Got drunk a couple of nights ago - a sixer of Founders' 1981 APA - and I swear to god, my palette has awakened! I could taste the hops, the barley and the malt undercurrents and all the constituents. I've officially leveled up into a bonafide beer snob!
Nevertheless, the Strontkop fermentation process has led to some very interesting discoveries, namely that there's a good reason most home brewers DON'T keep fermenting beer where they sleep! For one thing, over the last day or so, the yeast has been going apeshit, spewing CO2 and making the airlock sound like a machine-gun with the bubbling.
As I neglected to ensure adequate ventilation, I was soon feeling the worst of it. After one bottle of pee-water Erstebrauen, I was ready for a nap. However, when I cracked open the door and let the air circulate, I was full of piss and vinegar again.
Later on, I found myself unable to sleep with the machine-gunning from the airlock. I tried to crash on the couch inside, but it was too uncomfortable. I took a couple of Clonazepam, thought "fuck it!" and went back to my room to crash.I awoke around lunchtime (my usual) to find that the airlock was no longer machine-gunning, but had settled into a slow, lazy occasional belch. And the moral of the story is...
NEVER FERMENT WHERE YOU SLEEP!!!
Obviously I don't have a lot of options at the moment, but once I'm in the new house, the car-hole will become the fermentation station.
On the subject of the Erstebrauen, it tastes nowhere as nice as I remember, with a lifeless, brackish taste. Perhaps I've just been spoiled by sniffing Strontkop fumes. It's still better than Double-Brown , but it's no longer cutting mustard with yours truly. Liam volunteered to take the rest, so he can have it! I fucked up the Lilphynott slightly less, so we'll see how that goes in a week or so.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Batch Three - A Dutch Too Much
Author's Note: This beer - Strontkop Dutch Lager - was my first real beer, by which I mean not only containing grains, but containing booze! Although it was far from perfect, I still get a little nostalgic about it. One of the more important things I did with this brew (that made it work) is shell out a few bucks for some proper yeast, instead of just using the almost worthless 5g sachets that come underneath the lids of Liquid Malt Extract cans.
1 x 1.7kg can of Mangrove Jack's Dutch Lager (LME)
2kg of Pilsner Barley
500g Raw Sugar
20g Wakatu Hops (60 min)
20g Wakatu Hops (15 min)
20g Wakatu Hops (0 min)
1 tsp Irish Moss
1 x Mangrove Jack's Bohemian Lager Yeast (M84)
1 x Shitty 5g Yeast Pack
23L Fancy-pants Spring Water
First 'real' brew and damn, what a process! After cleaning, sterilizing and organising, I filled the stopckpot to about 3/4 with water and turned up the heat. I put the 2kg of Pilsner Barley in around 55C or so, but started the timer proper around 65C and did the old steep-n-stir for 30 minutes.
When the time was up, I poured everything through a sieve into a sterilized bucket, rinsed the solids with warm water, repeated and then separated liquids from solids (into the bucket and a plastic bag respectively). When it was done, I had nearly a whole bucket full of delicious barley runoff. After giving the stockput a bit of a clean out, I poured the runoff back into and I was good to go.
With the mash back in the pot, I added the Malt Extract and - while twirling my mustache evilly - the bag of raw sugar. I cranked the heat and once it hit 100C proper, I started the timer for 60 minutes, making the appropriate hop additions along the way.
My first brew with hops and damned if it didn't smell hoppy! After cooling the wort to 22C, I poured it through a sieve into the fermenter. Once the fermenter was in a secondary location, I added both packets (the M84 and the shitty 5g) of yeast, jiggled it back and forth then sealed it up.
All in all, I'm pretty confident about this batch. For one thing, I feel like I know what the hell I'm doing. Sort of. The pre-fermentation sample I took is a very clear yellow, like a healthy urine stream. The hops are smelling very aromatic too and I'm hoping they'll mellow a bit before it settles.
1 x 1.7kg can of Mangrove Jack's Dutch Lager (LME)
2kg of Pilsner Barley
500g Raw Sugar
20g Wakatu Hops (60 min)
20g Wakatu Hops (15 min)
20g Wakatu Hops (0 min)
1 tsp Irish Moss
1 x Mangrove Jack's Bohemian Lager Yeast (M84)
1 x Shitty 5g Yeast Pack
23L Fancy-pants Spring Water
First 'real' brew and damn, what a process! After cleaning, sterilizing and organising, I filled the stopckpot to about 3/4 with water and turned up the heat. I put the 2kg of Pilsner Barley in around 55C or so, but started the timer proper around 65C and did the old steep-n-stir for 30 minutes.
When the time was up, I poured everything through a sieve into a sterilized bucket, rinsed the solids with warm water, repeated and then separated liquids from solids (into the bucket and a plastic bag respectively). When it was done, I had nearly a whole bucket full of delicious barley runoff. After giving the stockput a bit of a clean out, I poured the runoff back into and I was good to go.
With the mash back in the pot, I added the Malt Extract and - while twirling my mustache evilly - the bag of raw sugar. I cranked the heat and once it hit 100C proper, I started the timer for 60 minutes, making the appropriate hop additions along the way.
My first brew with hops and damned if it didn't smell hoppy! After cooling the wort to 22C, I poured it through a sieve into the fermenter. Once the fermenter was in a secondary location, I added both packets (the M84 and the shitty 5g) of yeast, jiggled it back and forth then sealed it up.
All in all, I'm pretty confident about this batch. For one thing, I feel like I know what the hell I'm doing. Sort of. The pre-fermentation sample I took is a very clear yellow, like a healthy urine stream. The hops are smelling very aromatic too and I'm hoping they'll mellow a bit before it settles.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Jon FINALLY Learns How To Bottle Beer!
Bottled the Lilphynott Stout this afternoon. Although it looked much better (and smelled a lot like Monteith's Black) than the last, I just hope it's actually got some alcohol in it this time!Bottling went a lot smoother than last time, perhaps because I (a) knew what to expect, (b) did it in the kitchen and (c) had a bucket to catch the runoff. The bottling attachment was playing up a little, so I may have to purchase a new one.
For some reason, I only got 27 bottles (24 glass, 3 plastic) this time, as opposed to the 30 one would expect from a 23 litre brew. Never to mind.
For some reason, I only got 27 bottles (24 glass, 3 plastic) this time, as opposed to the 30 one would expect from a 23 litre brew. Never to mind.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Finings N' Shit
Added beer finings to 125ml of lukewarm water and mixed into Stout. Should be ready for bottling in two days. Brainwave: If I used less water (topped it up to 20L instead of 23), would it be more concentrated? Would it even taste good? (Author's note: to answer my own question, yes and kinda, but for all intents and purposes, it's easier just to bump up the grain bill on the front end. Needless to say at this stage in the game, I was quite a ways from knowing what a 'grain bill' was or why the hell I should care.)
I don't know exactly what I want to do for the next brew, but I'd like to give the all-grain (by which I meant partial mash!) a go. Some stuff I'll need to get...
- Thermomater
- Strainer
- Big-ass soup pot
At this stage, I'd settled on naming my Irish Stout 'Lilphynott.' As if you can't tell, it's an Gaelic-sounding spoonerism of "Phil Lynott', who was without a doubt the finest Black Irishman to ever sing and play bass in a late-seventies to early eighties hard rock band. If anyone deserves a Stout named after him, it's Phil Lynott.
I don't know exactly what I want to do for the next brew, but I'd like to give the all-grain (by which I meant partial mash!) a go. Some stuff I'll need to get...
- Thermomater
- Strainer
- Big-ass soup pot
At this stage, I'd settled on naming my Irish Stout 'Lilphynott.' As if you can't tell, it's an Gaelic-sounding spoonerism of "Phil Lynott', who was without a doubt the finest Black Irishman to ever sing and play bass in a late-seventies to early eighties hard rock band. If anyone deserves a Stout named after him, it's Phil Lynott.
Friday, January 17, 2014
For The Love Of All Things Irish
Post-Fermentation Hydrometer: 2.6 (What the actual fuck?)
Don't know what's going on,but I'm getting some wacky hydrometer readings with the Irish Stout (no kidding!!)... alc/vol calculator tells me it's 200%! Nevertheless, it's early days yet and thusfar, it looks and smells like Irish Stout. Nothing out of the ordinary to report. I'll be giving some Erstebrauen to people at work tonight, so hopefully it doesn't give them all violent diarrhea. Although it'd be funny if it did. =)
From the smell alone, I'm picking up a bit of a Linwood tapwater odour from the Lilphynott. It may be too late for the stout, but I'll buy some fancy-pants springwater for whatever I brew next. If it makes a difference, it's distilled water from here on out (Author's note: thank god I didn't do this! Distilled water lacks the minerals and whatnot needed for beer production.). If it's not the water, then I'm doing something else wrong and I'm all out of ideas.
Later that evening...
For some reason, Liam really seemed to like the Erstebrauen. Of course he did... it was free! Nevertheless, I made him promise to give me some honest feedback, so we'll see how he goes with that. It wouldn't hurt to give it to a few more people, just to see what they think. Incidentally, I hope there's some more money from Dad forthcoming, because this ain't a cheap hobby! I'm still collecting odds and sods as I go, so I suppose it'll even out once I've got the major bits and pieces. Once the glass bottles come out, I'll be a real ogre about wanting them back!
Don't know what's going on,but I'm getting some wacky hydrometer readings with the Irish Stout (no kidding!!)... alc/vol calculator tells me it's 200%! Nevertheless, it's early days yet and thusfar, it looks and smells like Irish Stout. Nothing out of the ordinary to report. I'll be giving some Erstebrauen to people at work tonight, so hopefully it doesn't give them all violent diarrhea. Although it'd be funny if it did. =)
From the smell alone, I'm picking up a bit of a Linwood tapwater odour from the Lilphynott. It may be too late for the stout, but I'll buy some fancy-pants springwater for whatever I brew next. If it makes a difference, it's distilled water from here on out (Author's note: thank god I didn't do this! Distilled water lacks the minerals and whatnot needed for beer production.). If it's not the water, then I'm doing something else wrong and I'm all out of ideas.
Later that evening...
For some reason, Liam really seemed to like the Erstebrauen. Of course he did... it was free! Nevertheless, I made him promise to give me some honest feedback, so we'll see how he goes with that. It wouldn't hurt to give it to a few more people, just to see what they think. Incidentally, I hope there's some more money from Dad forthcoming, because this ain't a cheap hobby! I'm still collecting odds and sods as I go, so I suppose it'll even out once I've got the major bits and pieces. Once the glass bottles come out, I'll be a real ogre about wanting them back!
Thursday, January 16, 2014
First thoughts and observations on the Erstebrauen
Yesterday - because I was impatient, thirsty and had the day off - I decided to crack open the Erstebrauen three days early. All in all, it's not too damn bad and dare I say, pretty solid for a first attempt! Here's a few thoughts and observations...
- Tastes very organic, free of the overly processed or urine-like qualities of cheap domestic swill =)
- Some bottles were still a little cloudy, but all in all, cleared up very well, changing from a diarrhea-brown upon first bottling to a rich golden colour.
- For the want of a better term, tastes very Germanic. Slight hints of ginger and honey.
- While carbonation levels were adequate, they were less than I would have liked. Not sure what the deal is or how it bodes for the Irish Stout, but for now, I'll follow the brewshop guy's advice and stick to 1 and a 1/2 drops per bottle.
- Can *slightly* taste the Linwood tapwater. This is a feature, not a bug!
- Seems to like being refrigerated. Put most of the first box (15 bottles) in the fridge. The remainder sits in the box at room temperature.
Author's note: I couldn't really tell it at the time, but my first batch had come out really, really low in alcohol. Congratulations, Jon... you've learned how to make carbonated pee-water!
- Tastes very organic, free of the overly processed or urine-like qualities of cheap domestic swill =)
- Some bottles were still a little cloudy, but all in all, cleared up very well, changing from a diarrhea-brown upon first bottling to a rich golden colour.
- For the want of a better term, tastes very Germanic. Slight hints of ginger and honey.
- While carbonation levels were adequate, they were less than I would have liked. Not sure what the deal is or how it bodes for the Irish Stout, but for now, I'll follow the brewshop guy's advice and stick to 1 and a 1/2 drops per bottle.
- Can *slightly* taste the Linwood tapwater. This is a feature, not a bug!
- Seems to like being refrigerated. Put most of the first box (15 bottles) in the fridge. The remainder sits in the box at room temperature.
Author's note: I couldn't really tell it at the time, but my first batch had come out really, really low in alcohol. Congratulations, Jon... you've learned how to make carbonated pee-water!
Friday, January 10, 2014
All Quiet On The Western Front...
White sediment (possibly remnants of carbonation drops) that had congealed in the bottom of the Erstebrauen bottles have more or less dissipated and been absorbed back into the beer. Brew is clearing admirably. Only eight days to go!
11/01/14
Nothing much to report. Irish stout has slowed its bubbling, only letting off a belch every now and then. Rotation of the Erstebrauen continues as per usual.
11/01/14
Nothing much to report. Irish stout has slowed its bubbling, only letting off a belch every now and then. Rotation of the Erstebrauen continues as per usual.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Bubble, Bubble, Toil N' Trouble...
Morning:
Brew bubbled magnificently through the night, perhaps a little better than the last batch. It was a pain in the ass to sleep through, but such is the price of a good brew.
Evening:
Brew is bubbling nicely at a steady 22C (the magic number!). Easy enough in summer, but once it gets colder, I may have to invest in a heat pad. Izzy wouldn't take too kindly to me nicking hers!
Rotating the Munich Lager (Erstebrauen) a couple of times a day. Some bottles are clearing up faster than others, but on the whole, it looks a lot less muddy than it did when I first bottled it. Only nine days before I get to crack those bad boys and enjoy the fruits of my labours!
N.B. for next time: Liquorice stick needs more time and maybe more water to dissolve. Maybe smash it to little pieces with a blunt object.
Brew bubbled magnificently through the night, perhaps a little better than the last batch. It was a pain in the ass to sleep through, but such is the price of a good brew.
Evening:
Brew is bubbling nicely at a steady 22C (the magic number!). Easy enough in summer, but once it gets colder, I may have to invest in a heat pad. Izzy wouldn't take too kindly to me nicking hers!
Rotating the Munich Lager (Erstebrauen) a couple of times a day. Some bottles are clearing up faster than others, but on the whole, it looks a lot less muddy than it did when I first bottled it. Only nine days before I get to crack those bad boys and enjoy the fruits of my labours!
N.B. for next time: Liquorice stick needs more time and maybe more water to dissolve. Maybe smash it to little pieces with a blunt object.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Second Batch - Irish Stout (Lilphynott)
Author's note: At the time, I took the Hydrometer reading to read 3.6, whatever the hell that means. Is it any surprise that eventually, I looked up "How do use Hydrometer" on YouTube?
Pre-fermentation Hydrometer: 3.6
Well, that could have ended badly! After cleaning and sanitising, I added 3 litres of hot water to a pot I assumed (assumptions being the mother of all fuck-ups) would be big enough. Not quite! I got a bit of boilover, but hopefully nothing too damaging. Bill helped me to transfer it to a 15L stockpot, which I'll be using henceforth.
I should mention that this was my first half-assed stab at trying to do a proper boil-up, the way beer should be brewed. It wasn't exactly a raging success, but it was a step in the right direction.
The extra ingredient here is half a bar of liquorice, which I attempted to dissolve in boiling water, then the wort. I had the wort on the stove for a good 15-20 minutes, but got a good 10 minutes proper boil, which should hopefully be enough to kill any nasties.
I then transferred the wort to the fermenter, topped it up gradually to 23 litres, mixed it like buggery, then lugged it to my room. Once in my room, I sprinkled on the yeast and sealed it up, not to be opened until the 22nd.
I'm hoping nothing in the boilover chaos will come back to haunt me, but all in all, a little more 'by the book' than last time! At least I took a pre-fermentation hydrometer read this time around (for all the bloody good it did!).
I've got a feeling it'll (hopefully) come out blacker than the cover of Smell The Glove and I think it deserves the glass bottle treatment when the time comes. None of this Mr. Renfrew's Pub Pets plastic bottle shit!* The important thing is I learned from the mistakes I made last time. Next time, I'll learn from the mistakes I made this time!
* Pro tip: Although perfectly fine for your very first 'do I even want to do this?' batch, plastic bottles are some raggeddy hobo shit. You might as well distribute them with a brown paper bag. That said, they have their uses. For instance, I have a friend/sampling gineau pig who failed to return the last lot of 750ml Grolsch-style flip-top bottles I gave him. He's abused his priveleges, so it's hobo bottles for him until that trust can be rebuilt.
Pre-fermentation Hydrometer: 3.6
Well, that could have ended badly! After cleaning and sanitising, I added 3 litres of hot water to a pot I assumed (assumptions being the mother of all fuck-ups) would be big enough. Not quite! I got a bit of boilover, but hopefully nothing too damaging. Bill helped me to transfer it to a 15L stockpot, which I'll be using henceforth.
I should mention that this was my first half-assed stab at trying to do a proper boil-up, the way beer should be brewed. It wasn't exactly a raging success, but it was a step in the right direction.
The extra ingredient here is half a bar of liquorice, which I attempted to dissolve in boiling water, then the wort. I had the wort on the stove for a good 15-20 minutes, but got a good 10 minutes proper boil, which should hopefully be enough to kill any nasties.
I then transferred the wort to the fermenter, topped it up gradually to 23 litres, mixed it like buggery, then lugged it to my room. Once in my room, I sprinkled on the yeast and sealed it up, not to be opened until the 22nd.
I'm hoping nothing in the boilover chaos will come back to haunt me, but all in all, a little more 'by the book' than last time! At least I took a pre-fermentation hydrometer read this time around (for all the bloody good it did!).
I've got a feeling it'll (hopefully) come out blacker than the cover of Smell The Glove and I think it deserves the glass bottle treatment when the time comes. None of this Mr. Renfrew's Pub Pets plastic bottle shit!* The important thing is I learned from the mistakes I made last time. Next time, I'll learn from the mistakes I made this time!
* Pro tip: Although perfectly fine for your very first 'do I even want to do this?' batch, plastic bottles are some raggeddy hobo shit. You might as well distribute them with a brown paper bag. That said, they have their uses. For instance, I have a friend/sampling gineau pig who failed to return the last lot of 750ml Grolsch-style flip-top bottles I gave him. He's abused his priveleges, so it's hobo bottles for him until that trust can be rebuilt.
Monday, January 6, 2014
First Brew - Erstebrauen is Born!
Rotating the bottles this morning and something definitely appears to have dissolved... maybe the remnants of carbonation drops. Darkish in colour.
Author's Note: At this point, I decided that "Erstebrauen" would be a good name for my first brew, after mangling a few words in Google Translate and trying to get something German-sounding. It was either that or "Die Diarrhea Draught." In hindsight, I should have gone with the latter.
Author's Note: At this point, I decided that "Erstebrauen" would be a good name for my first brew, after mangling a few words in Google Translate and trying to get something German-sounding. It was either that or "Die Diarrhea Draught." In hindsight, I should have gone with the latter.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
First Brew - Under Pressure (A Totally Different Bassline From "Ice Ice Baby")
Although I'm still a little concerned about the 'muddy' colour, it's still my first brew, so I'm not expecting perfection. The "Dave Mustaine" (angry, volatile, red-headed stepchild) bottle was a casualty yesterday. I got concerned about the pressure, so I opened it and it jizzed all over me!
The other bottles feel nice and pressurised, so I'm hoping they don't turn volcanic either. It'll be interesting just to gauge carbonation levels for future brews. While they're sitting there for 2 weeks, I'll rotate them twice daily, just to stop anything from settling. Although they'll be ready on the 18th, I'll keep a few in reserve, just to see what a difference aging makes.
In general, I'm going to be more meticulous henceforth. For one, a Hydrometer Reading before fermentation It might also be a good idea to record the temperature twice a day. Maybe a heatpad would be a good investment? This brew was a little fast and loose, but what the hell. You've got to start somewhere.
Author's note: At this stage, I was rotating the bottles, desperately hoping to get rid of any sediment. Nuh uh, dawg... don't work that way! Later on, I'd discover the joys of racking beer to secondary vessels (and leaving sediment behind), but that was a ways off yet.
The other bottles feel nice and pressurised, so I'm hoping they don't turn volcanic either. It'll be interesting just to gauge carbonation levels for future brews. While they're sitting there for 2 weeks, I'll rotate them twice daily, just to stop anything from settling. Although they'll be ready on the 18th, I'll keep a few in reserve, just to see what a difference aging makes.
In general, I'm going to be more meticulous henceforth. For one, a Hydrometer Reading before fermentation It might also be a good idea to record the temperature twice a day. Maybe a heatpad would be a good investment? This brew was a little fast and loose, but what the hell. You've got to start somewhere.
Author's note: At this stage, I was rotating the bottles, desperately hoping to get rid of any sediment. Nuh uh, dawg... don't work that way! Later on, I'd discover the joys of racking beer to secondary vessels (and leaving sediment behind), but that was a ways off yet.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
First Brew - 99 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall, 99 Bottles Of Beer...
Author's preface: My first bottling run was not a fun endeavour. I didn't know what the hell I was doing, how far to fill the bottles and worst of all, the bottling attachment that came with my starter kit was of inferior quality. I spilled a good couple of pints on the speaker cone of my Bass Amp, let me tell you that much.
The beer has finally been bottled and thank god that's over! I learned a few things this run. First of all, net time it would pay to do the bottling over the sink instead of atop my bass amp! I got a little splash damage (just a little?) on the speaker cone, but if it ends up smelling like beer, it's not the worst thing to happen.
Speaking of smell, the beer smells delicious! Maybe its something in the finings (probably not!), but it has taken on an almost ginger beery aroma. At this stage, it's got a colour that resembles liquefaction, but you can't have everything.
Anywho, the washing and sterilizing was a pain in the arse. There's got to be a better way! Although I'm sure it would be harmless, I didn't really trust the 'no rinse' claims of the sterilizer, so I rinsed away the leftover foam.
Here's the weird thing; after filling 30 bottles (and spilling a bit on the amp!), I still had about 800ml of beer and some carbonation drops. I hope I didn't add too much water and I was damn sure I put 2 drops to every bottle. Nevertheless, I filled the remaining brew to a sterilized Coke bottle and - just for shits and giggles - gave it a double dose of carbonation drops. KABOOM!!!
The beer has finally been bottled and thank god that's over! I learned a few things this run. First of all, net time it would pay to do the bottling over the sink instead of atop my bass amp! I got a little splash damage (just a little?) on the speaker cone, but if it ends up smelling like beer, it's not the worst thing to happen.
Speaking of smell, the beer smells delicious! Maybe its something in the finings (probably not!), but it has taken on an almost ginger beery aroma. At this stage, it's got a colour that resembles liquefaction, but you can't have everything.
Anywho, the washing and sterilizing was a pain in the arse. There's got to be a better way! Although I'm sure it would be harmless, I didn't really trust the 'no rinse' claims of the sterilizer, so I rinsed away the leftover foam.
Here's the weird thing; after filling 30 bottles (and spilling a bit on the amp!), I still had about 800ml of beer and some carbonation drops. I hope I didn't add too much water and I was damn sure I put 2 drops to every bottle. Nevertheless, I filled the remaining brew to a sterilized Coke bottle and - just for shits and giggles - gave it a double dose of carbonation drops. KABOOM!!!
Thursday, January 2, 2014
First Brew - Unsuccessfully coping with Hydrometers
Hooray, hooray... brew has settled! Well, more or less. I'm playing a little fast and loose with Hydrometer Readings (Author's Note: No shit!), but goddamnit, it's close enough for me! Dissolved beer finings* in a half-cup of lukewarm water, then stirred into brew. In 48 hours it should hopefully be ready for brewing.
* Pro-tip: Beer finings are a goddamn waste of $2. Later I was to discover the two-pronged approach of (a) Irish Moss and (b) racking the beer from a primary fermenter to a secondary vessel, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I didn't know any of that shit then and in the grand scheme of things, I don't really know shit now. But back to the brew log...
At this stage, I realise that it would be good to have (a) a better Hydrometer (or learn how to use the one you've got?), (b) a digital thermometer and (c) a longer brewing spoon. If there is such a thing as a digital hydrometer (there isn't!), it would behoove me to get one.
* Pro-tip: Beer finings are a goddamn waste of $2. Later I was to discover the two-pronged approach of (a) Irish Moss and (b) racking the beer from a primary fermenter to a secondary vessel, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I didn't know any of that shit then and in the grand scheme of things, I don't really know shit now. But back to the brew log...
At this stage, I realise that it would be good to have (a) a better Hydrometer (or learn how to use the one you've got?), (b) a digital thermometer and (c) a longer brewing spoon. If there is such a thing as a digital hydrometer (there isn't!), it would behoove me to get one.
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