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RDWHAHB - WHAT ARE YOU DRINKING IN 2019?


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52 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

For now it's already saving us a heap

I have a spreadsheet to track ROI. In 3 years I have recovered $8900 of $13416 spent.
We went a solar HWS as well which cost a fair bit ($5099) but the old one was fooked anyway.

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Decided to do a quick defrost of the kegerator. Big chunk of ice on the front of the cooling plate but more behind it. Glad I did that now. Pils and soda water back in gassing up, temp coming down. Wasn't a full on defrost but it should tie it over until the kegs empty. Then I'll open it up and let it defrost and dry out properly over a day or two before more go in. 

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3 minutes ago, Ben 10 said:

I have a spreadsheet to track ROI. In 3 years I have recovered $8900 of $13416 spent.
We went a solar HWS as well which cost a fair bit ($5099) but the old one was fooked anyway.

Nice. We just kept ours but put it on a timer to run in the middle of the day and no other times, so most days it's basically solar too. 

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23 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Decided to do a quick defrost of the kegerator. Big chunk of ice on the front of the cooling plate but more behind it. Glad I did that now. Pils and soda water back in gassing up, temp coming down. Wasn't a full on defrost but it should tie it over until the kegs empty. Then I'll open it up and let it defrost and dry out properly over a day or two before more go in. 

Brand new Kegerator and icing up?

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37 minutes ago, Ben 10 said:

We went a solar HWS as well which cost a fair bit ($5099) but the old one was fooked anyway.

What - are you heating the local swimming pool - or keeping the ducks warm in the dam in the middle of winter - seems high for a HWS....

Or maybe it is one of those that works on cloudy days as you fellas actually still do get a bit of rain...

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30 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Brand new Kegerator and icing up?

Probably getting air in through the gas line hole or opening it to clean kegs etc.. I've plugged it up as best I can with blutak though. 

I'm not too worried, if I have to defrost it every couple of changeovers it's no big deal. It was still chilling well though. 

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10 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Probably getting air in through the gas line hole or opening it to clean kegs etc.. I've plugged it up as best I can with blutak though. 

I'm not too worried, if I have to defrost it every couple of changeovers it's no big deal. It was still chilling well though. 

Cheers thanks mate - just as brand new was wondering - so that was a Keg King  Kegmaster Series IV?

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2 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

The usual ones used for home situations store around 10kWh, some are 13ish. They do cost over $10k for a good one but the lifespan isn't relatively long yet. I'm sure in the coming years the technology will improve and the price come down, when that happens I'll look into it more.

I guess when you are out in the middle of nowhere something that makes you autonomous is pretty attractive and you don't have to worry about storms and fires and punters driving into power-poles to cut the feed (all of which has happened over the past couple years)... and doing one's bit to reduce C02 loading it all adds up to something positive.

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7 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Whoops! Trying to be funny backfired on me.  I wondered what you used the washing machine for in your brewing process.  I did not think about the financial implications on buying brew supplies due to having to purchase a new washing machine.  Hopefully your bad luck does not come in threes.

No backfire, Shamus. The banter on here is all good fun. You're a great contributor to this forum and I love you'd even share your time with duds like me.

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3 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Cheers thanks mate - just as brand new was wondering - so that was a Keg King  Kegmaster Series IV?

Yeah it is that one. Great fridge but I suppose like any fridge if it gets enough moisture inside it it'll frost up. The key is to just put the kegs in and leave it shut as much as possible. Maybe in future I'll just turn it off for a day once both beer kegs are empty, top up the soda water keg then load it and two full beer kegs in and leave it shut other than when refilling the soda water. And clean the two kegs and their lines and taps while it's turned off. Should keep the frost level down and the kegs nice and cold. 

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11 hours ago, MUZZY said:

No backfire, Shamus. The banter on here is all good fun. You're a great contributor to this forum and I love you'd even share your time with duds like me.

You're not a dud, Muzzy. You're making great beers, asking really good questions, giving informed answers and inspiration to other brewers. 

Talking about duds, he says, looking in the mirror. 

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Bacon is done, ham and ribs still in and a bit under an hour left in the boil for this lager. Been having a couple of pilsners off tap, tasting good but nothing matches a decent lagering period. Unfortunately no time for that on this one but still enjoyable. Probably needs another day to chill down properly but nicely carbonated at least. 

Still yet to pitch the pale ale but will do that after this is all done I reckon. Then maybe go for a dip in the pool with a beer and cricket on the radio.

PSX_20191222_134557.thumb.jpg.bc04b9672cc4016c24c8fef058f98a0d.jpg

 

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Back into the red again this evening.   I've got a bit of a problem with 'floaties' in some bottles...  little globules of yeast bouncing around in the bubbles.  I've just discovered that if a pour my beer through an ultra-fine strainer I just happen have it actually filters them all out quite nicely!  😎

SimplyRed_Dec2019.jpg

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BensFarmhouseSour.jpg

Ben 10's Flanders Red I believe? (no markings on the bottle). Forgive the picture taken as it was from the second pour & contained a lot of the sediment at the base of the bottle. Something I have no fear of tasting in a predominantly yeast driven beer. The first pour was a little hazy, but much better than the picture posted & had a lovely hue. Obvious sour cherry aroma on opening the bottle & it does dominate the initial flavours you experience. Quite acidic, but that is common for the style. Little to no head formation/retention that is probably a result of a very low FG driven by the yeast strain that is likely very aggressive. Good bitterness level. For those that enjoy ciders & white wines, you will enjoy a beer like this as these strains are not like anything you've used before with typical Aussie, British, & American styled beers.

My limited knowledge of sours has me led to believe there is little you can do hop-wise to "monster" the beer into a direction away from the yeast driven flavours without some considerable effort & cost, so best to concentrate on using hops that provide background & complementary characteristics, & creating a malt bill that hits the points you are looking for.

Porschemad911's more intricate assessment below (of what I think is the same beer) is spot on I thought. 

Enjoyable for what it is meant to be.

BensBelgianAle.jpg

Ben 10's Belgian Pale Ale.

For what I like to drink, now we're talkin'! 

The Belgian strain used on this is a little more friendly. Lowish carbonation/head retention. That's the only negative.

Lovely light peppery & spicy notes that open up to some lovely sweeter malty tones that at the tip are almost honey-like. The hop character does get a look in here but not dominant. Really good length of a variety of earthy, spicy, light peppery, light honeydew-like flavours that lingers.

The last commercial Belgian Pale I bought was awful. It tasted infected. It put me right off them. Yours was really enjoyable. 😎

Thanks mate! 👍

Lusty.

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20 minutes ago, Ben 10 said:

11 IBU. Also the acidity does something to kill the head retention.

As I'm sure you're already aware, when you strip away final body in a beer, bitterness becomes more noticeable.

Thus you should generally aim for much lower IBU levels when targeting a deliberately lower FG.

Cheers,

Lusty.

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ESB is tasting good. Got that nice caramel sweetness I like in them but not sickly. It's cleared up well too after I threw in some biofine two days before kegging. Next time I use it I'll give it longer though. 

Had a big storm roll through about half an hour ago, bloody gutters couldn't handle the rain and water went all over the brew fridges and the power board they're plugged into. Pulled the plug from the wall on the other side and it'll have to wait until tomorrow to be sorted out properly. I'm sure the brew fermenting will warm up but better than burning the house down. 

 

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