I asked my wife to smell it and she didn't smell soap, but said it didn't smell very nice! S'pose I need some a more expert opinion on the unidentified smell. Don't think it's the fermenters as they have been taken apart and thoroughly cleaned and and a brown ale has been made in the one...

Hi Using campden tablets night before to do chlorine. My local water is low in minerals but high on carbonates which means I need use acids or crs to reduce for pale beers. Never had any issues with stouts, Amber's, bitters etc. Grain bill was almost same, golden promise with some cara malt...

Hi all Problem here I need advice with. The last 2 pale beers i have made have tasted soapy. Thats the best way I can describe it, once finished fermenting I had a sniff and taste and i can only describe it as tasting and smelling of soap or slightly medicinal (alongside the hop and malt...

Hi, Has anyone ever tried to, and more importantly succeeded, in removing the astringent flavour caused by too high a mash ph once fermentation is finished? I have been using a ph stabilzer and getting mixed resutls with it - my latest pale has come out increadibly bitter. Moving foward i am...

Hi, I was using up a few odd bits I had lying around in a stout. Here is what i used: 12 litre (approx 2 gallons) 1KG Maris Otter 800g oats 200g black malt 120g Roasted Barley 30g Chocolate Malt Magnum at 60 and 10 minutes. Its finished fermenting and tried a sample but it has a very thin...

Hi - just as a note so far the magnum hopped beer smells amazing - i chucked some amorillo in too and if the beer tastes as good at is smells I'm in for a treat!

I know most people just use magnum for bittering, but I think the dry magnum hops smell really good. Has anyone used them for late additions too and if so how did it turn out? I'm looking to nail down a nice simple session blonde ale (one style that I've never been able get just right so far)...

Added a bit more yeast, cranked it up to 18 degrees over night and it's dropped to 1032. Got it at 14 now and will drop to 12 later until finished ready for lagering.

yeast is a new one on the UK Home brew market - Bohemian lager yeast - by Bulldog(Hambleton Bard) i'll try that first then - thanks

176 was strike temp and i got it down to 147 after around 20 mins. ha yes he did! Not just 1 packet but 2!! I was buying them regardless plus some other bits ready for this weekend of brewing. I'll let you know how i get on with the mystery Vienna...

just been to my local HBS and asked - he suggested that it may be my yeast, cannot see that a mash decreasing from 80 - 65 in 20 mins would create that level of unfermanetables - although there will be some and i'll probaly end up around 1018 ish so it will be a sweet vienna lager! I was...

Hi Brewed a vienna lager 2 weeks ago. Aiming for 1049 OG and achieved it. However, after nearly 2 weeks the hydrometer reading still only says its 1040 - still plenty of sugars in there and its been like that since 4 days after adding the yeast. I have upped the temp a little, given it a...

I recently made a 6% ipa and only used 6g magnum(13%) for 60 mins then added more hops (30g) with 10 mins to go then more in whirlpool under 70 degrees, plus 30g in dry hop for 5 days. The beer has come out exceptionally bitter at first taste but quickly calms down and actually tastes great...

Hi, In my 3rd year of homebrewing, moved from extract, to all grain BIAB and now onto a grainfather. At a recent local homebrew meet up, a suggestion to improve my beer was to look at my water profile. Apparently where I live the water is lacking in minerals and can contribute to 'flat'...

Hi I have been home brewing for just under a year now and still very much in the experimentation stage. I have used the same method and equipment throughout, but recently my last few brews have become really hazy when poured. The last batch was a hoppy american style IPA (Magnum, chinhook...

Hi all, I just put my first 5 gallon batch of beer into a plastic pressurised keg for the 1st time and let a lot of air get in when transferring the liquid - I just read that this will cause oxidation and I should have carefully 'siphoned' it to prevent air getting into the liquid. Is there...

Hi, I have read that you can blend home brewed beers successfully. I have several bottles kicking around of a strong, sweet and well hopped brew that didn't come out the way I wanted. Plus a lighter brew that doesn't have the hop bitterness I was looking for. If I was to mix these 2 together...

Hi, On the weekend, like a complete muppet - i put way too much malt extract in my brew. I wasn't concentrating and put 3kg in instead of 2kg in a 5 gallon batch. I didn't realise till after the boil (added hops for an american style pale ale) - it was only when i took a sample from the...