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 .

FKASC

Reid’s Like Copium
May 28, 2017
24,427
46,585
AFL Club
West Coast
My rye ipa is still not properly carbed - need to suss out my reg pressure and s**t.

Had a schooner tonight (yes finally July is over). It’s an interesting brew. Bitter as hell, some intense almost metallic cola sweet notes but they don’t linger at all, great simcoe nose. Copper not red at all unfortunately.

Needed less of the melanoidin malts, less bittering hops, more carb. Hopefully time will mellow it out a bit
 

FKASC

Reid’s Like Copium
May 28, 2017
24,427
46,585
AFL Club
West Coast
720618


My new fermenter filled with Kolsch. The wort before I added yeast tasted incredible. Very excited about this batch.

720619

My previous batch. Doesn’t look this red when it’s not in the light but still pretty nice. The hop bitterness has subsided a bit and it’s pretty tasty. Not perfect though.
 

FKASC

Reid’s Like Copium
May 28, 2017
24,427
46,585
AFL Club
West Coast
Update - my red IPA is way more balanced now in terms of bitterness. Amazing how much difference a week or two and proper carbonation makes.
 
I've drunk 20/32 pints of the NEIPA and have given 6 to my brother in law (tax for building the stand with me) leaving me with 6 left.

Time to start thinking about the next brew very soon. Think I might copy FKASC and go the red IPA.
 

FKASC

Reid’s Like Copium
May 28, 2017
24,427
46,585
AFL Club
West Coast
I've drunk 20/32 pints of the NEIPA and have given 6 to my brother in law (tax for building the stand with me) leaving me with 6 left.

Time to start thinking about the next brew very soon. Think I might copy FKASC and go the red IPA.
Mine has settled nicely. I would probably revise the recipe a bit but otherwise I’m liking it.

Prob reduce the bittering hop amount by about 25% and get rid of one of the three specialty grains.

Simcoe is going really nicely with the malt character though, so I’d recommend making that your main hop for it combined with something like chinook/centennial. I don’t reckon the more tropical fruity hops would play as well with the richer malts

Squinting to see the footy there. I assume it becomes easier with a few beers under the belt!
Yeah it’s a small telly but can’t bear the idea of spending a shitload on something big.
 
It's been a while between drinks.

Looking to do another brew, this time with a quick boil of an extract with some hop additions.

My main concern is heating as the go to places in my house for fermentation are sitting at around ~15 degrees for the most part. I don't have room for another fridge at the moment, but just wondering if others have used a heat belt and temp controller combo in a small space like under the stairs that will assist in keeping the temp of an ale up?
 

DanWCE

Brownlow Medallist
Apr 2, 2015
19,575
41,729
AFL Club
West Coast
It's been a while between drinks.

Looking to do another brew, this time with a quick boil of an extract with some hop additions.

My main concern is heating as the go to places in my house for fermentation are sitting at around ~15 degrees for the most part. I don't have room for another fridge at the moment, but just wondering if others have used a heat belt and temp controller combo in a small space like under the stairs that will assist in keeping the temp of an ale up?

15° overnight? That's actually pretty reasonable. I was finding temp controlling around the tried and tested 18 wasn't actually turning out that well. I did a brew with Nottingham around 16° and the ferment was much cleaner.

Not forgetting the target temp is what's occuring in the centre of the fermenter, not the ambient temp. Someone on PHBS recently tested the temperature at various positions of a fermenter including within it and found the readings to vary by up to a few degrees.

You may be hindered mostly when trying to finish the ferment and complete diacetyl rest. So to answer your question yes before I got my fermenting fridge I put a large cardboard box under my stairs with a heat belt suspended in the space and a few towels on the ground. It was some proper MacGyver s**t but it worked!
 

FKASC

Reid’s Like Copium
May 28, 2017
24,427
46,585
AFL Club
West Coast
It's been a while between drinks.

Looking to do another brew, this time with a quick boil of an extract with some hop additions.

My main concern is heating as the go to places in my house for fermentation are sitting at around ~15 degrees for the most part. I don't have room for another fridge at the moment, but just wondering if others have used a heat belt and temp controller combo in a small space like under the stairs that will assist in keeping the temp of an ale up?
Yeah I think you should be fine at current Melb winter temps if you’re using something like US05. Once it kicks into gear it’ll warm itself up.

I have a heat pad that I simply rest against the fermenter and cover it all with a towel when I want to warm it up for a D rest. Cost about $30.
 
Cheers lads, so thinking something as simple as this one for when it gets a bit chilly -


 

FKASC

Reid’s Like Copium
May 28, 2017
24,427
46,585
AFL Club
West Coast
Cheers lads, so thinking something as simple as this one for when it gets a bit chilly -


Mine’s similar to this https://www.cleverbrewing.com.au/heat-pad.html

I reckon you’d be able to find a second hand one online cheaper - seems to the sort of thing people sell fairly often

If you wait til tomorrow G&G have a Father’s Day sale 20% off
 

FKASC

Reid’s Like Copium
May 28, 2017
24,427
46,585
AFL Club
West Coast
Been filling up PET bottles straight from the keg with carbed beer using one of those cheap carbonation caps and a bit of beer line. Works surprisingly well!
 

DanWCE

Brownlow Medallist
Apr 2, 2015
19,575
41,729
AFL Club
West Coast
Been filling up PET bottles straight from the keg with carbed beer using one of those cheap carbonation caps and a bit of beer line. Works surprisingly well!

That's pretty cool. To drink soon thereafter or to give to mates for another day? That'd be a handy way to take your beers on the road (park, beach, party..)
 

FKASC

Reid’s Like Copium
May 28, 2017
24,427
46,585
AFL Club
West Coast
That's pretty cool. To drink soon thereafter or to give to mates for another day? That'd be a handy way to take your beers on the road (park, beach, party..)
Bit of both. Poured one on thurs to have this weekend and it was still perfectly carbed, clear and tasted great.

Couldnt see it not staying carbed as long as you didn’t open the cap, although you wouldn’t want to ‘condition’ it for too long in the bottle.

You could easily do it in a 2L coke bottle for a party which would be growler size
 
Haven't been round in a while, got the shits on with the Stephenson "10 match" ruling and couple that with working the majority of my weekends in a bar seen * all footy for the year. I'm still really happy that the premiership went to the team with 12 homes games in a row including the GF, makes the cockles of my heart warm. Decided I'm probably gonna get a Perth Demons membership next year, don't really care about the team as such but my bro lives across the road from Lathlain Park so we can head over and watch a game that hasn't been entirely ruined by money (yet [I'm not a cynical campaigner about anything else, promise] ). That and some cash into the WAFL makes it sound attractive, maybe catch a couple of Beagles games too.

Back on topic, all set for the NZ style pale ale next weekend. Gonna try a couple of different things; bought a lauter snake for my mash tun, haven't been hugely impressed with my false bottom so thought I'd give it a try. I like changing things up a bit anyway to get a different perspective. Also going to try a large hop bazooka instead of the generic hop blocker type I had been using for the boil, doubt it'll be hugely different but just interested to give it a go.

Start at a new bar next in a fortnight with some less hours so will get some of my Sundays back, hoping to get 3 brews in before new years and packing it up for the summer; NZ Pale Ale, Hefeweizen and a rye lager. Got a great deal on a 23L glass carboy with handle off a bloke on Gumtree who was downsizing a bit - dude had an epic set up, made mine look so ghetto. Thinking I might lager the rye batch a good few weeks in the carboy, again just trying things out for the learning experience.

Hope you're all well FKASC, DanWCE, Here2tellyouwhy, BigBirdz and all the other campaigners that peruse this thread. 🙂
 
Last edited:

FKASC

Reid’s Like Copium
May 28, 2017
24,427
46,585
AFL Club
West Coast
Haven't been round in a while, got the s**ts on with the Stephenson "10 match" ruling and couple that with working the majority of my weekends in a bar seen fu** all footy for the year. I'm still really happy that the premiership went to the team with 12 homes games in a row including the GF, makes the cockles of my heart warm. Decided I'm probably gonna get a Perth Demons membership next year, don't really care about the team as such but my bro lives across the road from Lathlain Park so we can head over and watch a game that hasn't been entirely ruined by money (yet [I'm not a cynical campaigner about anything else, promise] ). That and some cash into the WAFL makes it sound attractive, maybe catch a couple of Beagles games too.

Back on topic, all set for the NZ style pale ale next weekend. Gonna try a couple of different things; bought a lauter snake for my mash tun, haven't been hugely impressed with my false bottom so thought I'd give it a try. I like changing things up a bit anyway to get a different perspective. Also going to try a large hop bazooka instead of the generic hop blocker type I had been using for the boil, doubt it'll be hugely different but just interested to give it a go.

Start at a new bar next in a fortnight with some less hours so will get some of my Sundays back, hoping to get 3 brews in before new years and packing it up for the summer; NZ Pale Ale, Hefeweizen and a rye lager. Got a great deal on a 23L glass carboy with handle off a bloke on Gumtree who was downsizing a bit - dude had an epic set up, made mine look so ghetto. Thinking I might lager the rye batch a good few weeks in the carboy, again just trying things out for the learning experience.

Hope you're all well FKASC, DanWCE, Here2tellyouwhy, BigBirdz and all the other campaigners that peruse this thread. 🙂
Hey mate!

Your beer ideas sound delicious. I can’t wait to use some more NZ hops. Love them.

what % rye were you thinking for the lager? I’d go about 10% I reckon and don’t mash too high.

Yeah I haven’t been on here much since the Hawthorn game either. Life’s a lot easier when you’re not getting too worked up about footy

Brewed a porter on the weekend and just added 160g of cacao nibs and 130g of shaved coconut, both soaked in rum.

Smelling damn good, just hope I don’t lose too much of that aroma. I added it only 3 days into fermentation to see how the yeast converts the oils in the cacao.

756264


I want to buy a glass carboy too for some random sour experimentations.

I personally wouldn’t bother transferring to the carboy for lagering though unless you need to free up the keg. I’d prob just transfer from your fermenter to keg, set your regulator to 13 PSI and then leave in thefridge for 3-4 weeks. That’ll have it clear as.

Or are you still bottling? If so, maybe just bottle and then put all of the bottles in the fridge for a month before you crack them, that’ll be your lagering phase. It might not make sense to lager in a carboy then bottle as you’ll have to warm them back up and yeast will go back into suspension? Might be wrong though.

let us know how your brews go!
 

DanWCE

Brownlow Medallist
Apr 2, 2015
19,575
41,729
AFL Club
West Coast
Haven't been round in a while, got the s**ts on with the Stephenson "10 match" ruling and couple that with working the majority of my weekends in a bar seen fu** all footy for the year. I'm still really happy that the premiership went to the team with 12 homes games in a row including the GF, makes the cockles of my heart warm. Decided I'm probably gonna get a Perth Demons membership next year, don't really care about the team as such but my bro lives across the road from Lathlain Park so we can head over and watch a game that hasn't been entirely ruined by money (yet [I'm not a cynical campaigner about anything else, promise] ). That and some cash into the WAFL makes it sound attractive, maybe catch a couple of Beagles games too.

Back on topic, all set for the NZ style pale ale next weekend. Gonna try a couple of different things; bought a lauter snake for my mash tun, haven't been hugely impressed with my false bottom so thought I'd give it a try. I like changing things up a bit anyway to get a different perspective. Also going to try a large hop bazooka instead of the generic hop blocker type I had been using for the boil, doubt it'll be hugely different but just interested to give it a go.

Start at a new bar next in a fortnight with some less hours so will get some of my Sundays back, hoping to get 3 brews in before new years and packing it up for the summer; NZ Pale Ale, Hefeweizen and a rye lager. Got a great deal on a 23L glass carboy with handle off a bloke on Gumtree who was downsizing a bit - dude had an epic set up, made mine look so ghetto. Thinking I might lager the rye batch a good few weeks in the carboy, again just trying things out for the learning experience.

Hope you're all well FKASC, DanWCE, Here2tellyouwhy, BigBirdz and all the other campaigners that peruse this thread. 🙂

I feel your footy sentiments mate. Was talking to my father in law about that yesterday. It's left a rotten taste in the mouth. Too many convenient situations for my liking.

Go Wildcats and Scorchers hey?!

Unless I am thinking of something else I'm pretty sure you'll need a handful of rice husks with your rye beer to stop clumping and s**t getting stuck.
 

FKASC

Reid’s Like Copium
May 28, 2017
24,427
46,585
AFL Club
West Coast
I feel your footy sentiments mate. Was talking to my father in law about that yesterday. It's left a rotten taste in the mouth. Too many convenient situations for my liking.

Go Wildcats and Scorchers hey?!

Unless I am thinking of something else I'm pretty sure you'll need a handful of rice husks with your rye beer to stop clumping and s**t getting stuck.
Have you bought that fancy Scandinavian electric brewing system yet??
 
Hey mate!

Your beer ideas sound delicious. I can’t wait to use some more NZ hops. Love them.

what % rye were you thinking for the lager? I’d go about 10% I reckon and don’t mash too high.

Yeah I haven’t been on here much since the Hawthorn game either. Life’s a lot easier when you’re not getting too worked up about footy

Brewed a porter on the weekend and just added 160g of cacao nibs and 130g of shaved coconut, both soaked in rum.

Smelling damn good, just hope I don’t lose too much of that aroma. I added it only 3 days into fermentation to see how the yeast converts the oils in the cacao.

View attachment 756264

I want to buy a glass carboy too for some random sour experimentations.

I personally wouldn’t bother transferring to the carboy for lagering though unless you need to free up the keg. I’d prob just transfer from your fermenter to keg, set your regulator to 13 PSI and then leave in thefridge for 3-4 weeks. That’ll have it clear as.

Or are you still bottling? If so, maybe just bottle and then put all of the bottles in the fridge for a month before you crack them, that’ll be your lagering phase. It might not make sense to lager in a carboy then bottle as you’ll have to warm them back up and yeast will go back into suspension? Might be wrong though.

let us know how your brews go!

Not certain on the rye lager %, it's a recipe that Brewmart (WA homebrew distribution/suppliers) will bag up and sell, so you get the exact grain and hops necessary for the recipe without excess, usually $50 a batch including liquid yeast packs. They've been awesome so far, not just generic bullshit but include carapils etc and actually think through their recipes. They do brew days with the public too where I think they test them out a bit.

Still bottling, doubt I'll ever go for kegs (besides the 5L one I've got), though what you've said has genuine merit still going to give it a try in the carboy. Feel like I've learnt best by doing so far if you know what I mean.

Actually just picked up 144 clean stubbies off Gumtree for free this arvo - proper store bought ones not just ones that some campaigner has polished off and rinsed. Though the pint size bottles are great, sometimes I feel like I bit smaller of a serve so will use these for the NZPA batch. Makes it a bit easier to share too.

I feel your footy sentiments mate. Was talking to my father in law about that yesterday. It's left a rotten taste in the mouth. Too many convenient situations for my liking.

Go Wildcats and Scorchers hey?!

Unless I am thinking of something else I'm pretty sure you'll need a handful of rice husks with your rye beer to stop clumping and s**t getting stuck.

Yep will def pick up some husks, only $5 a bag and will chuck in a handful to avoid any constipation.

Though I had a s**t time with the Japanese rice lager from All Inn Brewing, think I might do their White IPA sometime in the new year. The idea of cutting out the brew day but still making it is cool.
 
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