Recent content by yandy5000

Don't get too caught up in the details, it's more like cooking than it is hardcore science. I found a large fine mesh grain bag solved all my problems and malts are so good now sparging could just mean extra time and trouble. That's just my opinion though, go nuts! :) best regards, Yandy

I found low temperature lagers could take weeks to finish at 10-12, at least 14-20 days in the primary. Should be a really good beer!! if you're lagering it then you must be a patient man already. Damn it could have gone down as low as 3 degrees, warm it back up and it will be great. best...

I'm not disrespecting the extract process, I've done many an extract brew and it teaches you how to boil and do mini mashes. But when you are sick of that flavour, you know where to go! :) to BIAB! Even partials taste a lot better, but I can still detect a twangity tang cidery off taste in...

That's great to know! A 90 minute boil should kill most things. I found tap water here to vary between 6.8 - 7.2, your chlorine gets steamed off if you strike your water for a while and seems to work fine and taste good. What about mashing with rain water, would you have to boil it first then...

Good work. Get that brew day done and report back! I tasted my first AG pale ale - it's fantastic. It's still a bit green but it's shaping up to be great - rich malt flavour, super fresh hop taste (dry hopped with 40gm cascade for a week) and a very clean, dry finish. No more extracts here...

no problem mate, sorry to blag on like a know-it-all ;) I have made one starter with LDME, I'd like to try more. Do you use a bottle fitted with an airlock for this? Still my gardening tips are worth considering but that's well off topic. Best regards, Yandy

Apologies if this post is in the wrong area!

Hello! I managed well with a 47 litre cooler from Bunnings, only $80 from memory. This doubles as a portable beer cooler, it has wheels and a handle! Get some tubing to fit your taps and make sure your cooler / esky has a drainage plug or tap. I didn't bother with plumbing, just use the...

A few places sell pre-made bags, I'm really happy with mine. Even though it is an urn shape, it works fine in an Esky, just tie it up and let it sit. A 47 litre cooler has done the trick for me. Pre-heat your water in your boiler, put it in the cooler and close it up. Then drain it back into the...

Bloody good work :) /cheer BEST! Yandy

Also if that kit is out of date, bin it. If you don't want to waste it there are options - water it down and water the garden with it brew a beer and if it's shit put it in snail traps in the garden (old cans buried filled with twangy brew) distill the shit beer into spirit and mix it with...

Overall with extracts you might find some to be tasty and others to be twangy. Hot fermentations will give you yuck yeast tastes, too low you risk sticking which means froth and very little beer. At just the right temp you should get a smooth beer provided you are using the best malt extract you...

Second only to fresh wort kits are the ESB 3kg cans. Wort kits can be expensive to post.. I can't afford to ship them from sydney, so the G&G wort kits are good. You have more flexibility with the G&G worts for hops etc and they are easy. The ESB cans make a good brew, liquid yeast improves...

from my experience with toucans you end up with a ton of bitterness, not necessarily a nice integrated bitterness just a foul aftertaste. I did a coopers real ale with can of amber malt and english flavour hops (EKG). It was with two sachets of s04. Came out alright, nice hoppy flavour but it...

Oh and the hop vendors on ebay are really good if the season is right!!