BREW DAY!! WATCHA' GOT, EH!? 2019

[ozlizard]

Beer is at 1.020 again today (day 5) could it be done that quickly? Bottles won't be arriving until early next week, but I hear it's ok to leave it sitting for a few days.

[Shamus O'Sean]

26 minutes ago, ozlizard said:

Beer is at 1.020 again today (day 5) could it be done that quickly? Bottles won't be arriving until early next week, but I hear it's ok to leave it sitting for a few days.

The Blushing Blonde is not high in ABV and if the temperature is a bit above 20°C it could easily get to 1.020 in 4 days.  I would have expected it to get a little bit lower though; say 1.012.  Having said that I have also had some brews stop at 1.020 as well.

It is fine (even recommended) to leave it in the fermenter a couple of days after you have reached final gravity.  Given your bottles are on their way you have some time anyway.  I would try to warm your brew up just a bit (22-23°C) to see if it ferments out a bit more.  No harm done if it does not.

Looks like a nice beer to try.

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

Doing a belgian golden strong today. About a year and a half since i have done one.

19L batch using the rainwater

5kg pilsener malt

1kg dextrose added in last 10 of the boil

Mashed at 63c.

25IBU from perle @60 mins

5IBU from saaz added at 2 min and steeped for 15 after flameout

2.5L starter of WY1388 with Fermentation to begin at 17c with temp rising to 25c over 5 days. 

Should get about 8.5% abv in the keg with an expected 95% attenuation.

[ozlizard]

10 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

The Blushing Blonde is not high in ABV and if the temperature is a bit above 20°C it could easily get to 1.020 in 4 days.  I would have expected it to get a little bit lower though; say 1.012.  Having said that I have also had some brews stop at 1.020 as well.

It is fine (even recommended) to leave it in the fermenter a couple of days after you have reached final gravity.  Given your bottles are on their way you have some time anyway.  I would try to warm your brew up just a bit (22-23°C) to see if it ferments out a bit more.  No harm done if it does not.

Looks like a nice beer to try. 

Thanks Shamus. I now have a thermometer on the side of the fermenter and it is pretty much constantly on 20deg. I will continue to monitor it and maybe shift it somewhere a bit warmer. It's looking pretty good and smells and tastes fine. Looking forward to trying it in a couple of weeks!

[BlackSands]

A quick and simple partial-mash NZPA went down today:

• 1.7kg Coopers Lager
• 1.7kg Light LME
• 500g GF Aurora Malt
• 15g Moutere Hops (15mins)
• 50g Wakatu Hops (whirlpool/steep)
• 50g Wai-iti Hops (whirlpool/steep)
• M42 yeast

 

Edited April 13, 2019 by BlackSands

[MitchellScott]

My take on a 150 lashes put down last night. 

200g crystal in 1L water steeped at 77c for 20min.

15g Amarillo @ 15min

15g Nelson Sauvin @ 15min

10g Amarillo @ flame out (80c) steeped for 15min.

10g galaxy @ flame out (80c) steeped for 15min. 

1.5kg lme

1.5kg wheat malt extract. 

US-05.

OG - 1.040

IBU - approx 18.

[Brettmo]

Put down a ginger beer this morning based roughly on Kingsley's recipe. My version in a nutshell:

250g ginger blended
30g powdered ginger
2kg raw sugar
250g honey
2tsp nutmeg + cinnamon
250g ldme I had left over

Basically all of this boiled up and strained into the fv with a can of Morgans ginger beer extract. Filled to 23litres.

Pitched @ 20° with us05, kit yeast and kit yeast nutrient all thrown in.

OG 1044. No idea what my expected fg will be but I'm expecting a strong one.

[Pezzza]

On 2/12/2019 at 11:44 PM, Beerlust said:

That's if you're a "no-chiller".

Add more time for cooling wort, transfer to a FV, & pitching the yeast if wanting to get it up & fermenting the same day.

#SameDayBrews.

Lusty.

Hullo All... am back again after a bit of time away.   Am making my way back through this thread since early January  which has been very enjoyable... learning from one and all... new brewers and old guns.

 

Lusty

can one just put the lid after the boil/end of boil and leave the Wort cool down overnight... and then pitch yeast etc the following day?

Am warming to the AG idea and am trying to look at the practicalities of cooling after the boil... I only have tank water which is precious (running out again)... so I cannot just turn the hose on and water the lawn with the 'cooling water'... otherwise I won't have any water for living.

Guess I could just recirc-pump the immersion chiller fluid back through say some ice water in an esky and keep adding ice?

But it would be a whole lot easier letting the newly completed AG Wort to cool by itself as long as kept clean and tidy and no risk of infection?

[Beerlust]

Hi BB, & welcome back to the fray.

6 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

...Lusty

can one just put the lid after the boil/end of boil and leave the Wort cool down overnight... and then pitch yeast etc the following day?

I would highly advise against that practice. It allows for oxidation based issues, potential bacterial spoilage, & wild yeast infections to take hold of your wort prior to you adding your desired yeast. The practice of 'no-chilling' into a cube to allow for overnight cooling is the best practice if you don't plan to chill the boiled wort down to yeast pitching temperatures on your brew day to then pitch your yeast. The 'no-chill' method basically squeezes any airspace from the vessel housing your unfermented wort, that greatly minimizes the chance of spoilage before pitching your yeast.

Ruddy's videos show how to squeeze the air space out of the cube very well if this is the route you wish to go.

The AG route is grabbing me slowly but surely, & when that day comes you can bet a wort chiller based brew day will be part of that shift!

I hope that helps,

Lusty.

 

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

22 minutes ago, Beerlust said:

Hi BB, & welcome back to the fray.

I would highly advise against that practice. It allows for oxidation based issues, potential bacterial spoilage, & wild yeast infections to take hold of your wort prior to you adding your desired yeast. The practice of 'no-chilling' into a cube to allow for overnight cooling is the best practice if you don't plan to chill the boiled wort down to yeast pitching temperatures on your brew day to then pitch your yeast. The 'no-chill' method basically squeezes any airspace from the vessel housing your unfermented wort, that greatly minimizes the chance of spoilage before pitching your yeast.

Ruddy's videos show how to squeeze the air space out of the cube very well if this is the route you wish to go.

The AG route is grabbing me slowly but surely, & when that day comes you can bet a wort chiller based brew day will be part of that shift!

I hope that helps,

Lusty.

 

Have to disagree with lusty on this one. As long as you have a sealable container to put it into then for one day to cool down you will not have a problem. Have done that for 50+ batches and zero issues. However I'm only doing it overnight. If your keeping it for more than that I wouldn't doing it. I don't expel the air either. Have read people saying that you will get oxidation but many batches and my bullshit meter ruled it out. If the yeast like oxygen in the wort why would it be a problem pre fermentation? 

In my experience fast chilling is great for clarity. I do it for my lagers because it stops chill haze. But that's the only reason I fast chill. Other than that it's a waste of water.

[Beerlust]

11 minutes ago, Greeny1525229549 said:

Have to disagree with lusty on this one.

You're not disagreeing with me on this one Greeny, you're disagreeing with the entire "no chill" fraternity & their practices.

I'll look forward to the comments that follow. 

Cheers,

Lusty.

[Pezzza]

Thanks Lusty.

Thanks Greeny.

 

Would only be overnight so I don' think oxi is a problem.  Infection is possible and would need to be managed.

I am not there yet re AG... doing my research still... but reckon I could do a re-circ ice bath chill type process w SS immersion chiller... 

I don't like the idea of putting hot wort into a plastic cube meself... might be ok but not that keen.

Anyway - guess it might be something to experiment with when I get there.

 

Just in general all ye master brewers - as a rule of thumb - is 12-15 deg C good Lager ferment type temp ?  Just doing my first cool-brew with temp control fridge on Coopers Gold Crown 1.7kg kit plus 2kg LDME....  and running at 14degC.  The kit recommends 12-15 degC... same for AG self-brewed worts?   Guess there are likely many variations for different effects... 

 

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

1 hour ago, Beerlust said:

You're not disagreeing with me on this one Greeny, you're disagreeing with the entire "no chill" fraternity & their practices.

I'll look forward to the comments that follow. 

Cheers,

Lusty.

Im part of the no chill fraternity. Just saying cooling down in a sealed container without purging the air won't make any difference whatsoever overnight. Empirical evidence of doing it 50+ times is my back up. Long term I wouldn't do it but overnight to avoid wasting water. No problems whatsoever.

[Smash]

9 hours ago, MitchellScott said:

My take on a 150 lashes put down last night. 

200g crystal in 1L water steeped at 77c for 20min.

15g Amarillo @ 15min

15g Nelson Sauvin @ 15min

10g Amarillo @ flame out (80c) steeped for 15min.

10g galaxy @ flame out (80c) steeped for 15min. 

1.5kg lme

1.5kg wheat malt extract. 

US-05.

OG - 1.040

IBU - approx 18.

Looks nice! Let us know how it goes! 

[Hoppy81]

2 brews planned for next Sunday

[Otto Von Blotto]

I don't think there would be an oxidation issue from letting wort cool overnight in the kettle, but personally I don't do it even if I am pitching yeast the next day. Part of the reason for that is because I like to chill the cube down further in the fridge to get it down to ferment temp or a little lower before the yeast goes in, along with not really trusting that some nasty bug won't get in before the yeast is pitched. The chances are probably pretty low, but I'm just not willing to take the risk.

I do it with yeast starters but they're pitched pretty much once they get down into the 30s, and they also take less time to get there than 30 litres of wort.

[Otto Von Blotto]

18 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

 

I don't like the idea of putting hot wort into a plastic cube meself... might be ok but not that keen

 

Just in general all ye master brewers - as a rule of thumb - is 12-15 deg C good Lager ferment type temp ?  Just doing my first cool-brew with temp control fridge on Coopers Gold Crown 1.7kg kit plus 2kg LDME....  and running at 14degC.  The kit recommends 12-15 degC... same for AG self-brewed worts?   Guess there are likely many variations for different effects... 

 

Nothing wrong with cubes, they're made from HDPE which can withstand temps hotter than 80-90 degree wort. I've been using them for years and there hasn't been any I'll effects on the beer.

10-12 degrees is better for lagers than 14-15. Lager yeast can work below 10 but I usually ferment at 10 so it doesn't take ages but also doesn't produce flavours I don't want. It sits there for the first 6-7 days before being allowed to rise to 18 for the final run to FG and is left up there for a few days afterwards. At that point the ramp down to lagering temps begins.

[MitchBastard]

This went into the fermenter about an hour ago. 

https://www.diybeer.com/au/recipe/macho-macchiato-stout.html

The recipe didn’t provide and expected OG.... how can I work that out based on the recipe? This is the first stout I’ve done and I thought I would have had a higher gravity than 1.042....

 

TIA

Edited April 15, 2019 by MitchBastard

[Smash]

34 minutes ago, MitchBastard said:

This went into the fermenter about an hour ago. 

https://www.diybeer.com/au/recipe/macho-macchiato-stout.html

The recipe didn’t provide and expected OG.... how can I work that out based on the recipe? This is the first stout I’ve done and I thought I would have had a higher gravity than 1.042....

 

TIA

Chuck it in IanH's spreadsheet, but you may need to add in a few extra fermentables like I have, explained in the link below

 

[MitchBastard]

Cheers @Smash 

the spread sheet says 1.044, so wasn’t far off. 

 

 

[Otto Von Blotto]

1.044 sounds about right for those ingredients in that volume. It sounds low but it also depends on the style of stout, some of them are lower ABV. 

[Pezzza]

On 4/11/2019 at 1:21 PM, #granted+brew said:

To celebrate my first year of brewing kits and bits I decided to have a try at my own recipe. 1.5kg coopers LME 1.6kg coopers LDM 250g light crystal 40g Cascade FWH 15mins 50g Vic. Secret 15min steep under 80°C 2 sachets coopers Ale yeast rehydrated.  Made to 23 litres Pitched and ferment at 18°C  Dry hop to follow on day 4, 50g Vic. secret. O.G 1.045

Put this brew down on Saturday and dry hopped last night. Tasting pretty good although I would have preferred it to be a bit more bitter. I don't have any brewing software so it was a stab in the dark really.

Cheers, Lee

Hey Lee...  Am working my way back through the thread after a little while away (so this post is a bit out of sequence sorry all)...

Lee your SITD sounds great... 

Talking SITD -  Shots In The Dark..... I did a Toucan Two-Can a little while ago while off the thread... pretty basic but using up kits on hand.... and after a brew a bit earlier on using mostly dry malt in a SITD and disappointed with head retention thought maybe two cans of liquid malt would improve head retention...  threw in a kg of dry malt for a bit more zing... 23 Litres...  rainwater/springwater...

Coopers Dark Ale + Coopers Lager... 21 deg C...  just the Coops DA yeast (had used the Lager Yeast elsewhere).

And it turned out G for GOLD... surprisingly good for a dirty old can and dry malt brew and soooooooooo easy....   Woohoo!

Am now looking at the steep AG mountain that I have to start climbing... has to be done after years of  the ease of festive kits-n-bits though a bit daunting given the complexity.

Good there are some clever brewers on this site to guide us all.

: |

[Pezzza]

On 4/11/2019 at 5:58 PM, Otto Von Blotto said:

I generally mill pretty coarse by BIAB standards anyway, because I've found it to improve my efficiency. 

Kelsey and all - have finally got a mill... and now the question is....  advice on the crush...  seems stuck sparge is likely and bogging the bag when milling too fine...  I like what you say Kelsey that maybe milling a bit more coarse is not such a bad idea... guess I might just have to experiment...   have got a small amount of milled RedX from the HB shop.... to compare that with my milling efforts... guess I can have a crack (mind the pun) and see how it comes out with a few different settings?

[Otto Von Blotto]

You basically just want the grains cracked open, they don't need to be pulverised into a powder like some guys do. 

It is trial and error on your own system though. Some BIAB brewers get better efficiency with a finer crush, I get better efficiency with a coarser crush, which I discovered sort of by accident. The bag certainly drains quicker and more easily and with a coarser crush because there's less flour to bog things up. 

[porschemad911]

On 4/14/2019 at 3:32 PM, Bearded Burbler said:

can one just put the lid after the boil/end of boil and leave the Wort cool down overnight... and then pitch yeast etc the following day?

Absolutely! That's what I do with every all-grain batch I do now. I steam sanitise the kettle lid, and pour through a sanitised strainer into the fermenter once cooled. Has worked perfectly for me for quite a few batches now. 

Cheers, 

John