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


ben 10

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1 minute ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

how do you test for sourness?

I don't, I like the surprise. This one is well sour... 
I don't pre acidify either. 

If you are keen, this topic may help.

 

I have kettle soured but was hit and miss for me.

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7 hours ago, Ben 10 said:

I don't, I like the surprise. This one is well sour... 
I don't pre acidify either. 

If you are keen, this topic may help.

I had a go at the cube sour approach a couple of months back.  I did a Berliner Weiss that turned out not very sour at all.  I just did the tablespoon of Greek yogurt.  However, I only left it in the fermenter for just over 24 hours @ 40°C.  Based on low range pH strips, it was somewhere in the high 3's, but should have been in the low threes.  I will give it another go one day.  Too many other brews to do in the meantime.

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It was supposed to go down today but my schedule was unexpectedly disrupted, so looks like it will have to be tomorrow.   This is a stove-top AG batch, a sessionable and slightly hoppy Irish Red. I'll be brewing a concentrated wort and making up to 20 litres:

Simply Red

  • 3kg GF Ale Malt
  • 200g GF Redback Malt
  • 200g GF Med. Crystal Malt
  • 100g GF Shepherds Delight Malt
  • 50g Carafa I malt
  • 25g Wye Challenger @ 30 mins
  • 25g Wye Challenger @ 10 mins
  • MJ M36 Yeast

It should land somewhere around 4% ABV if my efficiency is on target.   

👨‍🔬

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On 11/13/2019 at 3:41 PM, BlackSands said:

It was supposed to go down today but my schedule was unexpectedly disrupted, so looks like it will have to be tomorrow.   This is a stove-top AG batch, a sessionable and slightly hoppy Irish Red. I'll be brewing a concentrated wort and making up to 20 litres:

Simply Red

  • 3kg GF Ale Malt
  • 200g GF Redback Malt
  • 200g GF Med. Crystal Malt
  • 100g GF Shepherds Delight Malt
  • 50g Carafa I malt
  • 25g Wye Challenger @ 30 mins
  • 25g Wye Challenger @ 10 mins
  • MJ M36 Yeast

It should land somewhere around 4% ABV if my efficiency is on target.   

Brew day went smoothly.  Looks like efficiency was well up though for some reason - around 80% so will be closer to a 4.8% ABV beer.   

I don't do these stove top AG's very often, but they're marginally quicker than my partials because I'm not having to mess around with extract so I might think about doing them more often.  My stove top setup is limited to a max of around 3.5kg grain so I thought I was going to be limited to more sessionable ABV type beers @ 20 litres.  However,  if a can regularly achieve this higher efficiency then I might do more using this method from now on.   🤓

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9 minutes ago, BlackSands said:

Brew day went smoothly.  Looks like efficiency was well up though for some reason - around 80% so will be closer to a 4.8% ABV beer.   

I don't do these stove top AG's very often, but they're marginally quicker than my partials because I'm not having to mess around with extract so I might think about doing them more often.  My stove top setup is limited to a max of around 3.5kg grain so I thought I was going to be limited to more sessionable ABV type beers @ 20 litres.  However,  if a can regularly achieve this higher efficiency then I might do more using this method from now on.   🤓

Nice, 80% is pretty good!

Surely it wouldn't take long to dump a 1.5kg LME can into the fermenter when you are done adding the wort?

Mitch.

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14 minutes ago, MitchellScott said:

Nice, 80% is pretty good!

Surely it wouldn't take long to dump a 1.5kg LME can into the fermenter when you are done adding the wort?

Mitch.

No not long really... but does take a wee bit longer.  I pre-warm the can in a water bath, open the can, then pour the contents into the FV then spend a bit of time scooping out the remnants.  And then I mix it through the fresh wort to get even distribution so I can take a valid OG reading.  Maybe it's only 10 minutes or so all up...  hence why I said "marginally" quicker  😉    But apart from the actual time, dealing with the LME always feels like a bit of a hassle and it was quite nice to not even have to think about it this time round.  

If I limit myself to 20 litre batches there's probably quite a number of my regular beers I could actually brew as AG which also has the advantage that I will save myself a few $ as well. 

 

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7 minutes ago, BlackSands said:

No not long really... but does take a wee bit longer.  I pre-warm the can in a water bath, open the can, then pour the contents into the FV then spend a bit of time scooping out the remnants.  And then I mix it through the fresh wort to get even distribution so I can take a valid OG reading.  Maybe it's only 10 minutes or so all up...  hence why I said "marginally" quicker  😉    But apart from the actual time, dealing with the LME always feels like a bit of a hassle and it was quite nice to not even have to think about it this time round.  

If I limit myself to 20 litre batches there's probably quite a number of my regular beers I could actually brew as AG which also has the advantage that I will save myself a few $ as well. 

 

Yeah your certainly not wrong about the cost situation... That's one of the reasons I'm looking at getting my hands on a BrewZilla. The cost of a batch of AG is super cheap in comparison to extract/kits.

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1 hour ago, MitchellScott said:

Yeah your certainly not wrong about the cost situation... That's one of the reasons I'm looking at getting my hands on a BrewZilla. The cost of a batch of AG is super cheap in comparison to extract/kits.

Is it really that much cheaper? Ok, if you buy grains in bulk, it probably is but on a smaller scale?

Looking at these recipe packs:

https://www.cannonhillbrewing.com.au/product/pacific-pale-2/
https://www.cannonhillbrewing.com.au/product/pacific-pale-extract/

There is $4 difference, same yeast and same amount of hops. Sure, they're pre-packed recipe packs but I guess the shop is putting on the same margins on both. 

Generally, I'm not sure AG brewing is half as cheap as it seems. The cost for the equipment needs to be offset, a Guten with its 2500w heater, running for a good 2.5-3 hours, gobbles a fair bit of power (gas burners don't have that problem but gas runs out and isn't particularly cheap either). I'm going AG because I want to. Because I like doing things from scratch. When I cook a curry, I make the paste myself instead of using a jar mix. But sometimes, a jar mix is fine and I will not stop doing extract or kits & bits I think. At least not for a while. There are a lot of recipes in the recipe section I still want to make 🙂 If I have a K&B recipe that makes a darn good beer, why not keep making it? 

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Ingredients wise it's cheaper than kits. Most of my AG beers are around $20 a batch in ingredients, equivalent beers made with kits or extract would be $35+. 

There is obviously an outlay on equipment but it doesn't take that long for the savings on ingredients to pay it back. Power usage is probably a few dollars if not on solar, so it still doesn't get to the cost of a kit/extract beer.

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13 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Ingredients wise it's cheaper than kits. Most of my AG beers are around $20 a batch in ingredients, equivalent beers made with kits or extract would be $35+. 

There is obviously an outlay on equipment but it doesn't take that long for the savings on ingredients to pay it back. Power usage is probably a few dollars if not on solar, so it still doesn't get to the cost of a kit/extract beer.

$20? Just looking at the above mentioned kit, a pack of US-05 goes for about a 5er and 100g of hops are usually around $10, depending on the type and where.  That's already $15. I know you don't buy yeast because you have what you need in live cultures but hops are still a decent portion of the cost of brewing. Do you buy them in bulk to get the cost low enough?

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Yes, usually my hops are under that, some as low as $4-5 for 100g. I buy base malt in bulk buys whenever I can as well to reduce its cost. 

The costs per batch vary, but probably average about $20. The red ale is usually $16, pilsners up to $30 mainly because of the hops. Pale ales are usually around $20-25 depending on the hops used.

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Yeah mine range from about 12 or 13 bucks for a 19L batch of asian lager made with slurry to about 30 when i do a hoppy IPA. 

Malt is cheap. Hops are the killer. Yeast if you reuse it doesnt cost much per batch. 

Come to think of it my 2 megaswill batches made with home grown POR was  probably the cheapest i have made. Probably 8 or 9 in malt and table sugar per batch.

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1 hour ago, Aussiekraut said:

Is it really that much cheaper?

– 2kg Unhopped Light Malt Extract
– 1kg Master Malts Wheat Extract
– 100g Galaxy Hops
– 250g Carapils Malt
– US-05 Yeast

 

$39 dollars for THAT?

NEIPA with 260g of hops @ 6.7% being $32...

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15 minutes ago, Ben 10 said:

– 2kg Unhopped Light Malt Extract
– 1kg Master Malts Wheat Extract
– 100g Galaxy Hops
– 250g Carapils Malt
– US-05 Yeast

$39 dollars for THAT?

NEIPA with 260g of hops @ 6.7% being $32...

I suspect some LHBS are capitalising on the opportunity to make some money...  still cheaper than megaswill.

I think I can get most base malts like 25kg bags for $75 or less...  $3kg per kilo - more for specialty malts. 

So yeah I am a beginner and cos I got questionable efficiency and brew at high ABV.... am probably doing 7kg... so 

that's $21 for grain.... I do mill meself… and then well... say 150g or hops... say $15... 

What's that - $36 for around 23L plus... 

I have got my yeast for $4-5 or just used slurry... say $40....

let's say for 30 Largies….  well 

come down to the Bottlo - and see REAL BEER - micro brews like what we are doing - selling there for $17 for 500ml?

Then - Go Figure....

I reckon you might be less $$ for KnK but...……….. unless you use liquid malt adjuncts - I really believe you cannot achieve the same brew quality.

Anyway....  just thinking out loud...

 

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