homebrewandbeer.com

...and which party/candidate (in which country) did you last vote for?

I work in financial services, and although I live in Australia, I'm actually British so the last party I voted for were the Liberal Democrats in the UK.

Not offering a recipe, but my last (and, indeed, first ever) brew was about 9%, if I recall the OG was 1070 and the final 1006 or something like that. I just used Safale yeast and it was fine, though it did take about 3 weeks (after being brewed at a constant 10*c).

It turned out alright, but it ...

Try looking on http://www.erowid.org

Good luck!

Just a survey really, I have no idea what a 'typical' homebrewer is like.

I'm 23 and live in Melbourne

Hmmm... wish we had of read the fine print before we made ours. It was the first ever brew and it came out smelling like effluent. Tasted ok though, and the smell went away after the first three. It kinda came back when you burped however. We nicknamed it Rotorua Special.

Oh, you're kidding, I ...

Ahh, thanks for that. I just checked the instructions that came with the kit and they have a separate section of small print at the back that explains the the Pilsner yeast is indeed a lager yeast.

Just an update for those who were interested.

I cleaned up the bottles after they'd sat around at room temperature for a few days, and opened a few. They were all still pretty fizzy. In fact, I tried adding yeast or sugar to some of them, and the beer just erupted quite violently.

Concerned that ...

Hmm, I just bought a Coopers Pilsner Kit expecting it to come with Saflager, or at least a lagering yeast.

The yeast packet is silver and branded Coopers.

Can anyone confirm if this is actually a lager yeast, because I prefer to brew down to about 10-12 centigrade?

Yep, that makes sense - I'll try 25g at the beginning for bitterness and about 12g at the end for aroma.

Cheers!

Well, I was lagering my bottled beer in the old fridge in the garage, and at last taste it was coming along splendidly.

Unfortunately, I didn't realise that it was some sort of uber-fridge which at maximum setting more closely resembled a freezer.

I went to get a bevvy last night to be treated ...

I've just tasted my first brew, a pilsener that has been maturing for 2 months, of which the last month has been in the fridge. It's nice, and reasonably bitter.

I would like to experiment with my next batch and make the same, but aiming for a slightly hoppier aroma and taste.

Last time I boiled ...

I've got a few design/illustration programs as well, and in planning my first brew labels were an essential part of the process, but after bottling the damn stuff I only want to go near it again when I drink it...

I did, however, contact the lovely Canadian glue people, at http://www.thistothat.com ...

I started my first brew almost 3 weeks ago and have kept it in it's own fridge at about 10 degrees centigrade since. As I used Saflager yeast it's been bubbling away quite happily, and the SG has reduced from 1070 to about 1010, the last measurement taken a couple of days ago. I'm gonna measure it ...