Recent content by FOPA

Old Reptonian Drifter IPA for me please!

Hazy IPA please.

I am entering.

Count me in. Picked up a second hand fridge just before Christmas. With this I can put it to good use. Any competitions for a greenhouse heater?

I used an STC1000 to control a 3kW Burco heater. I used the 10A relay on the STC1000 to switch the "gate" voltage to the Triac on a 4.5kW "dimmer" unit (also available really cheap on eBay). That way the STC1000 is easily man enough for the job, and I can also turn down the Burco power once...

An update on how this turned out... In the end I primed with brewing sugar as normal, but diluted it a little more so as not to over-carbonate the beer, which worked fine. This was meant as a Christmas brew, so now it's Christmas (close enough - I'm not waiting any longer) I've sampled a...

The Two Towers Brewery Tours are back on Groupon http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/birmingh ... 320&a=2758

Had a try at this one for my second AG Brew. Kept the recipe almost as stated at the top of this thread, but reduced the hops to 60g in total, based on some of the earlier comments. Second runnings stayed good and dark, so managed to get about 34L from the mash. I only have a 30L Burco...

Sorry, I didn't explain myself very well. I've found GW's recipe (and a few adaptations) but running the ingredients through Beer Engine and BrewMate the colour comes out sort of Speckled Hen brown, rather than the dark colour I associate with OP.

Pale Ale all bottled up - waiting for it to carbonate before I give it a try. Next up - Dark Ale for Christmas. Fancy an Old Peculier Style Ale, but all recipes I find seem to come in a lot lighter than OP I've drank. Anyone know a good recipe for something dark and OPish? :wha:

OK photos as promised... All the kit set up ready to brew - Burco (insulated with some leftover underlay from hardwood flooring I fitted a while ago), Temp Controller box and Coolbox Mash Tun Immersion cooler in the Burco Inside the mashtun - by cutting the spigot nut in half, I managed to...

OK Thanks for all the help - first AG brew, Ed Wort's Haus Pale Ale made with Maris Otter malt and some locally grown hops, (FOPA prototype #1) is now bubbling away in the fermention bucket. Looking forward to trying it in a few weeks. Will post some photos of the equipment when I have time...

Rog, I'm pretty close - My username FOPA was chosen as my intended first AG brew will be named Four Oaks Pale Ale! The Two Towers brewery tour is well worth it. We did it as part of a Groupon deal, which meant it only cost £4 a head, and we got to sample 4 beers while we were there. If they...

OK, thanks for all the advice so far. I've managed to acquire a 27L Burco, so won't need to worry about kettle elements in plastic buckets! I picked it up cheap on eBay, because the thermostat is broken. So I've ordered a 3.8KW "dimmer" and an STC1000 temperature controller, which works out...

Thanks for all the replies. If I luck-out on Burcos, then a trip to Argos will be likely. The Value kettle is only 2.2KW, so the 10 Amp relay in the STC1000 will be up to the job of controlling the temp when in use as a HLT. How do I stop it "tripping" when using it as a boiler? I'm guessing...