John Dolan - Wirral & North Wales AO Posted October 10, 2018 Posted October 10, 2018 After much consideration, I came to the conclusion that I was drinking too much alcohol. The stats, the do gooders, the doctors, all say this is not good, for your liver, for your heart, and some unmentionable parts which I can't bring up. I have taken the decision to have two alcohol free days, Monday and Tuesday each week. Tank the lord it's wednnnessdday todayy. I'll drink to that. 2 Quote
DamperMan Posted October 10, 2018 Posted October 10, 2018 That reminds me of my student Christmas tree... a spire of empty white carling black label cans with a few green heinican cans for decorative effect. Trying to cut back myself on school nights. Lidl have this Quote
Blatman Posted October 12, 2018 Posted October 12, 2018 On 10/10/2018 at 21:53, bollockybill said: and some unmentionable parts which I can't bring up. Pretty sure there is an over-the-counter pill for that these days... 1 Quote
Captain Colonial Posted October 12, 2018 Posted October 12, 2018 2 hours ago, Blatman said: Pretty sure there is an over-the-counter pill for that these days... ...said The Voice Of Experience... Quote
Wilfman Posted October 12, 2018 Posted October 12, 2018 Have you noticed that Johns beers are in the kitchen whereas Dampermans are in the garage??!! Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 Free alcohol sounds better! 2 Quote
Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 38 minutes ago, Man On The Clapham Omnibus said: Free alcohol sounds better! FREE! how much did all thar equipment cost then? 1 Quote
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 3 minutes ago, Paul Hurdsfield said: FREE! how much did all thar equipment cost then? And the ingredients etc! Quote
DamperMan Posted October 13, 2018 Posted October 13, 2018 Can’t beat some home brew. I went to an Oktoberfest last night and.... still suffering so i’ll Be very dry tonight. Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted October 14, 2018 Posted October 14, 2018 I only 'free' sounds better... The gear is all quite old but kept clean it lasts a very long time. I did splash out on a pub size CO2 cylinder two and a half years ago and haven't had it refilled yet - that picture is old and Sodastream no longer supply the cylinder in that shot. The ingredients cost about £15 per 40 pints including electricity for preparing. Less than 40p per pint is damn nearly free compared with c.£4.00 - $4.50 in pubs. Oh, and no, the beer doesn't taste like pencil sharpenings either! Quote
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted October 14, 2018 Posted October 14, 2018 Must admit, every time costs are discussed, it really appeals! (Always fancied having a go, I confess, only lack of space and memories of seventies/early eighties style horrors of home brew at friends have stopped me). Raw materials apart. What’s actually needed to start? Quote
CarbonWest - Chris Broster - Bristol & Bath AO Posted October 14, 2018 Posted October 14, 2018 Could this be the start of a WSCC brewing sidebar... 1 2 Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted October 14, 2018 Posted October 14, 2018 22 minutes ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary said: Must admit, every time costs are discussed, it really appeals! (Always fancied having a go, I confess, only lack of space and memories of seventies/early eighties style horrors of home brew at friends have stopped me). Raw materials apart. What’s actually needed to start? It's been several decades since I started so my kit is more 'established'. Most start with a fermentation bin like this and bottles. If you have somewhere warm to put the fermenter so much the better, or you can use a heater like this as I do because my basement is never warmer than about 15ºC. A book such as this might be a wise buy. For serious beer making at an intermediate level as is mine, a keg or two are best for storage and dispensing. Bottles are a pain to clean and fill. Briefly my brewing routine is like this: As I use a kit (alarmingly out of stock!) but I don't follow their directions. Pour the wort (liquid kit contents) into a large stainless jam making saucepan. Boil three litres of water in two kettlesful and add to the wort washing out the wort tin on the way. Stir and bring to the boil very carefully (it foams) and simmer for about ten minutes during which the foam subsides (the 'break') and then pour into the fermenting vessel which has already got some cold water in to reduce the thermal shock to the plastic tub. Boil a kettleful of water and then dissolve a kilo of sugar in the preserving pan with the water and then add to the fermenter. I then carry the fermenter down to my basement but that's just local action! Make up to 40 pints with cold water and then stir in the yeast from the sachet. Cover with the lid but if using a snap down lid like the one shown leave it very slightly unfastened to allow gas to escape. Maintain 20 - 23ºC ideally. After a week if no bubbles are rising in the brew then it's ready to keg (in my case). Usually I leave it for ten to fourteen days to be sure as I don't use a hydrometer. I then run it through a plastic tube from the tap on my fermenter. Add finings here and close the barrel to allow clearing. After a week the beer is usually clear (the first half pint is cloudy because of yeast settling in the tap, but thereafter it's clear. I do not prime with further sugar as that doesn't work in my cold basement and tends to cloud the beer again anyway - it's a secondary fermentation. Often I don't need to put CO2 on the barrel at all or only for part of the barrel's contents because natural condition produces enough gas. Cleanliness is paramount if you don't want to make vinegar. I use sodium metabisulphate to sterilise my equipment. A strong solution (enough to make your eyes water - a teaspoon per pint of water) sloshed about in a freshly washed vessel seems sufficient. I reuse mine until it no longer makes the cat sneeze! Most home brewers start out keenly but give up after a couple of failures, but it really is worth pressing on if you want a decent pint of ale on tap at little inconvenience. Art of Brewing is where I buy stuff but there's a few out there and I didn't bother with using the very basic ingredients and mashing my own wort, I use a kit. It's the beer I'm after not the making of it. But there's a whole community out there who really do it properly. This forum has all the enthusiasts you could ever want - a bit like WSCC! Cheers! Quote
Gary Taylor Posted October 14, 2018 Posted October 14, 2018 1 hour ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary said: Must admit, every time costs are discussed, it really appeals! (Always fancied having a go, I confess, only lack of space and memories of seventies/early eighties style horrors of home brew at friends have stopped me). Raw materials apart. What’s actually needed to start? This is a bad idea Dave, you’ve a lot of work to get through this winter without this sort of distraction 1 Quote
John Dolan - Wirral & North Wales AO Posted October 14, 2018 Author Posted October 14, 2018 31 minutes ago, Man On The Clapham Omnibus said: Looks just about perfect. 1 Quote
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