The Crafty Cactus Blog

Special Cactus

Why the Step Mash?

Why the Step Mash? The simple answer… to get better sugar extraction from your malt. Back in the days when you didn’t know how well your grains or malts were modified, it was suggested that you use several step mashes to get the most out of your malts. With the malts available today you do […]

Lallemand Yeast

The Lallemand Yeast Range 11g

Your beer brewing possibilities are endless with the Lallemand Yeast. As distributors of the Lallemand Yeast range we feel the need to share with you the types of yeasts that are available in our store and what types of beers you can brew with the Lallemand Yeast range. Maybe you feel the need to try […]

How to brew

How to brew a delicious beer -101

How to brew your first beer Let’s start with the important thing… do you have the recipe in front of you? If you do there is probably some things you might not know and we’re here to help! The other important question is, are you BIAB (Brewing In A Bag) with an all-grain kit or […]

Crisp Webinar 12: Mixed Fermentation with Duration Brewery

In our next webinar, we will be looking at mixed fermentation and barrel ageing. In the past few years, there has been a huge boom in the use of wood to create a mixed fermentation environment. We will be discussing tips and tricks to create these complex and flavourful beers. We will also be looking […]

Crafters Day Beer

Crafters Day Beer Competition Sign Up – 2 October 2021

Sign up for our Cactus Crafters Day Beer Competition on 2 October 2021. You can also sign up for your home-distilled goods… Cactus Crafters Day Beer Competition Sponsored by Crisp Malt and Lallemand Yeast. Rules? Only Crisp Malts and Lallemand Yeasts can be used for your final product (where applied). Discount will be given to […]

LupoMax

Why Brew With LUPOMAX®

Before we jump into the how-to brew with LUPOMAX®, let’s first start by looking at why brewing with LUPOMAX® is so great. LUPOMAX® concentrated hop pellets are a new form of hops that are more consistent, more efficient and have less vegetative matter than traditional Type 90 pellets. 1. Brew Consistently with LUPOMAX Consistency matters because brewing […]

Weevils in grains

The Evils of Weevils

You open your favourite box of cereal, the milk is ready, and you’re about to have a tasty breakfast when you see it… weevils! Now that you’re older you get the same disappointment from opening a bag of malt that has been standing in the garage for some time. You don’t really want to throw […]

Dry pitch or rehydrate?

Rehydrate or dry pitch? Recent R&D has shown that there is no significant difference in fermentation performance between dry pitched and rehydrated yeast.   Dry pitching is the preferred method of inoculating wort. This method is simpler than rehydration and will give more consistent fermentation performance, also reducing the risk of contamination.   Rehydration of […]

Column Still

Column Still – the better way to distil

Be a Happy Cactus and get Distilling! What is distilling/distillation? Plain and simple, boiling and condensation of a fermented base, in your column still, to separate the drink to increase the alcohol content in the process. Types of Distilled Spirit Vodka Distilled primarily from high-starch plants, potatoes are the most common base, though one can […]

Cactus Crafters Day 2 Oct - MAIN

What’s new at Cactus Craft?

Something exciting has arrived at Cactus Craft for our whiskey and distilling lovers… our new Dry Activated Distillers Yeasts! Not only do we have the DADY but we have also made our own Crazy Cactus Turbo Yeast #66. Our new additions for distillers yeasts are our Strathspey DADY and our Highlands DADY. With the success […]