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 .

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BigBirdz said:
How do you guys set up your heater in the ferment fridge. I've got a temp mate to flick the fridge on is there something similar for heat?
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My temperature controller - Inkbird IIRC - has a power point for heating and another for cooling; so one for the fridge and the other for the heat band.

If yours has only one then it's based on the idea that it'll always be hotter or colder than your desired temperature so you only need to cool or heat, not both. Does that make sense?
 
El_ahrairah said:
My temperature controller - Inkbird IIRC - has a power point for heating and another for cooling; so one for the fridge and the other for the heat band.

If yours has only one then it's based on the idea that it'll always be hotter or colder than your desired temperature so you only need to cool or heat, not both. Does that make sense?
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Yeah it only has the one. Works great in summer but this time of the year its hard to do pale ales etc. I might just do a few European style beers through this time of the year ready for summer drinking and do the other styles through summer.

Or just upgrade my temp control🤷‍♂️
 
FKASC said:
nah it was actually a bit of a melange of malts
2 kg vienna, 1.5 kg munich, 1 kg pilsner, and a touch of melanoidin and caramunich II.

I've never used carapils but I might try it going forward. I want some head damnit!

Regardless i think i'd ditch the pilsner malt next time and go 50/50 vienna and munich. I want more toasty notes
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Decent head should.be achievable without carapils or wheat ( though they can help).
What is your mash schedule?
 

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Doashuey said:
Decent head should.be achievable without carapils or wheat ( though they can help).
What is your mash schedule?
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It was a step mash - the first that I’ve tried. 62, 64, 68, 77

I think it was most just under carbed to be honest and maybe a dirty glass. Poured another one today and it was fairly Brett Heady.

I guess I just see videos of German slow poured pilsners etc and get a bit envious
 
FKASC said:
It was a step mash - the first that I’ve tried. 62, 64, 68, 77

I think it was most just under carbed to be honest and maybe a dirty glass. Poured another one today and it was fairly Brett Heady.

I guess I just see videos of German slow poured pilsners etc and get a bit envious
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Ok those steps wont do a whole heap for your wort and are probably unneccesary. You would probably find little or no difference if you just performed a 66C rest for an hour plus your 77C mashout.
Next time try starting with a protien rest at 55C (helps head formation)- 10 minutes max for this, then a sacch rest (anywhere from 64-67), then an alpha rest at 71C (head retention) for 10 minutes then mash out if desired. I would probably not worry about the mashout but up to you and weather you need the higher temp to drain your grist.
 
DanWCE said:
Stepped mash with my urn is a piece of s**t. I've never bothered with it after brewing one hefe
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Haha yeah the old Hokhurtz schedule is a doozy. If you have the ability to step then it is useful. Hefe is one style I feel really benefits from a step mash as you want that big puffy head like a soft serve.
You should be able to do the protein mash at 55C no worries (start the mash low) and raise to mid 60s, it will just take time. If you can raise to mash out then you can easily go from 55 to 65. Just dont overdo the 55 rest- 5-10 min max.

If you really struggle with the temps, and I assume you are BIAB with the urn, you can mash at 55C with less water and then infuse to raise the temp using boiled water from the kettle. Just requires a bit of maths to work out how much you need to do the infusion. Same with other temp raises but as the volume of wort gets bigger and you get closer to 100C, the amount of infusion water gets higher until it is no longer viable.
 
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Doashuey said:
Haha yeah the old Hokhurtz schedule is a doozy. If you have the ability to step then it is useful. Hefe is one style I feel really benefits from a step mash as you want that big puffy head like a soft serve.
You should be able to do the protein mash at 55C no worries (start the mash low) and raise to mid 60s, it will just take time. If you can raise to mash out then you can easily go from 55 to 65. Just dont overdo the 55 rest- 5-10 min max.

If you really struggle with the temps, and I assume you are BIAB with the urn, you can mash at 55C with less water and then infuse to raise the temp using boiled water from the kettle. Just requires a bit of maths to work out how much you need to do the infusion. Same with other temp raises but as the volume of wort gets bigger and you get closer to 100C, the amount of infusion water gets higher until it is no longer viable.
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I once tried a double decoction using BIAB, I kid you not :tearsofjoy:
 
Doashuey said:
Was going to mention a decoc as an alternate to infusion but think infusions are just easier. I have done a double decoc on a hefe before too (not biab though) but couldnt really pick too much a difference for all the ******* around it involved.
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Yeah I'm not a technical brewer. More of a beer drinking brewer.
 
Here it is boys:

_20200603_200128.JPG

Irish Red Ale, turned out magnificent! (Bonus Blaze the kitten in the shot too - no not a stoner name if you have a son you should know who Blaze and the Monster Machines is).

But seriously *en awesome beer, bit too easy to drink if you get my drift. Also tried my first Blasta brew tonight - their American IPA, very nice. I think it's my favourite style right now and probably my batch after next which is a Oatmeal Stout on Saturday.
 
El_ahrairah said:
Here it is boys:

View attachment 886349

Irish Red Ale, turned out magnificent! (Bonus Blaze the kitten in the shot too - no not a stoner name if you have a son you should know who Blaze and the Monster Machines is).

But seriously fu**en awesome beer, bit too easy to drink if you get my drift. Also tried my first Blasta brew tonight - their American IPA, very nice. I think it's my favourite style right now and probably my batch after next which is a Oatmeal Stout on Saturday.
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Looks fantastic..
 
Some thoughts please guys.

Stout finished up with an SG of 52, little bit off the target of 55. Pitched about midday Saturday in oxygenated wort at 17.5 degrees. Didn't get any activity until late Sunday night and by Monday morning it was going in earnest. By Tuesday arvo it had slowed at 24, then the same at yesterday morning. Upped the temp to 22.5 coz it just seems like this yeast is a bit sluggish and has dropped another 4 points the past 24 hours. I've used this yeast a few times now: London Ale III from Wyeast and never had a problem.

Seems like I'm not gonna hit my target FG by a a good 5 points or so and might have a bit of a sweet beer, which isn't too bad (I tasted it when I did a manual test yesterday arvo and it was pretty good), just worried it's gonna be a bit too sickly.

Thinking if not the yeast then my mash was maybe a bit too hot? Was at 69 degrees as per the recipe, but if my thermometer was out a couple of degrees that that could be the problem.
 
El_ahrairah said:
Some thoughts please guys.

Stout finished up with an SG of 52, little bit off the target of 55. Pitched about midday Saturday in oxygenated wort at 17.5 degrees. Didn't get any activity until late Sunday night and by Monday morning it was going in earnest. By Tuesday arvo it had slowed at 24, then the same at yesterday morning. Upped the temp to 22.5 coz it just seems like this yeast is a bit sluggish and has dropped another 4 points the past 24 hours. I've used this yeast a few times now: London Ale III from Wyeast and never had a problem.

Seems like I'm not gonna hit my target FG by a a good 5 points or so and might have a bit of a sweet beer, which isn't too bad (I tasted it when I did a manual test yesterday arvo and it was pretty good), just worried it's gonna be a bit too sickly.

Thinking if not the yeast then my mash was maybe a bit too hot? Was at 69 degrees as per the recipe, but if my thermometer was out a couple of degrees that that could be the problem.
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I feel like this is pretty common with dark beers. I've had the same problem. And that yeast can be hit and miss as well. In fact I'm pretty sure I struggled to get that yeast to fully attenuate on a 5% stout but then when pitching the yeast cake into another beer it performed amazingly. Quite odd.

That does seem like a high mash for sugars. I reckon you've got two options - throw more yeast at it chasing another couple points conversion if you're lucky, or brew a dry stout and blend the two for bulk volume.
 
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