homebrewandbeer.com

do a web search for 'root beer' and look for the alcoholic recipes based around sarsaparilla root. You can get this here if you look, else you can get a sarsaparilla plant (there are two varieties of the smilax genus available) and grow your own.

EDIT: spelling :p

r.magnay wrote:If you must drink light Coopers light is drinkable as is the mid strength.

But rarely available at the pub, which is where I am if I have to drive.

velophile wrote:I would say Cascade Light as a "bugger, I'm driving" beer. If I start on light & don't drink a full strength then Cascade seems OK.

I'll second that.

I'm thinking like Chris. Trub is the protien and I s'pose possibly dead yeast, but excludes the dormant yeast which has settled out and is waiting to go back to work (yeast cake).

Matty, you're quoted definition does not account for dormant yeast.

In a secondary I expect to get a thin yeastcake as ...

Just make sure you are not relying on your airlock to say there is no activity. If uou have a leak the yeast could be going nuts and you wouldn't know it. SG is the only way to know for sure.

My airlocks never bubble, but the SG drops like a rock.

We talking QV on Swanston street in the city?

If I go there, might as well check out the Vic Markets too eh? :D

Yes I'm talking about the Queen Victoria Market in the city. Swanstan St?? I always thought it was on Elizabeth, but I'm never sure.

Vic market?? Isn't that just another name for the ...

fruit and veg definately the go, they can get as low as $7 for 1.5kg. Another good one is the markets. Balwyn Melb?? then try the QV markets, there must be at least one apiarist selling honey in the produce section.

I once did a similar thing, but managed to get it out. If it was clean you probably have minimal chance of infection, but I'd say you have still increased you chances. Now that you are sober you could sanisie a spoon and pull it out if you are worried. I'd just play it out and see what happenes.

I ...

NTR & Hillbilly: I don't spose you guys know how the energy consumption on these things compares to a fridge?? What do you reckon the temperature range is??

ex0ja wrote:what about roast grain?

It gives that bitter charcoal flavour, I use a little in stouts.

If you have a mate who's a sparky or an engineer, i'm sure he'd wire it or check it over for a couple of HBs. I sure would

Chris wrote:Gregb, put the skins in as well- they're the best bit!

Just the zest or the pith as well?? I'm just thinking of space in the kettle and ferementer.

$35 here but I haven't tried them, seems a bit boring to me. For me the best part about HB is being involved in the process.

However they seem to be hugely popular with the other guys I see in the HBS. They praise them like there is no tomorrow, so their must be something good in them.

I think ...

If your any where near Monash Uni. The Not's bottlo had them when I was there.

Somethings definately not right there HopsAlot. Surely it doesn't take you that long when you use it as a water jug?? I get about 2L/min through those things.

Did you remove the plastic warp??

The height of the krausen (foam) will depend upon the beer. Mine tend to go 70-100mm high, so only 2 inches of space would be pusing it. That said, I know some people intentionally leave little space so that the krausen foams out of the fermenter and doesn't fall back into the wort.

See what the ...

I'm not a fan of crownies, too expensive for what they are. However I consider them a large step up from VB/carlton cold.

If you have trained the population to drink dirty water from a green can an average beer becomes premium, thus you can charge a preumim price for it.

traditionally a clean skin is "no label" but now you legally have to have something on there regarding the alchol content.

What a clean skin actually is depends upon where you get it. velophile is correct that clean skin outlets are generally outlets for the excess production.

However some of my ...

if you stacking longnecks you could get some cheap ass wine racks from the reject shop or similar. You can make your bottles a display