Got given a Burton Bridge Summer Ale Kit for me birthday. Tried many kits but not this one. 100% malt kit so should be fine. Anyone tried this one before.
cheers
burton bridge summer ale
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wibble5
I've just started with this kit two days ago, so will keep you posted as to how it goes. I'm a bit of a novice with all this, so don't know if it's working ok yet. Fitted an airlock to the lid, and worryingly I can't see many bubbles coming up, but there is quite a lot of foam on the top so it must be doing something. I moved the fermenting bin at one point, hope I haven't buggered it up!
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wibble5
Just another quick question, I've been reading about using 1/2 a camden tablet per 5 gallons to make the water taste better (I'm in a really hard water area) - how long do you leave the water to stand after putting the tablet in and mixing it? Can you use it straightaway or is it best to leave overnight? I've already made up the brew now, using a water filter jug (which, as you can imagine, took me ages to pour out 29 pints!) but just wondered for future reference.
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wibble5
Nice one, cheers for that - I forgot to say there is also a lot of chlorine in our water, you can really smell it sometimes. Though I have to say, where I come from water is a rather sore point at the moment. Hope the beer I've started works - there's nothing much else to do in this miserable summer!
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wibble5
About a week and a half later, and I think it's going ok. At one point I wondered whether it was stuck as the yeast head rose and disappeared within about 3 days and it looked really flat, but at a second look I realised there were signs of tiny bubbles rising still. At 1040 I gave it a gentle stir with a sterilised brewing spoon and it's now at about 1012-14 and appears to be going down by about 1-2 points a day now. The instructions say it has to get down to 1008 - is this essential or would 1010 be ok before I barrel it? And should I wait until there is absolutely no further yeast action, ie no bubbles? Sorry to sound stupid but it's my first real go at this.
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wibble5
Looks like it's getting to 1010 nicely, funnily enough the fermentation seemed to stage a bit of a resurgence, don't know whether that's to do with the fluctuating external temperature, as I have an aquarium heater in the fermenting bin so it should be pretty stable. It's still quietly bubbling after 10 days, don't know whether to wait till it's stopped completely before I barrel it (does it stop??). Licked the hydrometer (don't worry, didn't put it back!) and it tastes quite bitter but I think I could get to like it! 
I'll wait a few days before barrelling anyway as I plan on getting really drunk over the weekend (am changing jobs) so I think the syphoning's best done sober 
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Oh yeah, and while browsing this excellent forum I discovered the recipe for turbo cider
and went straight to Aldi for 25L of apple juice... if I never use this forum again you know why... 
I'll wait a few days before barrelling anyway as I plan on getting really drunk over the weekend (am changing jobs) so I think the syphoning's best done sober . Oh yeah, and while browsing this excellent forum I discovered the recipe for turbo cider
and went straight to Aldi for 25L of apple juice... if I never use this forum again you know why... -
wibble5
Barrelled this two weeks ago and couldn't resist a taste test tonight - very nice! I'm no real expert but it's quite light and smooth, with a nice head. It performed pretty much to expectations - took about two weeks to gradually ferment down to about 1008 even though it didn't look as though the initial head was all that large or frothy. And from my experience it handles a little buggering about with, too - I didn't rehydrate the yeast at the beginning, I took about two hours filtering all the water through a brita jug, and I probably splashed it about too much when syphoning (on account of not having a tap on the fermenter). Oh, and I confess I sucked the syphon to restart it once it stopped... But I'm really chuffed my first proper go at this has resulted in success! Now I just have to wait for the turbo cider to mature a bit... 
But I'm really chuffed my first proper go at this has resulted in success! Now I just have to wait for the turbo cider to mature a bit... -
J_P
It could be that your lid is not on airtight. If it is fizzing and foaming then I don't think there is anything wrong with the brew.wibble5 wrote:I've just started with this kit two days ago, so will keep you posted as to how it goes. I'm a bit of a novice with all this, so don't know if it's working ok yet. Fitted an airlock to the lid, and worryingly I can't see many bubbles coming up, but there is quite a lot of foam on the top so it must be doing something. I moved the fermenting bin at one point, hope I haven't buggered it up!
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wibble5
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chopperswookie