Jump to content
Coopers Community

What's in your fermenter? 2019


Recommended Posts

Hi Smash, & welcome to the forum.

2 hours ago, Smash said:

...Took a hydro reading of 1.042, which was about 10 points less than what Ian's spreadsheet predicted. No activity in the airlock, no krausen or any change in gravity yet. Getting a bit nervous, can anyone see any errors I've made? I have about 3 packs of kit yeast if needed. Thanks!

  1. How many litres did you mini-mash your grain in?
  2. Did you sparge (rinse) the grains after the mini-mash?
  3. What volume are you fermenting to? & does this match the ferment volume you entered for your recipe in IanH's spreadsheet?

Cheers,

Lusty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Beerlust said:
  • How many litres did you mini-mash your grain in?
  • Did you sparge (rinse) the grains after the mini-mash?
  • What volume are you fermenting to? & does this match the ferment volume you entered for your recipe in IanH's spreadsheet?

Cheers Titan & Beerlust! Yeast has kicked off, but still confused about the gravity reading. 

Mash was 10 litres, with around 2-3 litres of sparging. Fermenting to 23l, all of which was covered in IanH's spreadsheet. Only thing I can think of was that there is no American Ale malt in the spreadsheet, and I cannot find details online about gravity potential, so I went with something I thought was about similar (CaraMunich 2). This is only my third brew, first with speciality grains, so it's all learning for me!

Thanks heaps for the help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Fergy1987 said:

Just put down my rip off of OVB's Red Ale with a Kit.

I attempted a extract rip-off of this. Wasn't the same recipe but yours looks better. I may try it.

What yeast will you use? I used the CCA which i think may have been a mistake.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, elLachlano said:

I attempted a extract rip-off of this. Wasn't the same recipe but yours looks better. I may try it.

What yeast will you use? I used the CCA which i think may have been a mistake.

I had some nottingham from a previous brew so just threw that in

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Titan said:

The only one i can see is checking for then stressing about no action. Pitch your yeast, then check again 48hrs later, no activity? Then start to worry. 😀😀

And - there are many better qualified than me to comment - but if no yeast bubbly-ferment activity - I would suggest you pitch more yeast... 

hmmm... this is a re-edit - seems like fermentation has kicked off after all - good stuff : )

Edited by Bearded Burbler
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Smash said:

Put an American Pale in the fermenter yesterday. 500 gram Gladfields American Malt (crushed by rolling pin) @ 65-70 degrees for 30 minutes, then a boil of 10 grams of Cascade @ 30 minutes, 15 of Cascade & Centennial @ 5 minutes, then 20 of each @ flame out, steeped for 20 minutes. Put 1.5 kg LDM & a can of Morgans Ultra Premium Frontier IPA in the fermenter along with the boil. Took a while to get the wort to pitching temp, but put in 1 pk of re-hydrated US-05 @ 22 degrees around 6:30 last night. Took a hydro reading of 1.042, which was about 10 points less than what Ian's spreadsheet predicted. No activity in the airlock, no krausen or any change in gravity yet. Getting a bit nervous, can anyone see any errors I've made? I have about 3 packs of kit yeast if needed. Thanks!

Your hydro reading may have been incorrect but 1.052 is a bit of a stretch i would think, if it was made to 23L. I'd expect around high 1.040s. I don't think the spreadsheet has base malt grains in it though so if you used dry malt for that amount in the spreadsheet then it would predict a higher OG. I wouldn't worry about the lack of activity at the time you posted, usually you'll see krausen around 24 hours after pitching. Check for krausen and condensation under the lid; don't worry about the airlock, if there's a leak in a seal somewhere it won't bubble anyway.

By the way, Gladfield American ale malt isn't a specialty malt, it's a base malt that requires mashing. 10 litres is way over the top for 500g, you'd only need about 2 litres for that amount. It's also possible that the rolling pin didn't adequately crush the grain.

Edited by Otto Von Blotto
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finally got around to putting down my 3can Cerveza.

Went with your idea of a 10 min and F0 boil Otto.

3 x Coopers Cerveza with kit yeast

150g - Carapils steeped for 30 then boiled.

40g Saaz @ 10 min

40g Saaz @ FO -80° steeped 15mins

20g Saaz dry hopped

Made to 25L

SG 1.057

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just finished a keg of Tropical Pale Ale 4.7%. Probably my best so far. Just a shame I didn’t let it age a bit longer!

1 x Thomas Cooper’s Bootmaker Pale Ale

1 x Coopers light malt extract can

250g Coopers BE3

200g dextrose

150g crystal grain

10g galaxy 

15g el dorado

11.5g Safale US-05

 

Still having issues with force carbonating so have invested in a carbonating keg lid to help the process and avoid beer in the gas line (again)!

 

Just put down a draught lager and after two days @ 12 degrees it’s still only gone down 2 specific gravity points. Not used to this slow fermentation! Think I might stick to ales... not patient enough.

Am thinking of raising the temp to 20 for two days after final gravity for an accelerated diacetyl rest then lowering to 0 for at least a week... any thoughts or suggestions on lagering?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to @Shamus O'Sean and @Hairy I have had a go at a new variation on the Aus Pale Ale kit today! Fancy scales arrived, so was able to measure out 25gms of Citra hops, which I added to 2L of water with 200gms of a BE3 box. The APA can calls for BE2, so not sure how much difference this will make. 15 minutes of boiling, and strained into the FV, with the rest of the ingredients. 

Will dry hop it with another 25gm of Citra in a few days. Fingers crossed!

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

@Jacob what issues are you having with carbonating kegs? Perhaps ditch the carbonating through the beer out post as a starting point. It can be done but you have to do it properly to avoid beer going up the gas line

Mainly the one where the beer isn’t carbonated sufficiently. Had a pale ale on the gas @ 10-15 psi for a few weeks and was flat as a tack. Cranked it up to 20 for a few days and just resulted in all head and no bubbles in the beer. The method using the beer out post worked fine but just not worth the risk in my mind. Think having this lid with a dip tube that is foolproof will be perfect. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In a fridge, it should be carbonated in a week to 10 days at serving pressure (the 10-15psi figure), sounds like there's a leak somewhere in your system if it's been on for a few weeks and is still flat. But then that doesn't make sense given the full foam and no bubbles after the pressure was cranked up over a few days which is a sign of overcarbonation. By flat, do you mean that the head didn't form/stick around or was there actually no fizz in the beer when you drank it? They are different problems.

I use a fast-ish method to carbonate my kegs that avoids the beer out post and/or rocking the kegs. I stick the keg in the fridge of course, connect the gas to its proper post, set the pressure to 45psi and leave it there for about 20-22 hours, then turn the gas to that keg off and let it sit for another 6-7 hours, bleed any excess pressure and turn the gas back on at normal serving pressure. At this point I connect the beer out line to the keg, it's usually a little undercarbonated but high enough to enjoy a beer; another day or two and it's perfect. No flat beer, no beer up the gas line, no need for carbonation lids.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I put mine on 300kpa for 24 hours then purge and drop to serving pressure. I have 2 taps but 3 kegs and 3 gas lines so I brew in advance and time it so when a tap becomes available the spare keg is carbed up and it moves straight over and gets the tap!! 

Beer Baron

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/7/2019 at 4:04 PM, Smashed Crabs said:

Finally got around to putting down my 3can Cerveza.

Went with your idea of a 10 min and F0 boil Otto.

3 x Coopers Cerveza with kit yeast

150g - Carapils steeped for 30 then boiled.

40g Saaz @ 10 min

40g Saaz @ FO -80° steeped 15mins

20g Saaz dry hopped

Made to 25L

SG 1.057

I just tested and sampled this and iv got to say it's actually bloody delicious! I didn't know what to expect  with the sample but the soft spiciness really compliments the bitterness from the Cerveza kits. I'm honestly blown away with the taste and it's still fermenting away. This wasn't the best brew to sample Saaz with but I can see it's potential. Oh and it's down to 1.020 so still has a little sweetness to it .. unsure how low it will finish but the only other 3can iv done was the RIS and it finished at a similar gravity.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kicked off the year with one of me favorite spicy pales, No Rules Pale, its been bubbling away at a nice rate for a few days now, I'll dry hop it with 20g of Galaxy and 35g of Saaz Monday and do a SG reading, hopefully will be crashing it before next weekends out.

I'll start me Saison in the morning 😄, may be cutting it short for Australia day.

Tristan

 

 



 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...