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            Of the two scientific instruments most commonly used by home brewers the hydrometer is certainly the least well understood. We all understand thermometers -temperature degrees are a part of everyday life. But what about relative density, specific gravity or degrees Plato? And then there’s that mysterious meniscus!  Using a hydrometer correctly takes much of the guess work out of brewing and is an indispensible measuring tool. This article will explain how -and also when- to use your hydrometer, to really get the most from it! For brewers the hydrometer achieves three simple tasks. It allows...

        This is a common question that crops up amongst new brewers waiting expectantly on their first or second batch of beer. Fortunately it’s an easy question to answer -and a good opportunity to learn what happens during fermentation as well as a bit about using hydrometers. Read on!   Firstly it’s a good idea to know what to expect of a fermenting batch of beer. Most of us know that there should be some vigorous bubbling from the airlock (much to the amusement of family members), and a thick head of yeast on top of the...

A simple guide to carbonating your beer with granulated sugar using a priming solution. 

When we started looking at another malting company to supply BeerLab with quality, hard to find malt varieties it did not take us long to decide on Thomas Fawcett and sons. Their rich history, the fact that they still do traditional floor malting and their outstanding reputation for quality made the decision a easy one (our fondness for English style beers also helped!). To our knowledge, this is the first major consignment of English malts to be made available to local home brewers.   One of the owners of Thomas Fawcett (James Fawcett) personally assisted us with our first order...

   Ales Barley Wine                                          1.3 - 2.3      Belgian Specialty      Dubbel                                                  1.9 - 2.4 Trippel                                                  1.9 - 2.4 Belgian Ale                                           1.9 - 2.5 Belgian Strong Ale                               1.9 - 2.4 White                                                     2.1 - 2.6 Lambic Gueuze                                     3.0 - 4.5 Lambic Fruit                                          2.6 - 4.5 Flanders Brown                                    1.9 - 2.5      English Bitter     English Ordinary                                   0.75 - 1.3 English Special           ...