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Summer or session ale using an Australian pale Ale Extract.


robwalk

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2 minutes ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

Never worries about that as the CC will stop any yeast activity that may be occuring at the trub brew interface. 

Hmmm - think I'll go that way.  It'll save me a fermeter cleaning and some time.  Cheers.

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7 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

I actually found the opposite with gelatine. Any movement and the bloody stuff would fluff up. That's the reason I stopped using it. 

That is odd as i find it sets.   Anyway to make sure i get less trub in the keg I run the 1st flush of the brew into a bucket before I put the hose in the keg. 

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2 hours ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

I run the 1st flush of the brew into a bucket before I put the hose in the keg.

After reading about CC dropping and settling yeast and trub, I'll go that way without secondary FV.  But there is one gain in using one - clear beer immediately.  But I won't miss the extra work and risk of infection.  You kegging guys - I like the bottles and even enjoy the bottling most times, but it is work.  Not sure I'll ever go kegging though.  But I must look into it furthter.

 

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23 minutes ago, robwalk said:

I like the bottles and even enjoy the bottling most times, but it is work.  Not sure I'll ever go kegging though. 

That sounds exactly like me before I started kegging and now wonder why I resisted it for so long.  Having fresh beer on tap is awesome. Bottling a few extra litres so that you have some reserves in bottles for heading out to BBQ and the like is the go.  Also there are loads of ways to get into kegging that does not require huge coin. It could be as easy as aquiring a dedicated fridge, a pressurised fermenter and a party gun.  

 

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1 hour ago, MartyG1525230263 said:

there are loads of ways to get into kegging that does not require huge coin. It could be as easy as aquiring a dedicated fridge, a pressurised fermenter and a party gun.  

Ooohhh, Marty of the big number.  They say the road to hell starts wide and smooth and is very inviting, but as you go deeper it gets harder, rougher and narrower with lots of obstacles.  Sounds just like the start to kegging.

 

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Once you get a setup you're happy with there's not much else needed other than filling kegs, drinking kegs then filling them again. Replace the gas cylinder every now and then. No real reason to go down a huge rabbit hole, to me anyway.

I still use the stuff I started with and I'm happy with it, other than the kegerator itself as the old one decided it wasn't gonna chill the beer down below about 5-6 degrees anymore and I wasn't having that nonsense, considering pouring a glass warmed it up a few degrees further.  

I don't much enjoy cleaning anything but 10-15 minutes to clean a keg beats the hell out of hours washing bottles. Obviously filling is quicker too. 

Edited by Otto Von Blotto
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Thanks Otto.  Been doing bottles (330,375 and 500ml) for a while now and do know what you mean about cleaning.  Filling doesn't bother me as much.  In fact I think you helped me when I started getting a haze left on my bottles even after careful cleaning and that they needed a soak in Sodium Percarbonate.

The barrier for me is more

  • kegging and a tap doesn't sit with my wife's interior design

And despite that, I still may work towards kegs - I do like the idea but would want a 2-3 keg system to provide the variety I like to have available.  A discussion to be had in the future

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Just taken an SG sample of the brew and it came in at 1.009.  Looks like it'll be CC tomorrow when I confirm that it's finished.  Probably bottle Tuesday.  Taste - very nice: hops very forward fruity and resinous and I expect and hope they recede a little during conditioning.  Quite light malt and moving towards a dry brew, so hits the mark for a session ale.  Perhaps a little bland, lacking malt and or yeast depth.  Again wait to see what it's like conditioned and cold.  Quite bitter ATM; much more so than I expected from the Aus Pale Ale can and no boiled hopping, just a steep.  Hope that'll settle down a bit too.

I'll try to remember to post an update in a couple of weeks.

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12 hours ago, robwalk said:

Just taken an SG sample of the brew and it came in at 1.009.  Looks like it'll be CC tomorrow when I confirm that it's finished.  Probably bottle Tuesday.  Taste - very nice: hops very forward fruity and resinous and I expect and hope they recede a little during conditioning.  Quite light malt and moving towards a dry brew, so hits the mark for a session ale.  Perhaps a little bland, lacking malt and or yeast depth.  Again wait to see what it's like conditioned and cold.  Quite bitter ATM; much more so than I expected from the Aus Pale Ale can and no boiled hopping, just a steep.  Hope that'll settle down a bit too.

I'll try to remember to post an update in a couple of weeks.

I found the fruitiness fades into the background a little as the bitterness becomes a tad more prominent after 4 or 5 weeks in the bottle. It's a good balance though. The beer is fresh, very drinkable, very tasty and besides 2 bottles, very gone 🙂 

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10 minutes ago, Aussiekraut said:

the fruitiness fades into the background a little as the bitterness becomes a tad more prominent after 4 or 5 weeks in the bottle.

Your hop experience is what I anticipate for mine.  Bit surprised by your bitterness though.  Generally bitterness softens a bit in many of my brews.  I don't think it lessens but just seems to become softer and sits in the taste profile more comfortably.   Tasting it from the SG sample it was very forward and aggressive in the profile.  Having said that, it is not overly bitter, just more so than I expected.

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27 minutes ago, robwalk said:

Your hop experience is what I anticipate for mine.  Bit surprised by your bitterness though.  Generally bitterness softens a bit in many of my brews.  I don't think it lessens but just seems to become softer and sits in the taste profile more comfortably.   Tasting it from the SG sample it was very forward and aggressive in the profile.  Having said that, it is not overly bitter, just more so than I expected.

I don't think the bitterness changes, it just seems a little more prominent as the fruitiness fades and the balance changes. I find it a very nice beer and the in-laws and the son in law all sang their praises. Not sure if it was because of the beer or the fact it was xmas and they could drink me dry without having to pay for it 🙂 I have all the ingredients for another batch, which I will probably put down after the AG SMASH on the weekend. 

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6 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said:

I wasn't gonna argue with that

Why would you? And what would be the point anyway - she'd win.  I could build a bar in the shed, but it is a really a work shed - steel frame sheet cal walls and roof, concrete floor.  Can't see converting it to a cave really.  Not sure what the response would be if I suggested it.  Certainly would imply a significant change in the flow of our relationship and life together ( or would it be separately)  Don't think I'm going that path.  But we'll see.  There may be a way to get a tap somewhere.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Brew tasting

Tried the brew last night - 9 days in the bottle - and it tasted great.  Crisp, quite dry a whack of hops - tropical and stone fruit and citrus with a hint of resin. Had a little mouth pucker dryness to the finish and I hope that mellows a bit.  The bitterness sits in the flavours better now with gas bringing out the hops.  Still a little under gassed and I expect that to increase a tad over the next few days.  I'll see how the hops settle, but definitely worth another brew, maybe with some tweaks to hop quantity and timing.

 

Thanks for all the guidance on this.  It's worked out well.

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