Health Homebrew

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Are there any good resources online for a beginner? A friend and I are looking at getting a Grainfather but haven't had any experience in brewing. I'm sure I can find some youtube vids but thought you guys might have used some good sites in the past.

Out of interest how did everyone get in to home brewing?
 

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craigos said:
Are there any good resources online for a beginner? A friend and I are looking at getting a Grainfather but haven't had any experience in brewing. I'm sure I can find some youtube vids but thought you guys might have used some good sites in the past.

Out of interest how did everyone get in to home brewing?
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Heaps of information online and like anything it's just siphoning through pages to find what's relevant to you. The aussiehomebrewer forum has a dedicated Grainfathers tips & tricks here http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/84219-dedicated-grainfather-guide-problems-and-solutions-thread/ and is the site I used to get my head around what I wanted and needed. I also got a copy of a book called Home Brew - Beyond the Basics which is the best thing I've read when getting into All Grain brewing. I used it during my first mash and will continue to use it in the future as it is simple to read and put into practice. I also used youtube which was helpful.

I also downloaded a program called Beersmith2 which helps you set up all your recipes and mash schedules. Very easy to use.

But the best advice did come form the local homebrew shop who sold me the Braumeister. Very helpful guys and were more intrigued than me to see how it all turned out.

I haven't home brewed (extract) for over 10 years before buying the Braumeister and honestly, it makes brewing enjoyable and easy, especially the cleaning. I spent a bit of money and set everything up just right before brewing which makes it an easy day.

deathevocation said:
Do you keg it?
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I will. Still going through fermentation and just picking up a 19lt keg tonight from a mate. I really need to get a kegerator from somewhere as I don't want to bottle. I looked at buying a kit to convert and old fridge but not sure it's worth it seeing how cheap some Kegerators are on ebay. I need to sort something pretty quick though.
 
For anyone interested in AG brewing - I made a Little Creatures IPA Clone and it's great. Really enjoying it.

Recipe is below for anyone wanting to give it a go.

20l Batch
70% efficiency
Braumeister Profile
ABV 6.8%

5kg - 2-row pale ale malt (Biess 6.9 EBC)
1kg - Dark Munich (JW 29.6 EBC)
.3kg - Caramel Rye (Weyermann 175EBC)
38g East Kent Goldings - First wort
21g Amarillo (Steep/Whirlpool 20 min)
21g Vic Secret (Steep/Whirlpool 20 min)
US-05 Safale Yeast
28g Amarillo dry hop 7 days

nearly 6.5kg of grain was difficult and I left the mash out over night which is the beauty of the BM
 
How is everybody's homebrew going?

I finally got my finger out and got proper temperature controller for the fridge rather than turning it on and off manually. The last 3 brews have been really good as a result.

Right now I am really savouring a Coopers recipe for their extra strong vintage ale and it is awesome. Getting my fermentation side of things down pat before moving into all grain. But the kit and extract brews I've been doing have been really good.

I do, however with I could justify the coin to get a Grainfather. Did you ever get a Grainfather, craigos ?
 
Mattrox said:
How is everybody's homebrew going?

I finally got my finger out and got proper temperature controller for the fridge rather than turning it on and off manually. The last 3 brews have been really good as a result.

Right now I am really savouring a Coopers recipe for their extra strong vintage ale and it is awesome. Getting my fermentation side of things down pat before moving into all grain. But the kit and extract brews I've been doing have been really good.

I do, however with I could justify the coin to get a Grainfather. Did you ever get a Grainfather, craigos ?
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Yeah I ended up with the Grainfather and must say it was worth the money (so far). Have done a couple of Pale Ale's which were both underwhelming (too bitter) a Black IPA (which was pretty good), a mid strength stout that tastes the same as a White Rabbit Dark Ale and has been the best brew yet (very happy with it) and did up a Bright Ale last week. Doing another Bright Ale this weekend to try and nail consistency and see if we can turn out two batches exactly the same.

Fermentation temp is probably the biggest issue, the few hot days we had in a row had the beer fluctuating too much. Looking for an old fridge where we can control temp a lot better, what's your setup?

All Grain is heaps of fun, lots more that can go wrong but am really looking forward to experimenting a bit once I've got the basics under control.
 
I do some BIAB. Got a red ale just about ready to be bottled. I really need an extra fridge so I can fully regulate the temp. It's my main issue at the moment. BIAB is a very easy and cheap way to get into all grain brewing
 
04 Durif said:
I do some BIAB. Got a red ale just about ready to be bottled. I really need an extra fridge so I can fully regulate the temp. It's my main issue at the moment. BIAB is a very easy and cheap way to get into all grain brewing
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How do you go with regulating temps during mash? Wished I'd had a crack at BIAB before I moved to an AG system, seems kind of more vintage in a way (I mean that as a postive)
 
craigos said:
How do you go with regulating temps during mash? Wished I'd had a crack at BIAB before I moved to an AG system, seems kind of more vintage in a way (I mean that as a postive)
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I get the water to 70 for a 67 degree mashing temp. It is as accurate as a big pot on the verandah can be. Wouldn't mind stepping up to something bigger so I can make bigger batches.
 
Mattrox said:
How is everybody's homebrew going?

I finally got my finger out and got proper temperature controller for the fridge rather than turning it on and off manually. The last 3 brews have been really good as a result.

Right now I am really savouring a Coopers recipe for their extra strong vintage ale and it is awesome. Getting my fermentation side of things down pat before moving into all grain. But the kit and extract brews I've been doing have been really good.

I do, however with I could justify the coin to get a Grainfather. Did you ever get a Grainfather, craigos ?
Click to expand...

Not sure if you know but if you buy a few coopers beers you can use the yeast out of the bottle in you extract brew. It makes it very close to the real coopers beers if you like them.
 
BuzzKillington_ said:
Not sure if you know but if you buy a few coopers beers you can use the yeast out of the bottle in you extract brew. It makes it very close to the real coopers beers if you like them.
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I did use the Coopers yeast for the 2 versions of Extra Strong Vintage Ale I just did. But it stalled on the high alcohol brews and I needed to pitch new packets to get good attenuation.

I need to work on building starters up properly. I'm sure if I was doing a 4.7% brew I would have had no troubles.
 

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Only just started home brewing myself again. Those Cooper's kits are really just basic the starting. Best of to do some research on Google and visit the local home brew shop.

Also on face book I joined a local homebrewing club. Every couple of weeks one of the blokes holds a gathing at his place and has his brew on tap for every one to sample, it's great to get some advice, but usually just ends up in a bit of a piss up
 
it's all about the hops

straight cooper's kits are alright, but they will taste like home brew...

but if you keep at it, keep trying new recipes, learning what works, what doesn't work, eventually you'll make better beers than you find in pubs
 
People do make some terrible homebrew, then again if you're happy to mimic a Carlton Draught without using fresh ingredients, it's not surprising the result isn't great. Subtle brag, but I've been making some all grain batches and have made some pretty decent beers. Have made some average ones as well but I'm not letting anyone taste them, they get dumped.
 
moses said:
Once you go all grain, its hard to go back. Wish hops were cheaper though :'(
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What kind of setup are you running Moses?
Have you looked at buying them online? Have found them to be quite a bit cheaper (ebay has a decent selection of your standard hops).
 
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