Comments for Musings from a Stonehead

Comment on Feeding potatoes to pigs by Stonehead

Stonehead — Fri, 03 May 2013 06:18:49 +0000

I wasn’t writing about sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas). I was writing about potatoes (Solanum tuberosum).

Comment on Feeding potatoes to pigs by jj

jj — Thu, 02 May 2013 03:28:37 +0000

Sir sweet potatoes do not belong to the nightshade family.

Comment on Nettle ale by The Beggar's Belief

The Beggar's Belief — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:12:21 +0000

Hello again…sorry to keep bothering you but I am now 3 days into the ferment and getting a bit of a sulfer wiff! Not horrible rotton eggs, just sulfer. I used a Gervin English Ale yeast and apart from the wiff the airlock is bubbling away merrily…….like once a second. I have looked on the homebrew forums but there isn’t a wealth of knowledge about nettle ale out there! Cheers!

Comment on Nettle ale by Stonehead

Stonehead — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 07:55:28 +0000

No idea as to shelf life. It doesn’t last long enough to see when it goes off.

Comment on Nettle ale by The Beggar's Belief

The Beggar's Belief — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 11:34:28 +0000

Thanks for the swift reply. I will let you know about the honey! Any idea of the shelf life of this stuff? Thanks again

Comment on Nettle ale by Stonehead

Stonehead — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 07:16:40 +0000

I don’t prime the bottled ale as there’s enough sugar left to produce sufficient CO2 to give a light fizz and decent head. Any more sugar makes for very fizzy ale (best case) or exploding bottles (worst case). I do prime the keg, however, as it needs the pressure to force the ale out, especially when it’s dropped to around the halfway mark. If you don’t want to prime the keg, you may need to get a CO2 canister to re-pressurise the keg. (Kegs are much more able to withstand the pressure than bottles. The ale can be quite fizzy at first, but tap the first few glasses slowly and it’s usually possible to avoid a mess!)

I haven’t tried making it with honey. Do an an experimental batch in a small quantity and see how it goes.

Comment on Nettle ale by The Beggar's Belief

The Beggar's Belief — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 17:03:49 +0000

I also know this reciepe from Andy’s book. I notice the nettles are just starting to grow in our area. I was wondering if it’s worth swapping some of the sugar for honey and also why the ale doesn’t need ‘priming’ when bottling? Is it bottled before fermentation is complete? Also how long will it keep for? Sorry to ask so many questions in one hit but I’m very to keen to give this a shot early next week if this warm weather arrives over the weekend!! Thanks very much!

Comment on Fix one thing, break another by Andy in Germany

Andy in Germany — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 18:28:23 +0000

Ow. Makes me happy that I only have a large cargo bike to deal with. Of course I also have public transport/carshare for when I need bit more distance, so I can’t get all self righteous…

Comment on Hens back in lay by mathew R

mathew R — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:48:07 +0000

Just wondering how the Scots Grey breeding programme is going? I bought a quartet from Andy Marshall back in November of 2012 and have just hatched my second batch of chicks.

Comment on Fix one thing, break another by andycook

andycook — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:59:49 +0000

Hope you get it sorted without too much grief. I was working on our 2002 subaru forester at Christmas time, replacing rear brakes and when i lowered car onto axle stands at the jacking point (sill seams) – one side crumpled due to rust inside the sills… so i had to cut out rotten steel and weld new steel in place.
now one of wheel bearings has worn out, so in process of replacing that – 2 week delay on parts….