. Just did my first AG batch a few weeks ago and am impressed with the results. Did have the following observations on brew day: Hose clamps are a necessity, not optional, when transferring wort. Don't be too concerned about over shooting mash temps. It's...