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She's using it to store extra vegetables in! She took it over at Christmas because we needed extra fridge space to store non-beer drinks and desserts. Never did give it back! :)

I like this quote I found on the internet ... "Folks in the beer industry like to say that brewers don't really make beer. Brewers make wort—which is the stuff that yeast makes into beer." Phenols and esters? I should be so lucky! I'd love to be tasting esters in my brews but there is too much...

OK, some really great advice there guys. Thank you! I think you've set me back on the right track. Brewing was getting really disappointing!! Kelsey, I also used to rack my brew for a week in the cold fridge before kegging but I was never sure if that was a good thing to do or not. Also, I was...

I have often wondered how much risk there is in waiting to add the yeast. Does an un-yeasted wort go off pretty fast? Similarly, I wonder about pulling the brew out of the fermenter too soon. I tend to err on the side of not leaving it after I think it's finished brewing, but I know others...

Hmmm ... maybe! My daughter bought be a few cans at a closing down sale of a brew shop and to be honest I have not checked the dates on the last two cans I've used so they could well be out of date. Does the wort itself go off? Or just the yeast?

I always oxidise the wort using a paddle in a battery drill (actually I do this more to make sure the wort and brew enhancer have mixed through thoroughly), so there is lots of foam on the top. I have taken to stirring in the yeast with a long plastic spoon instead of just distributing it on top...

I've been brewing using kits and extracts for a few years now and I've made some excellent brews in that time, but just lately I've been really disappointed with every brew I make and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. The last three brews I've made (a Cooper's Pale Ale, a Morgan's Amber...

Are you getting droplets under the lid of the fermenter? If so, it's probably OK. I had a brew that wouldn't fart at all and I rang Coopers for help. They told me about the droplet test and that brew was fine. Seems to happen more with lagers than ales. Tony

I'm half way through a keg of it at the moment. It started out very nice, but it's getting 'sharper' in taste as it goes along. I just used the standard yeast and a Brew Enhancer No 2. I'd probably use a hops bag next time. Tony

Don't underestimate this thread, Maurice. It's been running at least warm for several months now and new people coming along and joining in regularly. I have my Bi-Lo Lager in the fridge fermenting at 20 degrees now, with 1kg of Brew Enhancer No 1 and the basic yeast - a total of $13.00 worth of...

Hi and welcome the to discussion. What's a 'dietic rest'? And what is the difference (in a cold lager brew) between racking and cold conditioning? I brewed mine for three weeks in the fridge, then decanted it to plastic cubes to condition for another three weeks. I've now bottled it and I am...

Hi Grant, I don't think you should drop the sucrose directly into the secondary. Others may disagree, but usually my secondary has a whack of sediment in the bottom that it's better not to mix up into your final brew for bottling. I like clear beers, though, and I know others don't care about...

Hi all, Just a quick update on my supermarket challenge series so far. The situation is: - On tap: Cascade Golden Harvest (in fridge at 1 degree) - Carbonating: Cooper's Cerveza (in fridge at 1 degree) - Fermenting: Cooper's Euro Lager (in fridge at 14 degrees) The Golden Harvest just gets...

Hi Jono, what precisely am I watching for in the froth? Am I looking for it to disappear, or to change in some way? Tony

I am so pleased to hear other home brewers rave about how much better their own beer is than the commercial equivalents. I was starting to think that I was "drinking my own piss", so to speak. I have felt this way since about the third brew I made. Every now and then I don't plan properly and I...

Hi, strangely enough the Coopers leaflet had virtually no instructions about how to pitch the yeast, although it does point out that this is a 'true lager yeast' and so behaves differently to other yeasts. So I rang the Coopers help line (first time ever) and asked their advice. The guy on the...

A new instalment in the supermarket challenge saga ... my lager yeast doesn't seem to have fired. It's now day three since I pitched it in a jug of warm water. I left it on the bench for an hour or so, then popped it in the fridge to cool to the same temp as the fermenter mix (20 degrees). I...

Thanks guys, I will try these tips next time I brew with malt. It's still a steep learning curve sometimes, even after a year of brewing my own beer. Tony

Hi all, I just realised I have been very slack in not introducing myself to the group. I live in the western suburbs of Brisbane and I've only been home brewing for less than a year. My dad was a keen home brewer for many years, but I never really liked his beer - more's the pity because I'd...

Is there a special trick to pre-mixing light dry malt? I bought a 500g Coopers Light Dry Malt for my Euro Lager. Followed the instructions to pre-mix it in the carbuoy by swirling it in water, but what I ended up with was a whole lot of hard sticky lumps! This is my first attempt at using malt...