gonewrong Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Well i opened another bottle after three weeks, disgusting is the only way i can describe it. It has no taste and no head. I will have to throw it out, i dont think it will mature anymore. Perhaps summer is not the time to brew in Canberra, perhaps i need more help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix76 Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Hey Gonewrong, you're not the only one struggling with the heat. If Canberra is bad, come and try it in Qld. Mate short of getting a fridge set up where you can control your temps, you could try brewing a Saison. They are quite tolerant of higher temps and it's a very nice summer drink. There are a few threads on here about Saison, and also about brewing temps and how to control them. Have a bit of a search, you'll find some good stuff. Cheers Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gonewrong Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 Hey Gonewrong' date=' you're not the only one struggling with the heat. If Canberra is bad, come and try it in Qld. Mate short of getting a fridge set up where you can control your temps, you could try brewing a Saison. They are quite tolerant of higher temps and it's a very nice summer drink. There are a few threads on here about Saison, and also about brewing temps and how to control them. Have a bit of a search, you'll find some good stuff. Cheers Bill[/quote'] Problem is, we have had days of over 35 just about since before christmas. the coolest room in the house never got below 28, it doesnt go well for brewing the pale ale. I just will have to wait for the cooler days, like winter, then you have the other problem of its too cold. This brewing lark is not as easy as i thought. But im not the type to give up easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix76 Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Hey Gonewrong, don't give up mate. Matey, up here where I live about 300k NW of Brisbane, we've been in the 30's since Mid December at least. In that time I've managed to brew an Orange Blossom Saison, a Dark Side Jaffa Porter - which is one of the greatest brews I've ever done (all extract) and just bottled a Citra Pale Ale that smells absolutely gorgeous and tastes great in the samples - which are hot and uncarbonated, Mate what I'm saying is, even if the temp is high, you can still find something to brew. Okay, some might not last in the bottle for 12 months, but if you drink anything like the rest of us, your brew won't last that long. Just don't give up. What's the worst that can happen? Okay you have to tip out a batch. But if you're brewing standard Kits & Kilos, it will only cost you $20. And unless you have sanity problems, then best bet is the brew will be quite drinkable. Just hang in mate Cheers Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidB44 Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 disgusting is the only way i can describe it. It has no taste and no head. I will have to throw it out' date=' i dont think it will mature anymore. [/quote'] sound like my ex. (that is - my attempt at a Molson Export, nothing to do with my ex-wife). Whenever I am about to throw out a failure I go and get a can of megaswill (eg vb), have a sip and know mine is not so bad after all. Still throw both out because there are only so many beers you can drink in a day - no point in drinking stuff you don't like. side note: I was living in Canada in the early 1990's and went into an "Aussie" pub. They had XXXX on beer list and I was feeling a little homesick. I asked for a four X. It was happy hour and there beer is not a lower price, you get two for one. The barman came back with eight open bottles of Molson Export (aka X). Canadian Fosters, basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 I read an article this week that stated Penrith was the hottest place on average during January. A top of 45.1 and five consecutive days over 40. Not sure if the grand claim is correct but it has been damn hot and I managed to brew beer. Only because of my fridge. Swamp cooling etc is ok when it isn't too hot but doesn't work that well during the recent weather we have had. Especially when the house is hot too. I think your choices are either to get a fridge or brew heaps when the weather is right and store the beer for summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karstiron Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Hey mate, I know space can be an issue, but with a little rearranging I managed to get an all refrigerator off Gumtree and fit it in the garage at home. Best $60 I spent. I coupled it with a STC-1000 temp controller and for a modest outlay can now brew all year without issues. I currently have two fermentors going at once in Brisbane summer temps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beer champ Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 I live in Perth and we have had plenty of hot weather here. I usually give brewing a miss during these months but I recently bought a Cool Brewing fermentation cooler (Google it) It's a large thick cooler bag with a zipped lid which keeps cold by using 2 litre frozen water bottles. I have successfully made a Caribbean Siesta pitching it at 21C and dropping it down to 18C and keeping at that temp for two weeks by just changing the frozen water bottles daily. I know a fridge would be a probably be better but I have no room... and this cooler folds up and fits under my bed. I brew inside so I don't know how well it would work in a hotter environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan8 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Hi mate don't give this away just yet. This is what I would do. 24 hours before brew day fill up as many pet bottles with cold water and stash in fridge. Brew day: 1 Remove the yeast from under the lid and stand the can in boiling water for 20 mins or so. 2 boil up 2l of water in kettle add to your FV. 3 Add your LDM or BE and stir till dissolved. 4 Now add content of the can and also give this a good stir. 5 top up to 23l using the cold water you fridged yesterday aim for a temperature of around 18/19 deg. 6 Pitch the yeast. Now comes the challenge, temperature control. Spare fridge is obviously the best solution but many other ways to keep temperature down. Dig around on here and you will find many suggestions. 7 On day 7 take SG of the brew it should read between 1.010 and 1.015 depending on the fermentables you used. Take another reading on day 9. Your looking for the reading to be the same as day 7. 8 After ferment complete leave in FV for few days to clean up a little. 9 around day 14 you should be ready to bottle. Prime the large pet bottles with 2 carbonation drops. Only one if using the smaller bottles. Keep I pet spare and fill with water. This one is you reference for a squeeze test later. 10 leave the newly filled bottles to condition standing upright, out of direct sunlight. Ideal if you can keep these at between 18/20 11 After a week give one a squeeze and check against the reference. You should notice that bottle will have firmed up a little. Meaning your secondary ferment is happening. 12 after 2 weeks transfer one to the fridge and let it cool for 24 hours before giving it a try. If you find carbonation levels are acceptable you can fridge some more but it's best left outside the fridge as the beer will continue to improve as the weeks go on. Hope this helps get you first in the bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan8 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 By the way you are sanitising your bottles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Well i opened another bottle after three weeks' date=' disgusting is the only way i can describe it. It has no taste and no head. I will have to throw it out, i dont think it will mature anymore. Perhaps summer is not the time to brew in Canberra, perhaps i need more help.[/quote'] Hey Dudes Have we performed a proper diagnosis here before handing out the prescription I am having trouble relating no flavour and no head to a 28 degrees. Remember the Gosh Ale thread I've never brewed at these temps but I've tasted a beer that someone else has, it certainly had flavour it was a Pale Ale and tasted like it but with something extra in it. As for head that comes from carbonation and to my mind gonewrong will have more issues with carbonation once we get into winter, especially in Canberra. I haven't followed your escapades gobewrong but would be interested in you recipe and process. Cheers & Beers Scottie Valley Brew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Well i opened another bottle after three weeks' date=' disgusting is the only way i can describe it. It has no taste and no head. I will have to throw it out, i dont think it will mature anymore. Perhaps summer is not the time to brew in Canberra, perhaps i need more help.[/quote']Can you give us a full run down of your recipe and brewing process? What are you adding to the kit when you mix it up in the fermenter? Are you adding anything? Are you priming the bottles with sugar or carbonation drops at bottling time? I too would be very surprised at a beer fermented at 28 degrees having no taste, but if there's nothing but the kit in 23 litres then it would be on the blander side and probably not retain a head either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kierank Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 before going to kegs and all grain brewing I used the kits all the time. made lots of good brews and some questionable. I believe now that temp. control helps heaps if you can manage it, and I have not been a fan of the carbonation drops, never seemed to gas the beer up enough. As for temp control I use an old working chest freezer, a heat belt and a temp. controller I bought from Keg King. no wiring needed, simple as to use and you are done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffsearch Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 Just bottled a "Real Ale" today. All brewed down in Victoria with a heat wave. Mine remained at 28 deg during the entire process. The smell was great, and the taste was good for a raw beer. I'm expecting it to be good, but not great. But from what I've seen so far I do not expect it to taste bland, as there was plenty of bite from hops. Would like to know the full process involved ? Particularly carbonation and pre preparation on sanitation of bottles and fermenting vessel etc...Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan8 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 You can only do what you do with an FV. My routine which has not let me down so far (touch wood) is boil up 2l of water and add to FV give it a good slosh around. Pour out through tap. Strip off the tap and clean using implement like back end of teaspoon and clean cloth to get right down to the back end. Then soak the tap in boiling starsan solution for 10 mins. Clean threads of FV as best you can and spray with Starsan. Rinse FV withe water then spray starsan soliton inside the FV. Assemble the tap and ready to fill. Bottles if using straight up wash as soon as beer has been drunk. The in starsan solution I wash then rince and they are read to fill. If sting the clean bottles I just leave 100-200m of starsan solution in the bottle till ready to fill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 What's the reasoning behind boiling the Starsan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan8 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Haha I don't boil the starsan just addit to boiling water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan8 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Just one of these routine things I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I only asked because it's a contact sanitiser that needs about 30 seconds to work... its acidity is what kills the bugs; things don't need to be soaked in it although that is an easy way for some things like taps and it doesn't need to be added to boiling water to work properly either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImaginativeName Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I'm going to call it, and say that the ferment temp is not the issue here. I've had a few hit the high 20's, and they've all been tasted by people who would have had no problem telling me how terrible it tasted. The only bad batch I've had was an infected one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I don't think it's the ferment temp either. High ferment temps don't lead to no taste in a beer, if it's gonna go any direction it's more likely gonna be terrible taste. We need a full run down of ingredients as well as processes to make an informed comment methinks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan8 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Mate, don't over analyse . Time to get back in the saddle and complete your next brew with aplomb. I'm feeling negative vibe coming from your posts these last couple weeks. Let's get back to the enthusiastic imagname we have grown to love on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macca1525230004 Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 I have my doubts about these carb drops I use to brew years ago but gave it up to time constants but now have returned but first two brews I used carb drops thinking they must be the new and improved way to go but have been very disapointed with head retention and will not use in next brew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PXR-5 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 I have my doubts about these carb drops I use to brew years ago but gave it up to time constants but now have returned but first two brews I used carb drops thinking they must be the new and improved way to go but have been very disapointed with head retention and will not use in next brew Hi Macca. welcome to the forum. Carb. drops won't help head retention at all. They provide sufficient sugar for the yeast in the bottle to provide the bubbles for the beer. I use them all the time because I can't be bothered to measure out a dose fore each bottle and don't want to bulk prime. Head retention is a more complex question. What did you use for your brew? Can, Sugar etc.. that will enable us to provide a better diagnosis. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Whatever sugar is used for the carbonation won't have any effect on head retention unless you use malt extract to prime the bottles. Any other sugar like carb drops or dextrose (same thing in powder form), or table sugar will all be completely fermented out. Lack of head retention would be related to whatever you mixed up the kit with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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