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I've started to enjoy a blonde beer. It seems especially suitable in the summer, well chilled. My problem is that my brews are a tad too dry using just Maris Otter, despite upping the mash temp. so I've acquired some caramalt 20, which shouldn't add much colour but should add sweetness. I've...

I knew it would be good whilst it was still fermenting but now it’s ready, just about, to taste. I bittered my 23 l with 20g of EKG and split 100g of my flavouring hop into 4, adding at 15, 10, 5 mins and flameout. If you like citra, Amarillo, centennial and the like you’ll go gaga for EKUANOT...

I first heard of dry hopping in the 1980s and have used it in nearly every brew since. Until recently, when I’ve dropped the dry hopping and brewed what I consider better beer. They are plenty hoppy enough and the hop flavours persist for a long time. I find the later the hops, the quicker the...

If you've ever wondered the answer to the question in the title you need to visit How Many Left?. Unless it's a very old car or bike or a kit car you can find how many are left on the road and see the last 10 years of history. I was reminded of the website by the name of a forum member who's...

The recent minimum price for a unit of alcohol is sending economy minded Scots south of the border to buy their drink. So will the smacking ban, announced today, have a similar effect. I can imagine the scene in many a scottish home........ "Och get in the car wee Jimmy. I'm going to Berwick for...

I popped into Morrisons earlier, since the cupboards were bare. I'll often buy 3 bottles of cider but today i thought I'd treat myself to an "IPA". I'm just starting to drink a brew of my own which is largely based on Citra hops so I thought it sensible to get something using Citra. They don't...

I've occasionally thought that a hoppy tasting beer has lost its essential hoppiness. Soon afterwards the hop flavour is back. I thought I must have developed a temporary tolerance to hop flavour so I Googled the issue. It seems I'm not alone. Hop tolerance is real and can be cured by drinking...

I read the opinion of some doom monger somewhere on t'inteweb who suggested that reservoir levels were dangerously low. This could directly impact our brewing:(. I've just looked at United Utilities web page and frankly it's a mixed picture. The ground hasn't been too bad for mountain biking...

It's probably a "how long is a piece of string?" question but I've made a sparkling wine from Lancashire grown grapes. I crushed the red grapes and got pink juice at 1.085 OG. I've fermented with a champagne yeast, put it in champagne bottles and primed. I only have 2 bottles so I want to drink...

After 126 all grain brews, I brew with confidence. Perhaps it was drunken bravado but when asked if I could make a wine from this years bountiful crop of grapes in my mates Lancashire back garden, I claimed that I could. My thoughts so far are to make a sparkling wine in the hope that the fizz...

I have overnight mashed for quite a few years. It makes for a shorter brew day and I have always believed that efficiency improved. Today I decided to brew without having mashed last night. My efficiency was at the top end of my usual range, which surprised me. It took about 75 minutes longer...

The results are in. In the heat of summer I decided to brew one of my familiar IPAs but substitute the Nottingham yeast for Mangrave Jacks M29 Belgian Abbey yeast. My reason was that, without temperature control, other than environmental, I thought I could keep things below the danger point...

Someone must have brewed one??????? I have no fermentation temperature control but it hasn't stopped my year round supply of pale ales, though. Recently I decided to brew 2 Belgian style beers with Mangrove Jacks M47 Belgian Abbey yeast. Early impressions are good. The yeast can easily stand 24C...

I am collecting the water from my immersion chiller to water the garden. The volume of water is higher than I’d imagined.

If herself insists I watch any part of today's wedding I'll need to temper the experience with a beer. What would be a suitable brew? I've got a few with British malt and American hops.

The first thought was to find which vehicle it fitted and run off the tank of diesel on the dirt roads around home. Seriously, you lose resale value if you don't have both keys so it is of value to it's owner. I was walking my dog in the woods and it looked like it hadn't been there long but...

I'm going to Normandy in May. We are a group of middle aged scooterists still pretending we're 19 years old. We'll be seeing lots of D Day related stuff and a little beer is likely to be consumed! What is the beer like in Normandy?

I went to my LHBS with the intention of buying some Styrian Goldings. I had obviously only read the first word on the pack since when I got it home it was Styrian Cardinal:headbang:. No problem, thought I. I'll use it for something. I almost always concoct my own recipes so I felt sure I could...

I'm about to brew AG number 113, so just a beginner, really. The other day I had a delightful pint in a local micro pub, the Bob Inn, a market stall in our covered market. It was 6% ABV and had the typical heavy, sweet flavour I'd associate with ales of this strength. I had already bought the...

Here’s mine. About 4cm.