Instigator

Looking at the Nitrate readings there. I'm studying a statistics subject at uni at the moment. I'm struggling to understand how the median reading can be -lower- than the minimum?

No such luck for tallies that cheap here in Cairns ( that I know of). Anyway, my Mild Ale can yeast test is starting to show some progress, albeit very slowly. I initially slowly poured the cans into a 10oz glass and the rest got a swish before going into the container. Two cans + 30g raw sugar + 300ml boiled water (cooled). After two and a half days the container is building pressure and there's more sediment on the bottom before I give it a shake.

Yes, sir, I did. I usually have a six pack or two in the fridge and these have been in for a week or so. I don't expect to pitch this, just having a look to see how I go using cans instead of bottles. Thanks for the good wishes. Matt.

Given I buy the Mild Ale cans anyway, it would save me some money on buying stubbies/tallies just for starters. I decided the easiest way to find out is to give it a try. I downed a couple of cans with dinner, so I now have a small test starter under way.

Yes, you can. Dan Murphys also has a $20 for 4 Coopers tallies deal at the moment.

Is it possible to do this with Coopers cans? I've been buying slabs of the Mild Ale cans because I spend a lot of time out bush. No chance of leaving broken glass around, and cans are lighter and easier as rubbish to bring home again. They fit in my camp fridge better than the bottles, too. I see that Pale Ale is available in cans now, too.

Talking of cell counts, I've been curious as to whether there is any benefit to not just rehydrating, but creating a starter from dry yeast. There is a lot of discussion on this forum about under-pitching that caused me to wonder about this. I haven't seen anyone suggest it, so I presume it's not generally a done thing.

Thanks everyone. I spent a couple of hours going through the recipe section last night and did stumble on the Midnight Mosaic Amber Ale. It really opened my eyes to what can be done with these kits with a bit of thought and experimentation. It looks like both the 11L batch and the toucan with Dark Ale are viable, so it'll probably come down to what takes my fancy on brew day. Thanks again! Matt.

So I'm getting back into K&K brewing after several years off and picked up the regular brew kit from Dan Murphys today. I'm pretty rusty on the whole thing, but excited to finally dust off my 120+ LC pint bottles. Anyway, I'm not really a lager drinker. I prefer hop forward, high ABV, dark ales and IPAs. I'm going to pull the trigger on the DIY Craft Brew Kit also, as I like the idea of small batches and my brew fridge should be able to fit both FVs at the same time. So, should I do the lager can with a reduced volume (11L ?) to increase the bitterness, or maybe do a 23L toucan with something like the Dark Ale? What would you do? Matt.

Also, HBKs for $90.