What's in your fermenter? 2019

[Otto Von Blotto]

Took another sample of my ESB brew, sitting right on 1.012 which was the predicted FG or close to it. Tastes quite good, nice bitterness in it this time. Threw in 35g Styrian Golding as well. Will probably begin the cold crash tomorrow, so I can get it in the keg before Xmas day. 

[Shamus O'Sean]

Very simple Pink Grapefruit IPA, from a MJ Craft Pouch.  Got it on discount. 

Plus 1kg LDM.  25g Simcoe and 25g Cascade dry hop.

Smelled beautiful in the fermenter.

OG 1.049

23L

[Norris!]

8 hours ago, Journeyman said:

On 12/16/2019 at 8:12 AM, Journeyman said:

"I don't use more than 5% of dextrose in my extract recipes as it can lead to a cidery smell and taste" - if the amount is that low, why do you use it? also is that 5% in weight of fermentables or a percentage of can weight or some other measure?

The dextrose was partly from BE2 and partly from brown sugar. So 250g LDME from that plus 500g pack of LDME in each brew.  The use of the sugar is mostly about cost and using it to cheaply raise the ABV - hopefully soon I'll be able to forego such shortcuts. 

This morning both are running at 18° and maybe 2" kraussen on top - interestingly they don't look quite the same. 

Hi Journeyman,

When I say 5%, I mean the total in the batch, if you look at the above image of your recipe it shows 21% in dextrose, which is the total weight of all the fermentables including the can. It all comes down to tastes, I had brews that I hated but others loved, brew what tastes good.

I use the 5% amount which can be around 150-200g of dextrose to do what you do, gain some alcohol but I am also looking to dry the beer out some, make it easier to drink, as I prefer beers that are lighter on the pallete and not so malty, at that level it doesn't really affect the taste as it is more to do the above.

If the beer comes out good, may be it was a good short cut! But yeah, I feel you. I think being conservative is part of brewing and experiementing. The brown sugar should bring some flavour to the brew and color.

Cheers

Norris

[Otto Von Blotto]

Changed my mind and decided to start bringing the ESB down today, then forgot to actually do it before I came back to work will do it tonight so I can add isinglass tomorrow and polyclar Thursday, keg on Monday and into the kegerator with the pilsner to chill and carbonate. 

[ben 10]

50 minutes ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

Very simple Pink Grapefruit IPA, from a MJ Craft Pouch. 

They have some great looking pouches don't they?

[Beerlust]

4 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Took another sample of my ESB brew, sitting right on 1.012 which was the predicted FG or close to it. Tastes quite good, nice bitterness in it this time. Threw in 35g Styrian Golding as well. Will probably begin the cold crash tomorrow, so I can get it in the keg before Xmas day. 

Is this the one you used the golden syrup on? 

[Beerlust]

4 minutes ago, Ben 10 said:

They have some great looking pouches don't they?

Yeah they do. My local Brewcraft sells them. I call in there every now & then for a few hops or yeast & look them over.

I've had them in my hands & thought yes, then looked at the price tag, & went no, I can make one as good for less.

I reckon they'd be pretty nice.

Cheers,

Lusty.

[Naughty Corner Brewing]

On 12/14/2019 at 12:10 PM, NewBrews said:

Just took a sample from the saison in the garage. Plenty of yeast still in suspension and gravity at 1.002 at day 5. OG was 1.052.

Going to kick like a camel and be drier than the Sahara.

 

Sample from Saturday was stable at 1.001 this morning. Will draw another tonight to be sure but I’m calling it done. Will probably bottle it tomorrow night. 

[Otto Von Blotto]

9 minutes ago, Beerlust said:

Is this the one you used the golden syrup on? 

Yeah, was only about 5% worth though. I thought the FG would drop a little more although Beersmith did predict it even with the syrup addition. 

[Beerlust]

1 minute ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

Yeah, was only about 5% worth though. I thought the FG would drop a little more although Beersmith did predict it even with the syrup addition. 

Could you pickup the golden syrup on tasting the SG sample?

[Otto Von Blotto]

1 minute ago, Beerlust said:

Could you pickup the golden syrup on tasting the SG sample?

A little bit. Not a dominant flavour but I didn't want it to be. Just sort of in the background. 

[Beerlust]

1 minute ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

A little bit. Not a dominant flavour but I didn't want it to be. Just sort of in the background. 

I'm the same with ingredients like this. Don't dominate, just add lighter noticeable background flavours that add to the complexity of the beer. 

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yep. It could probably use a little bit more, which I might try next batch. Will see how this one is on tap before I decide properly though. 

[Shamus O'Sean]

1 hour ago, Ben 10 said:

They have some great looking pouches don't they?

They do.  The discounted price, because best before date was approaching, was around $25-26.  That made it look even more great.  At the regular price of nearly $40 for the concentrate, 50g of hops and a matched MJ yeast is a bit steep.  I guess they do offer some diverse recipes though.  The smell of this one was very promising.

[Red devil 44]

1 hour ago, Ben 10 said:

They have some great looking pouches don't they?

I did the MJ Rasberry & Lime Cider about 4 months ago, was just waiting it’s turn on tap, gassed it & put it on the other day, tastes pretty nice, lots of Rasberry Flavour but not much Lime, I did a Peach & Pear Kit earlier in the year which turned out good, not bad gear to brew.

[ozlizard]

Ginger beer update. Taking the good advice from  here (thanks OBV!) I tipped the bottles back into the fermenter and added 3lts of water. This gives me an OG of 1.052, so if I can get it down to 1.014 it will be spot on at 5%. If it doesn't reactivate I will throw in another Coopers beer yeast. Fingers crossed!

[Otto Von Blotto]

1 hour ago, ozlizard said:

Ginger beer update. Taking the good advice from  here (thanks OBV!) I tipped the bottles back into the fermenter and added 3lts of water. This gives me an OG of 1.052, so if I can get it down to 1.014 it will be spot on at 5%. If it doesn't reactivate I will throw in another Coopers beer yeast. Fingers crossed!

Not quite. It's still got alcohol from the initial fermentation, although the percentage by volume would obviously drop with the added water. Calculate it from whatever the OG would be in 8 litres, which would be around 1.062 before pitching yeast. 

I'd still expect it would go well below 1.014. Sugar is 100% fermentable so it won't leave anything behind like malt does, it should wind up close to 1.000 by the time it's done, which is close to 8% ABV.

Edited December 18, 2019 by Otto Von Blotto

[ozlizard]

1 hour ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

I'd still expect it would go well below 1.014. Sugar is 100% fermentable so it won't leave anything behind like malt does, it should wind up close to 1.000 by the time it's done, which is close to 8% ABV.

OK, thanks for that explanation, you can tell I am still green at this game! I will be happy with those figures and lesson learned for next time. In the meantime my Coopers Session Ale is bloody good so that will do me for Xmas.

[ozlizard]

GB is bubbling but very slowly, like once every 10 minutes, reckon I should throw some more yeast at it or let it be?

[Red devil 44]

On 12/17/2019 at 5:00 PM, Shamus O'Sean said:

Very simple Pink Grapefruit IPA, from a MJ Craft Pouch.  Got it on discount. 

Plus 1kg LDM.  25g Simcoe and 25g Cascade dry hop.

Smelled beautiful in the fermenter.

OG 1.049

23L

Hey Shamus, might Brew this, what temp are you fermenting at ?

cheers

[Otto Von Blotto]

1 hour ago, ozlizard said:

GB is bubbling but very slowly, like once every 10 minutes, reckon I should throw some more yeast at it or let it be?

If you do throw more yeast in, rehydrate it in water first. Throwing dry yeast straight into an alcoholic environment pretty much kills it. 

[Shamus O'Sean]

1 hour ago, Red devil 44 said:

Hey Shamus, might Brew this, what temp are you fermenting at ?

cheers

I went with 20°C.  I was hoping to encourage some fruitiness from the MJ M44 US West Coast Yeast.

Alas, I think the yeast may have been beyond salvaging.  It was best before two months ago.  I rehydrated it.  However, 30 hours in and apart from condensation on the inside of the lid the size of a 5 cent piece, no sign of fermentation.  I panicked and chucked in a good US-05 yeast.

I will leave it at 20°C still and see how it goes.  I should have rehydrated the US-05 too, like in Otto's post above, in case there was some alcohol, even though there are no solid signs of fermentation. 

[Red devil 44]

12 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I went with 20°C.  I was hoping to encourage some fruitiness from the MJ M44 US West Coast Yeast.

Alas, I think the yeast may have been beyond salvaging.  It was best before two months ago.  I rehydrated it.  However, 30 hours in and apart from condensation on the inside of the lid the size of a 5 cent piece, no sign of fermentation.  I panicked and chucked in a good US-05 yeast.

I will leave it at 20°C still and see how it goes.  I should have rehydrated the US-05 too, like in Otto's post above, in case there was some alcohol, even though there are no solid signs of fermentation. 

Thanks Shamus, I’ll put that IPA down today and let you know how I go with that M44 yeast.

cheers

[Otto Von Blotto]

No isinglass or polyclar going into the ESB, one stir bar is at the bottom of the fermenter and the other one in the starter for the next batch going in after the pilsner is kegged. And I really can't be arsed standing there with a spoon for ages. 

I am going to Craftbrewer on Saturday for more pils malt and extract for starters, so I might pick up some biofine clear and try that out on it. 

[Pezzza]

On 12/17/2019 at 6:59 PM, NewBrews said:

Sample from Saturday was stable at 1.001 this morning. Will draw another tonight to be sure but I’m calling it done. Will probably bottle it tomorrow night. 

What is it with this festive Saison thing.... not done any yet... but the FG is so waaaay low... must look into it.  @Ben 10 I think maybe I need to have a crack at this after all...?