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


ben 10

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So far, so good!
*Looks for some timber to touch* πŸ˜„

I realise the dangers inherent in opening the FV's but they're in a sanitised fridge in a room that has never had food or drink in it, only tools etc, airlocked from the house by a garage that always has the door closed. Any contaminants that can get there and survive 2 years+ of zero nutrition deserve a shot at the high life. πŸ˜„

Bottom brew is the Strong Brown at 42 hours old and top is the Real IPA at 16 hours old.Β  The kraussen on the Real IPA looks like the Moon surface. πŸ˜„Β 

I'm not sure what that line just under the foam is - don't recall seeing it as I cleaned but it is a physical demarcation on the plastic - I gave the FV a gentle rocking and that line doesn't change. Is it normal for Coopers FV's?

The bottle is the last one out of the 'kicker' brew - 42 hours old and it is rock solid. All the others are firmer than bottling but I can still press them in. This one takes major effort to even realise it is plastic. Might I have a bomb sitting there? πŸ˜„Β Does that level of conditioning alter the drinkability? I figure that will be the first one I try later, but given it got the most yeast and suspensions (it is clearly more cloudy than any of the others, which look crystal clear against the light) would that change how fast it becomes decent.

i.e. will it still be representative of the others as a tester?

Strong Brown and Real IPA.jpg

Lunar Kraussen - Real IPA.jpg

Kraussen - Strong Brown.jpg

Kicker - Last Bottle.jpg

Edited by Journeyman
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6 hours ago, Journeyman said:

I'm not sure what that line just under the foam is - don't recall seeing it as I cleaned but it is a physical demarcation on the plastic - I gave the FV a gentle rocking and that line doesn't change. Is it normal for Coopers FV's?

Not just the bottom of the Krausen Collar? Β 

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7 hours ago, Journeyman said:

The bottle is the last one out of the 'kicker' brew - 42 hours old and it is rock solid.

Rock solid after 42 hours sounds dodgy.Β  I've had a number of PETs fail from over carbonation in the past caused by one reason or another.Β  They seem to do one of two things: most commonly they develop a micro-leak in the bottom of the bottle where the beer leaks out until the pressure drops.Β  Β In the case of two or threeΒ PETsΒ the entire base of the bottleΒ has completely blown out.Β Β 

Edited by BlackSands
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Been a very late start to Brew Day by the time the water (got some in from work) got sorted, and I managed to get the Drill going to mill the malt... batteries must be on the way out... and by the time I got the computer monitor working (?) old monitor new notebook pain in the @#$% to record my progress... dear oh dear... anyway... all now in the big 50L SS Mash Vessel milled grain inside its SS basket and got the recirc pump going.Β  Will be a Sparkling Ale of sorts.... Barrett Burston Pale Malt base - some Maris Otter - some Biscuit... some Voyager Veloria… bit of Wheat for the head retention....Β and some Acidulated Malt.Β  Will see what is in the Freezer for the Hop Boil ; )

image.png.966edcccaa3612b9490b6dd19503e164.png

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16 hours ago, BlackSands said:

Rock solid after 42 hours sounds dodgy.Β  I've had a number of PETs fail from over carbonation in the past caused by one reason or another.Β  They seem to do one of two things: most commonly they develop a micro-leak in the bottom of the bottle where the beer leaks out until the pressure drops.Β  Β In the case of two or threeΒ PETsΒ the entire base of the bottleΒ has completely blown out.Β Β 

It's now sitting in an old ice cream container so I don't have a clean up job. πŸ˜„

Do you reckon it will be - a: drinkable and - b: any indication on how the others (which are not potential bombs) might be getting along?

Or will I have to drink that one AND another one to find out how things are going? πŸ˜„Β Which I can do, but at 8.2% I figure I better warn the missus I might be a bit cheery that night. πŸ˜„

Edited by Journeyman
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58 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

Do you reckon it will be - a: drinkable and - b: any indication on how the others (which are not potential bombs) might be getting along?

If I ever have a rock solid PET bottle these days I always ease the pressure by carefullyΒ unscrewing the cap.Β  Had a bad batch of porter early in the year.Β  It stalled and after trying everything to get it to finish... and after waiting another week or two I ended up bottling. AND, as I have always found in these situations the very act of bottling is the very thing that is guaranteed to restart a stalled fermenation!Β Β I was easing off the pressure in those bottles regularly and then it became apparent after several weeks that the brew was obviously contaminated as it just kept on attenuating...Β  tossed the brew in the end.Β  Tasted horrible.Β 

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1 hour ago, BlackSands said:

If I ever have a rock solid PET bottle these days I always ease the pressure by carefullyΒ unscrewing the cap.Β Β 

Ok, cracked the seal till it feels like the others. Thanks.

Interesting that the yeast that had settled on the bottom then floated to the top and collected there. I presume it was lifted by CO2 rising, but it looked odd. Chunks of yeast looking to escape the confines? πŸ˜„

Edited by Journeyman
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14 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

Ok, cracked the seal till it feels like the others. Thanks.

Interesting that the yeast that had settled on the bottom then floated to the top and collected there. I presume it was lifted by CO2 rising, but it looked odd. Chunks of yeast looking to escape the confines? πŸ˜„

I'd be keeping an eye on the pressure of all the bottles over the coming weeks if I were you!Β 

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Ah bin checkin' 'em... Each time I looked at the 'bomb' I tried different bottles in the batch. Later I will go squeeze all of them and make sure none are blow-up potential.

But I don't think they will be a problem - only that last bottle got the extra yeast - all the others look remarkably clear when I checked them against the daylight after I bottled. (and looked at a few since)

Edited by Journeyman
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14 hours ago, Journeyman said:

Well just call me dumasfuk. Didn't even cross my mind. 1st time I used the Coopers FV.

Β 

Don't worry Cob mate the very first time I used it, it also caused me concern at first glance... that's why I made the suggestion.Β  And funny too sometimes the fluff and bubble Kraussen can get up there in the gap too and dry a bit and maybe look a bit concerning but has never every been a problem.Β  Good luck with it mate - I think besides super doopa stainless ones the Coopers Plazzi is a beautiful thing. Β  And the super SS ones too you cannot observe the action which is a downside...Β  though mine does seal well and I can listen to and watch the bubbling !?!

Ah the joys of a day of annual leave to finish off my brew day and talk brewing shittttt (otherwise known as "extremely beneficial brewing knowledge, understanding and experience") on the Coops site 😝

Edited by Bearded Burbler
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1 hour ago, Journeyman said:

Ah bin checkin' 'em... Each time I looked at the 'bomb' I tried different bottles in the batch. Later I will go squeeze all of them and make sure none are blow-up potential.

But I don't think they will be a problem - only that last bottle got the extra yeast - all the others look remarkably clear when I checked them against the daylight after I bottled. (and looked at a few since)

Sounds a bit better regards the remaining clear bottles.... but that statement below for me - your description - unfortunately rings warning bells re contam with wild yeast/other unwanted microbes.

2 hours ago, Journeyman said:

Interesting that the yeast that had settled on the bottom then floated to the top and collected there. I presume it was lifted by CO2 rising, but it looked odd. Chunks of yeast looking to escape the confines?

Let's hope it was just the extra yeast which is a possibility too in one world of all possible worlds ; )

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55 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Sounds a bit better regards the remaining clear bottles.... but that statement below for me - your description - unfortunately rings warning bells re contam with wild yeast/other unwanted microbes.

Let's hope it was just the extra yeast which is a possibility too in one world of all possible worlds ; )

Now you're just scaring me. πŸ˜„

But the smell from cracking the seal was good, not rancid or anything and there was quite a bit of yeast in there. I almost just turfed it but figured it would be a good exbeeriment/learning experience. I was pretty thorough on the sanitising and the brew room is far from any source of biotics or even food sources for them.

Incidentally, it's already back to being tighter thanΒ the others - stirring up the yeast kicked it off again I think. (hope)

If I do it again it's getting ONE carb drop, not 2. πŸ˜„

Edited by Journeyman
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17 minutes ago, Journeyman said:

Now you're just scaring me. πŸ˜„

But the smell from cracking the seal was good, not rancid or anything and there was quite a bit of yeast in there. I almost just turfed it but figured it would be a good exbeeriment/learning experience. I was pretty thorough on the sanitising and the brew room is far from any source of biotics or even food sources for them.

Incidentally, it's already back to being tighter thanΒ the others - stirring up the yeast kicked it off again I think. (hope)

If I do it again it's getting ONE carb drop, not 2. πŸ˜„

Ah well let's hope for the best.Β  As for it getting tighter again - if it has half the FV's yeast in there - it might be a bit faster in secondary carb generation than some of the other bottles ; )

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On 11/24/2019 at 9:25 AM, Journeyman said:

I realise the dangers inherent in opening the FV's but they're in a sanitised fridge in a room that has never had food or drink in it, only tools etc, airlocked from the house by a garage that always has the door closed. Any contaminants that can get there and survive 2 years+ of zero nutrition deserve a shot at the high life.

There is potential for contam everywhere - I think the biggest thing is oneself - and everything we touch or have touched without sterile non-porous gloves... nothing to be afraid of - but I think if you swabbed some of the surfaces and stuff in your brew room and plated them up you would be surprised to see all that lives there ; )

And probably be bad if you didn't find anything 'alive' in there as that would mean you were living in a toxic waste dump or an IC unit in the local General HospitalΒ πŸ˜‹

But in general I think it is nice to have a lovely clean dry sanitary brew room.... which I could get one of those too πŸ˜†

Here's a nice public domain paper if you really want to scare yourself:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3863893/

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013 Nov; 10(11): 6169–6183.

Methods for Recovering Microorganisms from Solid Surfaces Used in the Food Industry: A Review of the Literature

Edited by Bearded Burbler
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55 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

And probably be bad if you didn't find anything 'alive' in there as that would mean you were living in a toxic waste dump or an IC unit in the local General HospitalΒ πŸ˜‹

But in general I think it is nice to have a lovely clean dry sanitary brew room.... which I could get one of those too πŸ˜†

I'm a bit of a science geek so I'm aware of contamination issues. What I was getting at is there asre no obvious sources in the room, it's been a workshop/tool store for 2 years, and I've sanitised everything in sight or reach of the brew stuff, including me. πŸ˜„

So it is possible there could be a problem but rather unlikely - even the water is RO and ain't nothing bigger than H2O gets through the membrane. πŸ˜„

Plus there's no reason why only that bottle would somehow have been contaminated and all the others are behaving as expected and similar to how my 1st brew went. Plus it smells just like beer and I trust my nose in all food matters - and wine and beer. The only time I can recall it let me down was it told me once that a saison smelt OK and it was a poison in my mouth. πŸ˜„

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Belgian Witbeir version 2 this arvo

3 kgs pale malt

2.1 kgs torrified wheatΒ 

900 gms flakedΒ oatsΒ 

35 gms Saaz 60 mins

28 gms crushed coriander seed , 28 gms bitter orange peel and three chamomile tea bags at 15 mins

15 gms Saaz at 10 mins

fermented with MAngrove Jacks M21 Witbeir yeast.Β 
last one turned out a cracker and this will be my first time adding the chamomileΒ 

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2 hours ago, Journeyman said:

I'm a bit of a science geek so I'm aware of contamination issues. What I was getting at is there asre no obvious sources in the room, it's been a workshop/tool store for 2 years, and I've sanitised everything in sight or reach of the brew stuff, including me. πŸ˜„

So it is possible there could be a problem but rather unlikely - even the water is RO and ain't nothing bigger than H2O gets through the membrane. πŸ˜„

Plus there's no reason why only that bottle would somehow have been contaminated and all the others are behaving as expected and similar to how my 1st brew went. Plus it smells just like beer and I trust my nose in all food matters - and wine and beer. The only time I can recall it let me down was it told me once that a saison smelt OK and it was a poison in my mouth. πŸ˜„

Well mate I reckon you might just have a bucket of yeast in that one bottle....Β  see how it goes... reckon you might be just fine... only time will tell ; )

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6 minutes ago, PaddyBrew2 said:

Belgian Witbeir version 2 this arvo

3 kgs pale malt

2.1 kgs torrified wheatΒ 

900 gms flakedΒ oatsΒ 

35 gms Saaz 60 mins

28 gms crushed coriander seed , 28 gms bitter orange peel and three chamomile tea bags at 15 mins

15 gms Saaz at 10 mins

fermented with MAngrove Jacks M21 Witbeir yeast.Β 
last one turned out a cracker and this will be my first time adding the chamomileΒ 

Good luck Paddy - Go the Belgian Witbier!

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Planning a brew day Saturday. Will do the ESB I was going to do earlier but didn't have any brewing water available, so I changed it to the red ale which is brewed with tap water.

That's provided we actually get home from Melbourne tonight so I can go to Craftbrewer tomorrow to buy a new hop sock and a bag of ale malt. πŸ˜‚

Edited by Otto Von Blotto
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9 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Planning a brew day Saturday. Will do the ESB I was going to do earlier but didn't have any brewing water available, so I changed it to the red ale which is brewed with tap water.

That's provided we actually get home from Melbourne tonight so I can go to Craftbrewer tomorrow to buy a new hop sock and a bag of ale malt. πŸ˜‚

im thinking i want to fill my third keg with an esb. have you a good recipe mate?

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brew day went well , was five points down pre boil so had to add 200 gms dex to hit my post boil numbers. This is the second time beersmith has had me down on this beer. i dont know if its the torrified wheat or the oats or maybe its just a coincidence that out of all my brews , this is the constant where ive been down by the same numbers pre-boil. OG of 1.055 with FG expected of 1.012 should make for a nice brew

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