Toast Beer / Homebrew Thread

Player most likely to be a beer snob

  • Sam Butler

    Votes: 2 20.0%

  • Andrew Gaff

    Votes: 2 20.0%

  • Jack Watts

    Votes: 3 30.0%

  • Brant Colledge

    Votes: 1 10.0%

  • Jonathan Giles

    Votes: 2 20.0%
  • Total voters
    10
  • Poll closed .

Remove this Banner Ad

So had a full on first day yesterday, with some hits and misses and lots learned for next time.

- Milling went perfectly, a nice balance with semi-intact hulls and finely crushed grains - used the credit card measure Here2tellyouwhy.

- Keg King element took about a half hour to heat 45litres to 75 degrees

- First snag - didn't 'preheat' my mash tun, so filled it up with the 75c water and it settled at 55c, so added a bit more hot water then did a semi-decoction and got it back up to 64c and left it for an hour. Recipe temp was for 66c but that'll have to do.

- Sparging went surprisingly well, was worried about a stuck sparge, I put a cup of rice hulls in to make sure the wheat malt didn't glug up too much - probably not necessary but did so just in case.

- Boil took ages to get going, needed to slide some of my BBQ grill under the burner to get it closer to the keggle, but once it got going it went fine.

- Dual chillers went mint, took less than 15 minutes to get the temp of the wort back down to pitching temp, just a massive waste of water. Absolutely pissed down at our place yesterday and was planning on putting the water in my pool but that was almost overflowing so it went in the garden. Coincidentally got back from helping my in-laws pack up their house in Geraldton to sell it and we brought back 4 x 25l plastic jerry cans so I'm gonna tax them to fill up and save for the garden.

- The generic hop-blocker I got with the kit was awesome, so lucky I got it coz the hops were one schloppy mess.

- Moved it to the fermenter and used the inline oxygenation kit I bought and pitched a Wyeast smack pack that I thought was gonna explode it was so swol and chucked it in the fridge. Checked it this morning and it's bubbling like a machine gun.

- Surprisingly after the mash temp debacle I hit the recipe SG - pretty happy with that. From what I've read the beer will be a bit lighter because of the lower tempt but should still be fine.

- Found myself repeatedly sniffing the hop flowers whilst waiting on the mash/boil. Took me back to my stoner days.

After getting the first one out of the way I've got some ideas on how to improve on my overall efficiency. Can't see myself doing it more than every couple of months on account of the cleaning required. * that off.
 
Bender_ said:
So had a full on first day yesterday, with some hits and misses and lots learned for next time.

- Milling went perfectly, a nice balance with semi-intact hulls and finely crushed grains - used the credit card measure Here2tellyouwhy.

- Keg King element took about a half hour to heat 45litres to 75 degrees

- First snag - didn't 'preheat' my mash tun, so filled it up with the 75c water and it settled at 55c, so added a bit more hot water then did a semi-decoction and got it back up to 64c and left it for an hour. Recipe temp was for 66c but that'll have to do.

- Sparging went surprisingly well, was worried about a stuck sparge, I put a cup of rice hulls in to make sure the wheat malt didn't glug up too much - probably not necessary but did so just in case.

- Boil took ages to get going, needed to slide some of my BBQ grill under the burner to get it closer to the keggle, but once it got going it went fine.

- Dual chillers went mint, took less than 15 minutes to get the temp of the wort back down to pitching temp, just a massive waste of water. Absolutely pissed down at our place yesterday and was planning on putting the water in my pool but that was almost overflowing so it went in the garden. Coincidentally got back from helping my in-laws pack up their house in Geraldton to sell it and we brought back 4 x 25l plastic jerry cans so I'm gonna tax them to fill up and save for the garden.

- The generic hop-blocker I got with the kit was awesome, so lucky I got it coz the hops were one schloppy mess.

- Moved it to the fermenter and used the inline oxygenation kit I bought and pitched a Wyeast smack pack that I thought was gonna explode it was so swol and chucked it in the fridge. Checked it this morning and it's bubbling like a machine gun.

- Surprisingly after the mash temp debacle I hit the recipe SG - pretty happy with that. From what I've read the beer will be a bit lighter because of the lower tempt but should still be fine.

- Found myself repeatedly sniffing the hop flowers whilst waiting on the mash/boil. Took me back to my stoner days.

After getting the first one out of the way I've got some ideas on how to improve on my overall efficiency. Can't see myself doing it more than every couple of months on account of the cleaning required. **** that off.
Click to expand...
Credit card method is well proven. Set and forget.

Nice work on smashing out your first AG brew

lol at thinking your only gonna do it every two months. Its highly addictive...
Like the lupin in those hops you were snorting :D
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Bender_ said:
So had a full on first day yesterday, with some hits and misses and lots learned for next time.

- Milling went perfectly, a nice balance with semi-intact hulls and finely crushed grains - used the credit card measure Here2tellyouwhy.

- Keg King element took about a half hour to heat 45litres to 75 degrees

- First snag - didn't 'preheat' my mash tun, so filled it up with the 75c water and it settled at 55c, so added a bit more hot water then did a semi-decoction and got it back up to 64c and left it for an hour. Recipe temp was for 66c but that'll have to do.

- Sparging went surprisingly well, was worried about a stuck sparge, I put a cup of rice hulls in to make sure the wheat malt didn't glug up too much - probably not necessary but did so just in case.

- Boil took ages to get going, needed to slide some of my BBQ grill under the burner to get it closer to the keggle, but once it got going it went fine.

- Dual chillers went mint, took less than 15 minutes to get the temp of the wort back down to pitching temp, just a massive waste of water. Absolutely pissed down at our place yesterday and was planning on putting the water in my pool but that was almost overflowing so it went in the garden. Coincidentally got back from helping my in-laws pack up their house in Geraldton to sell it and we brought back 4 x 25l plastic jerry cans so I'm gonna tax them to fill up and save for the garden.

- The generic hop-blocker I got with the kit was awesome, so lucky I got it coz the hops were one schloppy mess.

- Moved it to the fermenter and used the inline oxygenation kit I bought and pitched a Wyeast smack pack that I thought was gonna explode it was so swol and chucked it in the fridge. Checked it this morning and it's bubbling like a machine gun.

- Surprisingly after the mash temp debacle I hit the recipe SG - pretty happy with that. From what I've read the beer will be a bit lighter because of the lower tempt but should still be fine.

- Found myself repeatedly sniffing the hop flowers whilst waiting on the mash/boil. Took me back to my stoner days.

After getting the first one out of the way I've got some ideas on how to improve on my overall efficiency. Can't see myself doing it more than every couple of months on account of the cleaning required. **** that off.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good day mate. Well done!
 
Need a little help with this grapefruit IPA kit

Added 1kg of LDM + 500g of dextrose to 20L of the kit, website lists "1.2 kg Pure Liquid Malt Extract or 1 kg Dextrose/Brew Enhancer" in 23L, I have no idea of this extract stuff, I have an OG of 1.060, how well does the LDM convert?

Kit came with M44 west coast yeast, dumped on the yeast cake that was from a S-04 pale ale that had been sitting in the secondary.
 
Lynch takes a mark said:
Need a little help with this grapefruit IPA kit

Added 1kg of LDM + 500g of dextrose to 20L of the kit, website lists "1.2 kg Pure Liquid Malt Extract or 1 kg Dextrose/Brew Enhancer" in 23L, I have no idea of this extract stuff, I have an OG of 1.060, how well does the LDM convert?

Kit came with M44 west coast yeast, dumped on the yeast cake that was from a S-04 pale ale that had been sitting in the secondary.
Click to expand...
“Brew Enhancer” is a Coopers kit thing. They come in three different types, each with differing proportions of dextrose, glucose and malt extract.

The pure dextrose will convert into alcohol more than the LDM, so you will end up with higher alc than you would have with 1.2km of liquid malt extract and 1kg of dex/BE.

So you have overshot in terms of fermentables, but given it’s an IPA you will be fine .

Dry malt gives you more gravity points than liquid malt too.
 
Bender_ said:
Alright gents, preparing for my first brew day tomoz, here's some pics:

The system all set up:

View attachment 530092

My brew station with mill:

View attachment 530093

Dual chillers:

View attachment 530094

The HLT all set with sight glass:
View attachment 530095

The Mash tun with false bottom and rotating sparge arm:

View attachment 530096

And lastly the fermentation chamber (fridge with heat band and temp controller):

View attachment 530097

Any last tips before I dive in in the morning?

Incredibly excited.
Click to expand...
Epic setup mate! Looks awesome

You could try turning the water flow down on the chiller to reduce usage - it might not take that much longer as you’re giving the water more time to transfer heat from the wort
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Lynch takes a mark said:
Might have some time later in the week for my first ever imperial stout, had the founders breakfast stout yesterday, outstanding, going to use that grain bill.

Any objections to Magnum for bittering and maybe a little Perle for aroma? Looking at 60 IBU looking at the bottle.
Click to expand...

Magnum will work well for bittering. Can't weigh in on the aroma side but if you stick with noble hops and be restrained it'll be sweet
 
Lynch takes a mark said:
Might have some time later in the week for my first ever imperial stout, had the founders breakfast stout yesterday, outstanding, going to use that grain bill.

Any objections to Magnum for bittering and maybe a little Perle for aroma? Looking at 60 IBU looking at the bottle.
Click to expand...
Used Perle in a stout earlier in the year and didn’t rate. I got given about 800g of the s**t for free. Think it’s only really good for lagers.

Go Magnum and Northern Brewer and/or Willamette
 
Bender_ said:
So the bubbles in the airlock have almost stopped after 3.5 days in the fermenter. Is this normal for ales?
Click to expand...

Wouldn't be too uncommon with a Smack pack. Did you aerate the wort? The air lock is only ever a guide and shouldn't be used as an accurate determination of fermentation activity.

Take a gravity sample on the weekend.
 
DanWCE said:
Wouldn't be too uncommon with a Smack pack. Did you aerate the wort? The air lock is only ever a guide and shouldn't be used as an accurate determination of fermentation activity.

Take a gravity sample on the weekend.
Click to expand...
This


Take a gravity reading and taste the cloudy yeasty goodness.
Take another reading 24 hours later.
If its the same you can bottle or cold crash for a few days first.
If not take another reading in another 24 hours time.

Youll soon learn the difference in taste between whether its finished or not. The yeast in suspension is a dead give away.
 
Cheers guys.

Yeah I used an oxygenation kit before pitching.

Most of what I read says that the airlock slow significantly in the 2-4 days range but like to get a bit of confirmation from you guys.

Will check the gravity on Friday and chuck the dry hops in. Then wait a few days before doing some more consecutive gravity tests.
 
Bender_ said:
Cheers guys.

Yeah I used an oxygenation kit before pitching.

Most of what I read says that the airlock slow significantly in the 2-4 days range but like to get a bit of confirmation from you guys.

Will check the gravity on Friday and chuck the dry hops in. Then wait a few days before doing some more consecutive gravity tests.
Click to expand...

Airlocks create micro managers. Better off glad wrapping.

RDWAHAHB.
 
Grabbed this off Gumtree for $15 this morning:


Capture.PNG

It's the Octoberfest recipe - only makes a gallon, but was actually more interested in the jug and a couple of other parts of the kit. Will make it up after bottling the pale ale that's fermenting right now.

Speaking of, do you guys bottle condition in basically the same conditions you ferment? Like should i put the bottles in the fridge with the heat band and try and let them condition at 20 degrees for a couple of weeks?
 
Bender_ said:
Grabbed this off Gumtree for $15 this morning:


View attachment 532596


It's the Octoberfest recipe - only makes a gallon, but was actually more interested in the jug and a couple of other parts of the kit. Will make it up after bottling the pale ale that's fermenting right now.

Speaking of, do you guys bottle condition in basically the same conditions you ferment? Like should i put the bottles in the fridge with the heat band and try and let them condition at 20 degrees for a couple of weeks?
Click to expand...
Up to you but as long as theyre inside your house at room temp youll youll be right. Depending in in yeast, most yeast go dormant at 12-14C
 
Here2tellyouwhy said:
Up to you but as long as theyre inside your house at room temp youll youll be right. Depending in in yeast, most yeast go dormant at 12-14C
Click to expand...

My house gets *en freezing this time of year. Will have to have a think about how I'll do it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top