This might be helpful, just in case..
Thanks man! It might be the cold. Although I live in LA and its been hot here, that all changed the night I started the fermenting. I'll try the tips on that site. It doesn't look like all hope is lost. Just need to monitor it better.
Yeah, I think I stopped the fermentation. I just can't seem to be able to keep the fermentor warm enough and I'm not home for 17hrs out of the day these days so no time to monitor it. How do other people manage this or is it never a problem?
Get a min/max thermometer and a pile of blankets/sleeping bags. If you find the area drops too much you could try using an electric blanket (with a couple of layers of normal blanket first to minimise hotspots, or use it to line the cupboard). Likewise if it gets too hot just lower the thermostat on the blanket.
Well, now I have a bread machine too (must be getting middle-aged..) so all around is the faint aroma of yeast and hops. There is nothing quite like fresh home-made bread, with fresh home-brewed bitter, and fresh mature shop bought cheese. No, I'm not going to buy a cow.
Umma, I used your suggestion and put a sweater around the Carboy and it was bubbling away for over a week. I just bottled last night and tasted some, its actually not bad. Tastes like a low carbonated Newcastle. Now to wait another week and see if the carbonation increases in the bottle now that I added the priming sugar. Ooooo, bread. I've been making that for years without a bread maker. Another slightly time consuming cooking hobby, but at least the bread can be done in an afternoon and eatin for dinner, unlike the beer. Now, to replace my broken fermentation filter so I can brew some Mead so that its ready for my birthday, in July.
Well nobody has posted here in a while. I got two crates of Wychwood for Christmas and they have all gone now. Hobgoblin was by far my favourite Wychwood beer.
Hmm, never tried that one. The beer I really miss is Saranac. I believe you can only find it in the northeast of the US and Canada. Haven't been able to find it since I moved to California. My first batch of beer didn't come out all that good. Some people liked it and said it tasted like a Guiness but the carbonation and flavor was inconsistent and I think the fermentation stalled so there was very little alcohol in it. I've just bottled a Pale Ale that I think will come out and taste much better. Bought a case of those pressure cap bottles and am hoping for a more consistent carbonation. I ended up drinknig a pint of it pre-bottled and it definitely has alcohol this time, two would probably get me a nice buzz. I'll know more in a week.
Has anybody tried making mead?
I will mention two excellent beers I have come across in my beer-investigations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulden_Draak Of course, make sure you have a functioning liver before drinking it: it's a bit strong. Also, Noel Balladin. It's made by a local Italian brewerie near Turin. Unfortunately, they have inadequate storage, and as it is fermented inside bottles, sometimes this causes stocks to be awful. Generally very good.
A quick question for those of you in Britain: I'll be in England for a week or two sometime in the next few months. What ales should I be keeping my eye out for? Excluding the Shepherd Neame ales, Wytchwood, common Fullers lines like London Pride, ESB etc. as I can get those here in Australia.
Anyone in here a fan of Samuel Smiths? Definitely my favorite brand. I don't really like the lighter stuff like Pale Ales, its the dark for me! Especially Oatmeal Stouts and Imperial Stouts. I recently switched from Newcastle to Smithwicks as my "common" beer, its quite similar but with more flavor and less carbonation. BTW- is there a Scotch group? I'm in love with Laphroaig 15 year...
With the long weekend coming, and some summer parties on the way, I'm going to Brew up the Pale Ale that went over so well last time I brewed it, This time however I think I'm going to try and give it a bit more of a hoppier flavor. After that I need to find a good summer Ale to make.
Seems Obama's beer of choice is Bud, still don't understand how people can drink that.
Ugh... Ya'll must not be drinkin' much lately. Come out to Vermont and I'll treat ya to some good ales...
Why has this group faded in my absence? My faith in the TWC is teetering.
Because we have the beer thread!
Two words; Betty Stoggs. What an ale! Though I must say anything by Skinners is generally excellent, them Cornish know how to brew.
