Going all grain. advice wanted

[Otto Von Blotto]

Maybe it was Carapils rather than pilsner malt , then again 60C is pretty low.. might have been better off at 65.

 

6kg for 1.050 in 23 litres is a pretty low efficiency however when you're just starting out it's probably not a bad figure to work from. The basic idea is that the efficiency helps you work out how much grain to use to hit a certain OG. Because my efficiency is pretty good now (mid-high 70s%), I can hit 1.050 in 25/26 litres with a touch over 5kg of grain.

[Corksniffer]

Who knows what might be in the bag Kels', this is Darwin's monopoly for the time being though. Paid $7 for it too mind you. He's a great profiteer I'll give them that.

You know, I did actually read the mashing instructions from National Home Brewer's pale instructions, even though I had no idea what the temps were really for I figured they know what they're doing so started at 50 for 10, 60 for 60, 70 for 5, then lastly 75 for 20 before boiling

 

For a really poor efficiency on this first, poorly calculated AG attempt it's smells Suprisingly good! A little taste yields a fresh outlook already too. I'm suprised it seems to have a little flavour considering it's pale colour and low base as malt.

 

Excitement has gotten the better of me and I did a little research on that Country Trading Store I asked about earlier. Just bought one of their Pilsner kits because they actually have a great range of stuff in a physical store just out of Geelong called 'Wallington's WRG' and another guy somewhere said he was really happy with the advice so they sound good. There's no way I'll have enough patience to lager it for 1-2 months but I'm sure it'll still be a great drop. Finding out about base malts and their place in different styles for the moment so I feel better buying the kits for now until I understand what TF I'm doing/ if the kits come with water treatment minerals and so on but I do know this much; I'm going to be so happy seeing a beer turn out it's actual intend color!! One thing that annoys me so much about kit brewing is their dark colors. It's 'wrong'. They're always darker than the real deal and then we have to go ahead and make them even darker with malt adjuncts, only to be somewhat dissapointed with the taste as if colour wasn't enough. I always had this happen but constantly kept silent hope saying 'next one will be good' but it never was

[Mark D Pirate]

Who knows what might be in the bag Kels'' date=' this is Darwin's monopoly for the time being though. Paid $7 for it too mind you. He's a great profiteer I'll give them that.

You know, I did actually read the mashing instructions from National Home Brewer's pale instructions, even though I had no idea what the temps were really for I figured they know what they're doing so started at 50 for 10, 60 for 60, 70 for 5, then lastly 75 for 20 before boiling

 

For a really poor efficiency on this first, poorly calculated AG attempt it's smells Suprisingly good! A little taste yields a fresh outlook already too. I'm suprised it seems to have a little flavour considering it's pale colour and low base as malt.

 

Excitement has gotten the better of me and I did a little research on that Country Trading Store I asked about earlier. Just bought one of their Pilsner kits because they actually have a great range of stuff in a physical store just out of Geelong called 'Wallington's WRG' and another guy somewhere said he was really happy with the advice so they sound good. There's no way I'll have enough patience to lager it for 1-2 months but I'm sure it'll still be a great drop. Finding out about base malts and their place in different styles for the moment so I feel better buying the kits for now until I understand what TF I'm doing[/quote']

 

Just had a look and they're sure not the cheapest going around , Beerbelly here in Radelaide are a day closer by truck and are pretty good to deal with over the phone ...no free postage though

$58 for a 19 litre APA kit sounds a bit OTT

just adding up cost of todays batch and it's $37 but i'll have enough of a top quality liquid yeast to get 5-7 more batches from same smack pack

[Corksniffer]

Yea, my first IPA kit was about that much from NHB + postage in 2x Aus post satchels so not cheap. But I want to see what it comes with (water treatments etc) so I get an idea on what I do need first before diving in and buying everything seperate. Sure is cheap when you can do that! The pils kit was only $40 with free post!

[Mark D Pirate]

Before messing with brewing salts are you using town water or rain water ?

had a quick look for Darwin water report but got distracted by beer

Adding the wrong salts can put your beer out of balance , with a delicate beer like a Lager or Pils you want very little in the way of minerals

[Corksniffer]

Thanks for the advice, we're on town water here. I've never looked into the water profile cause I wouldn't know what to look for

 

Here's a cool malt article I'm reading if anyone's interested (AG and LME) including a small section about Coopers malt choice http://byo.com/hops/item/710-grain-on-the-brain some great looking starter recipes for me!

[Mark D Pirate]

once you know what your're doing brewing AG is pretty easy , my local pub had cheap pints and i took full advantage ....came home to find my strike water right where i wanted it so will brew drunk ....this will either work or it won't !

i also have a roast in the oven ....

Step 1

work out how much water and at what strike temp you need for mash ( i did that sober )

add salts if needed ( also sober )

add grains and stir them in to prevent clumps !

have a beer !

[Mark D Pirate]

oh ... sparge water is pre prepared ... treated and in a separate pot

[Mark D Pirate]

Mash temp NAILED !

[Corksniffer]

Now THAT'S multi-tasking, Marko!

 

Cheers for the tips mate. I'm just cracking my second Little Creatures pale. Seems I really am a Corksniffer now, find I'm critiquing even these! Think I taste Cascade (?) It's a nice drop that's for sure but there are others even more impressive these days, it's a great scene. Just not as fresh or well defined in taste or aroma but it's very possible they've been stored hot, are old etc etc. Still an excellent ale and definitely helped the craft beer scene take off here in Oz

 

Unfortunately I can't see the pic in the link

[Mark D Pirate]

hmmm... temp was happy at 66 C ... damn photo dagnabbit !

forgot to set a timer for mash but it must be about done

[Mark D Pirate]

Now THAT'S multi-tasking' date=' Marko! [img']lol[/img]

 

Cheers for the tips mate. I'm just cracking my second Little Creatures pale. Seems I really am a Corksniffer now, find I'm critiquing even these! Think I taste Cascade (?) It's a nice drop that's for sure but there are others even more impressive these days, it's a great scene. Just not as fresh or well defined in taste or aroma but it's very possible they've been stored hot, are old etc etc. Still an excellent ale and definitely helped the craft beer scene take off here in Oz

 

Unfortunately I can't see the pic in the link

 

EKG in the boil ,Cascade and Chinook whirlpool / late additions

last time i did one i used pride of ringwood for bittering to use them up

[Phoenix76]

Just been reading through this thread and is very interesting. Agree that K&B's are at the bottom end. Just put down what would be my most serious pure extract recipe and I'm hoping like hell that it maintains something like its original taste.

 

But one for you Kelsey.

 

Throughout this thread, water composition has been talked about. Over the last 50 years I have lived off either tank water or bore water (Victorian high country, not Qld), and I just cannot stand any town water.

 

Kelsey, how does pure rainwater rate for brewing? I have plastic tanks off a tin roof (no paint). I have no trees anywhere near my roof. For drinking, it's among the best I've tasted.

 

I live in Qld, like you, but I'm thinking that rainwater out here in the bush (South Burnett) has got to be pretty clean. I mean we have little or no airborne pollution, so what do you think? Should my water profile basically be okay? And yeah, I'm already looking at AG.

 

Cheers

Bill

[Morrie]

I think Waylon does a fair bit of brewing with tank water from memory so he may be able to help also. It won't be pure water but should be fairly close. If I was using it I'd just treat it like RO water (which isn't pure either) and mineralise it accordingly.

[Corksniffer]

Do you guys recommend whirlfloc, or irish moss? Or, is cold crashing sufficient? Never used any of these before

 

On another note; I heard back from one of the online shops who sell AG kits about the ingredients list for one of their IPA's which is: Gladfield American Ale Malt, Joe White crystal, magnum, Pearle, Centennial, Chinook, US-05 for a smidgen over $60 w/-free freight. Seems reasonable

 

I went in and spoke with the local brew shop today too and confirmed they only stock 3x base malts in 1kg bags. They told me no one does AG here so it's just not worth their while. Knowledge was very minimal on anything grain so I picked up some bits for the fermenter and that was that

[Morrie]

My understanding is that whirlfloc and irish moss are one and the same. I use half a tab in a 27litre kettle post boil. I've been told not to use a whole one in that volume as it defeats the purpose for some reason. They're a bitch to cut in half.

 

I consider it essential as I left it out on one occasion and you should have seen the haze and proteins in suspension. There are other products that others consider better, but I get a good result from it so I will probably stay with whirlfloc.

 

I do cold crashing but the idea of whirlfloc is to leave as much kettle trub/proteins etc behind and not to transfer to the FV.

[Mark D Pirate]

There are AG brewers in Darwin ,asked one last night where he buys his malt /hops

Answer was "not in f-ing Darwin "

Whirlfloc is well worth the 15¢ a batch , I don't want all that crap in my FV

 

I use a Stanley knife to cut them , place blade at mid point and palm the top with my other hand , I crush the half im using and add it to my 10 -15 min hops

[Morrie]

Here's a bit more info I found on Whirlfloc.....

 

A blend of Irish Moss and purified Kappa carrageenan that encourages the precipitation of haze causing materials such as proteins and Beta glucans. Prepared in a quick dissolving, highly soluble tablet form.

 

I tried the stanley knife trick and its the best result I've had so far in bisecting one of those little fockers.

 

I usually do as Marko mentioned and stir them into a half glass of water and drop into the boil 10 mins from end. Dunno if this is necessary but its a habit I now do.

[Otto Von Blotto]

I've been away from here for a couple of days and the posts have added up

 

Rainwater would be fine for brewing with Bill, as long as it's clean. As Morrie says, in regards to the mineral additions it's practically a blank slate although not as blank as distilled water. You can still treat it like that though. Half a gram too much or too little of a mineral salt isn't gonna make any noticeable difference in ales, though for something like a pilsner it might. I use distilled water for pilsners and add amounts like 0.13g of this and 0.34g of that.. it's ridiculous really but they do turn out really nice!

 

Corksniffer, if you can find a water profile for Darwin online or just email whoever is responsible for it, you're looking for levels of these 6 things:

Calcium

Magnesium

Sodium

Sulphate

Chloride

Total Hardness/HCO3 (Bicarbonate)*

 

Knowing these will tell you what beer styles your untreated tap water is best for, but it will also allow you to make mineral salt additions to suit other styles. I wouldn't worry too much about it yet though, as I've said just get the basics down pat first.

 

*Most water reports I've seen around the traps in Oz tend to state total hardness. The HCO3 can be worked out from it by multiplying it by 1.22.

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

 

 

 

 

[Corksniffer]

Thanks everyone, will definitely pick some up then!

 

Just downloaded the water profile for Darwin region. Hardness is 42, rest of the inventory is: (mg p/-litre)

 

CALCIUM 8

MAGNESIUM 5

SODIUM 7.5

SULPHATE 3

CHLORIDE 5

 

 

 

 

[Otto Von Blotto]

Looks like good water for brewing pilsners by itself, but things like pale ales will need some adjusting. From those figures, a rough guess of about 13g gypsum and 4-5g calcium chloride should get the SO4:Cl ratio in about the right place.

[Corksniffer]

Ohh yesss! So looking forward to my first Pils. Ironically, I've just had the last 86 days pilsner I'll brew and out of all the Coopers kits, that one's gotta be my favorite. It's a nice drop but still a tadd 'twangy' as the saying goes.

 

Cheers Kels', I'll take that info on board cause pale's and IPA's have really come to be a favourite for me. Actually tried my first English IPA yesterday (Gage Road, Sleeping Giant, 6 of em!) And liked what it offered. It was cool thinking about the history of the beer too. I prefer the American IPA's for their crazy new hop flavours but still really liked it

[Morrie]

Gage Roads Sleeping Giant I've had and its been exceptional. I have also had it and its been ordinary. Depends how old it is as the hops taper off in time. Apparently they use EKG with US hops and in my opinion it works well.

 

[Corksniffer]

Anyone using this brew app? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abstractwombat.quickbrewcalc&hl=en&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dquick+brew+calc+app&pcampaignid=APPU_1_jAZnWKXKJ8e_0ASExo2QAQ seems exceptionally good

[Morrie]

I'm using Beersmith2 and I reckon its the only way to fly for AG. I find its an excellent recipe designer and I think probably the majority AGers are using it. All in my opinion of course.