Recent content by starkid721

Well, everything seems to have gone well. Bottled 10 days ago, final gravity reading 1010, giving approximate ABV of 3.9%. It's been in the bottles for 12 days indoors, and I've now put them outside in the shed. I just couldn't help myself and have had two bottles of it already! :whistle...

Thanks for all the replies on this and my other threads, they increase confidence! So, after 12 days in the FV and the gravity readings down to 1010 on two consecutive days, decided to bottle last night. Although it at first seemed a little cloudy (I was worried about the amount of hop...

Thanks guys, you've made me feel a lot more optimitistic about how it will turn out. I can remember someone (but can't remember who) posting elsewhere, that as long as you've avoided an infection, at the end of the day you'll get some sort of beer. :grin: Will keep you updated!

Evening all, Felt like I should use my new second FV and got one on the go last night, using a Coopers Australian Pale Ale. My eagerness has been matched only by my idiocy. :doh: Steeped approximately 25g Challenger hops in 1 litre of boiled water with 150g brew enhancer for about 20...

Why do I get the feeling I'm being sucked ever further into the homebrewing vortex?! Thanks for this, :thumb: I didn't know that Summer Lightning was bottle conditioned, it does give me an excuse to go and buy a few bottles! :grin:

Hi all, It's official, I've got the brewing bug - this is my fourth brew in about 8 weeks, and I've now got a second FV. Thanks to all the advice, experiments and information posted on this forum, I felt confident enough to try a recipe from the Coopers website. Coopers Lightning Strike is...

Ok, so the central heating debacle continues. We've not had central heating for a week now - the warmest place in the house is the airing cupboard, which varies between 15 deg c and 18 deg c (when the immersion heater is on). I thought this would really hold back progress, but took a sample...

Hi all, So I have started on the one-can-kit brews (thanks Tesco and your sale), and having looked at some of the one can pimping options posted by others on the forum, I plumped for the Coopers Canadian Blonde. Tales of how others have amended their kits have been a real inspiration. :thumb...

I almost certainly shouldn't have done this, but I got a bottle of St Peter's Golden Ale from the supermarket this week and have just sat down to compare the shop version with my kit version. As you can see, my version is a lot darker in colour and a lot maltier in taste - mine tastes ok, but...

Hi all, This will be my third kit, but my first one-can kit. Am actually a bit excited about how I can make this beer "mine"! I plan to start it tomorrow night, but wanted to check about additions. Coopers recommend using the Brew Enhancer 2. However, my previous two brews have both come...

Well all the bottles have now been out on the cold shed conditioning for a couple of weeks, and I'm suffering from the homebrewers curiosity! Have sampled a number already! :drink: It will come as no surprise to anyone other than newbies like me that the bottles that spent the longest time...

Bottling time...! It seemed to take ages, but I eventually bottled this yesterday. By this time it had been in the FV for 15 days. I had added a hop tea on Friday so that had been in for 3 days. I arsed up the tea (how could I **** up something as simple as hop tea?!), doing it at the end of a...

Hahaha! I think I may have to find an alternative fridge altogether! Thanks for the hop tea suggestion!

Cheers Albion, When I'm in the pub I do enjoy something akin to a hopped pale ale, like at Dark Star Hophead or a Long Man Long Blonde. Think I'll stick with the Saaz this time (ordered some today) and experiment further the more I do. Might do it as a hop tea as MyQul suggests.

Hi all, Well, after bottling up my St Peter's Golden Ale on Friday, I started a Muntons Continental Pilsner on Sunday morning. Followed kit instructions fairly closely. It was too hot to add the yeast straight away, so I gave it a good stir and waited about an hour for the temperature to...