Recent content by Merkin

Guinness, at the Guinness brewery in Dublin while I was on holiday with my family aged 11. I can almost smell the aromas of the brewery visit today.

Luck Freedom please!

This is where I find an iSpindel invaluable in monitoring the progress of a fermentation without disturbing it. Quite surprising at how rates and length of the fermentation process vary between brews. Some are all over withing 4-5 days, while others may take twice as long. On the rare occasion...

Minimum 10 days, but usually between 14 and 21. Really depends on available storage space and having a free day.

Smelling the Citra already - Redneck for me please!

Hi Fred I'm also ex BT (started off as an engineer), and been brewing for the second time around for about a year. Excellent hobby to pick up - it can take you in so many directions and the output is so enjoyable! Fabulous forum here - so much friendly and helpful advice to be had, Good luck!

Synology NAS, for the most part streaming to old but quality Squeezebox Duets. Can also stream to any capable device (eg phone, ipad etc) over my network or over the internet.

Try drinking a crate of Cointreau and use the empties.

Hi Syd Welcome! Beautiful part of the country - my son lives in Taunton, so really looking forward to being able to get down there again (and enjoy a glass or two of Sheppy's). I have a Wherry going at the moment. It's one of the simpler kits (ie no additional hops required), but nevertheless...

I now only buy beer from the supermarket if I need more bottles for storage.

I can't fault any of the excellent advice on here so far. Only other thing to consider is that Epiphone / Gibson tend to have shorter scale lengths (length of strings, hence fret size) than Fender clones (Squire Strats etc). Might be a factor for smaller fingers.

Oh yes please! Guinea's Irish Stout is a cracker!

Some great videos from Love Brewing gave me the confidence to get up and running again after a 30+ year break. Restarted about 9 months ago, and have never looked back. https://www.lovebrewing.co.uk/videos/beer-making-videos/

Most, and working towards all, of my bottles are Bishops Finger / Spitfire bottles. Shape and size suit me, and being clear makes bottling, pouring and cleaning so much easier. I've never had problems with UV, as my brews are seldom exposed to daylight. I use a bench capper (bought as part of a...

Definitely try the Beerworks kits - excellent value and quality products. I buy 3 at a time and avoid paying for postage.