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What's in Your Fermenter? 2020


Otto Von Blotto

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4 minutes ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Cheers Mick - you have made the jump forwards - gold.   I am glad that the suggestion helped mate... suspect you would have better creamier mouthfeel too?

As for priming with sugar - from memory @PB2 our trusty old Coopers Moderator I am pretty sure used to bottle prime with sugar as was effective, inexpensive and had buggggger all impact on flavour etc...  And magnitude of addition mate is personal choice hey!

I just kegged my Hefeweizen AG and dropped 20g of white sugar into the 18L for  some natural fizz.... and like a big bottle, to encourage yeast activity to scavenge the Oxygen that gets in there at fill time (not done as a pressurized anoxic kegging event).   Plus a tad sugar will help produce a bit more Hefe (Yeast) so the beer pours as a Hefeweizen and not Kristall haha!  It's out at ambient for 5 or so days for the yeast to do their 'Wild Thang' 😆

I think my next mission should be to brew a couple of beers that come from actual recipes. Although I have to say some of the beers mostly lagers have come out okay. I'm liking the pseudo's at the minute because of the quick turn around. But I should really get stuck into a proper recipe now I've got the basic down pat.

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1 minute ago, Mickep said:

I think my next mission should be to brew a couple of beers that come from actual recipes. Although I have to say some of the beers mostly lagers have come out okay. I'm liking the pseudo's at the minute because of the quick turn around. But I should really get stuck into a proper recipe now I've got the basic down pat.

Mate now you can brew a good clean Lager and Pseduo Lager then you should easily be able to crack 'a proper recipe'.... I reckon brewing Ales is loads easier than Lager/Pils... and really should try a Kölsch at some stage ; )  Got the Yeast... just need to do it haha 😝  But once you have a good system in place there are endless opportunities!

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Just now, Bearded Burbler said:

Mate now you can brew a good clean Lager and Pseduo Lager then you should easily be able to crack 'a proper recipe'.... I reckon brewing Ales is loads easier than Lager/Pils... and really should try a Kölsch at some stage ; )  Got the Yeast... just need to do it haha 😝  But once you have a good system in place there are endless opportunities!

 

I keep adjusting and improving the system but it's like clockwork now.  I love Coopers Green and the Red, and anything like that - 50 lashes too. Prolly not everyone's cuppa but for a bloke who only used to drink CUB shite I'm becoming more adventurous.😂 I'm trying to get my head around hops and what to include or not to in combo etc. I was thinking starting with a Coopers pale ale.

I've got heaps of the kit yeast hangin' bout and got a bundle of US-05 in the fridge too. I've found Nott yeast handy also for the Pseudo's. Always got a supply of W34/70 floating in the background.

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3 minutes ago, Mickep said:

I've got heaps of the kit yeast hangin' bout and got a bundle of US-05 i

Mate if you are gunna go down the Ale Track I reckon the good ol' US05 is a champion.... utter champion.  Some of the guns give it a kikkkin' cos it don't bring much flavour to the table.... but it is entirely dependable IMHO and lets the malt and the hops do the talkin...  I have ever ONLY used one yeast pack 11.5g at any one time and reckon it has all been just fine... course you can do a starter and fire things up faster.... but sprinkle or hydrate and pour is easy and goes well. 

And if you want something with a bit of aroma - reckon you can't go wrong with Mosaic in a nice Ale... but hey yeast and malt and hop combos are endless...

As for W34/70.... what a beaut.... some say too that S-189 is worth a try and @Greeny1525229549 Greeny suggested to me for Pommy Ales that S-04 is definitely worth a go too ; )

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15 hours ago, UncleStavvy said:

Variations include bulk priming with LDME or sugar, Coopers sugar drops 2 per bottle, PET bottles and glass long necks. Tried priming at different rates, 2.4 to 2.7 vol CO2. Wouldn't say its poorly carbonated, just not forming and keeping a good head. Recipe is draught tin, 1.5kg dry malt and cascade hops made up to 23L with W344/70 yeast brewed at 12 deg.

Am I missing an adjunct? How can I make this brew better?

How long in the bottle is it? Lagers take longer.

You could try a mini-mash with a small amount of grain and some oats. I've used oats usually with some Ale Malt quite a few times. I don't have head retention problems except for a very recent Amber IPA thing I tried which doesn't seem to want to carb up in the keg. Wich I'd used the oats for that one... 😄

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4 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Ok Stavvs mate - hopefully I don't get bagged for this as I keep saying it on different threads - have you tried using Coopers Liquid Malt can instead of dry kilo stuff ?  Coopers Light Liquid Malt prolly for what you want...  and I suggest adding it to whatever your recipe is (as well as rather than instead of dry stuff) as bigger body also means better head and head retention in my experience.  Understand you may not want heavier style beer though.... 

 

You could even try a tin of Coopers Liquid Wheat Malt - half barley half wheat it is if I am right from memory.

 

My belief is that there are proteins in fresh malted grain mash - that contribute to head retention and mouthfeel - and remain viable more so in liquid malt extracts - and are denatured by the time the spray drying takes place for Dry Malts...   I may be completely wrong... but it is worth a try Stavvs. 

 

My good man @Red devil 44 uses liquid malts quite a bit with good success Red?

You also could try to get some milled malted wheat and do a 65 deg C stove top mash for 45...  then boil for same-1 hour with your hop addition at that time... 

 

And also other partials such as use of Crystal Malt may help - maybe some light crystal could be tried...

 @ChristinaS1hristina did provide some really nice pointers on partials on a thread here somewhere - where was that @ChristinaS1 ?

 

I use wheat a lot in my AGs and believe it contributes well to head, head retention and mouthfeel.   If you drink German wheat beer weizen you would know how frothy that can be... hence my recommendation to try the wheat.

HTH

BB

Yep liquid malts are the go BB, I find it provides a better flavour than the powdered stuff.

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4 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said:

Mate if you are gunna go down the Ale Track I reckon the good ol' US05 is a champion.... utter champion. 

You have no idea how much I disagree with this statement!  For me US-05 - is the most over-rated, over-used yeast in the history of the brewing Universe!  😄 

But each to their own....  😇

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1 hour ago, BlackSands said:

You have no idea how much I disagree with this statement!  For me US-05 - is the most over-rated, over-used yeast in the history of the brewing Universe!  😄 

But each to their own....  😇

Wouldn't say its overrated. It's a good yeast to try for your own taste buds. I dont use it anymore as I prefer WY1272 for pale ales and new world strong for IPA's but US05 makes a decent beer at least.

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58 minutes ago, Greeny1525229549 said:

Wouldn't say its overrated. It's a good yeast to try for your own taste buds. I dont use it anymore as I prefer WY1272 for pale ales and new world strong for IPA's but US05 makes a decent beer at least.

In total contrast... US-05 has been responsible for the worst beers I've ever made.  I'm a member of an unfortunate global minority that have had nothing but recurring phenolic experiences with this particular strain.   Never did get to the bottom of it.  But, on a positive note it did at least allow me to move on to what I now consider to be superior ale yeasts -  including the New World you mention.  🙂  

 

Edited by BlackSands
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16 minutes ago, BlackSands said:

recurring phenolic experiences with this particular strain

Wow that is a remarkable achievement....  I know US05 more so from Brewer's bagging it as it "brings nothing to the table" ie. nil flavour input...  which is fine by me when I am trying to manipulate malt bill and hops and can have this workhorse doing its job well and delivering a great product every time which leverages off the malt and hops.

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13 hours ago, Journeyman said:

I use the can yeasts as food for the yeast I'm using to brew - add it to the boil and it provides nutrients for the Nott or other yeast to help it multiply and get vigorous.

I often just use raw sugar for the starter - only used LDM a couple of times. 250 g in a jar, get the temp to ~25° and pitch. Then I just shake it every so often or stir it vigorously enough to froth it, while I do my brew.

Just an observation, but if you pitch a proper amount of dry yeast, a starter is not necessary....

Boiling some yeast to provide nutrients is is not necessary for normal gravity beer because wort has plenty of nutrients. But boiling dry yeast to provide nutrients is something I do when making nutrient poor things like mead, country wine, or ginger beer. 

Journeyman, can you clarify your raw sugar starter process. What volume of water are you putting that 250g of sugar in? Are you adding 11gm of dry yeast? Also, how many minutes or hours before you pitch it? 

Cheers,

Christina.

 

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7 hours ago, ChristinaS1 said:

Just an observation, but if you pitch a proper amount of dry yeast, a starter is not necessary....

Boiling some yeast to provide nutrients is is not necessary for normal gravity beer because wort has plenty of nutrients. But boiling dry yeast to provide nutrients is something I do when making nutrient poor things like mead, country wine, or ginger beer. 

Journeyman, can you clarify your raw sugar starter process. What volume of water are you putting that 250g of sugar in? Are you adding 11gm of dry yeast? Also, how many minutes or hours before you pitch it?

Maybe not necessary but it works for me and speeds things along nicely.

I brew stronger beers - haven't made one under 6.5% yet so I add the nutrients - the healthier the yeast in the wort, the better beer it makes. 😄

Usually 2L+ of water, more common now is over 3L as I now do 2 brews one after the other. Yes on the 11g - that's what Nott comes in, but I've also done it with the Coopers specialty yeasts which are 7g. Mostly I try for a couple of hours before I start the brew - start the starter when I get up then brew at maybe noon or so, so it would be between 3 and maybe 5 hours. The last one was overnight but I also dropped in 200g LDME mid-morning and brewed around 1PM.

My lid leaks under pressure so shaking isn't advised except at the start. Usually I open it and stir to a froth. When I'm ready to pitch, stir it up again till frothy, halve the mix and pitch the first brew. Same later when 2nd brew is ready.

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13 hours ago, Journeyman said:

Usually 2L+ of water, more common now is over 3L as I now do 2 brews one after the other. Yes on the 11g - that's what Nott comes in, but I've also done it with the Coopers specialty yeasts which are 7g. Mostly I try for a couple of hours before I start the brew - start the starter when I get up then brew at maybe noon or so, so it would be between 3 and maybe 5 hours. The last one was overnight but I also dropped in 200g LDME mid-morning and brewed around 1PM.

There is a product called Go-Ferm that is recommended as a rehydration nutrient when making wine and mead. Reading the label it is basically ghost cells fortified with vitamins and minerals. I can't buy Go-Ferm in my area so when I make country wine I substitute boiled bread yeast. The dose is basically 1:1.

Boiled yeast would probably do your Notty more good in the starter than in the wort, would it? 🤔 A raw sugar starter is nutrient poor; wort is nutrient rich already.

Happy brewing.

Cheers,

Christina. 

PS In addition to using boiled bread yeast as a substitute for Go-Ferm when I make country wine or mead, I also use it as a substitute for Fermaid O, but at a lower dose.  That is another story though.

Edited by ChristinaS1
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11 hours ago, ChristinaS1 said:

Boiled yeast would probably do your Notty more good in the starter than in the wort, would it? 🤔 A raw sugar starter is nutrient poor; wort is nutrient rich already.

That's an excellent point. Will do that next brew. Thanks!

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Any advice gratefully welcome. What hops could I add to either a Pseudo Lager or an authentic one that would combine with POR or super pride but not add any further bitterness? It's prolly a bit of a "how longs a piece of string" question so I apologise if it's a bit of a lame  one.

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1 hour ago, Mickep said:

Any advice gratefully welcome. What hops could I add to either a Pseudo Lager or an authentic one that would combine with POR or super pride but not add any further bitterness? It's prolly a bit of a "how longs a piece of string" question so I apologise if it's a bit of a lame  one.

ones low in AA like sazz or Tettnang

edit short steep for flavour to reduce bitterness I've made few pilsners with late additions of sazz came out very nice 

Edited by jamiek86
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3 hours ago, Mickep said:

Any advice gratefully welcome. What hops could I add to either a Pseudo Lager or an authentic one that would combine with POR or super pride but not add any further bitterness? It's prolly a bit of a "how longs a piece of string" question so I apologise if it's a bit of a lame  one.

I think that Cascade would go well, being a lower Alpha acid hop.

Maybe Vic Secret as a hop steep for dankness/earthiness would be a bit different too.

Anything you add to the boil will add bitterness.  You could drop the POR/Super Pride by an amount and sub in another hop with similar alpha acid, like Cascade.  Or do late, whirlpool or dry hop additions.

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4 hours ago, Mickep said:

Any advice gratefully welcome. What hops could I add to either a Pseudo Lager or an authentic one that would combine with POR or super pride but not add any further bitterness? It's prolly a bit of a "how longs a piece of string" question so I apologise if it's a bit of a lame  one.

I recently had a lager in a restaurant that they brewed on the premises. It was dry hopped with Saphir hops, a newish German hop. It was most like modelled after Firestone Walker's Pivo Pils. It was the most delicious lager I have ever had.

https://www.firestonebeer.com/beer/pivo/

Unfortunately my LHBS does not carry them, but I am buying some next time a purchase hops in bulk online.

Cheers,

Christina.

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1 hour ago, ChristinaS1 said:

I recently had a lager in a restaurant that they brewed on the premises. It was dry hopped with Saphir hops, a newish German hop. It was most like modelled after Firestone Walker's Pivo Pils. It was the most delicious lager I have ever had.

https://www.firestonebeer.com/beer/pivo/

Unfortunately my LHBS does not carry them, but I am buying some next time a purchase hops in bulk online.

Cheers,

Christina.

Some of those restaurants that brew to are so hidden away. Its a shame because you could have an amazing beer with your great food and the rest of the world would have no idea.

I'd get into the brewers ear.

Edited by Pale Man
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2 hours ago, ChristinaS1 said:

I recently had a lager in a restaurant that they brewed on the premises. It was dry hopped with Saphir hops, a newish German hop. It was most like modelled after Firestone Walker's Pivo Pils. It was the most delicious lager I have ever had.

https://www.firestonebeer.com/beer/pivo/

Unfortunately my LHBS does not carry them, but I am buying some next time a purchase hops in bulk online.

Cheers,

Christina.

40 IBUs    5.3%

Looks very tasty. Youd have to AG to get near that.

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3 hours ago, ChristinaS1 said:

I recently had a lager in a restaurant that they brewed on the premises. It was dry hopped with Saphir hops, a newish German hop. It was most like modelled after Firestone Walker's Pivo Pils. It was the most delicious lager I have ever had.

https://www.firestonebeer.com/beer/pivo/

Unfortunately my LHBS does not carry them, but I am buying some next time a purchase hops in bulk online.

Cheers,

Christina.

Me and my Mrs went to a place in the Adelaide Hills ( South Australia ) Called Grumpys. The town is called Verdun. Andrew Shultz and his daughters made the most amazing pizzas and beer on premises.

Me and the Wifey took our kids and grandkids there Christina. Then, it burnt down 😰 Andrews pizza oven had a hissy fit. All the memorabilia,  the old thick wood that made that lovely building. Im still sad.

Edited by Pale Man
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On 12/19/2020 at 3:55 PM, Journeyman said:

I have 2 rather simple beers in the fridge, an IPA made with Brew A IPA and can of LME, hops tea of 25g each of mosaic & cascade, and what I've called a Straight Ale - Real Ale with 1 kg LDME and hops tea of 25g each of simcoe and EKG. I made a starter using 1 pkt Nott in 4L water with LDME and split it between the 2 brews.

This was them 8 hours later.

 

18Dec Brews1.jpg

Well it's day 7 and 1 is definitely at FG - not sure what the reading is but I can't see the arrow that points at 1.000 😄 The other is sitting around 1.010 so I'm giving it a day to see if it changes. The enzyme seems to add a couple of days to the ferment time. Normally I'd be into CC by now.

The beers in the hydro tubes are very clear and what is in the FV's looks the goods also. So I'm thinking CC and not worrying about finings.

 

18Dec Brews2.jpg

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4 hours ago, Stickers said:

IMG_6497.thumb.jpg.26b5af5da42fcbe3ac2506efb0ea0c97.jpg

coopers apa with 1kg 2 row mash,, 1kg 'brewing sugar', citra and amarillo hops, nottingham yeast. current red ale on the right for colour comparison 🙂

Very similar recipe to the one I just kegged. I have used this hop combo a few times before (along with a 20 minute boil of Cents in my partial mash wort) and keep coming back to it. Love it. 

Cheers,

Christina. 

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