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  1. Budgie

    My first attempt at brewing is ready!

    Looking good. Congrats on your first brew!
  2. Budgie

    Budgie Brewday.

    So quick update on this. I took a gravity reading after 2 weeks and it was at 1011. The sample tasted amazing! Still early days with this one but definitely promising. It’s now lagering at about 4°C, which is the coldest I can get it, I’ll probably give it another 2 weeks before bottling.
  3. Budgie

    Stout - couple of basic questions

    I’ve used oats in a couple of stouts. As @Clint said with pale ale, it gives a silky creamy mouthfeel. I preferred the stouts with oats to the ones without.
  4. Budgie

    Where to buy bottles from

    I ask people to save them for me. Maybe I just have alcoholic friends but I’m never short.
  5. Budgie

    First ever brew I Sunday way

    Most lager kits come with an ale yeast, rather than a true lager yeast. Lagers are fermented pretty cool, about 9-13°C. If the kit says 18-25 it’s definitely an ale yeast, but I’d still keep it to the lower end of that. 18-20 and you’ll be grand.
  6. Budgie

    PH of mash

    I usually check after about 15 minutes. I remember reading somewhere that you should wait at least 10mins. Sooner than that can give an inaccurate reading as the science stuff it still happening.
  7. Budgie

    Brew water ph

    I often use acid malt in lighter beers (dark bees tend not to need it) and always hit close enough to target mash pH. I punch my figures into EZ water calculator and it has a section for acid malt additions. You can adjust the amount till the pH is where you want it. As @Drunkula said, it’s mash...
  8. Budgie

    Budgie Brewday.

    I was planning on brewing on Friday, but you know, life. So today finally got round the Munich Helles from Greg Hughes’ book. Managed to get my water profile pretty close the the one suggested on Braukaiser. I used Lidl bottled water and added 1.2g CaSO4 and 2.6g CaCl2 to the mash and another 2g...
  9. Budgie

    Wyeast smack pack.

    Thanks for the replies guys. @MyQul I was all for your idea, but then I was informed that we’re having a bbq so didn’t get the chance. I’ve stuck it back in the fridge for now and I’ll make it later today. My main reason for wanting to use the stir plate are it’s a lager yeast, and I haven’t...
  10. Budgie

    Newbie question

    Good advice above. As for temperature, the kit will have included an ale yeast as opposed to a true lager yeast (which require cooler temps) so your 20-22 will be absolutely fine. Keep us posted on how it turns out.
  11. Budgie

    Wyeast smack pack.

    I'm planning on brewing on Friday. I've smacked the yeast packet and it's swelling up nicely. I was intending to make my starter tonight, but my home made stir plate has decided to stop working. I've managed to get another 12v fan on next day delivery so I'll get it back up and running tomorrow...
  12. Budgie

    Brewing with Whole Hops

    One other thing you might want to consider is the alpha rating of the hops. If you’re following a recipe that uses hops with a different alpha rating to the ones you’ve got you can use This calculator to find the right amount to use.
  13. Budgie

    Brewing with Whole Hops

    This article sums up the difference between the two pretty well. The main takeaway, though, is this.. “Both the surface area and alpha acid availability [in pellets] translate to a 10 to 15 percent increase in utilization over whole hops. Though, technically this increase is not high enough for...
  14. Budgie

    Old grain.

    There’s little bits of all sorts really. Some Minch pale, a couple of different crystals, acid, torrified wheat, chocolate etc. Other than the 5k of wheat it’s mostly just little bits and pieces though to probably not worth bothering with. I’m all for reduced conditioning time though!
  15. Budgie

    Old grain.

    Cracking. German Wheat on the way then. :D It was worth a shot! However I’ll have to respectfully decline. :laugh8:
  16. Budgie

    Experiments in home malting

    Fascinating read. Looking forward to hearing how this turns out. acheers.
  17. Budgie

    Old grain.

    So I was doing a bit of spring cleaning in the brew room yesterday and I’ve got loads of bits and bobs of out of date grain which I’m just going to sling on the compost heap. But I also came across a full 5k bag of wheat malt. It’s crushed, expiry date June 2018 :eek: The bag is still sealed...
  18. Budgie

    Fermentation fridge - does fridge light harm fermentation?

    I always thought that skunking was a result of UV light reacting to hop compounds rather than yeast, which wouldn’t be a problem with cider. I may have misunderstood though, it happens fairly regularly!
  19. Budgie

    Budgie's back.

    https://tenor.com/view/run-away-monty-python-the-holy-grail-killer-bunny-gif-5605546
  20. Budgie

    Budgie's back.

    You’ll be glad to know that my smuggling days are behind me.
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