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  1. Johnny H

    Poured 29 bottles down the sink today.

    If it's just excessive bitterness from too much hops it might have been premature throwing it away. A few years ago I intended to make a golden summer ale (Randy Mosher inspired), and I used some home made invert sugar. For whatever reason it came out too light in gravity and too bitter in...
  2. Johnny H

    Has anyone used COMET hops ?

    We had this hop on a couple of occasions in Germany over the last few years. Form what I remember, the aroma and quality seemed to fluctuate a bit with one year (2014?) being particularly delicious (strong blackberry flavours) and other years less "berry-y". People raved quite a bit over this...
  3. Johnny H

    Short expiry date on dried yeast

    I would agree that 48 hours is a very long wait, and I think you did the right thing. On a couple of occasions I left the cylinder with my hygrometer sample after boiling standing around (of course, no yeast), and after two or three days something visible starts to happen. Granted, that's an...
  4. Johnny H

    Hello from Berlin, Germany

    I'm not a whiskey drinker (not any more to be precise) but I know the sheer amount of bottles behind their bar is simply staggering. Loch Ness is quite far out from almost anywhere in Berlin, unfortunately. If the journey there didn't take me over an hour each way they would see me more often...
  5. Johnny H

    S-04 not starting

    Be careful with taking a sample from the tap. The remaining residues on/in the tap can attract all sorts of things that you do not want in your beer. If you take a sample from the tap, try to be very thorough with cleaning and sanitising it afterwards.
  6. Johnny H

    Hello from Berlin, Germany

    Great, thanks!! The only bar that I know of in Berlin that's using a handpump at the moment is the Loch Ness Pub (Roonstr., Lichterfelde). They usually have three Scottish Ales on tap and quite a few bottles as well. Moreover, they have a huge selection of whiskeys, the food is nice also, and...
  7. Johnny H

    Short expiry date on dried yeast

    The BRY-97 is a bit of a slow starter. 48 hours is not unusual, and I've read of examples where it's taken three or four days :o . The slow starting behaviour in combination with your yeast being beyond its shelf life might have been the problem here. Hope things go well from here. If the beer...
  8. Johnny H

    S-04 not starting

    Proper rehydration (water temperature according to data sheet, and ratio yeast:water at 1:10) is very important, even though top fermenting yeast (such as S-04) is a bit more forgiving than lager yeast. If you simply sprinkle the yeast on top of the wort, about 50% of your yeast cells will die...
  9. Johnny H

    Hello from Berlin, Germany

    Please forgive the question: what is a beer engine? A hand pump for casks (I googled the term and that was the first thing that came up)? That would sound very good!
  10. Johnny H

    Hello from Berlin, Germany

    Be my guest :) Earlier this year, some local homebrewers formed an official "Verein" (club/association) called Braufreunde Berlin e.V. (I'm one of the members, too), and the regulars are meeting on a monthly basis (these gatherings are pretty informal and international also - so non-German...
  11. Johnny H

    U Fleku beer

    Don't be scared of decoction mashing. Clearly, it's a bit more elaborate than a single step infusion and your brew day might take a bit longer but it's not rocket science either, and it may just add that little bit extra of overall roundness that may turn your beer from very good to truly...
  12. Johnny H

    Hello from Berlin, Germany

    Having Stone here is really good. Due to them being located quite far out (Mariendorf) it's unlikely I'll be there very often. I was at an event there a few months ago and was pretty impressed with their beers, too: well adapted to German palates yet unique and neatly brewed. Their prices are...
  13. Johnny H

    Hello from Berlin, Germany

    Hi Brightonnik, at long last things are finally moving a bit in Germany, albeit I think it is still limited to the bigger cities. In fact, in Berlin the whole thing has turned into a bit of a hype with seemingly everybody trying to jump on the bandwagon. On the other hand, the environment is...
  14. Johnny H

    Using Munich malt as a main base malt

    Thus far, I have made two beers with 100% Munich Malt type II. They were both pretty decent I thought. One was a Munich Dunkel, bottom-fermented (German W34/70) with an OG of about 1.048, hopped to about 24 IBUs with Comet (only first wort hopping). I used double decoction for that. The other...
  15. Johnny H

    Hello from Berlin, Germany

    Hi GermLish, Grüße zurück! Of course - same name on hobbybrauer and here. Used to live in Loughborough and Nottingham for several years, so not too far from Coventry. Still sometimes miss the UK. Cheers, Johnny H
  16. Johnny H

    Hello from Berlin, Germany

    Hello to all from busy Berlin, Germany! Have been registered here for quite a while but haven't posted yet. Whilst this is currently not very likely to change, I thought it was polite at least to finally write an introduction. I have been brewing since early 2013 (only all-grain and...
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