Archive for February, 2015

Fermentation Chamber

February 18, 2015 at 3:43 pm · Filed under Mechanical ·Tagged , , , , , ,

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So if you don’t want an all singing all dancing BrewPi (which lets face it, it’s expensive) you can invest in an STC-1000

What’s the difference?

The BrewPi has a web interface, the STC-1000 doesn’t.  I can set up a fermentation profile on the BrewPi, but if I’m in the house, I can manually change the STC – as long as I remember.  The big difference is the price – £150 for a BrewPI, compared to a finished cost of £70 with an STC system (this is assuming a 2nd hand £25 fridge and a £15 tube heater).

So for a non-complex ale that needs a fermentation of 18’C, which would I choose?  The STC.

For a wheatbeer, starting fermentation at 12’C and rising steadily over 14 days to 21’C? The BrewPi.

What equipment do you need?

Fridge £25
Tube Heater £15
STC-1000 £13
Extension Cords £3.99 x 2
Project Box £4
Choc Box £1

So about £66

And the instructions? Try Here

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Garden Potting Bench

February 16, 2015 at 10:37 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , , ,

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This weekend we did some clearing out (almost qualifies as a spring clean).  I also got round to splitting up some pallets and utilising an old sink to make a potting bench. Among its regular tasks is somewhere to clean the chickens water bowl which is usually full of poo and straw 30 seconds after being put into their run.

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Another brew is on for the national home brew competition.

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Gary made a stand for the fermenting fridge so that I don’t need to use an old log to keep stable. It’s build to bomb proof standards.

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And Ben was so cold he took the got seat. Actually he also ran electrical cable round the workshop to enable us to use the fridge without having to run extension cords everywhere.

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Crust conductor

February 8, 2015 at 10:37 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , , , ,

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A bit of a dream of mine was to get a bus and stick a pizza oven on it touring festivals etc serving good pizza. But I’ve been pipped to the post by the crust conductor. I first became aware of them last year when my work colleague asked  about pizza oven construction and mentioned his sister had one that needed a bit  of finishing.

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It took a while to go visit, but finally we had a free weekend and they’d just reopened after the Christmas break.  As we walked on board we were hit by the smell of wood smoke and pizza from the oven – I was quite surprised by the setup as well. As you can see there were no complaints about the pizza of the chance to sit behind the wheel.

The real bonus of visiting them in Peckham is the brick brewery adjacent to the bus.

Great pizza and beer – all weathers in the bus but I really see it taking off in the summer in the outdoor seating area.

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