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I do drink my tap water, although I wouldn't say it tasted great. The water quality report for my address shows the mean total chlorine content as 0.36 mg/L which seems fairly typical for tap water, from what I can gather. I can't actually smell chlorine in the water though. Hardness is...

Has anyone used water treatment for a beer kit? It occurs to me (correct me if I'm wrong) that a kit is dehydrated hopped malt extract and so should contain all of the minerals appropriate for a beer of that style. That being the case, you would expect to brew it using water with no mineral...

I came across this article in the Telegraph today ... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/the-surprising-health-benefits-of-drinking-beer/ Not sure I believe all of it but it's nice to hear that something you enjoy can do you good!

I'm now drinking the last few bottles of my Wherry that I bottled on 3rd November. Over this time it has improved dramatically, so that I would say it wasn't really ready to drink until it was 8 weeks in bottle. Apart from a maturing of flavour, the sediment has firmed up over this time so...

I had an idea that might work, although I haven't tried it myself. It's the Champagne method. Turn your bottles upside down and leave for a day or so until the sediment collects in the neck of the bottle. Then carefully ease the cap partly off. The pressure in the bottle should blow the...

Just tried another bottle, but this time I decanted it into a jug before pouring a glass. It's surprising what a difference that makes - nice head, good clarity and beer seems lively enough. Also, a bit longer conditioning time (now 16 days in bottle) has made the beer better balanced, a...

I bottled my first attempt at this kit on 3rd November, and sampled a bottle on Saturday. Apart from getting the carbonation wrong (too flat) I thought it was a very tasty pint. Much darker and full bodied than I expected though, and not at all like the draught Wherry I had in a local pub...

Well I finally bottled it on 3rd Nov with the FG at 1.013, 18 days after pitching the yeast. Filled 41 x 500ml bottles primed with a syrup made up of wort and 75g caster sugar (I only used caster sugar as it was what was in the cupboard). Kept the bottles in the kitchen for 10 days, by which...

Thanks All for your advice. I'll just be patient a little longer. Activity seems to be slowing now, with the airlock bubbling every 2 to 2.5 minutes, so it looks like it's getting there.

I started my first attempt at home brewing 10 days ago with a Woodforde's Wherry kit, but fermentation is taking longer than I expected: O.G 1041 Fri 16 Oct S.G 1014 Mon 26 Oct Wort temp. 19 degC SG fell to 1018 by day 5 (counting from day 1 when I pitched the yeast), but has been slow to fall...

Hi all, an update on progress. I left the wine in the F.V. for 17 days, by which time it had cleared and all activity had ceased. On tasting, it was acidic, fruity and dry. I decided to bottle it directly from the F.V. rather than rack it first, and filled 15 bottles, which I put in the...

I see that EBay has a lot of Chinese-made pH meters for under £10. Has anyone bought one for beer or wine making and are they any good? I can't post a link as the site won't let me, but if you search eBay for "pH meter" then the yellow plastic ones are the ones I mean.

Hi all, Thanks for all your replies. I've since tasted it again, and it doesn't seem as acidic as before. I also tried diluting samples of the must and found I could dilute by up to 30% before it began to taste too thin. On reflection, I think I'll wait and see how it develops. If then it...

Hi all, I've recently begun wine making, using grapes from my garden grapevine (white, variety unknown). I picked 19kg of grapes and crushed and pressed to produce 12L of juice at S.G.of 1.046. The grapes were, on the whole, sweet enough to eat, although I did end up crushing some small green...