oddbean Do you use Chemsan for sanitising and cleaning? Do you use Chemclean at all? Or could you tell us what you use for each item? In the mini-mash video they had a spray bottle. Do you know what might that contain?
Yes, I use Chemsan and find it to be excellent. I used to use Srarsan, but this is now not available in the UK (for regulation reasons maybe?) Anyway, I think Chemsan is a direct replacement. It comes in the same bottles, looks the same and used the same way. I think it may be the same thing with a different name. I know some use it in a spray bottle, but I just make half a bucket of solution and immerse all the equipment inside. On bottling day I dip the bottles in that as well, then let them drip upside-down in a beer crate inside the bath. Never had a contamination problem. I can take a photo of the label tomorrow if that is helpful
oddbean Do you just use a regular pot for mini-mash?
I have a simple, cheap and flimsy 11 litre stock pot from Argos, no tap or anything fancy. I use a simple thermometer to keep track of the temp. Nothing fancy again here.
oddbean Also they include a hydrometer. Is that really needed?
A simple hydrometer is ~£5 and that is all you need, so not worth skimping. It will let you know what the gravity of the wort is (so tell you if you need to dilute and if you are on recipe. Then it will tell you if your fermentation is done, and the difference between the before and after reading will enable you to calculate alcohol. Not bad for less than a fiver.
oddbean If you leave the sediment behind in the first bucket(fermenter), could you also fill in the bottles straight from the fermenter? Instead of using a second bucket?
I move the beer from the fermenter to a second bucket in order to mix in the priming sugar (for secondary fermentation in the bottle and carbonation). Moving to a second bucket lets you have relatively clean beer to mix the sugar with, so this is how I do it. Never did it any other way. Potentially you can put half a spoonful of sugar in each bottle. I never tried that, but for consistency and convenience I think the second bucket wins.
oddbean Are those bottle cappers with 2 handles easy to use?
I have an Emily capper. For the amount I do (usually two batches about 40 bottles each once a year) it’s no problem at all. If you make loads there might be even better options, but for me it has been great for over 20 years.
oddbean Did you try the Grolsh type of bottle, to avoid capping?
Yes, tried it and this works as well. If the bottle and cap are used for beer - they should be fine, I think.
