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What's in your fermenter? 2019


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3 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

If you are bulk priming in a separate vessel you could do the same sort of thing to reduce sediment in the bottles. 

Cheers mate. Was thinking about transferring to another vessel.... 

 

Rekon a sanitised stocking over the end of the bottling wand that goes into the tap would act as a filter?

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17 hours ago, MitchBastard said:

Bloody good idea mate. I’ll do this next time although this time round is rather excessive for some reason. It’s never been like that before. 

Not too late to do it during or after fermentation.  Takes the cake a day or two to find it's new level.   

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Put down a RIS yesterday. Basically made to the recipe with an 850g jar of golden syrup added to hopefully boost ABV over 10% like some of the commercial examples I see around. OG 1.112. If FG is around 1.022 per the recipe, ABV will be around 11%. Giant krausen today, as expected. Also, I asked a few weeks ago what to do with the home brew kit lager can - this is where it went. 👍

I also put down in my craft fermenter an experimental (for me) IPA that I'm calling the Mosaic Era Woolly Mammoth IPA. It's based on the Woollies Lager can, made to 10L. I used ianh's spreadsheet to tweak it into IPA territory, using Coopers Lager as the base. At around $15 for everything, all I have to lose is $15. 😋

  • 1.7kg Woolworths Lager kit
  • 100g Shepherd's Delight steeped (lifts the EBC into range) (OK, I had other grains but woolly... shepherd... why not?)
  • 200g golden syrup (lifts the OG into range)
  • 25g Mosaic pellets at FO (into the boiled grain steeping)
  • 25g Mosaic pellets dry hop
  • Rehydrated kit yeast
  • OG: 1.058

Brewing around 17C-20C as my temp controller probe is attached to my RIS and is set at 18C.

Expected ABV around 6.8% in the bottle. The kit yeast has taken off nicely, with a 1" krausen today.

Main reason I went to 10L was to try and manage the IBUs and ABV a little on my first time around. Taste of OG sample wasn't overly bitter. Will have to see how it is once it's had a couple of weeks in the bottle, but I'm already thinking to use either smaller volume, or substitute the Draught kit if I do this again.

Edited by Instigator
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Bottled my raspberry wheat today. Was initially worried about getting a lot of trub come through the wand into the bottles but it seems to be ok after dumping two tallies worth with the tap wide open first up, then bottling with it half open to slow the flow. Thanks @Otto Von Blotto For that tip.

was hoping for it to be redder but tastes good and will be a good thirst quencher once it’s carbed.

happy Friday 

 

B9C9203A-319F-4931-BF1B-42F6DAD4BDD9.jpeg

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Well looks like my yeast are liking the Black DIPL I brewed up last night. It had a nice thick krausen when I checked it at 6am.

Still thinking about the dry hop timing. Might do it sooner than a week, maybe on Tues night, replace on Fri night, then let the beer sit for a couple of days before bottling.

Cheers, 

John 

Edited by porschemad911
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So, I runout of time to keg my Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter so its going to sit in the cold crash for another 9 days. (13 all up). I added two pods of Vanilla sliced down the length of the Friday just gone. Finishing gravity was around 1.026-8, something like that.

It'll be good to see if cold crashing for this length of time is any beneficial for clarity (for my brews). At this stage its had 4 days cold crash. so it definitely needs a little more. Its going to be the clearest porter you've ever seen in ya life.

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Inaugural Grainfather brew day - Saturday 29 June

I want to give the sordid details.  However, suffice to say it went really well until the boil.  Plus the weather in Melbourne on Saturday was shite.

Following are the numbers:

Little Creatures Pale Ale clone

  • 2.8kg Gladfield Ale Malt
  • 640g Light Munich
  • 640g Wheat Malt
  • 200g Light Crystal Malt
  • 18g East Kent Goldings 60 min boil
  • 15g Cascade 15 min boil
  • 5g Galaxy 15 min boil
  • 10g Cascade Whirlpool 
  • 4g Galaxy Whirlpool
  • US-05 Dry Yeast. Dry pitched

 Method:

  • 60 min mash @67
  • 10 min mash out @75
  • Pre-boil SG 1.058
  • 90 minute interrupted boil 30 minute boil (Trying to sort sh1t out - issue with app)
  • 60 minute boil after 15 minute pause (still trying to sort sh1t out)
  • 13.75L into fermenter @ SG 1.074 diluted to approx 20L @ SG 1.051 by adding 6.5L water (to get to Little Creatures ABV of 5.2%)

I did a "dry" (grainless) run on Sunday.  Looks like it might have been operator error.  However, later in the day an app update come through.

This was supposed to be a 16L batch.  I think that might have been somewhat out.  I put numbers back into the Grainfather recipe creator, but targeting a 20L batch and the finishing ABV seemed much closer to the mark.  My IBU's with the above batch will be quite low due to the dilution, but I did not want a Little Creatures with an ABV 8%+

On the plus side, two days later the US-05 sea monkeys are doing their thing.  Not much krausen (maybe 5mm).

I am sure it will still make beer.

IMG_1253.JPG.2719be0b94bb398317a6c3fa78e079ce.JPGHeat my strike water in 9 hours

 

IMG_1255.JPG.9160032b09528a6e1e7d05c1a63c51c8.JPGStrike temperature on the way

IMG_1256.JPG.c072f57bfc3a77f61eb553287c7e884a.JPGReady for grains

IMG_1257.JPG.e50522361c780ac71016589a28fca1b9.JPGGrains added

IMG_1258.JPG.f5b399206d5fa9b24034be7945840f21.JPGTop plate inserted

IMG_1260.JPG.5ef51dffb14e273e870097f3d2825e74.JPGMashing (dropped to 65 initially)

IMG_1261.JPG.055e208e549c8222582ac2ea59362238.JPGMash out wort cleared up

IMG_1262.JPG.0086348e058a5679774656469e6ee631.JPGHeating sparge water

IMG_1263.JPG.d13a8f81d097e42103603abf6703d82d.JPGReady to start sparge

IMG_1264.JPG.e56f90d95f8fd6f11f64b691116b4100.JPGGrain tube lifted

IMG_1265.JPG.f070ca3689e2210ae5d216277cf8037f.JPGSparging

IMG_1267.JPG.7cecd855fce40eadb47131979e47b52f.JPGReady to start boil

Now stuff goes to hell

Later.......

IMG_1268.JPG.2c6a0e40b94776fdab3d8284602ef4a3.JPGCooling (collect water for cleaning)

IMG_1269.JPG.bebd334a7ba8c1da814bf222cb988e2f.JPGWort into trusty Coopers fermenter

IMG_1252.JPG

Edited by Shamus O'Sean
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Thanks guys

@PaddyBrew2 your recent brewing journeys were a bit of inspiration.

@Popo the app was great up until the build-up to the boil.  However, I think I did miss an alert.  I will be more observant next time.  I ended up using some water and flour to slide in the bottom screen.  Was doing my head in until that neat trick.

@Otto Von Blotto when you are in hell, you stop taking pictures.  Just ask the Marine.

Cheers Shamus

Edited by Shamus O'Sean
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12 hours ago, Hairy said:

What actually happened during the boil? It couldn't have been that bad.

It boiled.  Lots.

The target temperature was 100°C.  The wort was well into boiling as the actual temperature got into the high 90's.  I expected the controller to click over to 100°C and the boil timer to start.  Waiting, waiting, waiting... However, it only got to 99°C.  Melbourne was freezing on Saturday, around 12°C and wet and windy.  I thought that maybe the ambient temperature was affecting the temperature probe in some way.  The Googles did not help.  Only advice was to make sure the probe was pushed all the way in, which it was.  Grainfather video said something about HH will appear on the screen - It did not.

Decided to turn off the heat and do some more internet searching.  Was thinking about bringing the vessel inside to do the boil unaffected by the outside weather.  How to bring 20L of boiling wort inside without a disaster?  Luckily the Grainfather was on a wheeled movers dolly.  With the assistance of SWMBO and Shamus Jr I got it inside without issue.  By this time the wort temperature had dropped back to less than 80°C.

Set it off boiling manually, but still the boil timer would not automatically start, even inside.  Seems you get it to boiling and then manually start the timer on the app.  I could not see this button earlier in the day.  I only noticed it the next day when I did a water-only "dry" run.

Finished the brew fully manually.  Just took ages.  Boiled for probably 90 minutes or so all up and wasted at least another hour.  Did my cleaning in the dark.

Did not turn out too bad, just a pretty frustrating day.  Brew is now fermenting along nicely, though.

Cheers Shamus

PS - Hope your hand is okay.  I have ordered the cam-lock conversion, so I will lose the spring-loaded ball sealing thingy.  Must remember to turn off the pump or the ball valve before removing the recirculating arm or the chiller.

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13 minutes ago, The Captain!! said:

Hey @Shamus O'Sean

Apart from some probes being out of spec, what’s the altitude of your house? Higher the altitude the lower the boiling temp. 

Good thoughts Capt!!.  I am in Belgrave South, which is 225 metres above sea level.  I think that the Inkbird temperature controller has an adjustment for height above sea level.  I did wonder on the day if what you say might have been part of my issue and if the Grainfather has a similar adjustment.  I will have to see what the googles say on the matter.

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Yeah I wouldn’t have thought 225m would have made too much difference. 

Surely theres an adjuster for that though. 

Like all thermometers, their all spot on till you measure them against one another. 

Just might need calibrating somehow

Edited by The Captain!!
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I reckon that I had a good rolling boil at 98°C. 

When the target temperature was set at 100°C, the heater was on full-bore.  If I dropped the target temperature to 99°C (when the actual temperature was 99°C), which at one point I thought might make the boil timer start, the heater dropped back to half power and the boil stopped.

I reckon that a 100°C target temperature means full-bore rolling boil.

I have the Inkbird and 5 high quality digital thermometers that I bought as a package from China a while back.  I could just compare them all and see what readings I get.

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Wort boils higher than 100 due to the sugar content, although it's only like tenths of a degree. Add in altitude and it would still be below 100. 

I don't even care about the temperature mine boils at, I just get a nice rolling boil and away it goes. Mind you, with my urn all I have to do is turn the knob up full bore. I have a thermometer in it while it's coming up so I can make sure I'm watching to start the timer. It gets to about 103 by the time it's boiling properly but I figure that's thermometer error. 

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Dry hop 1 went into my Black DIPL tonight, 60g Simcoe, 30g Motueka and 10 Bravo, so 9g/l. I took a gravity sample and it's down below 1.030 so going fairly well. Had a taste of the gravity sample and it is sensational. Tastes like it might not even need any more hops, but I'm still going to see what this dry hop brings and then repeat the dose in a few days time.

Cheers, 

John 

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32 minutes ago, porschemad911 said:

Dry hop 1 went into my Black DIPL tonight, 60g Simcoe, 30g Motueka and 10 Bravo, so 9g/l. I took a gravity sample and it's down below 1.030 so going fairly well. Had a taste of the gravity sample and it is sensational. Tastes like it might not even need any more hops, but I'm still going to see what this dry hop brings and then repeat the dose in a few days time.

Cheers, 

John 

I’d be interested to hear if there is a significant move in gravity after the second dry hop at 9g/L. Good stuff John

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