new tools

I noticed my stoppers and racking cane getting a little ratty so I dropped an order on Northern Brewer. I placed the order last Friday and was amazed when I got the shipment on Monday afternoon....man they ship fast. Instead of regular stoppers I went for the universal bungs, which will fit well on all my carboys and stand no chance of being pushed completely into the jug. I also upgraded to a stainless steel racking cane for easier cleaning and less chance of infection.

testing Photobucket video

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carbonation:it takes a drop to make it rise

Due to my bonehead "forget to add priming sugar to the beer before bottling" move, Nancy and I tore the caps off the Nukey brown and put a Cooper's carbonation drop in each bottle before recapping. After searching far and wide I discovered that the drops should take only a few days to add the carbonation needed. Knock wood!
After looking at the drops though....I wonder if I could've just used Lemonheads.

one flat, two racked

I have racked the Brit and the Irish Draught into their secondary fermentors for the two week stay until bottling. The Brit is going to be a very light beer, and the Irish is a lot darker and smells sweet compared to the Brit Bit.
On a negative note, I popped a couple Nukey browns the other day and found very little carbonation. I have been going over the events of bottling day and can't remember if I added a priming solution or not. I have ordered and received Coopers carbonation drops that will be added to each bottle before recapping. I hope they do the trick.

double bubble

Saturday we brewed for the second time in two days and the Irish Draught is happily bubbling away right next to the Brit Bit. This is the first time I've had two in the fermentor at the same time. The Maplegrovers helped brew the Irish and with the help of a couple Newcastles and the last homebrew a good time was had by all. No more homebrew til the 21st when the new batch of Nukey Brown will be popped. Come on 21st!

just why are the British bitter ?

I brewed the British Bitter today with a little helper. Ann is in town for the weekend and she wanted in on the brewing experience. Tomorrow we plan on brewing the Irish Draught and her squeeze Steve might also sit in . Could be we have some future homebrewers here!

fan of the draught to the bitter end

I received my latest shipment from Northern Brewer today. Irish draught and British Bitter will be next for r@fink brewery. Soon the fragrance of barley and hops brewing will fill the air. Who knows maybe the Maplegrovers will join in the brewing fun! Ya gotta love it!