What's in Your Fermenter? 2020

[Beerlust]

21 hours ago, ChristinaS1 said:

...If you want a sweet cider, you can keep an eye on the gravity and stop fermentation by cold crashing when the gravity reaches 1.015-1.010. If you are a regular cider drinker, an 11 litre keg could be a great investment. 

PPS If you are bottling, the only way to have a sweet cider is to use a non-fermentable sweetener like Splenda or Xylitol, or just mix in some fresh apple juice in the glass, when you pour.

You can actually create a sweet cider in the bottle without "back sweetening". It follows a similar principle as mentioned above.

You basically bottle the cider toward the concluding stages of the primary ferment at approx. 6+ specific gravity points (depending on how sweet you want the final cider to be) before the expected final gravity is reached. No secondary sugars are added at all. The primary sugars still fermenting create the carbonation. Once bottled you keep a portion unbottled so that you can monitor the continued fermentation via gravity readings.

Once the measured ferment has progressed approx. another 2 specific gravity points lower, your bottles will be adequately carbonated. At this point in batches, lower each of the bottled ciders into a large water filled pot on the stove held at the lower end of pasteurisation temperatures for the recommended time-frame. This will kill the yeast inside & halt the ferment, thus stopping the yeast from continuing to ferment sugars & produce C0² that will over-carbonate your bottles. This will consequently leave the sweeter tasting cider as a result. 

I hope that helps,

Lusty.

[Goldcoast Crow]

On 8/7/2020 at 9:30 PM, ChristinaS1 said:

Yes it will work the same way. Would you be using fresh black currants, or boxed black currant juice? When buying juice, whether apple or black currant, you have to be careful to avoid ones containing sulfites, which will inhibit the yeast. 

Black currants will change the colour of the cider, which you may or may not like. In addition they are very high in acid and Vitamin C, which will make your cider more tart if used in any significant amount; 200gm would be plenty in a 23L batch.

Black currants are also high in 4MMP, a thiol. This compound is also found in certain hops, where they are described as "catty". I used to have two black currant bushes in my garden at my old house. They were tremendously productive. When I would pick them there was a strong odour of cat pee around them. A little goes a long way. If you have the feeling I am trying to talk you out of using black currants, you would be correct! 

If you want to add something to your cider I would recommend boxed white grape juice from the grocery store or white grape juice concentrate from your LHBS (which will add some tartaric acid), or honey (lovely florals as well as a higher ABV), or a bit of both.  Some frozen banana slices (contained in a mesh or cloth bag) would improve the body of the cider, to the point you may not need lactose, but will not change the flavour.* If you use bananas, let them become overripe (brown and spotty) before freezing, which will allow time for the starch to convert to sugar. Use one banana/4L of juice.

Good luck and cheers.

Christina.

* Any real fruit added to a cider or country wine should be frozen first. Freezing causes the cell walls to burst, so the sugars are released. In addition, is is also a good idea to wait to add frozen fruit until a few days into fermenation. This reduces the chance of wild yeast carried on the fruit coming to dominate the brew and preserves some of the aromatics.

PS If you want bubbles in your cider, kegging is a great way to get them. If you want a sweet cider, you can keep an eye on the gravity and stop fermentation by cold crashing when the gravity reaches 1.015-1.010. If you are a regular cider drinker, an 11 litre keg could be a great investment. 

PPS If you are bottling, the only way to have a sweet cider is to use a non-fermentable sweetener like Splenda or Xylitol, or just mix in some fresh apple juice in the glass, when you pour.

 

 

I took the advise re the amount of blackcurrant, I went with 2ltrs of an apple blackcurrant mix which is heavily weighted towards the apple%, to go with 6lts of straight apple...... The extra sweetener I used was lactose which I mixed in with the added 1ltr of water..... Thanks for the advise, let's see how it goes, but if it works well it will basically be 50 stubbies of cider for about $²5 which will be a handy addition come summer..... I will also try other flavours if it turns out reasonably good

[Titan]

Interested to see what the blackcurrant adds to the equation.

[MitchBastard]

@Beerlust mate I’m balls to the wall 2500kw from start to finish. No one can stop me!

[Malter White]

On 8/4/2020 at 10:41 AM, MUZZY said:

Tight@rse Lager.

Coopers OS Lager tin, 1.5kg liq light malt, Cluster hops but fermenting with yeast salvaged from the trub of the previous European lager I made.

Well, being a tight@rse has probably backfired on me. I bottled and sampled this today and while it it didn't taste bad it didn't taste anywhere near the European lager I was hoping to emulate.

I'll put this one down as an experience not to be repeated, unless it comes good in the bottle.

 

Edited August 12, 2020 by MUZZY

[Lettucegrove]

What would you do differently next time @MUZZY?

[Malter White]

3 minutes ago, Lettucegrove said:

What would you do differently next time @MUZZY?

Hi LG.
The idea was to try making a beer similar to the European Lager with the Original Series Lager tin but using Euro yeast. I thought that the yeast was the difference between the two tins but the Coopers DIY team have since informed me that's not the case. There's some hop additions also in the Euro tin.
I was just being a scab and also the OS Lager is more readily available at stores near me than the Euro.
What would I do differently next time? Just buy the Euro tin.
Having said that, I've learnt something and developed my brewing skills (a little) further and based on the pre-bottled taste test I'll still have a beer to drink. It just won't be as nice as I would've hoped.

[Shamus O'Sean]

Chris Woods' Fruit of the Woods ROTM

Although I made some minor changes:

• 1.5kg Coopers Light Malt Extract instead of the 1.0kg Light Dry Malt
• Made it up to 23 litres to back off the ABV just a little.  This will also slightly reduce the colour and bitterness too

This one smelled brilliant in the pot when the hops were steeping.   

Instead of the dry US-05, I used a 3rd generation US-05 starter that I mixed up during the week from the previous starter harvested on 4 June.  Also harvested enough yeast from the starter (Otto Von Blotto style) for next time.

OG was 1.051.  So expecting ABV around 4.9-5.0% in the keg.
 

[Pezzza]

On 8/5/2020 at 9:13 AM, Hairy said:

The chocolate was a little full on pre-fermentation but it has calmed down a lot.

Did you add nibs or ?

[Hairy]

4 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Did you add nibs or ?

?

[Pezzza]

On 8/7/2020 at 9:30 PM, ChristinaS1 said:

Good luck and cheers.

Wow Christina!  You are the Queen of Brewing!  Luvyerwork!

What with our drought and fires and Covid stuff I did not get any Apples to self press and try a brew n keg... am hoping to try next season...  thanks for the great information!

[Pezzza]

7 minutes ago, Hairy said:

?

[Pezzza]

On 8/12/2020 at 4:36 PM, MUZZY said:

I bottled and sampled this today and while it it didn't taste bad it didn't taste anywhere near the European lager I was hoping to emulate.

Mate how long in the bottle?

My experience with Coopers Euro was pretty good....

Maybe leave for 3 months in a cold cave.....

or whatever equates to 2 degrees for that time and then re-sample?

 

----------->working from last post to now - I seem to have jumped the gun.... yeah my Euro was Euro kit and yeast and cool brewed and was nice... and better w more time cold...

Edited August 15, 2020 by Bearded Burbler

[Hairy]

7 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

I know what nibs are. 

You asked whether I used nibs or ? and I didn’t use nibs so the answer was “?”.

But I used cocoa powder.

[Maurice79]

On 8/12/2020 at 4:06 PM, MUZZY said:

Well, being a tight@rse has probably backfired on me. I bottled and sampled this today and while it it didn't taste bad it didn't taste anywhere near the European lager I was hoping to emulate.

I'll put this one down as an experience not to be repeated, unless it comes good in the bottle.

 

Hey @MUZZY What you have there is more like an Aussie Lager. Still should be a good brew once conditioned. The OS lager could be tarted up similar to the Euro kit by using 1kg of pilsner malt and around 50g of Hallertauer hops. A short boil to up the IBU and a flame out addition would give a fresh "green neck lager". This depends on how fresh the Hallertauer hops are as they are from Germany. I would try 25g boil for 5 mins and 25g at flame out of for 5 mins. Pilsner malt extract is not easy to get fresh but you can get it in dry format for around $10.5 per Kg.

[Pezzza]

26 minutes ago, Hairy said:

You asked whether I used nibs or ? and I didn’t use nibs so the answer was “?”.

Ha ha Hairy - as usual - I think mate you were already a cuppla steps ahead of me ha ha...

[Hairy]

Just now, Bearded Burbler said:

Ha ha Hairy - as usual - I think mate you were already a cuppla steps ahead of me ha ha...

Or a couple of beers behind.

[Maurice79]

I have a experimental batch I split with my father now he is retired.  I scour the recipe database and make kit/partials/AG versions.

Current version is:

• 1 Euro Lager kit
• 2.2kg JW export pilsner
• 0.3 Munich
• 66c mash
• 50g Hallertauer @ 5mins flameout
• W34/70 Yeast
• 12c for 7 days the raise to 18c

Sample after 6 days at 12c tastes pretty good for a kit.

 

[Pezzza]

1 minute ago, Hairy said:

Or a couple of beers behind.

Ha ha truly spoken:

[Malter White]

2 hours ago, Maurice79 said:

Hey @MUZZY What you have there is more like an Aussie Lager. Still should be a good brew once conditioned. The OS lager could be tarted up similar to the Euro kit by using 1kg of pilsner malt and around 50g of Hallertauer hops. A short boil to up the IBU and a flame out addition would give a fresh "green neck lager". This depends on how fresh the Hallertauer hops are as they are from Germany. I would try 25g boil for 5 mins and 25g at flame out of for 5 mins. Pilsner malt extract is not easy to get fresh but you can get it in dry format for around $10.5 per Kg.

Hi Maurice.

Thanks for your response. I'll be happy with an Aussie lager outcome.

However, all this talk of flame out, short boil and IBU is beyond my current skills. One day maybe I'll get there.

 

[Norris!]

2 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Ha ha truly spoken:

I missed seeing these photos BB, great looking beer and beautiful country.  I might frame this and put it on my wall, it just relaxes me when I look at. The head on that beer looks soft enough to sleep on also.

[Beerlust]

2nd AG brew day today. I've not long sat down for a beer after a very long day & cleanup.

Based on a brew calc efficiency of 70%, expected OG was 1.049 @ 21 litres. I've ended up with approx. 21.5 litres in the FV @ 1.051, so pretty happy with that & will adjust my efficiency setting in the calc for the next brew to maybe 72% or 73% so that it predicts closer to the higher OG marks I've hit so far.

I had my share of problems again today, but was better prepared for them than on my first AG brew.

At the end of the day, efficiency was good, colour is good, so I'm claiming a win. 

Cheers,

Lusty.

[PaddyBrew2]

what  kind of problems you encountering Lusty. I was the exact same in me first few attempts but beer always turned out fine and the process eventually becomes second nature

[Beerlust]

Heya Paddybrew2. 

17 minutes ago, PaddyBrew2 said:

what  kind of problems you encountering Lusty. I was the exact same in me first few attempts but beer always turned out fine and the process eventually becomes second nature

Most are just teething problems & learning about the system I've purchased & how to get the best out of it.

The fact I'm fast chilling my wort post brew using a recirculating water system creates added scenarios that I admit still require some tweaking on my part to resolve to a level that works to a desired level.

For those interested, the Blichmann counterflow plate chiller I'm using in conjunction with a recirculating stored water setup had my just off the boil wort down to approx. 31°C in around 11mins before the temps plateaued, & the temps of the wort & recirculating water equalised at that point so would reduce no further. The stored water volume I'm using for re-circulation atm is approx. 58-60 litres. I may have to look at a 3rd vessel to hold another 30 litres to push through on a single pass initially, or look to ice up the final vessel that recircs to fix this current problem.

I'm close & will figure out the solution eventually.

Cheers,

Lusty.

[Hairy]

6 minutes ago, Beerlust said:

I'm close & will figure out the solution eventually.

Cheers,

Lusty.

You may find the solution is no chill