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I forgot to mention that the GB never cleared as you might expect in a beer. I have since read that the pear sweetening may be at least partly responsible for some "haze". My chief suspect is the yeast which though it did very slowly settle, it remained very easy to disturb, as when drawing off...

When are you ******* going to stop whining about lemonade & ginger beer being excessively dry? Of course it is.............just use a keg & force carbonate after back-sweetening. This can be done in stages to get the sweetness just right. Never ever use artificial sweetener BTW!

I am unsure how old my Brew San is but I considered it an equivalent (to Star San) at significantly lower price. Apart from somewhat ambiguous instructions on the label, the label has another fault - it's not waterproof & already after just a few uses it can barely be read. Regarding rinsing...

Using an angle grinder, even with well worn disc, to cut what needs to be a precision hole does not sound straightforward to me. However clearly it's doable. I wonder what the effect on max pressure capacity is with the newly cut oval hole, anyone bothered to do a test at say 100 PSI? I think...

One potential problem I don't see mentioned here is your water source. Most home brewers use tap water treated by the local authority. But quality does vary substantially from region to region & sometimes within a region. The problem disappears if all water is boiled to pasteurize, but that...

The OP says he sometimes fits a 45 litre keg AND a 19 litre in his kitchen frig. God alone knows how he gets that in his frig (fork hoist maybe, or maybe he supervises his wife)! I have a bit of a struggle fitting 4 kegs in my frig which looks to be about the same size.

For anyone interested I'd appreciate any comment: Rather long post: Peter’s Home Brew Alcoholic Ginger Beer for Keg dispensing. After fermentation I will be placing in a Cornelius ball lock 19 litre keg, for forced carbonation & maturation. Target brew quantity is 19 + 1 = 20 litres, thus...

Look everything posted in the replies so far is sound advice. The odd horror story is IMHO just BS or maybe the result of careless misuse. For what it’s worth I have used swimming pool liquid chlorine for 30 odd years without any problems whatever. Of course back then there were few...

I have been gradually improving what had been rather average beer, by making some additions. I understand the principles (I think) but when I come to actually brew I end up with many questions. Some examples: Recent recipe for an Aussie Pale Ale called up a total of 100 g of 3 different hops...

Everything said so far is bang on good advice. One variation I employ" I use some aluminium adhesive tape to tape the thermometer probe to the outside of my fermentor. Tape is Ebay & the thermometer is a digital readout type with 900mm senor that can collect data over time, also Ebay. I will...

Look I expect you are interested in getting back into the swing of things & home brewing has developed in the last 10 years or so. Fundamentals remain the same of course. My recommendations (BTW I disagree nothing anyone has posted in the replies). 1) Use the yeast that came with your kit, if...

I lost about 60@ of 6Kg CO2 cylinder, due to a minute leak that I had failed to detect. I had to immerse the pressurised keg in my swimming pool to find the leak! So that's why I never leave the gas on. BTW, I have only one keg connection available When I first keg a new brew, I purge the small...

Steve's article is pretty much a simple common sense approach that he tells us works well in practice. We should not ignore that or suggest that his methods are not supportable by micro-biology or current industry practice. If it works reliably, as Steve claims, it's a very useful homebrew...

OMG -- what have you done?

A wee bit off topic - advice was requested. Reading a hydrometer is tricky enough as it is. A refractometer just introduces more variables & opportunities to get things terribly wrong.

Colfa, Thanks for the very useful links. Well presented articles that help put things into perspective.

I can't see how a "trial clean" can do anything other than provide some useful info. I do agree 100% that the quickest easiest & most reliable method is to simply to replace. But if you have the time & inclination: Run at least 5 litres of near boiling water through all lines. Mix up a strong...

Lactose is not generally a good way to introduce sweetness, except where it has been proven, as for example in commercial milk stouts. I'd recommend for keggers: just back sweeten with lemon cordial or plain sugar syrup made yourself. Beware anything with artificial sweetener. Don't forget to...

Sounds great. I have just brewed a 20 litre batch which has turned out poorly & I am not really sure why. Based on Coopers 1.7Kg tin light amber malt extract with matodextrin, dextrose & brown sugar (50% dark brown, 50% crystal brown(stuff you use in coffee). I kegged & back sweetened with...

I'd like to follow up on this simple recipe. But: Which hops & how much? It's suggested 50 to 75 grams if I interpret the answers above correctly. Why Cascade, why not a lower cost high alpha New Zealand hop, which should be fresher? Basically I need to be able to make wise selections & know how...